We missed Father’s Day while we were on honeymoon so we made sure to celebrate soon after our return. We had planned to go for Peking duck but the restaurant was booked for the night, a second choice had a long wait, and we ended up at ABC Chinese Restaurant ABC Chinese Restaurant. All because most of Chinatown doesn’t take reservations. There’s always a down side right.
It ended up being a pretty average Cantonese style restaurant, with a standard menu, nothing exciting but nothing bad either. We started with a Beef and Egg Drop Soup, which was a tad too salty, but everyone was so hungry, we devoured it.
Beef with Chinese Broccoli was tasty but oily, common of Cantonese food.
Salt and Pepper Shrimp is a bit different here. These were completely shelled, coated, and fried. The coating was so light and crispy. The shrimp were perfectly cooked, had snap, and were very meaty. This was Lon’s favorite dish of the night. The shrimp were very good, but he loved the fried vermicelli, jalapenos, and fried shallots underneath.
Our waiter pulled our fish out of the tank and brought it over to my mother for approval. Our family usually gets the simple steamed preparation with scallion, ginger, and soy sauce. This is a great way to have such fresh fish, where the flavor of the fish itself is really highlighted.
Chicken and Salted Fish Fried Rice is probably my favorite version of fried rice. This one was nice and fluffy but average in flavor.
Some Chinese restaurant give complimentary warm dessert soups at the end of the meal, and almost always, oranges. Most dessert soups are skimpy, with only a few beans, maybe a few tapioca, but this one was chunky, full of beans, tapioca, taro, barley, and maybe more. It wasn’t too sweet and I really enjoyed it.
Honestly, I love the way the Chinese prepare fresh whole fish. It’s the best–hands down!
Fish at a mediocre real Chinese restaurant is still way better than even pretty good fish at other places. You just can’t beat fish that’s killed minutes before you eat it.