MOE: DC - The Whole Beast Looks East

[Gastro888]

We have all sworn to respect and abide by eGullet policies at this event and plan on being on our best behavior. 

As the Organizing Member, I hereby assign the thread on paper-wrapped chopsticks in Chinese restaurants as required reading for all planning to attend. 

The link will be added some time in the very near future.

Now, we are supposed to slurp our noodles, right?  Or is that only in Japan?

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I'm sorry I kinda ranted there. It's just a HUGE pet peeve of mine and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up every time it's done in a restaurant. There's no excuse for it!

Well, I can only speak for my family's traditions and that being said for us, it's really rude to be slurping your noodles loudly. But I know it's OK in Japan.

[Pontormo]

One person cancelled. There is one space. Kindly PM Busboy instead of me since I have a dead computer. Please PM questions to him as well or post them here. Sorry, but I cannot guarentee I will be able to respond. I look forward to seeing those who reserved a spot on Saturday at 7 PM!

[hjshorter]

You don't see me drumming out "Hot Blooded" with my steak knife at a restaurant, do you?

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Foreigner is never appropriate.

Can anyone tell me what "Sweet & Sour Pamphlet" might be? I am envisioning something like Thomas Paine's Common Sense, in sauce.

[DanielK]

Can anyone tell me what "Sweet & Sour Pamphlet" might be?  I am envisioning something like Thomas Paine's Common Sense, in sauce. 

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Do you mean Pomfret?

[hjshorter]

Can anyone tell me what "Sweet & Sour Pamphlet" might be?  I am envisioning something like Thomas Paine's Common Sense, in sauce. 

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Do you mean Pomfret?

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That would make much more sense. I believe the menu does say "pamphlet" though.

[DanielK]

That would make much more sense.  I believe the menu does say "pamphlet" though. 

I wonder if they updated the menu? Mine says pomfret...

Busboy/Pomtormo - did we pre-arrange a menu, or are we ordering a la carte when we get there? The few times I've been, Bob himself has been very happy to help pick some items. With a 12-person table, should we just turn the reins over to him?

[Busboy]

That would make much more sense.  I believe the menu does say "pamphlet" though.  

I wonder if they updated the menu? Mine says pomfret...

Busboy/Pomtormo - did we pre-arrange a menu, or are we ordering a la carte when we get there? The few times I've been, Bob himself has been very happy to help pick some items. With a 12-person table, should we just turn the reins over to him?

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This is Pontormo's gig so I can't answer but it sounds like a good idea to me. My biggest worry would be that Bob cheats towards the boring, figuring that in a group of anglo newbies there's no room on the table for more exotic -- or, what some might call, icky -- dishes. Not that I'm a glutton for duck intestines or anything (or want to force such stuff on others), or that I don't have deep and abiding love for even such pedestrian fare as a good plate of General Tso's or shrimp fried rice, but I'd like to be sure that we cover the full spectrum.

Perhaps we should take a quick poll among ourselves upon arrival and see what we think? In the mean time, if anyone has any "must haves" or "can't be in the same room with's" that they know of now, they can post it here.

I'm assuming that anyone who calls themselves "Haggis Man" is down for anything, but everyone else can weigh in, as well.

PS Thanks, Gastro888, for the duck tongue tips.

[Malawry]

I am normally gleefully omnivorous, but right now have a comparatively narrow range of foods I can tolerate. I have absolutely no issue with anything people want appearing on the table, and I am also absolutely certain I will find plenty of things that appeal to me on the table no matter what shows up. I agree with Busboy that we don't want dumbed-down food...we can get that at one of the better Chinese-American places like Meiwah if that's what we're after.

[DanielK]

My biggest worry would be that Bob cheats towards the boring, figuring that in a group of anglo newbies there's no room on the table for more exotic -- or, what some might call, icky -- dishes.

Just the opposite, in my opinion - Bob loves to tell you "oh, you can get that anywhere - try this instead."

One note - though we'd normally all bring sufficient cash, you MUST do so at Bob's - they do not take plastic.

[Pontormo]

Hi, you all.

Well, while I await the fate of my hard drive, let me pipe up on this usurped computer to say that Busboy and I didn't know how many would be interested in this event. Therefore, I elected not to pre-order.

Another reason I made that decision is the fact that main-course soups are a specialty. (Saturday is not supposed to be particularly blustery; snow's coming the following Wednesday according to forecasts.)

FYI: The take-out menu says "pamphlet"--i.e. for a lunch special. There may be new, revised menus.

Our reservation is confirmed. Bob is expecting twelve of us.

[Pontormo]

P.S. Alas, alack, alay Haggis Man will NOT be joining us.

He chickened out---or as he CLAIMS rubber-chickened out due to some sort of other obligation.

This is the reason I urged any ONE member to send a PM to Busboy for that one last spot that is empty now.

At least, I think it still is....

[Pontormo]

Oh, and one last thing:

Post here if you WANT me to call Bob's again and ask him to do that little thing he does, mindful that one of us is pregnant, the rest of us adventurous and wishing to eat tongues and (me) ears.

Otherwise, I will simply wait until we're all there, make sure we're all there and accounted for, and see what on-site concensus proves to be.

[hjshorter]

Post here if you WANT me to call Bob's again and ask him to do that little thing he does, mindful that one of us is pregnant, the rest of us adventurous and wishing to eat tongues and (me) ears.

Otherwise, I will simply wait until we're all there, make sure we're all there and accounted for, and see what on-site concensus proves to be.

