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Random eats. Yes, as much as I'm all for food adventures, sometimes it can result in washroom adventures afterwards. So generally, we tend to research before visiting. However, we didn't such a thing as we headed out to Edmonds. After checking out the available restaurant nearby, we settled on Lui's Chinese a few blocks North. This location has been an ever-changing rotation of restaurants since I could remember. We just hoped it wouldn't be a rotation of washroom breaks...
We ended up getting our own dishes and sharing one. For myself, I had the Seafood Fried Noodles. This was a huge portion with properly fried noodles that were crunchy but not greasy at all. On top, there was just enough starch-thickened sauce to soften the middle portion of the noodles while ensuring the rest retained its texture. There was a bevy of ingredients that were not overcooked. JuJu went for the Scrambled Eggs and Beef on Rice that featured a silky starch-thickened sauce that was balanced. The ample slices of beef were tenderized enough so it was easy to chew while not losing any meat texture.
Milhouse went for the Tomato & Beef on Rice which arrived looking more like a sweet & sour sauce. Well, it had the sweet part down pat where the starch-thickened sauce was thick and as mentioned sweet. We would've liked to see more tartness and actual natural tomato flavour that is often associated with this dish. Predictably, the beef, just like the one in JuJu's order, was tender while having a meaty chew. Kaiser Soze decided on the Hot & Sour Soup Noodles. While the wonton-type noodles were chewy and cooked just right, the soup base itself was a bit out-of-balance with lots of vinegar, but not enough spice to match.
For our shared plate, we had the Fish & Tofu Hot Pot. This was exhibited flawless execution as the fillets of basa were moist and flaky with only a thin layer of batter. The tofu was silky and slightly crisp on the outside. The sauce was well-balanced and not overly salty. As much as there were definite flaws in certain dishes, the food as a whole was decent enough to warrant another visit for dinner sometime. Best of all, we walked out as healthy as we walked in. Random food adventure was fairly successful.
The Good:
- Inexpensive
- Decent value
The Bad:
- Some flavours could be more balanced
- We didn't like the frosted glass, was kinda dark inside
As one of the restaurants participating in the Fried Chicken Challenge, I decided to bring the whole family out for a complete meal rather than going it alone. This was as good as any time to revisit U & I Thai since my last post was over 2 years ago. Besides, the only way my kids could expand their repertoire of cuisines is to avoid eating at White Spot all the time. Well, my daughter doesn't have much of a problem there, but my son still would order Mac n' Cheese every time if he had his choice.
We did start with something we knew he'd like in the Jumbo Prawns in a Blanket (Goong Hom Pas). With smallish prawns wrapped in crispy yellow noodles, the dish looked impressive. Well, the noodles were rather crunchy while not showing any ill effects from the deep-fry (lack of grease). However, the prawns were rubbery since the noodles didn't provide enough of a coating to protect it from the hot oil. As for the featured dish for the Fried Chicken Challenge, the Pacific Green featured Thai-style fried chicken with snowpeas, spinach, basil, ginger bean thread noodles and coconut milk. The processed meat exhibited a rebound texture with some brightness from the ingredients. I found it lacking a bit of moisture and overall impact. However, the sweet dip did help alleviate the problem to a degree.
For the kiddies, we got the Chicken Satay because we knew it was safe and they would eat it. By virtue of employing white meat, the satay skewers were a touch dry. The flavours were mild, but there was evidence of coconut milk and the faintest amount of spice. I enjoyed the aromatic peanut sauce as it was neither too sweet nor salty. It was rich and smooth. Next, the obligatory Pad Thai was rather saucy (hence the noodles were soft) and full of ingredients. Although it was prepared with tamarind, we felt there wasn't enough of it as the tang was in the background rather than in our faces. However, the bits of pickled turnip helped in that regard as well as the squeeze of lime.
Onto 2 dishes that were mainly for the adults, we got the Duck Red Curry with lychee. We asked for it to be mild (just in case the kids wanted some) and it was as such. Lightly creamy, coconutty with sweetness and a touch of spice, this was an appealing curry. We would've liked to see more tender pieces of duck though (as it was hard to find). Rich and creamy, the Chicken Green Curry was rather spicy for mild (but that was okay with us). There was a hint of seafoodiness to go with the good balance of saltiness and sweetness. Interestingly, the side of coconut rice was rather small for the generous amount of curry. Much like our previous visit to U & I Thai, our conclusion remains the same - acceptable food with generous portions.
