Chinese Again

Saturday, June 7, 2008

We finally did another dinner at Duong Son BBQ Restaurant in Westminister . I was starting have deep cravings ever since I came back from China in March.

Eight of us foodies were in attendance and again we let Henry do all the ordering. He surprised us with several new dishes we had not had before, which I find amazing as we have been doing these dinners for at least 3 years.

We started out with "Shrimp Crackers". They were freshly made and really hit the spot. First dish up was "Fried Tofu". We have had this dish numerous times and its always a crowd pleaser. The best tofu I have ever had.

Along came "Beef Tendon" in a sauce with turnips and daikon radish. I really like this dish. Some people get turned out because of the tendon but that is my favorite part.

"Scallops with Chinese broccoli " was a new dish for us and it was excellent. The scallops were cooked just perfect. I think this was one of Oliver's favorites along with the "noodles".

"Shrimp with Fat Noodles" came from the kitchen. I really enjoy the fat noodles as they absorb the flavor of the rest of the ingredients.

Next was one of my favorite dishes. "Deep Fried Oysters" Need I say more. They were plumb and moist and so good.

"Duck" was up next. The restaurant specializes in duck and this one was roasted and served with some sort of semi pickled cabbage. Not real pickled but had a slight taste of it. Dave raved about this dish and I could have it again "real soon".

"Fried Beef" was served. I had this dish in China and also at another dinner at Duong Son and its another hit. The flavor was intense. Another dish that Dave raved about.

Thin noddles with chicken was the last dish served. Interesting and good. I do not know the exact ingredients but they went well together and we ate it all.

For dessert we were served fresh Mango and some sort of red bean custard. The Chinese are not into real sweet dishes which is just as well as we had enough sugar with the wine.

A couple of notable wines tonight were 2005 McKeon-Phillips BPR Cabernet, 2005 Stolpman Hillsides Syrah. A 2005 Seghesio Pinot was interesting. I did not know they made a Pinot so it was nice to try. Great taste but it would do with a year or so of aging. A few other bottles of red wine, a Proseco and a Reisling rounded out the evening.

As always we had a good time, nice dinning companions, great food and good wine. You cannot ask for more than that. It was great to have Judy with us again. She was recovering from recent surgery but was on the mend enough to have a pleasurable evening out.