Lunch #47: Ho Ho Seafood Restaurant

The MSG150 crew headed out a bit later than usual, around 12:40, to find the next spot. Just down the street from Bush Garden is the Ho Ho Seafood Restaurant. Like many of the spots on this last stretch, Ho Ho is a place where none of us had ever been. Also, unlike you might expect, Ho Ho is neither Christmas nor chocolate cupcake themed.

Ho Ho Seafood Restaurant, Seattle
Address: 651 S Weller St, Seattle, WA, 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: Hong Kong
Average rating: 3.6 chopsticks
Lunch date: 4/16/2008 @ 12:47:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 1 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 10 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 47 minutes
Chopstix quality: Nice Plastic
Do they use MSG?: Yes
Where is the owner/chef from?: Hong Kong
Number of tables: 18
Number of occupied tables: 7 (38%)
Number of business lunch tables: 4 (57%)
Number of "local" tables: 2 (28%)
Healthcode Score: 0
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Family Style Dishes

• 4 x Hot & Sour Soup
• 8 x Egg Rolls
• Grandmom's Tofu
• Beef with Double Mushroom
• Pepper Salted Prawns in Shell
• General Tso's Chicken
• Shrimp Fried Rice

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Pearl Lunch (family style) - $6.95
Fortune: Someone will lose your fortune on the way back to the office.
Rating:

Geary's Review

Wow! The first thing you notice when entering Ho Ho is the modern interior. So many places in the ID are either outdated or over themed (or both). Ho Ho has attractive modern furniture and decor. Its large windows and stylish light fixtures provide ample lighting. It's how you would expect a modern restaurant in Hong Kong might look.

The lunch menu has the typical American Chinese lunch offerings but in addition to the standard per person lunches, they had a couple of family style lunches with 2, 3 or 4 entrees depending on the number of lunchers. Al went with the General Tso's Sticky Goo lunch special, while the rest of us went with the Pearl Lunch for four. With the Pearl Lunch, we got Pepper Salted Prawns in Shell, Grandmom's Tofu, Beef with Double Mushroom, General Tso's Chicken, Shrimp Fried Rice, Egg Rolls, and soup.

The H&SS was good with just the right amount of tang and spice and not overly thick. The Egg Rolls were a surprise. I usually avoid these overly greasy "delicacies", but the Ho Ho Egg Rolls are a petite, cocktail-frank-sized variation on the usually kielbasa-sized rolls. They were hot, crisp and delicious. The Prawns were large, finger-sized prawns deep fried with shell, heads and all and seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic, and jalapenos. They were delicious. No need to peel, just eat from the tail and stop at the head. The shell is fried crisp enough that it is not chewy at all and adds a pleasant crunch. The Shrimp Fried Rice was light and fluffy and not at all greasy. The beef and tofu were good, but nothing outstanding. I tasted General Tso's Abomination and was again amazed that anyone would choose to put this concoction into their body given other reasonably edible options.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Pearl Lunch (family style) - $6.95
Fortune: You will lose your fortune on the way back to the office.
Rating:

Adam's Review

Seriously? This place is called Ho Ho? There has to be some meaning behind the word... because I know Hostess isn't going to let them sell delicious goo-filled baked goods. Luckily they sell Chinese food in a building with plenty of windows and natural light in a recently-remodeled eating-room.

After a quick rundown of the menu, we noticed a reasonably priced family-style lunch. We'd get the basics, plus 3 entrees for a normal lunch price... sounds good to me. All of the food was good, and there was plenty of it. The General Tso's was unique -- it was much redder than I'm used to seeing. Other than that, nothing stood out. All of the food was on the tastier side of 3-chopsticks, but nothing pushed it over to a 4.

It looks like they have some other decently priced lunch options... some of their soups looked like they would be pretty good. This is definitely a solid standard Chinese lunch place. Good prices. Good food. Well lit.

"Ho Ho" means "Good Good."

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Pearl Lunch (family style) - $6.95
Fortune: Someone will lose your fortune on the way back to the office.
Rating:

Emmett's Review

Ho Ho - another nondescript storefront in this ocean of Chinese Food - surprised in many ways. The first thing you notice is it's very clean, and very well lit - with big floor-to-ceiling windows. The decor is modern and classy looking. The menu is detailed, and has a large selection. They're playing whiny Chinese pop songs.

We got the Pearl Lunch Special, and shared four dishes amongst the four of us. I got to try a little bit of everything. The egg rolls were tasty, fresh fried, and hot. The tofu had a nice pepper flavor. The shrimp came whole, complete with heads and legs, deep-fried. We had to eat through the skins, but they were scrumptious. The mushrooms and beef were average, and the General Tso's was surprisingly tasty.

For the price, this place delivered a lot of tasty food, with good selection. I look forward to exploring the rest of the menu. I'd come back.

Luncher: Al

Lunch: General Tso's Chicken Lunch Special - $4.75
Fortune: Someone will lose your fortune on the way back to the office.
Rating:

Al's Review

This General Tso could win Iraq on a budget.

Luncher: Jon

Lunch: Pearl Lunch (family style) - $6.95
Fortune: Someone will lose your fortune on the way back to the office.
Rating:

Ho Ho Seafood Restaurant Photos

Ho Ho Seafood Restaurant


Ho Ho's Entrance


Ho Ho's Lunch Menu


H&SS


Egg Rolls (-2)


Grandmom's Tofu


Beef with Double Mushroom


Pepper Salted Prawns in Shell


General Tso's Lunch Special


General Tso's Assault on American Tastes


Shrimp Fried Rice

Lunch #45: Ocean City II, Noodle Cafe

On our first visit to Ocean City, we noticed that the space was split into two different dining areas: one is a large dining room that serves mostly Dim Sum for lunch, the other is a small noodle house. The second area, called Ocean City Restaurant II, Noodle Cafe, seemed separate enough that it deserved its own visit, so today we headed out with a comfortable group of seven to give the sequel a shot.

Ocean City II: Noodle Cafe, Seattle
Address: 609 S Weller St, Seattle, WA, 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: Noodles
Average rating: 3.6 chopsticks
Lunch date: 4/11/2008 @ 12:00:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 0 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 10 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 45 minutes
Chopstix quality: Nice Wood
Do they use MSG?: Didn't Ask
Where is the owner/chef from?: San Francisco
Number of tables: 13
Number of occupied tables: 4 (30%)
Number of business lunch tables: 1 (25%)
Number of "local" tables: 4 (100%)
Healthcode Score: 0
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Congee with Pork and Thousand Year Old Egg + Chinese Doughnut - $4.50+$2.50
Rating:

Geary's Review

The Noodle Cafe is part of the same building as the large main dining room and shares a main kitchen, but it has a separate entrance, its own small kitchen for noodles and soups, and its own menu. In fact, we were given three menus. In addition to the Noodle Cafe menu, we were given a short lunch specials menu and the full Ocean City menu. It's a nice cozy space, about the size of Mike's or HHKC, but with no crowd. It's perched up half a story above the street with lots of big windows that give a nice perspective on the lunch traffic walking and driving past.

