So yeah. I get it. New Yorkers are frackin' proud, and they darn well should be. OW-HEVER, there is one thing that I never understood their pride in: Chinese food.
I blame Sex and the City and any other TV show/movie that over-idealizes New York and involves trendy female New Yorkers, crying over dirtbag boyfriends in their super posh (but TOTALLY affordable and completely realistic!) apartments with their best gal pals, a bottle of vodka, and of course Chinese takeout, eaten straight from the box.
*sigh* What a romantic image.
And I'm absolutely NOT saying New York City Chinese food isn't good. On the contrary, it is EXCELLENT. But guess what? Unlike the ever allusive pizza slice, bagel, and old timey photos of construction workers eating lunch on beams of skyscrapers with no harness or anything, I'm going to go out on a limb and say most other cities are fully capable of doing Chinese food well. And H-Tizzy is no exception.
Can I say H-Tizzy? No?
I however had not had any Chinese food since I'd been back, which means I've not had any Chinese food in FIVE MONTHS. I'm sorry, what? No that cannot be correct, let me re-do the math. April to May, May to June, June to July, July to August, August to...
Nope. FIVE MONTHS.
Needless to say, my unintended abstinence from Chinese food was long overdue. Determined to feed the flame (I actually don't think that phrase is applicable here), I ordered takeout from Shanghai River Restaurant in Upper Kirby the other night. And once again, all was right with the world.
First of all, the place is seriously cool inside, which is unassuming since (true to H-Tizzy form) it is located in a little strip center. You enter through a giant monstrosity of a red door, go through a closed off entryway with a large statue/fountain, and then step into the main, darkly lit, nicely decorated restaurant.
Phenomenal.
So I started with egg drop soup, which is actually an unusual move for me (I usually stick with the wonton variety). It was nice and tasty, but it was a little too thick for me. The thickness did not deter me, because the flavor was excellent, but I didn't eat too much of it, out of fear of it being too filling (Chinese food? Filling? I must be losing my mind).
Then it was a free-for-all of beef with broccoli, brown rice, and chicken lo mein dumped into my mouth.
I have to admit I inhaled the first round too quickly to even think, realized I had to make some form of sound judgment on the food, and thus helped myself to a second plate.
It was all delicious. The beef with broccoli, in my opinion, needed some more sauce, but it was pretty standard and did not disappoint.
The chicken lo mein was excellent. It had whole small mushrooms in it that really shone nicely through the dish, as well as long cuts of green onions. Superb. So superb that two hours later I helped myself to some more of it.
So that's three dinners for anyone who's counting. I had three dinners that night.
Perhaps the occasional abstinence from Chinese food is not such a bad thing after all...
No it is a bad thing. I should eat Chinese food always, and I'd be absolutely fine if it was from Shanghai River Restaurant in Good Old H-Tizzy. Was it the best Chinese I've ever had? No, but it was darn good and definitely hit the [Chinese takeout] spot.
Even Carrie and Miranda would be impressed.
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