I'd tried them before, and frankly, I wasn't very impressed. The appetizer of cuttlefish was tasty and had that gorgeous wok-flamed flavor, but was minuscule and unsatisfying. On top of that, the beef soup had none of the flavor and attitude that my mom's ngo zo mein (sp?) has. When you grow up on Cindy Roberts' beef noodle soup, you have discerning frickin' tastes. However, this last visit was more impressive. For an app I tried the spicy beef tendon. Apparently, according to my mom, she's served me this "odd" (ethnocentrically speaking) cut of meat before, and I did not approve. Whatever. This time around, I was totally into it. The texture was reminiscent of an old jello that you left out for too long: the outside layer having toughened somewhat but easily yielding at a slight increase in pressure. Once through that outer jellosphere you glide through the connective tissue like a ginsu. It was pungent and flavorful, laced with enough Szechuan peppercorns to numb your face up like you've been on a three day bender with David Lee Roth in September of 1984.
David Lee Roth was way into Szechuan peppercorns back in September of 1984.
As a main course I had the Hot and Spicy Pork Stomach. I've been increasingly trying to eat offal at any chance that I get, and I never regret it, even if I know that I could have had something that I would feel was more delicious. The satisfaction that I'm experiencing something new, that I'm learning, is better to me than tasting the same dish over and over again, no matter how good it is.
That being said, this shit was kinda funky. You could definitely tell that it wasn't regular meat that I was eating, but rather some section of digestive tissue. The flavors and textures are palpably different from those of the muscle material surrounding them: gamey, chewy, and just slightly off. Not off in a rotten or spoiled sense... just... off the beaten path for my usual palate.
yeah, that's pretty much it.
Still though, awesome meal. I walked away having felt like I've learned something, and a full head is better than a full stomach (although both were) in my opinion.
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