Since the few other guests were eating noodles, I figured it was safe to skip the lunch specials without violating rule #2. I missed out on the congee at HHKC so I went with the Congee with Pork and Thousand Year Old Egg and added in an order of Chinese Doughnuts for good measure. The food arrived quickly and we dug in.

The congee was good with ample pork and egg enhanced with spices including slivers of lemon grass. The doughnuts were great, larger and crispier than the ones we have had at previous spots. If you are not familiar, the Chinese Doughnut (Youtaio) is not sweet. It's a crispy deep fried log of dough cut into large bite size chunks each a couple of inches long and the circumference of somewhere between a nickel and a half dollar (these were in the half dollar range). It is very light and full of holes, sort of like a miniature loofah. The doughnuts are often served alongside congee and eaten like crackers in clam chowder.

Mike's and HHKC have a better selection for noodles and congee, but for if you want a less crowded alternative with good food and friendly service then Ocean City's Noodle Cafe is a great option.

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: BBQ Pork Dumpling Noodle Soup - $6.25
Rating:

Emmett's Review

Ocean City, like Jalisco, has a sibling - Ocean City II. This place is more my style - quiet, nondescript, good food. It also exemplifies the goal of our quest - to find good eats otherwise overlooked. In fact, we almost overlooked this place as it is housed in its Dim Sum serving brother. Good thing we didn't - this place was awesome.

We were seated at a large table in the back of the small, bright place. I had a seat by the window, and had a nice elevated view of Weller. They have three different menus - a Noodle menu, a Lunch Special menu, and a regular dinner menu. I went for the Noodles, and got BBQ Pork Dumpling Noodle Soup. The soup was fantastic. The broth was flavorful, the noodles were tasty, the dumplings had a nice consistency, and were plentiful. The BBQ Pork was the highlight - sweet, juicy, melt in your mouth delicious. They didn't skimp on the puerco either.

I have noticed I tend to give all of the places that serve noodle soups a higher than average rating. Other restaurants should heed this advice - you can't go wrong serving a delicious noodle soup. I'll be back.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: BBQ Pork Braised Noodle Soup - $5.95
Rating:

Adam's Review

After Ocean City's mediocre showing for Dim Sum, I didn't know what to expect. Although, they weren't showing their true guns like they should, because this Noodle place is actually a Meat in Window joint! My favorite kind of joint.

I had to hurriedly pick my food from one-of-the-three menus because I was late to this lunch party. I picked the first thing on the first menu I was handed: BBQ Pork Braised Noodle Soup. The star of this show was definitely the BBQ'd Pork. It had an excellent flavor. Wasn't fatty. Wasn't too salty. And one side had a gentle crisp to it. ZOMG, I'm in love.

The braised noodles and soup that came with it were good, but nothing too special.

If you're heading into Ocean City, you'd do well to turn left into the Noodle place.

VIP Luncher: Joe from Joe's Blog

Lunch: Roast Duck Lunch Special - $7.95
Rating:

Joe's Review

The MSG150 folks were kind enough to let me tag along for today's lunch at Ocean City's unassuming little annex. It's a cramped dining area which is either called Ocean City II or Noodle Cafe, depending on which one of the three different menus you want to believe. The only remarkable feature of the place is an enormous roasting oven that takes up about 3/4 of the kitchen counter, just tempting you to order one of the birds or swine hanging inside.

Unable to resist that power, I ordered the Lunch Special with roast duck. It included a cup of hot & sour soup that might have been the high point of the meal. It was perfectly hot in both senses of the word, and chock full of the stuff that goes into hot & sour soup (bamboo?). The broth was thick and savory, just the way I like it.

The main course came with a scoop of fried rice that was pretty standard, an egg roll that I didn't eat, and about 8 small pieces of roast duck, still on the bone. The duck pieces were rather inconsistent. Some were crunchy, others soft. Some were choice meat, others fatty or sinewy. The one consistent thing among all of them was the delicious roasted skin covering the whole thing.

The portion was on the small side. I probably wouldn't come back here a second time. Also, no fortune cookies! What was the deal with that?

Luncher: Jeff

Lunch: Roast Duck Lunch Special - $7.95
Rating:

Jeff's Review

I missed the original voyage, so my only frame of reference is the sequel: Ocean City Part Duex!

The cafeteria style venue had me wondering how "take out" this was going to feel. I decided to order directly off the lunch special menu – which seemed to be written specifically for visitors looking for standard unintimidating Chinese food.

That said, I ordered the Roast Duck which was probably the most adventurous of the pre-fab lunch plates. To be fair, the H&SS soup was good. Not the best I've had in the ID, but better than main-stream Chinese in the suburbs. The generic fried rice left a lot to be desired. It was pretty bland. At least the texture was good. The Duck was pretty darned good. The ducks themselves were only 10 feet away in the roaster so my confidence was high. The duck was nicely prepared and flavorful. I was glad I ordered it. My only complaint was the quantity. They gave me a ton of rice – but not much Duck when you remove the bones from the mass served. For $7.95 it wasn’t the most affordable of the lunch specials – but I didn’t feel it was over-priced either.

Luncher: Michael

Lunch: Roast Duck Won Ton Noodles - $5.95
Rating:

Michael's Review

Given the choice of going to OC1 or OC2 I'm going with Ocean City 2. Fast and cheap with a side of awesome. My soup was just right, with savory wontons and chunks of duck to chew on. The dim sum next door was really nice, but this is what lunch is supposed to be. I stole a chunk of Adam's bbq duck when he wasn't looking and it was amazingly tender and fresh. Next time I want duck and pork!!

Luncher: Torrey

Lunch: Roast Duck Won Ton Noodles - $5.95
Rating:

Ocean City II: Noodle Cafe Photos

Ocean City II, Noodle Cafe


Lunch Menu


Noodle Cafe Menu


Inside the Noodle Cafe Menu


H&SS


Congee w/ 10k y/o Egg & Pr0k


Roast Duck Lunch Special


BBQ Pork Dumpling Noodle Soup


Roast Duck Won Ton Noodles


Roast Duck Won Ton Noodles


BBQ Pork Braised Noodle Soup


Chinese Doughnuts


MiW


Noodle Cafe Shrine

04/15/08 - Fixed typos. Thanks Rob.

