Dinner @ Ming Dynasty

*Restaurant is now closed*

There was a time when we would meet Costanza and Elaine for regular eats.  Heck, we would go catch a movie and grab late night bubble tea as well.  Ah yes, that was before the kiddies arrived.  Oh the memories...  Now, in order to meet up for dinner, it requires moving heaven and Earth to get that scheduled.  We finally thought there was a day that worked for all of us, yet ultimately Viv couldn't make it.  Whatever, I decided to go anyways.  Passing up an eating opportunity is akin to giving up a prime parking spot to someone else at Parker Place.  Not gonna happen.

Since I brought my son with me, it was a given we'd order the Peking Duck. It was pretty obvious that it was oil basted (or fried) since it came out so quick, but in the end, the skin had a nice rich colour and was lightly crispy.  They left a substantial amount of meat, which was moist, on each piece.  The layer of duck fat was neither horrendous nor negligible - it was somewhere in between.  The crepes were a touch chewy, but not dried out and did not stick to each other.  We got another kiddie favourite (and we had 3 kids at the table) being the Shrimp and Scrambled Eggs was a pretty decent dish with crunchy butterflied shrimp and mostly soft eggs.  It was probably overdone by just a few seconds which left some clumpier pieces that were not as soft.  It was aggressively seasoned, yet hardly salty.

Next up was the Seafood & Tofu Hot Pot which consisted of a well-prepared seafood included basa, shrimp, squid and scallops.  The tofu had a silken quality to it and was fried just enough that there was a "skin" on the exterior to prevent breakage. Costanza's kids really love the Peking Pork Chops, but for some odd reason, the English name in the menu was Pork Chops with Worcestershire Sauce.  Yes, there is Worcestershire in there, but weird name nonetheless.  Luckily Elaine could read the Chinese name. We found the dish well-executed with manageable pieces which maintained their tenderness despite being fried.  The pork was properly tenderized where it was easy to chew while maintaining a meatiness.  Although there was a bit too much sauce, it was well-balanced with a nice shade of red, nice tang, a hint of Worcestershire and sweetness.

Getting our veggie intake, we got the Stir-Fried Gai Lan with Garlic which was chopped up in an interesting style where each stalk was cut diagonally into thin strips.  This way, it was probably cooked a lot faster.  However, the main benefit from our end was the size of each piece - very easy to eat.  Loved the fact they did not overcook it where each slice retained a crunch.  Interestingly, there was more ginger than garlic. Lastly, the Duck Lettuce Wrap was generously graced with big chunks of moist duck meat.  The dish exhibited good wok heat with no pool of water on the bottom of the plate while providing a mild flavour.  The thing we didn't like was the rather haphazard presentation of the lettuce, especially the top piece which was discoloured. Overall, the meal was pretty solid at a reasonable price ($88.00).  We wondered why the place was not busier...

The Good:
- Reasonably-priced
- Decent eats
- Decent service

The Bad:
- The place was pretty empty for a weekend night, it was very strange
- Parking lot is small, but there is lots of street parking