Tifco's China Bistro

[philadining]

Thanks to a couple of tips here on eGullet, I stopped by Tifco's China Bistro in Exton tonight. Something about the name and the location made me doubt there was serious food here (although it's about 50 yards from Devi). I'm glad I was wrong.

I was presented with a big glossy, colorful menu, which looked fine, Im sure there's some good stuff on it, but none of the more intriguing things I had heard about. So I asked if there was another menu, and indeed, they brought over a simple typed-up, two-sided sheet, in Chinese, with only about half of it translated.

None of the soups were translated, and they were all large servings, so I got a bowl of Szechuan shredded pork and preserved vegetable soup from the regular menu. It was pretty standard stuff, but delicious nonetheless, and with so much pork in it that it was almost a meal by itself.

Beyond that, I ordered some stuff that looked similar to dishes I had enjoyed at Grand Sichuan Int'l up in NY. The cold sliced chicken in a spicy sauce was fantastic, every bit as good as the version I had in Manhattan. A couple different servers came by to make sure that I wanted it, checking that I knew it was cold, and very spicy.

I also ordered Chinese bacon with long green peppers. This was quite tasty, but a little different that I expected. I didn't detect any peppers, instead it had good thick bacon, scallions and snow peas. The version I'd had elsewhere had scallions, hot peppers, and a spicy red oil. Maybe the kitchen was afraid I'd gotten in too deep and substituted snow peas for peppers! The pork was smokier than I've had at most Chinese places, maybe they just use plain American bacon rather than pork belly, no matter, it was good. And there wasn't really any sauce to speak of, but dredging it through some of the chicken sauce was good. It was tasty on its own, but I expected some more heat.

The (owner? manager?) came over to make sure I actually liked everything, saying that the chef was concerned! When I told him I did, he was visibly pleased, and gave me the ultimate thumbs-up, saying I ate "just like Chinese" even though I hadn't ordered anything especially daring.

Although this was only a small sample, everything I had was delicious and well-done. Considering the positive comments from others here on eGullet, I think we can safely say this is one of the better places out in the burbs. And I haven't even gotten food quite like this anywhere downtown. The regular menu might be just fine, but if you want some more unusual stuff, ask for the Szechuan menu, although that still might require some help, as much of it isn't translated.

This would be a really good spot for a group dinner, to better sample a wider variety.

Thanks again to the folks on this list for making me give this a second look. It's going to be a regular destination for me now.

[philadining]

Oh yeah, if you're looking for it, it's in Exton, 163 West Lincoln Highway (rt 30) in the Whiteland Towne Center. The easiest entrance is on rt 100, just north of 30, across from the K-Mart.

610-363-1850

[mrbigjas]

so do you read chinese, or do you think anyone can get the super secret menu?

[philadining]

so do you read chinese, or do you think anyone can get the super secret menu?

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I think anyone can get the secret menu, just ask for it. I do not read Chinese, so much of the page remained a mystery, but some of the items have very basic translations typed beneath. As for the untranslated stuff, there's a decent chance that those items are assumed to appeal only to Chinese eaters. I've seen that at some hole-in-the-wall restaurants, especially in San Francisco, with specials posted on the wall that waiters or waitresses refused to translate, just saying we wouldn't like it. I've never been brave enough to challenge that.

If I had been with a larger group in Exton I would have asked about more than I did, but this being my first visit, I found plenty to choose from. The people are nice, I'm willing to bet they'll tell you what's what.

I don't mean to overstate this cliche, but there was considerable skepticism that I REALLY wanted to order from that menu, but I'll give them credit for not trying to talk me out of it, nor wimping it out for me, the chicken was very spicy. I'm still not sure what happened with the pork, I thought that was supposed to be peppery too, but maybe something got lost in translation. I think it's worth reinforcing that you want it spicy if you do. In the end, they seemed pleased that I ordered and liked the Szechuan items.