*2 appies were comped*
The Good:
- Well-portioned
- Comfortable environment
The Bad:
- Flavours could be more bold (and we're not talking about the spice level)
- Things were generally overdone
It's not often that I immediately blog about a restaurant visit for the next day's post. One particular scenario would be incredible eats that I must tell everyone about such as AnnaLena in yesterday's post. The other reason would be something so hideous and gross that I had to tell everyone to avoid, such as today's post on Deacon's Corner (Kits location). Yes, I'm giving you the conclusion before even the actual post, but trust me, you aren't missing much (but please read on anyways!).
Okay, the reason we were at Deacon's Corner was due to a Groupon. Thanks goodness because if I had paid full price, I would've been even more choked. Anyways, my son went for the Classic Cheeseburger with house-cut fries. Well, the fries were decent but could've been crispier and less oil-logged. As for the burger, the bun was toasted up nicely, but the meat patty was woefully dry. Since my son doesn't eat anything green in colour, we removed them. Viv ate the veggies and remarked that the mayo tasted funny (more on that later). We also got a cup of Chili which was more smoky than spicy. In fact, it was too smoky where the rest of the flavours were hidden. The whole thing needed salt too.
Okay, here is where things started to go downhill faster than VW stocks. I went for the Southern Fried Chicken featuring 3 chicken breasts. Okay, the chicken itself was decently moist, but also very bland. The coating was plain terrible. It was thick and doughy with a marzipan quality to it. It didn't taste like anything and merely slid off the chicken on contact. It was pretty gross since the inside was undercooked too. Even the gravy was terrible tasting more like raw flour. To top it all off, the coleslaw tasted like dirty bathwater... Why? Because the mayo had gone bad which validated Viv's comment. Her Jambalaya was equally disgusting as it was a mushy mess of stuff that didn't taste anything like a jambalaya. It was overly tart and bland. Even the sausage was sour. The side of "garlic" bread tasted like plain butter.
If we didn't think things could get worse, my daughter's Pan-Fried Salmon featured low-quality pink salmon that was obliterated. It was so woefully overcooked, that it would be jealous of canned tuna. Oh, that wasn't just it, the darn thing didn't even taste like anything. Even the side veggies (which was cooked correctly) were drenched in enough butter for Kramer to slather himself in (the turkey episode...). Gawd, the mash potatoes sucked too with far too much butter. OMG. What a #foodadventurefail! Normally, I'm pretty fair to restaurants because there are so many variables. But this was just an awful meal. Did they not try their own food before they put it on the menu? I'm glad this post is up so soon because if they continue serving this stuff, they won't last long.
The Good:
- Service was decent
- Cool decor
The Bad:
- Food is terrible
- Expensive for terrible food
Posts
Random eats. Yes, as much as I'm all for food adventures, sometimes it can result in washroom adventures afterwards. So generally, we tend to research before visiting. However, we didn't such a thing as we headed out to Edmonds. After checking out the available restaurant nearby, we settled on Lui's Chinese a few blocks North. This location has been an ever-changing rotation of restaurants since I could remember. We just hoped it wouldn't be a rotation of washroom breaks...
We ended up getting our own dishes and sharing one. For myself, I had the Seafood Fried Noodles. This was a huge portion with properly fried noodles that were crunchy but not greasy at all. On top, there was just enough starch-thickened sauce to soften the middle portion of the noodles while ensuring the rest retained its texture. There was a bevy of ingredients that were not overcooked. JuJu went for the Scrambled Eggs and Beef on Rice that featured a silky starch-thickened sauce that was balanced. The ample slices of beef were tenderized enough so it was easy to chew while not losing any meat texture.
Milhouse went for the Tomato & Beef on Rice which arrived looking more like a sweet & sour sauce. Well, it had the sweet part down pat where the starch-thickened sauce was thick and as mentioned sweet. We would've liked to see more tartness and actual natural tomato flavour that is often associated with this dish. Predictably, the beef, just like the one in JuJu's order, was tender while having a meaty chew. Kaiser Soze decided on the Hot & Sour Soup Noodles. While the wonton-type noodles were chewy and cooked just right, the soup base itself was a bit out-of-balance with lots of vinegar, but not enough spice to match. 
For our shared plate, we had the Fish & Tofu Hot Pot. This was exhibited flawless execution as the fillets of basa were moist and flaky with only a thin layer of batter. The tofu was silky and slightly crisp on the outside. The sauce was well-balanced and not overly salty. As much as there were definite flaws in certain dishes, the food as a whole was decent enough to warrant another visit for dinner sometime. Best of all, we walked out as healthy as we walked in. Random food adventure was fairly successful.
