We went to this restaurant with a large group of hungry people. There were twelve of us, so we made reservations. However not everyone could come and our group size was reduced to eight by time we got there. This restaurant is located in Glendale at 4730 West Olive Avenue... 47th Avenue and Dunlap which actually changes it's street name to Olive somewhere as you are traveling west on the road.
I didn't see too much of the restaurant facility itself, since we were quickly seated by the door when we arrived, but it was an active place and the menu looked like it had all of our favorite and traditional Chinese dishes. It made it hard to choose of course, and so I began to wonder if there was something unusual about this particular food place and so I asked it they had a "specialty." The waitress thought I asked for "tea," offered me some and asked itr I liked hot or cold tea.
Looking over the menu in more detail, we saw they had a Tofu dish, maybe even called Mapo Tofu (which Geo likes) only it was in the vegetable section. Geo asked if they had it with pork. The waitress said no, but she did ask the cook about it, and when it was described, it was way different than he thought it might be so he ordered Garlic Chicken instead.
We ordered a variety of items around the table, I think every one of us ordered something different and three appetizers... all of this and our total bill was under 80.00. I would say that this restaurant is very reasonably priced. The food also, was very good. Everyone liked what they ordered and we liked sampling each others food as well.
For appetizers we ordered Fried Wontons, (which I did not care for) Potsickers and Hot and Sour Soup, both of which were very yummy! Geo had Garlic Chicken and I ordered the Kung Pao. The others ordered things like Teriaki Chicken, Chow Mein, Broccoli Beef and the kid in our group ordered chicken nuggets and french fries, which he ate mostly with chopsticks... that was fun! We didn't even separate the sticks, he just bent them to open them and stuck his fries in.. quite ingenious if you ask me. I think he is a rather intelligent little guy. While we were waiting for our food he drew us each a picture on our place mats too.
I thought the restaurant staff was really nice and patient with our large group and the food was tasty as you would expect, maybe a little salty if you are measuring that kind of thing, but obviously fresh. It got our approval, and of course the prices were not outrageous, making it all worth it. It's an enjoyable place to have a cultural dinner experience with friends... or in our case, family.
Phoenix also has a great Chinese Cultural Center in the downtown area which we would like to try next time we are here. Geo went there last time he was on town with John, and said that it was awesome. This time, we just didn't make it there to eat. We could only drive by, which is also a sight to see. Maybe next time we will eat there, and get the full cultural China experience!
I don't know what you think about Chinese food, but for me, I think I like it because there is just something fun about eating with chopsticks. I usually end up eating my food with a fork just the same. Old habits, you know, are hard to break. I also like the veggies and tasting all the yummy flavors of the orient in one dish!
I do think however that it could be a great weightloss plan to only eat food with chopsticks...
And after visiting all these restaurants, it's a plan I may have to try... if you know what I mean...
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Kay Lon Garden
After our last food adventure on Division street- visiting a Chinese food restaurant we had never been, how could we possibly resist another? This one was it! Kay Lon Garden is located at 2819 N. Division, here in Spokane.
I will tell you a secret... we had gone to this place before, but we had only gotten inside the door and decided to go elsewhere. In someways I am picky about restaurants... where exactly I go and do not go and somehow, for some reason I found this place unappealing the first time we went there. We never tried it though and since tonight we were limited on time and it was rather close and we have never been there to actually eat and because the last Chinese restaurant we went to that was one on Division that we had tried for the first time was so delicious.... we felt adventurous. What more can I say, except we went inside and were greeted and seated.
This restaurant serves both Korean and Chinese food. (Two very agreeable things for us.) We ordered Kim Chi, Bol Go Ki and MApo Tofu. (We are having quite a MaPo tour in this town!)
Kim Chi Chee (or Kimchee or kim chee, I have seen it spelled all these ways) is a traditional Korean dish made from napa cabbage, radish, onions, garlic and peppers. It's a pickled cabbage dish and it's spicy. It's a bit fragrant (in a not so lovable way,) bu
t liker Limburger cheese, people like it and eat it and find it to be a delicious and actually a quite nutritious food. It's a little like Korean "sauerkraut."