Edited April 25, 2005 by philadining (log)

[stephenc]

yeah, on any "chinese menu" you'll always find the neat stuff like tripe, intestines, chicken blood, bitter melon, sea cucumbers, pigs ears and sardines.

[mrbigjas]

last time i was at nam phuong i ordered the bitter melon soup, and the waiter took my order and walked away, and then came back a few minutes later to make sure that i really wanted it.

it's excellent btw. i mean, it is indeed bitter, but not overwhelmingly so. so good. i want some now.

[philadining]

Stephen, you're one of the people who hipped me to the second menu, do you remember anything you ordered from it that was good?

[herbacidal]

so do you read chinese, or do you think anyone can get the super secret menu?

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My experience from working in one place that had 2 menus, and knowing enough people in the Chinese restaurant business, is that any non-Chinese can get the "other" menu if they ask.

The staff's not hiding it on purpose.

Their purpose is to get you to spend your money and eat there so they can get paid.

They don't want to scare you away.

So they play the percentages that most non-Chinese don't want to order from that menu. And are very suprised when someone does.

They don't want you to come away with a negative perception of the place, or they might lose your business.

You have to understand the most important goal of any restaurant, and this is true of Chinese restaurants especially (that's why they're priced low and a little sweeter for the American palate) is to get the customer to spend their money there.

[philadining]

Made another stop at Tifco's China Bistro tonight, and got some more really enjoyable food.

Again, couldn't resist the cold chicken in spicy sauce. This is quite assertively hot, but with a really pleasing, deep chili flavor. My guests and I ate most of it on the spot, because the last time I got this, I learned the hard way that it does not really keep well. I pulled leftovers from the refrigerator a couple days later, and they had morphed into an ill-tempered, nuclear-hot beast that beat me over the head, kicked me in the teeth, maced me, stole my car keys, and laughed about it the whole time. Much better-behaved fresh on the table...

A scallion pancake was ordered as a defense against the heat, and it was OK, but a little too flaky and greasy, not scalliony enough. A minced chicken lettuce-cup thing from the regular menu was quite tasty with some hoisin slathered on, but then almost anything is good with hoisin slathered on.

We were warned that the spicy shoftshell crabs were REALLY spicy, but they weren't. Regardless, they were delicious. Quartered crabs were dusted in a light salty coating and fried crisp. I'm never sure what I think about softshells, and I loved these.

Lamb with Cumin looked rather terrifying, more whole dried red chili peppers than lamb by volume, with some onions and scallion. The slices of lamb looked a bit dessicated, dry-fried with cumin and the peppers. But it was really tasty, the lamb heading toward jerky, but with just enough juiciness to avoid that level of chew. It was spicy, but not overwhelmingly so, as long as you avoided the abundant peppers.

The softshells were a little pricey, about $18 I think, but a good value, there was a big pile of them. I'd say 4 to 6 medium-sized crabs. It was hard to count, as they were chopped-up. Everything else was pretty inexpensive.

Really good stuff.

[percyn]

The beef with spicy green chilies is good too.

[philadining]

Hot weather calls for hot food, so some friends and I sweated it out at Tifco's tonight.

The Lamb with Cumin didn't look quite as terrifying as the other time I had it, you could actually see the meat amidst the dried chiles this time. But it was no less spicy, good bold heat but not so much that it was decimating whole clusters of taste buds. We were thrilled to discover some fried slices of garlic, infused with the cumin and hot pepper, which were almost as good as the lamb which was nice and tender and juicy this time.

Twice-Cooked Pork had approximately the same level of spice, but mostly from thin-sliced green chile peppers, and a generous sprinkling of dried hotter peppers. This was nice slices of fat-streaked pork, with fresh peppers and onions, the spice cutting the richness.

Surprisingly the hottest thing was Ma Po Tofu which featured nice soft cubes of beancurd, minced pork, and a firey sauce.