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I'd prefer to order a la carte. Tongue is not high on my list of favorite things.

[DanielK]

We can get there, speak to Bob, and have him suggest things - we don't have to do a "take it or leave it" full meal.

And I like the tongues.

[Robert_Thornton]

I like DanielK's approach, it seems reasonable and gives the group some flexibility....

And I'd like to try tongue!

rob t.

[My Confusing Horoscope]

My wife and I would like to expand our horizons, so some suggestions from Bob would be good for us. We're doing our homework, though, and could probably order a la carte if that is what we as a group decide.

Soup sounds like a good choice, and a whole fish for good luck. There's a pork "burger" that sounds good, and an egg and oyster casserole, if I remember right. Not "musts," by any means.

Looking forward to it!

[DanielK]

Soup sounds like a good choice, and a whole fish for good luck. There's a pork "burger" that sounds good, and an egg and oyster casserole, if I remember right. Not "musts," by any means.

Looking forward to it!

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A whole fish (probably 2, if we're 12 people) is definitely a must. Partially because that's a traditional New Year dish, but mostly because they're freakin fabulous there. I've also had the "burger" and the egg & oyster pancake, and they're both good.

Another "must" is the shaved ice dessert.

[rosebud]

Mr. Rosebud is far more adventurous than I am. There are just some things I can't bring myself to eat--if I know what they are . I expect we will find things to make all of us happy.

Barbara

[Haggis man]

If anyone would like to trade places for Saturday Night?????

P.S.  Alas, alack, alay Haggis Man will NOT be joining us.

He chickened out---or as he CLAIMS rubber-chickened out due to some sort of other obligation.

This is the reason I urged any ONE member to send a PM to Busboy for that one last spot that is empty now.

At least, I think it still is....

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[hjshorter]

If anyone would like to trade places for Saturday Night?????

P.S.  Alas, alack, alay Haggis Man will NOT be joining us.

He chickened out---or as he CLAIMS rubber-chickened out due to some sort of other obligation.

This is the reason I urged any ONE member to send a PM to Busboy for that one last spot that is empty now.

At least, I think it still is....

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What's the deal? If it's child care - no way. Even eating tongue is better than dealing with my 3-year-old these days.

[hjshorter]

We can get there, speak to Bob, and have him suggest things - we don't have to do a "take it or leave it" full meal.

And I like the tongues. 

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More tongue for you then. It's a pretty arbitrary line, but I don't cross it. Other than that I am willing to let Bob make some suggestions.

[Gastro888]

Tongues aren't as bad as you might think they are. Duck's tongues are small and manageable, unlike the huge honking monster of a beast that cow's tongues are. And they don't have that offal taste, either. C'mon, if you eat pate, you should definitely be able to eat duck tongue.

Duck tongues are a great example of the Chinese fascination with texture and mouthfeel. We eat things because:

1. It brings us good luck

2. It is good for us

3. It tastes good

4. It's got great texture

5. We don't know what it tastes like and are extremely curious and want to find out if it's edible cause when you got over a billion people...(I semi-kid)

When they're well prepared, they are little uncutous bits of gelatinous heaven coated (in my personal favorite) in a rich, dark black bean sauce. YUM!

[Malawry]

My husband and I really enjoyed the food and company at last night's dinner. I did manage to eat everything except the duck tongues and the pig's ear, but that meant that the only really different thing I sampled was the loofah (which was a delicious, green, mild plate of simplicity). The highlight for me was definitely the flounder steak with its sweet-sour-salty sauce and onions...I think between me and my spouse we polished off about half of that huge dish. Busboy called the sauce "Chinese ketchup," I guess due to its sweetness, but I didn't think it was cloying and what the hell, I have a massive sweet tooth.

Other hits from my perspective:

The tofu skin roll, stuffed with fish cake

The oyster pancake, more like an oyster omelet, rich and eggy with plump oysters throughout

Sauteed baby short ribs in black pepper sauce, fragrant and very peppery

Bob himself made several appearances to help us guide our menu choices, and obviously Pontormo had done a great job of preparing him for the onslaught of eGullet folk.

Many many thanks to Pontormo for putting together this dinner. We really enjoyed ourselves and look forward to returning to the restaurant in the future.

BTW, if you ever go to Bob's, check out Aji Ichiban in the same strip of shops. They sell quite an unusual variety of dried fruits and vegetables, including about 20 types of dried plums. There are samples of most items. They also have cute little Asian candies...I was tempted by the firecracker-shaped chocolates. As a ginger freak, I was very happy to discover the puckery-hot experience of candied lemon ginger...I had to buy some to take home as a snack. Yummy. The store is tiny but there's a lot of cool stuff packed in there.

[My Confusing Horoscope]

Agreed!

It was nice meeting fellow eGullet folks, and Malawry's description is right on. Thanks, Pontormo. Our Year of the Dog is off to a great start!

Did anybody have the chicken and ginger casserole? That was pretty good, too.

Our favorites were the ribs, the rockfish (head on), the flounder steak, and the oyster omelette. We'll be visiting again. Big menu. Gotta try pamphlet!

[hjshorter]

Bob was very accommodating, quick with explanations of various dishes and advice on how much to order. The oyster pancake was my favorite, followed by the crispy squid with fried basil, and the Taiwanese burger. I never got any of the Rockfish, but the crispy sizzling flounder was excellent. The short ribs were ok, but in general I like my heat from chilis and not black pepper.

Big, big thanks to Pontormo for organizing and broadening our horizons.

And what a deal. More food than we could eat, plus tax and tip for $16 each.