Made it back to the Arcadia location, this time with my parents. I was pleasantly surprised we were seated immediately at 7:20 on a Friday night, but our party of 3 was accommodated at one of the handful of unoccupied 4-person tables.
My parents are a bit old school, and while my mother is more adventurous than my father, her first interjection is always, “Just make sure it’s not going to be TOO SPICY!”.
Our food order:
Avocado w/ Chili (Seasonal Winter Menu)
Dongpo Pork Hock (Full Serving)
Dongpo Pork Hock (Full Serving, after Tableside Preparation)
Duck Egg Rolls
Chicken Pudding Soup (Individual Serving)
Serrano Pepper Beef
Wok-Fried String Beans
Wok-Fried Brussels Sprouts (Seasonal Winter Menu)
We thoroughly enjoyed the meal. The avocado was universally praised, even the pickled chili peppers that lent a subtle heat to an otherwise heavy soy flavor.
Despite some initial trepidation about ordering the pork hock “spicy,” it again wasn’t what I would consider spicy, but rather well-seasoned, and in turn, was the universal favorite entrée dish. There is a strong ginger component, and maybe that’s from where the printed “spicy chili rating” on the menu is derived? I don’t know. We all loved it.
The duck eggrolls were entirely forgettable, and were only ordered because my father equates Chinese food with eggrolls–he hasn’t yet let it sink in that there are different kinds of Chinese food, and each restaurant may be more or less partial to a particular regional style, which may or may not include good eggrolls. Adding insult to injury, at an extra $1 premium for ordering the duck eggrolls vs. vegetable, I didn’t taste any duck; it could have been there, but it would have been so subtle and measly to have been pointless.
I was the only diner ordering the soup, and while I enjoyed it for the novelty factor, I would again look to try some of their other soup offerings to see if there were one I would find more memorable. I think it’s possible some of the flavors of the soup may have been too delicate and subtle after the more piquant profiles of the other dishes.
The Serrano Pepper Beef was quite tasty to my palate, though I think the Sichuan peppercorns may have been a bit stronger or more concentrated in the broth this time. My parents didn’t really care for it, claiming it was a little too spicy. I didn’t detect much “heat,” but the numbing was a little on the excessive side. My mother also complained of an “herbal”/sour flavor she didn’t really like, and while neither she nor I could identify it, I think it may have been a by-product of excessive Sichuan peppercorns in the broth preparation. Again, I still liked it, and I still found it quite tasty, but I enjoy a bit of heat or numbing; I do think, however, that this dish was a bit out of balance compared to the last time I had it here.
The string beans were okay; I’d probably try another vegetable in the future because they were simply unremarkable–nothing wrong, just not particularly memorable.
The Brussels Sprouts were also well-liked, but nobody’s favorite dish.* My father apparently isn’t a fan of Brussels sprouts in general, though he said he’d be happy eating them like this in the future. I advised my mother to learn properly how to stir-fry from the Hong Konger wife of a family friend before attempting. 
We also attempted to order wine with our meal, first the Riesling (they were out) and then the Chardonnay (maybe they were out, didn’t really get a clear answer from our waitress) before settling on the Rosé. The Rosé was actually a superior compliment to the meal than the Riesling or Chardonnay would have been, and the bottle arrived chilled and was later put in an ice bucket. One quirk, though, was that towards the end of the meal service our waitress took it upon herself to lift the bottle out of the ice bucket, shake it vigorously, and then place it back in the ice bucket. When asked, she said something nonsensical about too much water being in the bottle. Was she referring to condensation on the outside of the bottle? Was she unaware that the ice water inside the bucket would make the outside of the bottle wet again? All of this was quite unclear to us, but who knows. Whatever it was she was trying to accomplish, she provided service throughout the meal that was more attentive than I would have expected at a Chinese restaurant.
Overall, Meizhou Dongpo was a hit, and I think with some slight modifications to the order, my parents would have enjoyed it even more! Unfortunately, they were not as fond of their dessert over at Meet Fresh, though they appreciated that new cultural experience.
*EDIT: Apparently my father has been quite effusive about the Brussels sprouts since the meal, to the extent that these may have been his second-favorite dish, and this coming from a man who generally “hates” Brussels sprouts.