The photo to the left shows the kind of jars used in Korea for making this stuff. Interesting.
Geo started eating kim chi when we first moved to Spokane, and we actually went through a period of time where we would have kim chi parties with our friend Lorin. Lorin even began making his own. I didn;t eat it at first, but Geo and Lorin had so much fuin that I had to try it. I was hooked. One thing I really like to eat is cabbage. Once you get past the odor and if you like spice, it is fun to eat. You have to be cautious with kim chee because sometimes it is not so good...
So, because he wanted to order some, Geo asked the waitress about the kim chi, wanting to know if it was fresh. I thought that was kind of funny, since it is a fermented food... anyhow, in response, the waitress asked a man sitting across the restaurant with a few friends who was eating kim chi himself, how it was. He said, "Fantastic! Everything is." It was as good of an endorsement as one can get... so we ordered kim chi and it was very good.
Everything was delicious actually. It was maybe just a tad on the salty side, but delicious and definitely hot and fresh. The Bol go ki was served in such a way that it steamed up and sizzled at our table. (That was cool!) The Mapo tofu was very good too. And while you might think we ordered that because we usually do, I should tell you, the reason we ordered that one is because Geo also asked our waitress what she liked and she said she would probably order tofu.
That was enough for us.. and we went with tofu, Mapo style. Not only was the food delicious, there was a lot of it too, and I forgot to look at the prices. I let Geo pay tonight... and I just didn't worry about it at all.
I guess it goes to show that while first impressions are important, they are not everything. My first impression the time we did not stay was that this place was too busy, too peopled, (kinda like a Walmart or a Denny's "peopled.") This time, I actually too a look around.
There's a lounge and a buffet line (probably only open at lunch hour) and lots of tables. The booth was a little crowded, but comfy. There was no music that I can remember.
It was a little like a Denny's atmosphere, now that I think of it... you know efficient waitresses, clanking dishes from the kitchen area, a tri-fold menu; they even serve hamburgers and fries, like a Denny's... if you order them.
Do you suppose that such "American" things at Chinese restaurants are for those who eat Chinese a lot and want to have something a little different. once in a while? We enjoyed the food at Kay Lon, and so did the table across the room. We Americans skipped the burgers and got to eat the best of both the Chinese and the Korean worlds.
So much for first impressions. Sometimes you can't go by a first impression... something might just look good, but really not be good and all, something might not look great and be the best you wever had. Funny how that is. It just goes to show that more important than first impressions is lasting impressions.
This place made a lasting impression on us tonight. Friendly service, good food and even friendly customers made it a very pleasant experience and we both agreed, we are glad we gave this place another try.
I will tell you a secret... we had gone to this place before, but we had only gotten inside the door and decided to go elsewhere. In someways I am picky about restaurants... where exactly I go and do not go and somehow, for some reason I found this place unappealing the first time we went there. We never tried it though and since tonight we were limited on time and it was rather close and we have never been there to actually eat and because the last Chinese restaurant we went to that was one on Division that we had tried for the first time was so delicious.... we felt adventurous. What more can I say, except we went inside and were greeted and seated.
This restaurant serves both Korean and Chinese food. (Two very agreeable things for us.) We ordered Kim Chi, Bol Go Ki and MApo Tofu. (We are having quite a MaPo tour in this town!)
Kim Chi Chee (or Kimchee or kim chee, I have seen it spelled all these ways) is a traditional Korean dish made from napa cabbage, radish, onions, garlic and peppers. It's a pickled cabbage dish and it's spicy. It's a bit fragrant (in a not so lovable way,) bu
t liker Limburger cheese, people like it and eat it and find it to be a delicious and actually a quite nutritious food. It's a little like Korean "sauerkraut."The photo to the left shows the kind of jars used in Korea for making this stuff. Interesting.
Geo started eating kim chi when we first moved to Spokane, and we actually went through a period of time where we would have kim chi parties with our friend Lorin. Lorin even began making his own. I didn;t eat it at first, but Geo and Lorin had so much fuin that I had to try it. I was hooked. One thing I really like to eat is cabbage. Once you get past the odor and if you like spice, it is fun to eat. You have to be cautious with kim chee because sometimes it is not so good...