We also had their Dan Dan Noodles, which were decent, but not especially exciting, and our table's private comedian wolfed down a good portion of the Chow Fun in-between knock-knock jokes, so it must have been pretty good.

I had actually ordered the cold chicken in a spicy sauce as well, but they forgot that, and it's just as well, three adults and a kid barely made it through half of this food.

So, there's good stuff to be had here, with a little digging. Percy, I'm convinced we can find those dumplings if we ask enough times! I'm looking forward to trying some more.

[philadining]

Oh yeah, here's their website:

http://www.china-bistro.com/ which includes both the "main" and the Chinese menu.

[SaxChik]

Oh yeah, here's their website:

http://www.china-bistro.com/ which includes both the "main" and the Chinese menu.

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I know you and the shrimps don't get along well, but their szechuan shrimp is AMAZING! it's just shrimp (big 'uns) and peas with ginger and a great, spicy, very tasty red chili szechuan sauce. it's so good i suggest you ask the server if they can make it with scallops or another substitute just for the sauce. this is on their american menu.

the last time i ate from their chinese menu i got this pork dish that was a lot of pork fat with sweet potatoes. mildly spicy and, aside from the plaque i could feel building up around my heart, very good. i have a lot of chinese friends at work. perhaps i could convince them to join us for dinner one night and explain the menu.

[philadining]

i have a lot of chinese friends at work.  perhaps i could convince them to join us for dinner one night and explain the menu.

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I like this idea: none of the soups on the Chinese menu are translated, and I expect that some of them must be good. And there are a bunch of duck dishes that don't have translations either, and they can't all be tongues or feet... Well, I guess they could be, but they might be good, it would be nice to know how to order them! And we have to find those dumplings for Percy, maybe if someone can pronounce "Zhong Shui Zhao" correctly for us, we'll get somewhere...

[herbacidal]

i have a lot of chinese friends at work.  perhaps i could convince them to join us for dinner one night and explain the menu.

←

I like this idea: none of the soups on the Chinese menu are translated, and I expect that some of them must be good. And there are a bunch of duck dishes that don't have translations either, and they can't all be tongues or feet... Well, I guess they could be, but they might be good, it would be nice to know how to order them! And we have to find those dumplings for Percy, maybe if someone can pronounce "Zhong Shui Zhao" correctly for us, we'll get somewhere...

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Well if you're really adventurous you could just point to one and order it, and then figure it out when it comes out.

I've done similar things in non-Chinese eating establishments.

[handmc]

Since the Chinese Menu is on line, do you think someone from the china forum would translate the menu for us if we sent it to them?

[SaxChik]

Since the Chinese Menu is on line, do you think someone from the china forum would translate the menu for us if we sent it to them?

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so it is! i missed that on my first pass through the website. i'll definitely ask!

thanks!

[SaxChik]

Since the Chinese Menu is on line, do you think someone from the china forum would translate the menu for us if we sent it to them?

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so it is! i missed that on my first pass through the website. i'll definitely ask!

thanks!

←

being the computer geek that i am, i went to http://babelfish.altavista.com and did a loose translation of the chinese menu. it doesn't get all the words right and some don't make sense, but it did translate a good deal of it.

if you'd like a copy (it's a word doc), please email or PM me.

thanks!

lauren

[Furious Flav-or]

Since the Chinese Menu is on line, do you think someone from the china forum would translate the menu for us if we sent it to them?

←

so it is! i missed that on my first pass through the website. i'll definitely ask!

thanks!

←

being the computer geek that i am, i went to http://babelfish.altavista.com and did a loose translation of the chinese menu. it doesn't get all the words right and some don't make sense, but it did translate a good deal of it.

if you'd like a copy (it's a word doc), please email or PM me.

thanks!

lauren

←

You could always host it at http://www.uploadtemple.com/ and post the link here, so long as it's smaller than 30MB. It's a free service.

