That's right - This year's season of The Bachelor started!!!!!!! Oh, the tears! Oh, the deception! Oh, the over-the-top plans of trying to make a man fall in love with you by pretending you're pregnant! If you missed it, never fear because I live-tweeted the whole thing!
I should be completely embarrassed by this, correct?
And what could be more perfect than watching the creme de la creme of trashy TV with wine, Chinese takeout, your sister, and your sister's best friend Paige who she's been inseparable with since they were basically fetuses?
Wow, I promise never to use the word "fetus" in a post about food ever again.
...Okay, that's a promise I probably can't keep.
But hey, even my Fortune Cookie knew what was up: "You should enhance your feminine side at this time." Fortune Cookie, you have got my number.
(The only more perfect fortune I've ever received was one time when I was trying to open a cookie, dropped it on the floor, it broke, and I opened it to read: "You are very good with your hands." True story.)
On this monumental night, we discovered my new favorite neighborhood Chinese Takeout joint - Hunan Village!
Or as we endearingly referred to it, "An Vi." Sounds kind of French. I dig it.
Hunan Village's prices are INSANE. That was the initial attraction. $10 dinner specials that include an egg roll, fried rice, AND your choice of egg drop, wonton, or hot and sour soup.
We did a smorgasbord family-style set up (like you do), and I was pleasantly surprised at the overall great quality of the food.
The Egg Roll (not pictured. I ate it too fast.) was ra-healllly good. It was super flavorful, and generously stuffed. A very upstanding egg roll, if I do say so myself!
We also ordered Crab Puffs to share, and OH. MY. They were perfectly fluffy and delicious on the inside, and beautifully crispy on the outside. These were some awesome puffs.
Next up were the Barbecue Spare Ribs, which I'll be honest, were not my favorite. I think they needed a little more sauce. They were still good, but not nearly as bomb-diggity as everything else.
When I first bit into the Pork Lo Mein, I thought, "This is very good, standard lo mein." Nothing exceptional, but solid. A few more bites in I realized it actually was, in fact, exceptional. You know how sometimes pork can seem a little, I don't know...questionable? Well this pork was, without question, the best pork I've ever had in lo mein. Really good stuff.
Because my sister is literally incapable of eating any meal that does not include shrimp, she ordered the Shrimp with Garlic Sauce dinner. This was AWESOME. It was so juicy and flavorful, and packed a nice little spicy punch at the end.
Hunan Village is the real deal. I am so happy to have learned about this super cheap, super unassuming, super AWESOME Chinese food joint.
[I was not nearly as happy to have learned this week that if your dishwasher is broken, and you know nothing about dishwashers, but decide to try to "fix it yourself" (DON'T DO IT), do not EVER touch the round bar thing at the bottom because it is hotter than the sun. Just looking out for you guys, have a great weekend!]
369 on Westheimer is my Chinese take out go to. Killer fried pork dumplings.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip - 369 was actually our other option for that night so I will be sure to try it next time!
DeleteOkay I went here after reading your post (Erik and I were craving Chinese food and intended to go to House of Bowls...but then it got late and we didn't want to drive so far...) and OMG their dumplings are so.good. We got 4 veggie and 4 chicken (perfect for the vegetarian/non!) and their soy meat is WONDROUS! I actually double checked with the waiter to make sure that the sesame chicken I was eating was, indeed, vegetarian. This is my new favorite hole in the wall Chinese place--thanks so much for recommending it!!
ReplyDeleteThat's great, I'm so glad to hear it Erika!! Again, you just might be the one to get me to like tofu... :)
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