On gourmet Gouger Street in the City of Churches, just across from the famous Central Markets and Chinatown, a little place called 'Dumpling and Noodle House' is a place where you can find a meal, for cheap.
We've been going to this place since it was established, what, four or five years ago, but since then, quality has been steadily deteriorating. They used to have thermos filled with tea; complimentary for all patrons and always had an array of condiments including a traditional chili paste, vinegar and soy. But gone are the tea and the paste; which have now been substituted with dried chili in oil... Ah I digress.
Today I've decided to try their Yangzhou Fried Rice!
Yangzhou (or Yeung Chow) fried rice is found in many Chinese restaurants these days and it's the typical Chinese style fried rice you can get. So here's Dumpling and Noodle House's interpretation!
Tasting Notes:
On the nose, only a wisp of charred wok scent which quickly fades to the smell of earthy rice. Tossing the slightly glossed rice, cubes of carrots, corn kernels, spring onion, fried beef, prawns and stalks of bean shoots are presented. On the first mouthful the rice is slightly bland, though the flavour of the egg sneaks through. The saviour of the dish though, is surprisingly, the fried beef, which seemed to have been sweetly fried in rice wine or another flavour of the orient. But over all, leaves the palate underwhelmed.
Though the fried rice was cheap and could feed up to two people, I had to compensate it with some dried chili and a fried dumpling or two (which Dumpling and Noodle House was more known for).
I dunno wassups with them. Perhaps a change in owner, or the change in economic times; the food is consistently going down hill. Evident by the number of customers they had on a busy Friday market shopping night...
Hopefully they can pick up their game once more, or it'll be lost to the gossips of 'cheap eats'.
No comments:
Post a Comment