This looks like a great restaurant, and I'm glad that someone touched upon one of my major complaints about eating Asian food out. If I can pronounce it well enough to be understood, and I ask for it, do you think that maybe, just maybe, I actually want it?

I was told once, after having ordered bun bo hue at International Smokeless (it was late, everyone else was closed or closing) and then complaining when it was served and half of it wasn't there, that "you people don't eat that stuff."

"You people"? I've never been back.

Edited July 24, 2005 by Furious Flav-or (log)

[percyn]

After hearing Philadining (check out his website here ) rave about Tifco and SaxChik's last post, I had an impromptu urge to give this place another shot and I am glad I did, as it changed my opinion !!

It was suprisingly empty for lunchtime on a weekend (perhaps the great weather was to blame), but most other clientel were Asian.

I asked for the Chinese menu, which they provided....along with the regular American menu...for as they said..."just in case"

I was determined to try a few dishes...

Dish # 1 - Chaoshuo - although Tifco has a version which added chicken broth, which I find just acts as a transport vehicle for the spicy sauce to float on and hit you in the throat.

the version of Chaoshuo I am used to ordering looks like this..

Dish # 2 - Ja Ja Mein (sp?) (Tifco calls it spaghetti with minced pork - #21) which was pretty good and close to what I am used to getting at other Sichuan places I respect, (though not as spicy)

Dish # 3 - Cold Chicken in Spicy sauce (#7 on their Chinese menu), which I must say was the highlight of the day. Not only is a big bowl of boneless chicken, but the sauce is just outstanding and lives up to its name.

Moreover, this is very close to the sauce I am used to in Chaoshuo, so I made my over version of it and it was good....

While there are still other things I want to try, I was only able to make my way through 1/2 of those dishes, until the rest of them came home with me to not only become part of my dinner, but I plan to use some of that spicy chicken in my breakfast (with loose scrambled eggs)

Through the course of my visit, the wait-staff asked me where I had learnt about the Chinese dishes, asked if I had visited China and I even saw a person from the kitchen (who I presume was the chef) come to the "front of the house" (this could have been a co-incidence, but I wonder how often his food is photographed by patrons). So when I read the fortune in the namesake cookie, it almost seemed planted

All in all, it was a great visit and I am glad I gave this place another shot, as it has some of my favorite dishes (or close to them). Next on my list - #7 : Beef and Tripes in hot sauce.

Cheers

Percy

Edited July 24, 2005 by percyn (log)

[philadining]

   

Dish # 1 - Chaoshuo - although Tifco has a version which added chicken broth, which I find just acts as a transport vehicle for the spicy sauce to float on and hit you in the throat.

I am SO psyched that those are what we suspected! Thanks for finding them. Are those #18 or #19? I'm guessing #19...

18. chicken soups won tons (Chinese wonton in chicken broth) $5.95

19. red oils won tons (Spicy wonton in chicken broth) $5.95

   

Dish # 3 - Cold Chicken in Spicy sauce (#7 on their Chinese menu), which I must say was the highlight of the day. Not only is a big bowl of boneless chicken, but the sauce is just outstanding and lives up to its name. 

I've liked several things here, but this is still my fave, and I might even venture to say that iI like it better than the version that I had at Grand Sichuan International in NY, which features shredded chicken. I'd be curious to know how it works as leftovers for you, I once left it for a couple of days and I just couldn't eat it, the spice had just gotten SO out of hand. But at least served fresh, that sauce is just incredible.

Percy, I could be wrong, but I think the chef is a woman, I noticed she came out to make sure I was actually eating the dishes I ordered the first time I was there. But there's surely more than one person in the kitchen, I'm not sure who's the head chef.

