We’ve been hearing the rumors about China Mama for a couple of years now.
“Not as good as it used to be.”
“Nothing like it once was.”
“Fallen way off.”
“They’re using store bought, frozen xiao long bao, now.”
And on and on it has gone, with most of these reports coming in from our regs, loval readers, and other trusted foodie friends.
Niu-Gu is an experiment of sorts. In the few months it has been open, it has gone from a simple noodle parlor, with a limited menu of Chinese soups and starches, to a full service restaurant serving everything from the formal farm-to-cup Chinese tea service to the best, freshest friggin’ fish we’ve ever had in Chinatown:
(Silky, rich, true Pacific black cod)
How well they succeed is going to tell us a lot about just how sophisticated people want their Asian food to be.
(Many remain skeptical of the price-to-value benefit of this bird)
ELV note: When he isn’t saving children’s lives, Dr. Mark is a frequent visitor to Vegas and one of our “regs.” He’s also one of those food lovers who eats to live and lives to eat, so his thoughtful opinions are always welcome, even if they happen to disagree with our own, infallible, unimpeachable, invariable finicality. To say he was less than impressed with Mr. Chow is an understatement. To say that the Mr. Chow Peking Duck Experience might be a tad heavy on the wallet, the waistline and the pretension is something he and I might be able to agree upon. Next time he’s in town, we will have to get a group and go peek in on this Peking duck together. In the meantime, read and decide for yourself.
Dear ELV,
Sometimes, things turn out just as you expect. Sometimes, they can even be far, far worse. I met up with an old friend in town on a recent Friday night. Of course, we were pondering that most important question: Where should we have dinner?
Continue reading “Letter of the Week – Hardly Charmed by MR. CHOW”