So, because he wanted to order some, Geo asked the waitress about the kim chi, wanting to know if it was fresh. I thought that was kind of funny, since it is a fermented food... anyhow, in response, the waitress asked a man sitting across the restaurant with a few friends who was eating kim chi himself, how it was. He said, "Fantastic! Everything is." It was as good of an endorsement as one can get... so we ordered kim chi and it was very good.
Everything was delicious actually. It was maybe just a tad on the salty side, but delicious and definitely hot and fresh. The Bol go ki was served in such a way that it steamed up and sizzled at our table. (That was cool!) The Mapo tofu was very good too. And while you might think we ordered that because we usually do, I should tell you, the reason we ordered that one is because Geo also asked our waitress what she liked and she said she would probably order tofu.
That was enough for us.. and we went with tofu, Mapo style. Not only was the food delicious, there was a lot of it too, and I forgot to look at the prices. I let Geo pay tonight... and I just didn't worry about it at all.
I guess it goes to show that while first impressions are important, they are not everything. My first impression the time we did not stay was that this place was too busy, too peopled, (kinda like a Walmart or a Denny's "peopled.") This time, I actually too a look around.
There's a lounge and a buffet line (probably only open at lunch hour) and lots of tables. The booth was a little crowded, but comfy. There was no music that I can remember.
It was a little like a Denny's atmosphere, now that I think of it... you know efficient waitresses, clanking dishes from the kitchen area, a tri-fold menu; they even serve hamburgers and fries, like a Denny's... if you order them.
Do you suppose that such "American" things at Chinese restaurants are for those who eat Chinese a lot and want to have something a little different. once in a while? We enjoyed the food at Kay Lon, and so did the table across the room. We Americans skipped the burgers and got to eat the best of both the Chinese and the Korean worlds.
So much for first impressions. Sometimes you can't go by a first impression... something might just look good, but really not be good and all, something might not look great and be the best you wever had. Funny how that is. It just goes to show that more important than first impressions is lasting impressions.
This place made a lasting impression on us tonight. Friendly service, good food and even friendly customers made it a very pleasant experience and we both agreed, we are glad we gave this place another try.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Peking North
Some people really just have to get out more... I mean, I have driven up and down Division Street for years, seen the place as long as i can remember, but I have never eaten at Peking North until tonight. I think this place is actually one of the prettiest Chinese restaurants I have ever been in! The food was good too.
Geo is feeling like we have tried every restaurant in Spokane by now, so I had to assure him that there are plenty to go. We gave serious consideration to going someplace we had been, mostly for a lack of the adventurous spirit one needs to go where one has not been before... and so as a compromise we decided to cruise Division... (do people even do THAT anymore?) and see what we could find. We headed North on Division and we saw this place Peking at us... beckoning us to one of our favorite things... Chinese food.
This restaurant/bar is located at 4120 N Division, and now that I think of it, I do recall driving past it for years. Lately I recall seeing the advertisements for karaoke, wondering if I would ever have the nerve for such a thing myself. I guess this explains why karaoke is done mostly in bars... and lounges.
I am not sure why we had never been here before in our travels. Maybe it's because it has always seemed like a bar or maybe I was just in a Chinese food rut...you know having my favorite places already scoped out.. reluctant to try something unknown for fear I would miss out on an already known and very good thing. I do not know why we have not come here before, but one thing for certain; this restaurant was worth the stop.
We were greeting right away and escorted to our seats, which were located in the third room back from the entrance. The restaruant was quite a place with little Buddha statures typical of this culture, fish tanks (with cool fish,) and very ornate, wood furnishings. Usually we are amazed at how hard it is to read menus, but the menu was easy to read and there was a nice bright light right over our table so we didn't have to use a flashlight to order and we could see our food, which was presented very nicely as well.
We may not be in a restaurant rut, but we are in food ruts. We have our favorite things to order, that's for sure. I need to learn to order "half orders" if we can, so we can try a variety of foods.