We could post the translation that SaxChik got from Babblefish, but as any machine translation from any language to another, there are lots of inaccuracies, which I think could be counterproductive. Although some of them are pretty hilarious:

71. daily family activities tendons $14.95

31. onions fragrant to burn the fish willow tree (Fish w/ Chef's ginger sauce) $15.95

14. onions regains consciousness the pomfret $7.95

and the one I like so much, it's becoming a personal mantra:

17. hot rabbits Ding $7.95

I've gotten similarly insane phrases by translating from English to German and back, so this is not any disparagement of the language on the menu, I'm sure it makes complete sense to a native speaker, idioms and all.

I suspect between us here on eGullet we can get pretty close to what Herbacidal suggests, just eat everything... report back what it was, and how it was!

Let's get started!!

Edited July 24, 2005 by philadining (log)

[SaxChik]

Since the Chinese Menu is on line, do you think someone from the china forum would translate the menu for us if we sent it to them?

←

so it is! i missed that on my first pass through the website. i'll definitely ask!

thanks!

←

being the computer geek that i am, i went to http://babelfish.altavista.com and did a loose translation of the chinese menu. it doesn't get all the words right and some don't make sense, but it did translate a good deal of it.

if you'd like a copy (it's a word doc), please email or PM me.

thanks!

lauren

←

You could always host it at http://www.uploadtemple.com/ and post the link here, so long as it's smaller than 30MB. It's a free service.

This looks like a great restaurant, and I'm glad that someone touched upon one of my major complaints about eating Asian food out. If I can pronounce it well enough to be understood, and I ask for it, do you think that maybe, just maybe, I actually want it?

I was told once, after having ordered bun bo hue at International Smokeless (it was late, everyone else was closed or closing) and then complaining when it was served and half of it wasn't there, that "you people don't eat that stuff."

"You people"? I've never been back.

←

hey, that's a neat site! thanks! here's the link to the menu ... http://www.uploadtemple.com/view.php/1122239219.doc. please understand that some of these are direct translations and give little clue to what the dish actually is. :)

to that, i say "hot rabbits, DING"!

lauren

[percyn]

... I'd be curious to know how it works as leftovers for you, I once  left it for a couple of days and I just couldn't eat it, the spice had just gotten SO out of hand. But at least served fresh, that sauce is just incredible.

Well, my tolerance for spicy stuff is on the high side, but even so I had to follow up eating the 2 day old cold chicken, which was marinating in the spicy sauce, with a small bowl of plain yogurt to protect my intestinal lining.

[percyn]

A follow-through on my promise of topping scrambled eggs with the cold chicken can be found here. It really tasted yummmmy !!

[philadining]

Late night at work...need some incentive to continue....I know! Tifco! (Hot Rabbits, ding!)

I got some take-out to munch on while working, attempting to keep the sauce off of the mouse, and the hot peppers out of the keyboard. Moderate success.

As usual, I got way more food than I could ever eat, but I'm totally into the leftover thing, as long as those chile peppers don't somehow reach critical mass, and create a small nuclear incident in my refrigerator.

3- Pepper Chicken: Chicken with bell pepper, hot pepper and pickled pepper (#43).

Enough peppers for ya? This had a nice vinegary bite, and I didn't find a whole lot of bell peppers, just hot fresh, dried and pickled. This is a bit soupy, and the chicken is sliced, but in weird clumps... nonetheless, I like it, I'd get it again, especially in a crowd.

Red-Roasted Pork: Homemade stewed Pork (#56)

This was right on the edge of too fatty for me, but it was so tasty... It was big chunks of fatty pork belly, sometimes an inch or more square. I don't mind this fat ratio in thinner slices, but the sheer expanse of pork fat in some of these cubes was a little daunting. But much of it was pretty balanced with lean, and so a hearty serving of this was no worse than eating an entire pound of bacon in one sitting... There's really no vegetables in this, just pork, pork, more pork, and a nice deep, thick, red stewy sauce, with overtones of ginger, star anise, and chile.

I'm confident the pork is going to get better the more I reheat it. Not sure about the chicken, that really might be getting ornery over time.

Edited July 30, 2005 by philadining (log)