Lunch #42: Sun Ya

Adam: Hey! A New York Times writer who wrote a book about Chinese food in America is going to be at Elliot Bay Books in a few weeks.
Emmett: Yeah. I saw her on Colbert. Her middle name is a number.
Adam: That's her, Jennifer 8 Lee.
Geary: That's the kind of VIP we need lunching with MSG150. Let's see if she'd be up for it. Adam, pour on the charm.


Well, long story short, we somehow tricked her into joining us. She was filming a TV talk show in the morning and had an interview in the afternoon followed by a book signing, but she still managed to have lunch free to eat with MSG150. It seemed a shame for her to come all the way out to Seattle on her whirl-wind book tour and be subjected to some random lunch spot in the ID. Shouldn't we take her to one of our favorite spots? Sorry, no. We have rules. The next spot on our list was Sun Ya, a large Dim Sum restaurant that was somehow completely unknown to us. Jennifer would meet us there.

BTW, I was able to read the first chapter of her book, The Fortune Cookie Chronicles, before our lunch. Unfortunately, I didn't have it with me to get it signed. ("To a really great guy. Stay real. Jenny 8.") It's a fun read so far, and not at all like The Chronicles of Narnia or even The Chronicles of Riddick. She brings together her personal history as a second generation Chinese American with actual real facts and stories (unlike the kind you get here) to explore Chinese food in America. It reminds me a bit of one of my favorite books, Swallowing Clouds, by A. Zee.

Sun Ya, like Four Seas and House of Hong, has its own parking and even a parking attendant. When we arrived today, just after noon, the lot was full and the attendant was juggling double parked cars to get more in. I don't recall ever seeing the lot even close to full before. Maybe I didn't look on the right day. Luckily, we were able to walk right in and grab the last large table in the back. Jennifer had written to let us know that she had some other friends of hers joining us. They showed up first and we chatted a bit until Jennifer arrived. It turns out that Larry is a fan of Sun Ya and has been a regular for years. OK Sun Ya show us what you're made of.

Sun Ya, Seattle
Address: 605 7th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: Dim Sum
Average rating: 3.7 chopsticks
Lunch date: 3/31/2008 @ 12:30:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 0 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 0 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 79 minutes
Chopstix quality: Nice Plastic
Do they use MSG?: Yes, some.
Where is the owner/chef from?: Hong Kong
Number of tables: 32
Number of occupied tables: 32 (100%)
Number of business lunch tables: 4 (12%)
Number of "local" tables: 25 (78%)
Healthcode Score: 7
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Family Style Dishes

• 2 x Fried Squid
• 2 x Roast Duck
• Roast Chicken
• 2 x Honey Walnut Prawns
• Chicken Feet
• 2 x Pot Stickers
• Shrimp on Green Pepper
• 2 x Shu Mai
• Chow Mien
• BBQ Pork
• Chinese Broccoli in Oyster Sauce
• Shrimp Ball (Ha Gow)
• Shrimp Stuffed Eggplant
• Fried Tofu
• 2 x Lemon Custard
• Sesame Ball (Gin Duey)

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Family Style - $17.00
Fortune: The more you learn, the more you realize how little you know.
Rating:

Geary's Review

Right off the bat Sun Ya passed two key litmus tests for dim sum: no large red dragons or other gaudy decor and lots of Chinese customers. The place was packed. Jennifer told her friends to look for the white guys and they picked us out right away based on that alone. They didn't even see my "I <3 Jennifer 8" lapel pin. The carts seemed to be flying around and we never had to wait long for another to pass by. We grabbed lots of the usual dim sum staples as they went by plus lots of the specials. We really went all out on the specials. We had multiple orders of squid, roast duck, and honey walnut prawns.

All of the food was good, but nothing really stood out. The squid were tasty, if not a little greasy. The shu mai and other dumplings weren't as flavorful as some I've had nearby. It was also on the spendy side. It ended up over $15 a person, which is twice what we usually spend at Jade Garden.

So far, my stack ranking of the Dim Sum spots is as follows:

1. Jade Garden
2. Vegetarian Bistro
3. Sun Ya
4. House of Hong
5. Four Seas
6. China Gate

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Family Style - $17.00
Fortune: Exercising now will cut your medical bills later.
Rating:

Adam's Review

Ahh... the dim sum. We were meeting Jennifer 8. Lee and some of her friends at the restaurant. Jennifer said: "they'll be the group of white guys." Are we that transparent? Anyways, we had quite the spread of food-- I liked that they had more of a selection than other Dim Sum places we've been to.

I didn't feel like anything was tastier or noticeably better than other Dim Sum places, and even though the place was packed... we kept getting luke warm food. The duck was a welcome option, and I devoured several pieces... although I think it still could have been a bit more flavorful. Fried Calamari was good. Then a popular dim sum dish that I've never had before: fried chickens' feet. They're just like fried chicken drummettes but with less meat. Its pure skin, batter, and sauce. It's OK, but nothing to write home about.

Some of the reviews of this place on Yelp! were way off base. This is definitely a decent place for some dim sum, and they're doing enough traffic that you know the food is pretty fresh. But, having negative reviews keeps the riff-raff out. Thats probably why Rob wussed out on this trip-- typical vegetarian.

Behind Jade Garden and Vegetarian Bistro... this place falls right into line for good dim sum.

And its worth noting that Jenny 8 brought us fortune cookies filled with fortunes she wrote.

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Family Style - $17.00
Fortune: The best way to prepare for life is to begin to live.
Rating:

Emmett's Review

Like Four Seas, this place has a parking lot, which is incredible. The interior: average. We were seated at a large table. Being Mariner's Opening Day, I was a little bit excited for game day street meat, but these are the things we do for the cause. My buddy Sam spoke highly of this place, saying it was his favorite after Jade Garden. We had guests again! It was a beautiful Seattle day!

By the time I sat down, there were about 15 options already on the table. Highlights were the duck, pork, pot stickers, greens. The noodles were okay, as were the Chicken Feet I tried! Years ago in Taiwan I got suckered into eating Chicken Butt. Now the feet. I think I need to get some beak and I'll have that whole friggin bird covered. The shrimp buns were alright, but a little on the doughy side. Everything had a nice flavor, my one complaint would be that the food was slightly cold. Service was excellent.

We got to show our guests the unfortunate fortune cookies at the Fortune Cookie Factory! I also learned that they sell Ginger, Apple, and Pina Colada fortune cookies by the door. They look like normal fortune cookies, but there's a little label on the bag indicating the flavor. We tried some of the strawberry in our unfortunate bag and they were a real treat.