This is where one may guess what we ordered... and if you know our food adventures, ou might even get it right.
Well, I ordered Kung Pao Chicken, and Geo order Mapo Tofu. even with the rut, it's a good way to compare restaurants, I think. Dinner dishes averaged between $12.00- $14.00. We didn't order any appetizers or soup, but we were impressed that one could order just a cup of hot and sour soup. Usually one must order a large serving. We would have ordered cup to share, just to taste it, but we took so long deciding whether to try something new or order an old favorite that we forgot to.
Everything was flavorful. The Kung Pao was so pretty we actually took a picture of it. We ate it all too, which was funny, because when the food arrived, our thought was that we would definitely have leftovers, but we didn't. Also at first George liked the Tofu dish, but he said it was not as good as some others he had eaten before. However, the more he tasted it, the more he liked it. He even ended saying it was probably the best he had ever had! (He always has a tenancy to say that though.) Me? I liked my food, the server was efficient, the pretty decorations and the cool Chinese sounding music was nice too. Over all, it was a very pleasant dining experience.
The people who owned the restaurant were nice too. You can tell that like many family businesses, this is a home-away-from-home for the owners and there is something special about that too. They told us they have been there as a restaurant for 30 years!
.
Geo is feeling like we have tried every restaurant in Spokane by now, so I had to assure him that there are plenty to go. We gave serious consideration to going someplace we had been, mostly for a lack of the adventurous spirit one needs to go where one has not been before... and so as a compromise we decided to cruise Division... (do people even do THAT anymore?) and see what we could find. We headed North on Division and we saw this place Peking at us... beckoning us to one of our favorite things... Chinese food.
This restaurant/bar is located at 4120 N Division, and now that I think of it, I do recall driving past it for years. Lately I recall seeing the advertisements for karaoke, wondering if I would ever have the nerve for such a thing myself. I guess this explains why karaoke is done mostly in bars... and lounges.
I am not sure why we had never been here before in our travels. Maybe it's because it has always seemed like a bar or maybe I was just in a Chinese food rut...you know having my favorite places already scoped out.. reluctant to try something unknown for fear I would miss out on an already known and very good thing. I do not know why we have not come here before, but one thing for certain; this restaurant was worth the stop.
We were greeting right away and escorted to our seats, which were located in the third room back from the entrance. The restaruant was quite a place with little Buddha statures typical of this culture, fish tanks (with cool fish,) and very ornate, wood furnishings. Usually we are amazed at how hard it is to read menus, but the menu was easy to read and there was a nice bright light right over our table so we didn't have to use a flashlight to order and we could see our food, which was presented very nicely as well.
We may not be in a restaurant rut, but we are in food ruts. We have our favorite things to order, that's for sure. I need to learn to order "half orders" if we can, so we can try a variety of foods.
This is where one may guess what we ordered... and if you know our food adventures, ou might even get it right.
Well, I ordered Kung Pao Chicken, and Geo order Mapo Tofu. even with the rut, it's a good way to compare restaurants, I think. Dinner dishes averaged between $12.00- $14.00. We didn't order any appetizers or soup, but we were impressed that one could order just a cup of hot and sour soup. Usually one must order a large serving. We would have ordered cup to share, just to taste it, but we took so long deciding whether to try something new or order an old favorite that we forgot to.
Everything was flavorful. The Kung Pao was so pretty we actually took a picture of it. We ate it all too, which was funny, because when the food arrived, our thought was that we would definitely have leftovers, but we didn't. Also at first George liked the Tofu dish, but he said it was not as good as some others he had eaten before. However, the more he tasted it, the more he liked it. He even ended saying it was probably the best he had ever had! (He always has a tenancy to say that though.) Me? I liked my food, the server was efficient, the pretty decorations and the cool Chinese sounding music was nice too. Over all, it was a very pleasant dining experience.
The people who owned the restaurant were nice too. You can tell that like many family businesses, this is a home-away-from-home for the owners and there is something special about that too. They told us they have been there as a restaurant for 30 years!
.
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