I liked Sun Ya. I teetered on 3 vs 4. Their selection and service break the tie. I'll be back.

VIP Luncher: Jennifer 8. Lee from Fortune Cookie Chronicles

Lunch: Family Style - $17.00
Rating:

Jennifer 8. Lee's Review

pi chopsticks

VIP Luncher: Tig & Serena from Adventures in Remuddling

Lunch: Family Style - $17.00
Fortune: Tig: You will make a life-altering decision soon. Serena: You should accept the next invitation that comes your way
Rating:

Tig & Serena's Review

Knowing the table was filled with mostly young westerners, the dimsum cart lady was a little pushy with pork buns and other popular dishes. Vegetables were in slim supply with only an order of chinese broccoli at our table. The roasted duck was middle of the road, flavorful but lukewarm and the skin was a little soggy. Given that the restaurant filled pretty quickly, I expected the food to turn over more and be hotter off the cart. The fried sesame ball is my ultimate barometer for dim sum quality - not entirely a fair benchmark since the sesame ball is a dessert, but that's my favorite dish. The sesame ball was visually very pretty and symmetrical with a light golden color. No sagging of the sides which means it was relatively fresh. The inside was airy and half filled with a smooth sweet red bean paste. The only quip is that I think it should have been fried a little bit longer. Overall very good and quite tasty, thus bringing the overall rating up from 2 chopsticks to 3 chopsticks.

Luncher: Erica

Lunch: Family Style - $17.00
Fortune: Crossing a bridge will bring you closer to what you seek.
Rating:

Erica's Review

My dim sum needs are quite simple to meet, really. Tasty pot stickers, some sort of fried delight (chicken or shrimp, I am not too picky), and a satisfactory sesame ball or egg custard. However, if these needs are not met, Erica will not be happy. I am pleased to say that Sun Ya delivered satisfaction on my trifecta of dim sum demands.

In addition, there was a wide array of well done other options, such as delicious roasted chicken, a generous portion of lean yet flavorful bbq pork, and even duck. The quality of their meat was high, and the items were never greasy (not that I really would mind).

What prevented Sun Ya from going over the top for me was the temperature of the food, which even when first delivered, was luke warm. Sun Ya, you have such a good thing going – who knows what you could be capable of with the retention of more heat!

Furthermore, though the basics like the honey walnut prawns and steamed pork pot stickers were enjoyable, none of these blew me away with their succulence, and believe me friends, this happens a lot to me. However, the delightful surprises of the various meat dishes, combined with the lack of failure on any item, would bring me back to Sun Ya many times over.

VIP Luncher: Larry from WaMu

Lunch: Family Style - $17.00
Fortune: You will receive an important telephone call.
Rating:

Larry's Review

My overall dining experience was great. I not only got to catch up with an old friend after 10 years, but also crash the MSG150 Crew's table for lunch. If you are contemplating a dining experience with this hardcore Crew, you should know that they appear to be open, talkative (in a good way), and optimistic that each restaurant experience will deliver good food. I had a great time. Thanks!

So here's my actual review: Sun Ya's pan-fried dumplings and duck were okay. Come to think of it, I don't recall any dim sum dishes. Well...I believe that speaks for itself. Lately, I've been easy to please. In terms of cleanliness, I did not see any cockroaches so ~ Great job, Sun Ya.

Luncher: Jared

Lunch: Family Style - $17.00
Fortune: You will receive an important telephone call.
Rating:

Luncher: Michael

Lunch: Family Style - $17.00
Fortune: Patience is a skill that can be learned.
Rating:

Michael's Review

Fantastic. This is where the crazy practice of visiting every single spot in the ID pays off. I don't think we ever would have stumbled on this place if we hadn't started this crazy road trip. Now we can get down to the serious business of arguing about what the best dim sum in Seattle is: Jade Garden or Sun Ya? The answer of course is neither. The best dim sum in Seattle is still 3 hours to the north in Richland/Vancouver.

At the risk of never being able to lunch with Geary and Adam again I suggest that Sun Ya is very nearly equal to or even better than Jade Garden. I propose we settle this question once and for all by going back and forth between Jade Garden and Sun Ya every day for at least a week. We need more data... and more shaomai.

The only thing I didn't see at Sun Ya was that goofy Sticky Rice thing that Geary always orders. I love that stuff, but its so heavy that it's nearly a meal in itself. Sun Ya did have awesome shrimp stuffed green peppers. Possibly the least popular item on the table. Which is good, because it leaves more for me.

The most important criteria: The Egg Tarts were pretty darn good. Maybe not burn your mouth fresh out of the oven ultra-awesomeness, but easily worth eating at least two.

Sun Ya Photos

Sun Ya


BBQ Chicken (or Duck)


Chinese Broccoli


BBQ Duck (or Chicken)


Fried Tofu


Chow Mein


Fried Squid remainders


Chicken Feet and spread


Shu Mai


Pork Sparerib


Honey Walnut Shrimp & Shrimp Stuffed Peppers


Sesame Balls


Steam cart


MSG150 & Guests


Jennifer 8 chocolate fortune cookies

04/17/08 - Added Larry's Review

Lunch #39: Homestyle Hong Kong Cuisine

WE ARE FREE! No longer are we trapped in the sterile confines of the UFC. We are back on the street experiencing a real Chinatown, not a Disney version of one. To be fair, Uwajimaya is not quite that bad, but when there is so much to offer from independent, owner operated establishments with table service there is little that will take me back to the food court again.

Today the MSG150 crew headed out with a new spring in our step. We passed by the Oasis Tea Zone since it fails the test of Rule #1. They offer a couple of snack items, including Popcorn Chicken Bites and Fried Tofu, but not really enough to call it primarily a restaurant. Following our preordained path, took us back onto the south side of King and under the awning of Homestyle Hong Kong Cuisine. Although we have passed by many a time, but this was the first visit for each of us.

Homestyle Hong Kong Cuisine, Seattle
Address: 612 S. King St, Seattle, WA, 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: Congee, Chinese: Noodles
Average rating: 3.7 chopsticks
Lunch date: 3/17/2008 @ 12:05:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 0 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 16 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 49 minutes
Chopstix quality: Nice Plastic
Do they use MSG?: We didn't ask, but it feels like there was.
Where is the owner/chef from?: Hong Kong
Number of tables: 8
Number of occupied tables: 8 (100%)
Number of business lunch tables: 2 (25%)
Number of "local" tables: 7 (87%)
Healthcode Score: 35
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Beef and Chicken Congee - $4.75
Rating:

Adam's Review

FREEEEEDOMMMMMMM!! We're out of the UFC, and it feels damn good. I wanted something that was the opposite of what I could get in the UFC, so I ordered Beef and Chicken Congee.

My bowl of Congee came out BOILING hot. It definitely hadn't been sitting on a steam table or under a heat lamp. There was plenty of delicious chunks of beef and chicken that were flavorful and not from Uwajimaya. Every bite of this congee was delicious. Half-way through the bowl, I decided to throw some hot-sauce on there... and that perked it up a little bit more too.

Just before we finished eating, the table next to us leaned over and asked: "Hey... are you those MSG guys?" ZOMG!! We are famous! Random people in a restaurant know who we are!

Good Food. Good Prices. This one is a keeper.

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Pork Chop with Salted Fish Rice Stone Pot - $7.80
Rating:

Emmett's Review

Though crowded, we quickly scored an occupied table that sat the six of us comfortably. (I love it when you show up to a place and the owner makes some poor couple move to make way for you.) Menu: full of chinese stuff - lots of congee, rice, etc. I'm still not won over by Congee, so I went for the rice dishes in a Stone Pot. Stone Pot! This has gots to be good. Lots of options, hmm, pork chop salt fish -- done.

It took awhile to come, but the result was good. My one complaint - it was pretty ordinary. The rice was okay, well cooked in the stone but, but not conveying any intriguing blends of flavor. The pork was good, had some decent flavor, and the salt fish was super salty, and not plentiful.

I did have a taste of the congee, it was quite good. I'll have to try it next time. Good service, nice selection. I'll come back.

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Minced Pork with Chinese Sausage Rice Stone Pot - $7.20
Rating:

Geary's Review

H₂KC is a tiny restaurant. It is similar to Mike's Noodle House, but is even smaller. And like Mike's, it always seems to be full. When we arrived, they were able to move a few folks around and quickly free up a six top for us. The staff was friendly and efficient, but didn't quite have the rhythm of Mike's.

H₂KC has a huge menu for such a tiny place. The largest sections are the Stone Pot Congee and the Stone Pot Rice Bowls. Each has multiple pages of meat options including frog and thousand year old egg. Others were ordering congee, so I went with a Shredded Pork and Chinese Sausage Rice Stone Pot. We also ordered steamed pork dumplings to share.

The congee orders arrived first still boiling in the super heated stone bowls. Each person is given a extra, small bowl that makes it possible to ladle the molten soup into smaller portion that will eventually cool to an palatable temperature. It's also handy for sharing. Next time I come I will order family style. As it was, I was able to get some tastes of other's congee. It was delicious. The steamed dumplings were also good and worth ordering again.

My rice bowl was good, but nothing spectacular. I would not go with the rice bowl next time since the congee was so much better. Both the pork and sausage were good, but in the end it was just meat on rice. The fiery hot stone bowl is a nice touch and makes all of the rice on the bottom all brown and crunchy. Yum!

Even though my meal was on the average side, the tastes of congee I had and the delicious dumplings bring H₂KC up to four chopsticks for me. Plus, it's not in a food court. Yay!

Luncher: Rob

Lunch: House Special Cart Noodle with Vegetables and Tofu - $6.00
Rating:

Rob's Review

Vegetarian Warning! There really is nothing to eat here if you're a strict vegetarian. I still chow down on egg, dairy, and some fish, so I thought I'd be able to find something to my liking, but that turned out to be difficult because most of the seafood items included shrimp and the like, and I don't do shellfish. Sigh. Maybe I should take a chance and try those mysterious "fish balls" some time. One of the two women dining at the neighboring table who had heard of our little lunch blog (not quite MSG150 groupies, but close enough in my book) recommended the curry fish balls. Anyway, after perusing the incredibly long menu, I finally went with the Cart Noodle with vegetables and tofu. It looked good when it showed up: lots of bok choy, cubes of fried tofu, and a generous helping of skinny rice noodles. The skin of the soup, however, sported small circles of what looked like animal fat, and a quick slurp revealed a fairly strong chicken broth taste. Harumph. I ladled in some hot sauce to mask that flavor and did my best to ignore it. The soup needed the extra kick, regardless, I thought. So, aside from my moral chicken soup dilemma, I thought my lunch was all right, but until the last few remnants of my veggie principles (such as they are) become completely compromised, I won't be going back.

Luncher: Joey

Lunch: Seafood Congee - $5.25
Rating:

Joey's Review

The animated gif says it all. This was probably the hottest congee I’ve ever had. In Cantonese cuisine hot = good, but it’s still gotta have good taste to go along with it, which this did. I’m pretty sure they used msg , because the flavor was too good to not have msg. :-)

Luncher: Jared

Lunch: Beef and Pork Congee - $4.75
Rating:

Homestyle Hong Kong Cuisine Photos

Homestyle Hong Kong Cuisine


Window Menu


HHKC Menu


Seafood Stone Bowl Congee


Beef and Chicken Stone Bowl Congee


Beef and Pork Stone Bowl Congee


Steamed Pork Dumplings


Chinese Doughnuts


House Special Cart Noodle with Vegetables and Tofu


Pork Chop with Salted Fish Rice Stone Pot


Minced Pork with Chinese Sausage Rice Stone Pot


Animated Congee

3/25/08 - Fixed typos & Urbanspoon link

Lunch #34: Shilla Korean BBQ

Eager to move forward, the MSG150 crew headed out for our third trip to the UFC this week. We are done with the Uwajimaya Deli portion and are moving on to the private establishments along the north side of the food court. First stop, Shilla Korean BBQ. With the loss of Blue & Pink, Shilla is (I think) the only remaining Korean spot in the DLZ. There always seems to be a crowd in the UFC and today was no exception. Luckily Shilla's has a couple of its own tables and we were able to snag one for our group of five.

Shilla Korean BBQ, Seattle
Address: 600 5th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104
Cuisine: Korean: BBQ
Average rating: 3.6 chopsticks
Lunch date: 3/7/2008 @ 11:40:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 5 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 5 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 39 minutes
Chopstix quality: Cheap Wood
Do they use MSG?: ?
Where is the owner/chef from?: ?
Number of tables: 2
Number of occupied tables: 1 (50%)
Number of business lunch tables: 1 (100%)
Number of "local" tables: 0 (0%)
Healthcode Score: 25
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: #4 - Spicy BBQ Pork - $5.95
Rating:

Geary's Review

I was very glad to be through with the Uwajimaya Deli. It was mostly better than I had expected, but still on the low end of ID lunch quality. Shilla's is the first spot on the north side of the food court. For a stall in a food court, Shilla's has done a nice job of dressing itself up. It has a tile rooflet, stone wall, and a log post. There were a couple of people in front of us, but the line moved quickly. The friendly woman behind the counter was very efficient in taking orders and passing out food.

I ordered the Spicy BBQ Pork which came with two sides of Kimchi, white rice, and a huge pile of BBQ pork. It was excellent. The best meal so far at the UFC. The pork had a nice spice to it and was well flavored. With the spicy, tangy kimchi and rice it was a great lunch.

I also tried a shorty can of pear juice. It tasted a bit like canned fruit cocktail juice with pear pulp in it. Not horrible, but not something I'd buy again. Still not enough to ruin a solid four chopstick lunch.

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: #6 - Country Style "Bi Bim" Rice - $6.95
Rating:

Emmett's Review

Shilla's advertises that all food is cooked to order, and has a large variety of Korean dishes. I'm very partial to Bibimbop, ever since falling in love with it at Blue and Pink - now closed. Blue and Pink had the Stone Bibimbop on their specials board every day, and it was literally some of the best lunch food I've ever tasted anywhere. Alas, they're gone, hence we're at Shilla's. I order the Bi Bim rice, we'll see how they do.

Their version is quite good. It comes in styrofoam, not stone pot, and the egg is scrambled, not fried, but the excellent commingling of flavors are there - there's the sauteed greens, good beef, some bean sprouts, that delicious Korean hot sauce, and a side of kimchi. The lady kicked in some Miso Soup for free, which was nice.

To drink, I got some grape flavored drink. I think it's called SacSac juice, and the web site claimes "it has a unique taste of chewing full sacs." It was sweet and tasty - and true to it's name, it had some SacSac floating in it. As you drink, you have little grapes trying to pop into your mouth. This guy writes a much more detailed review. I agree with him.

I got some "Chimes Ginger Chews" as my interesting choice from the market. They're from Indonesia, and made with Peanut Butter. I like Ginger Ale, and Ginger with my sushi, but this was just bad. Plain bad. It did not "instantly transport me to a happy place." Other people liked it though.

By the way, if anyone knows where I can get good Stone Bimbimbop in Seattle, please let us know!

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: #9 - Spicy Beef Stew - $5.95
Rating:

Adam's Review

Korean food is rare in the Internationl District, so I wasn't sure what to expect. The menu had a bunch of stuff that I was totally uninformed about, and I went with the dish that had three words that I understood in it: Spicy Beef Stew.

The soup was served piping hot. It took a good 10 minutes before it was at an edible temperature but once it cooled down, I definitely liked it. The stew was full of lots of good stuff: noodles, big bean sprouts, and some vegetables. The beef was a little sparse and not as tender as it could be... but not noticably so.

The dish also came with some sides: rice, vegetables, and kim-chi (on request). The rice was pretty sticky and easy to eat. I'm not actually sure how they cooked the vegetables, but they were really good. The kim-chi was... kim-chi: good, but still a big pile of fermented cabbage.

A good amount of food for $6. When you're ready for a change in the ID.

Luncher: Rob

Lunch: Japchae (sans beef) - $6.95
Rating:

Rob's Review

I stood in front of the Shilla hanging menu, going through the options one by one, looking for something vaguely vegetarian. The Kimchi Stew sounded good if they could make it without the pork. They claimed the Japchae noodle dish was a great vegetarian option without the beef. There was also some sort of ramen noodle soup. I asked about the kimchi stew, but the pork was too intrinsic to the dish, as it turned out, and so I went with the beef-less japchae. Plus another buck for a cup of miso soup. After Chef Kenzo and the steam table, it was nice to have a freshly cooked lunch. The styrofoam container I eventually received was quite heavy, and it looked like they given me a huge helping of noodles, but no, it was an almost but not quite big enough helping of noodles over a bed of rice. It came with what seemed like one piece of kimchi (the pork-less variety, I hoped) and something else that I've already forgotten. The japchae, which consisted of thin glass noodles and some vegetables, was pretty good. Two very short sections of noodle were hard, but they were small and easy to work around. It does seem a little odd to me to give both Shilla and the steam table three chopsticks, because I think I liked the Shilla UFC experience a bit better, but that's the way the fortune cookie crumbles, I guess.

Luncher: Michael

Lunch: Korean BBQ Beef - $6.95
Rating:

Michael's Review

There is a staple lunch item around here: Rice and Meat and Vegetables. Or you can really mix things up and have Meat and Vegetables and Rice. But in the end it all starts to seem the same.

So did my Korean Beef BBQ differ from anything else I've had this month? Not so much. It was tasty Meat. With some Rice. And a bit of Veggies. And the quality was good and it was fresh and hot, but really it was the same darn thing that everyone else has too.

I was sitting there eating my RMV and thinking about what I could really say about this lunch choice that we have said about a dozen others. I couldn't come up with much. And then I looked across the food court to 'Made to Order' and started thinking about how much better the Beef Sukiyaki was. Sure its just another RMV but something about it was just so much better than this. So, 3 stars for this place, its good, but this dish isn't all that. Eat the Sukiyaki across the aisle.

Shilla Korean BBQ Photos

Shilla Korean BBQ


Shilla's Menu


Food is made to order...


Country Style "Bi Bim" Rice


Japchae (vegitized)


Spicy Beef Stew


Korean BBQ Beef


Spicy BBQ Pork


Emmett Rockin' the Bi Bim


Juice


Shilla from the street


Jug-o-Sake

3/12/08 - Added Michaels review

Lunch #30: China Gate

Another dim sum... this is awesome. We walked in, and instantly recognized the man seating us-- he also sat us when we went to Vegetarian Bistro. He's actually the owner of China Gate but the owner of Vegetarian Bistro is a friend, and they help each other out when needed. (Sorry for the blurry pictures today. Primary MSG150 camera was a no-show today.)

China Gate, Seattle
Address: 516 7th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: Dim Sum
Average rating: 3.6 chopsticks
Lunch date: 2/25/2008 @ 12:05:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 0 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 0 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 45 minutes
Chopstix quality: Cheap Plastic
Do they use MSG?: The server didn't understand my question... and I gave up. My Body is screaming "Yes... they used MSG."
Where is the owner/chef from?: Hong Kong
Number of tables: 29
Number of occupied tables: 5 (17%)
Number of business lunch tables: 1 (20%)
Number of "local" tables: 4 (80%)
Healthcode Score: 0
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Family Style Dishes

• Hum Bow
• BBQ Pork Turn-over
• 3 x Sticky Rice
• 3 x Shu Mai
• Shrimp Ball
• Pork Spareribs
• 2 x Sesame Ball with Shrimp and Veggies
• Green Beans with Pork bits
• Vegetable and Shrimp Steamed Dumpling
• Fried Bean Curd
• Taro Root
• Pork and Mushroom Football
• Beef Spare Ribs
• Fried Rock Fish
• Fried Shrimp Ball with Seaweed

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Family style - $13.00
Rating:

Emmett's Review

China Gate is all that separates us from our our Mt. Everest - the Uwajimaya Food Court. The outside is pretty groovy looking, and they have karaoke every night - seems like a recipe for something good.

We were seated immediately. As I walked through, the spacious interior was medium full - a good sign for a restaurant this size. And the clientele definitely originated from the Far East. I think they were blinded as I walked in, cause they gave me a quick glare and returned to their food. Our friendly server had previously served us at Vegetarian Bistro. Service was quick, and the Dim Sum staples soon covered our table.

I snagged some lotus sticky rice first, which was dang tasty, and went through some Sui Mai, Shrimp Balls, Shrimp Dumplings, some crab and shrimp thing. They brought out some beef short ribs in a sweet tangy sauce, and some rock fish deep fried, which was delicious. It was all pretty tasty, a little better than House of Hong, but not quite Jade Garden. On the flip side, they use a ridiculous amount of MSG. I can feel it in my brain.

I'll be back for Karaoke.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Family style - $13.00
Rating:

Adam's Review

I was scared this was going to be another low-traffic old-food Dim Sum place. Luckily there were more people and fresher food than I expected.

We ordered a ton of food. And after we ordered all that food, the owner came over and cooked us some special food (I'm pretty sure he figured out we were reviewing the place). The dim sum was pretty standard. The only really outstanding dish we had was the Rock Fish (which was one of the specials that the owner brought out). It was lightly fried and served with red peppers and jalapenos. The spice was perfect and the breading flaky and not overdone. The shu mai was good... but it's always good.

The other special dish that the owner made for us, the beef spare ribs, were a little too sweet for my taste. One diner in our group called it "meat candy." The owner also described another dish that he makes, with a sauce based on coffee grounds. It sounded interesting... and I hope to remember it next time around.

This place is a Sunday morning favorite. So that is a really fun time to go.

Standard Dim Sum. Good food.

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Family style - $13.00
Rating:

Geary's Review

It's two days later as I'm writing this and I'm just recovering from the massive dose of MSG that we were hit with on Monday. China Gate has a cool, fortress like exterior and like some of the other large Dim Sum joints they are clearly trying to make up for average food with flash and color. The inside is much more subdued and has a bit of a cafeteria feel. Dim Sum needs a crowd to work well and there were only five other tables seated when we arrived. Not a good sign.

We were seated quickly and loaded up on most of the non-chicken feet options. The Dim Sum cart ladies seemed pushier than other places. Luckily we arrived early enough to get mostly hot dishes, but as the lunch progressed, it was clear that the few carts that made the rounds (or sat parked in the corner) were no longer being reloaded with fresh, hot dishes. There was nothing really stand out. The sticky rice was tasty, but about half the portion of Jade Garden. The green beans had good flavor but were over cooked and not even comparable to Veggie Bistro. The dumpling dough was dense and chewy. The shrimp in most dishes was fishier than I like. The owner was very friendly and when asked for recommendations he prepared two special dishes for us. I suspect one of these was the MSG bomb that destroyed me for the rest of the day. I can take MSG in reasonable doses, but after China Gate I had ringing in my ears and was slimy with sweat for the rest of the day and I wasn't able to fall asleep until 4 am. Three chopsticks minus one for excessive MSG and no sleep equals two chopsticks.

Luncher: Jeff

Lunch: Family style - $13.00
Rating:

Jeff's Review

I really liked China Gate. The staff was friendly, plenty of seating, plenty of food, and lots of options. If we weren’t comparing to other lunch stops, I’d probably rate China Gate as 5 Chopsticks.

Like Jade Garden, this really is first rate Dim Sum. And, as usual, I eat way too much at these stops. My only gripe with China Gate was price. We ordered about the same amount per person as we had at Jade Garden. However, at Jade Garden we got out for ~$9.00. At China Gate it was $13.00 per person before tax.

I’d happily go back to China Gate… but with Jade Garden only a block, I’d just as soon go there and save my $5.00.

Luncher: Jared

Lunch: Family style - $13.00
Rating:

Jared's Review

Very good food. I also liked the fact that they gave us water right at the start.

Luncher: Al

Lunch: Family style - $13.00
Rating:

Al's Review

> House of Hong and < Jade Garden

Luncher: Erica

Lunch: Family style - $13.00
Rating:

Erica's Review

Candied meat (yes, I was the diner referred to by Adam), sesame adorned hot dumplings, and scary looking Alaskan King Crabs in the aquarium as you enter. I just can't ask for more.

China Gate Photos

China Gate Restaurant


BBQ Pork Turn-over


Shu Mai


Fried Shrimp Ball with Seaweed


Sesame Shrimp & Vegetable Ball


Green Beans


Fried Bean Curd


Beef and Mushroom Football


Taro Root Puff Ball

Lunch #29: Harbor City

Seven of us braved the unfamiliar, threatening fireball in the sky and set out today for our next MSG150 adventure. Having scouted out Harbor City BBQ & Seafood Restaurant last week after the mixed results of Fortuna we had some hint of what we were facing, another meat-in-window joint with dirty windows. We drug the ailing JohnAt along on his first MSG150 experience assuring him that Harbor City would certainly have a nice soup that would cure his ills.

Harbor City, Seattle
Address: 707 S King St, Seattle, WA 98104
Cuisine: Chinese: Cantonese, Chinese: BBQ
Average rating: 3.7 chopsticks
Lunch date: 2/19/2008 @ 12:00:00
Time taken to be seated: 0 minutes
Time to take order: 0 minutes
Time for food to arrive: 20 minutes
Total lengh of meal: 50 minutes
Chopstix quality: Nice Plastic
Do they use MSG?: A little bit, but you can order your food sans MSG.
Where is the owner/chef from?: Canton
Number of tables: 12
Number of occupied tables: 3 (25%)
Number of business lunch tables: 1 (33%)
Number of "local" tables: 1 (33%)
Healthcode Score: 0
Links: Yelp!, Urbanspoon

Luncher: Geary

Lunch: Roasted (BBQ) Duck Lunch Box - $6.50
Fortune: #1: There is prospect of a thrilling time ahead for you. #2: You will dine in an exotic restaurant.
Rating:

Geary's Review

Although Harbor City looks a lot like Fortuna from the street, on the inside it is quite different. For starters, it is on a single level and is much more spacious feeling. The cafeteria like dining area is sparse on character but very clean. However, like Fortuna, there were only two other tables seated when we entered. These places must survive on their dinner business.

In addition to the regular menu there was a MiW lunch box menu over the counter, a lunch specials menu on a white board on the wall in the dining area, and a dinner specials chalk board on the opposite wall. Fearing the worst, but recognizing my obligation, I ordered the Roast (BBQ) Duck Lunch Box to make a completely fair comparison to the two chopstick lunch box from Fortuna.

The Lunch Boxes arrived first and it was obvious from the start that Harbor City had Fortuna beat, even with the $2 extra cost. The generous portion of BBQ duck was laid out on hot steamed rice with a side of freshly steamed bok choy. The Lunch Box came with a couple of accompanying sauces: a dark brown, rich sauce that tasted like liquid BBQ duck and a sweet dipping sauce. The duck was delicious, although I think Asia BBQ may have them beat on the duck alone. As a whole meal, however, Harbor City wins that paring. The brown sauce was amazing and with the additions of their house special hot sauce the lunch box was a definite four chopstick lunch.

Also today I got twin fortunes in my cookie, a first for the MSG150. They were fraternal, thanks for asking. I wonder what the actual rate of twins is in fortune cookies. Maybe the folks up the street at the Tsue Chong fortune cookie factory would know. For the MSG150, so far, it's 1 out of 218 cookies.

Luncher: Adam

Lunch: Roast Pork with Rice Lunch Box - $5.75
Fortune: You will excel in something in which another failed.
Rating:

Adam's Review

They may look similar, but Fortuna and Harbor City share nothing but a common wall. Whatever I ordered this time, I was damned-well going to make sure it included some of the meeting hanging in the front window (which was my mistake at Fortuna Cafe)

I ordered the Roast (BBQ) Pork... because I knew Geary would order the roast duck (he's so predictable). Geary and I were served quite promptly, in about 5 minutes; the rest of the suckers had to wait upwards of 20 mins. What is the morale of the story? Order the food that is already cooked (and hanging in the window).

The Roast Pork was delicious. The main word that comes to mind is: succulent. It was juicy and flavorful. It was a little salty, but I chalk the use of salt up to an attempt to strengthen my heart. The pork by itself was already delicious, but the nice people at Harbor City decided that they needed to bring us some sauces too. We had 5 different sauces to try from: 2 hot sauces, and 3 tangy sauces. The darker of the hot sauces was awesome. The tomato-ier of the hot sauces is skippable.

If you're in the market for Asian BBQ, and want to try somewhere other than Kau Kau... definitely give this place a try.

Nice atmosphere. Very courteous service. Above average food.

Luncher: Emmett

Lunch: Spicy Twice Cooked Pork with Rice - $5.95
Fortune: You will excel in something in which another failed.
Rating:

Emmett's Review

Another day, another hole in the wall. Harbor City looked very discreet on the outside, but you walk in and it was quite nice on the inside. There is a framed letter from the health department on the counter, basically congratulating the establishment for their cleanliness and professionalism. A good omen! The restaurant was clean, a bit dark, but with nice art on the walls. We took a big round table in the back, which was already set for us. The waitress seemed excited to see us, and was very welcoming and inviting.

On opposite walls they advertised two boards of specials - one pricey, indicating they were more special perhaps? The opposite board was clearly labeled 'lunch specials'. I went with the Spicy Twice Cooked Pork with Rice. It sounded interesting, and twice cooked! Couldn't be bad.

The food came, and the presentation was fanastic - a big steaming plate of pork and veggies, stir fried, along with a big bowl of rice all to myself. I tore into it - it was good. Spicy, salty, fatty, and good. Though tasty, the cuts of pork were super fatty - I was certain they came from the Pork Belly. It was basically a greasy plate of bacon stir fried with veggies. Now I'm all for bacon, but they added too much grease and salt, which got in the way of the flavor of the pork. I tried a bit of Michael's cod, which was tasty, and some of Geary's duck, which was fatty and good, but not fantastic.

The service was awesome, food was slightly above average.

Luncher: Jeff

Lunch: Roast Duck Stir-fry with Rice Stick Noodle - $5.95
Fortune: Your popularity will increase.
Rating:

Jeff's Review

I’d like to give Harbor City a higher rating. However, I have to review based on what I had for lunch, not what others had. I had a Roast Duck stir-fry lunch special. Several other people had roast duck dishes which looked a lot better than mine. It wasn’t that my dish was bad… it was just bland. The portion size was fine. It was fresh and hot. This price was fair. Serve was good. In comparison to some other plates at our table I had less meat, but I can even let that slide. I was simply disappointed in the lack of robust flavor. I tried Michaels fish – excellent. I tried Emmett’s Pork – excellent. I tried some of the sauces on the table – excellent. My own stir-fry plate… average.

Luncher: Michael

Lunch: Steamed Black Cod with Black Bean Sauce - $5.95
Fortune: You will make someone's heart grow fonder.
Rating:

Michael's Review

So I broke the rules. The MSG150 is supposed to be about ordering 'typical lunch fair'. I had to break the rule when I saw that the specials board had Cod with Black Bean Sauce. So what if it cost three times as much as anything my fellow lunchers was ordering? That just means that my lunch was three times better than every one else. Ha!

Luncher: JohnAt

Lunch: Wonton Noodle Soup - $4.00
Rating:

JohnAt's Review

It's not got the reputation nor the swank confines of its around-the-corner neighbor, Sea Garden, but the BBQ cum Cantonese restaurant does have its charms. I had the remnants of the flu, which called for soup. Ordering by the trusted method of pointing at a man eating soup with noodles at the table beside us, I gulped down a hearty bowl of won ton noodle soup with a healthy portion of shrimp won tons, bok choy, green onions in what seemed to be a homemade beefbone stock and fresh tasting shrimp. It was delicious and just what the doctor ordered. The server, who also was a part owner of the establishment, was just as charming as the food. When I finished the soup, she offered me a second portion free of charge. Considering the size the first, I was not up to the challenge and politely declined. After seeing what several of my friends ate from the dinner menu -- the twice cooked pork and the BBQ duck, I would definitely recommend a return visit. Four Chopsticks.

Luncher: Al

Lunch: Spicy Twice Cooked Pork with Rice - $5.95
Fortune: You will be approached with an interesting proposition.
Rating:

Al's Review

Salty, fatty, and spicy: too much of a good thing is even better.

Harbor City Photos

Harbor City


Meat in Window


Harbor City Lunch Menu


Roast Pork Lunch Box


Roast Duck Lunch Box


Won Ton Noodle Soup


Spicy Twice Cooked Pork w/ Rice


Roast Duck Stir Fry w/ Rice Stick Noodle


Cod with Black Bean Sauce


Fraternal Twins