Dining Out
Karl
Wells
Tai Hong
2 Tilley's Rd.
Clarenville
Ph. 466-2929
Recently my day job took me,
along with three co-workers to Clarenville. I always make time on a road trip
to ask a local about any new or interesting places to eat. A tipster quickly
recommended a Chinese place - under new management - called Tai Hong. A
personable young woman named Cindy Wong, along with her husband, now owns it. A
few years ago they noticed the restaurant and dreamt that one day it might be
theirs. About eighteen months ago the dream became reality.
A large aquarium containing
nine bright koi dominated the entrance to Tai Hong. We had three rooms to
choose from. It was a cold night so I asked if we could be seated in the
warmest part of the restaurant and we were. My ankle’s still warm from the
baseboard heater next to my foot. Once settled, we ordered a round of wonton
soup. We also each ordered a dish to be shared by the table.
While we were waiting for
our platters to arrive Cindy Wong brought us something to get going on - a
generous portion of crispy wontons. They were served with a bowl of your
standard sweet and sour sauce. Judging by how quickly the wontons disappeared
everyone must have loved them. Of course they did because the wontons were
everything they should have been – fresh, super crispy on the outside and a tad
chewy inside.
What’s better than wonton soup? Try “deluxe” wonton
soup. Speaking from experience, Tai Hong’s was rich in ingredients - plump
pork-filled wontons, shrimp and scallops - as well as a deliciously rich broth.
The richness of good, old-fashioned animal fat is what gave the broth its
smooth finish and flavour. Never underestimate the effectiveness of animal fat
in imparting taste to a dish. (Admit it. Doesn’t cod and almost everything else
taste superb when cooked in rendered pork fat?) Tai Hong’s soup contained just
the right amount of fat. It’s a fine balance because too much can take the edge
off other flavours. In future Tai Hong might want to add a little less salt to
this soup however.
My buddy
Ever
fall for a dish and have absolutely no idea why? You know, one that on the
surface just doesn’t seem to have much going for it? I suppose, in a way, it’s
like the appeal of junk food. That’s pretty much the way I felt about Tai
Hong’s crispy pork. It was crunchier than crisp (hard crunchy) and the slivers
of pork inside the crunchy shells were so de-hydrated they were more “essence”
of pork than anything else. Yet, there was something very appealing about the
tough little nuggets in their glossy, piquant, hot sauce. No doubt most of the
attraction was created by the texture of the crispy pork combined with the
memorable sauce. Since we’re in the Chinese “Year of the Pig” I suppose it’s
appropriate that all of us gave this dish a big thumbs-up.
Of
all “American” Chinese dishes almond soo guy is one of the most American. Think
about it. It’s fried chicken and gravy. My theory is: it was invented for those
who found deep-fried chicken balls and goopy pink sauce too exotic. At any
rate, Tai Hong’s almond soo guy was very good chicken and gravy. It disappeared
almost as fast as those crispy wontons.
The
sizzling platter of Mongolian beef was the centerpiece of our meal. It was a
deliciously succulent combination of extremely tender slices of beef, onions,
green peppers and a beefy, slightly spicy sauce. Even though the recipe was
simple it was obvious that Tai Hong’s Mongolian beef was prepared with a great
deal of care.
We
noticed that while we were dining Cindy and her husband were having their
supper in a quiet corner of the restaurant. When paying the bill, curiosity got
the better; we asked Cindy and her partner what they had eaten for dinner. As
someone who grew up in a family food business, Cindy’s answer really didn’t
surprise me.
“We
had fatty, leftover bits of beef that are not good enough for our customers.”
Cindy
Wong went on to tell us that Chinese people like fatty meat anyway because it
tastes good. She’ll get no argument from me. (I always thought the food in
those “dented” cans my father brought home from our store tasted better too.)
Cindy also told us they’d eaten the beef dish with a type of root that they
purchase in dried form. She insisted “we” would not have liked it. Well,
frankly, speaking for myself, I wanted to sit down then and there and tuck into
a big bowl of the fatty beef and roots.
Too
bad we don’t have a Chinatown where we might actually find some truly authentic
Chinese food. Or (more likely) perhaps one day a brave, adventurous
restaurateur might open an emporium featuring real Chinese cuisine. Meanwhile,
I’ll settle for menu choices at some of our better North American-Chinese
restaurants, like Tai Hong.
Our
meal for four at Tai Hong - including eight beers and gratuity - cost
approximately $112.00.
The
noise level at Tai Hong was low. It was not wheelchair accessible.
Best
Points:
Fabulous
Mongolian beef.
Areas
for Improvement:
Nix
the fake crab.
Ratings
Category:
Tai
Hong gets 8 points.
7 points = satisfactory, 7.5 points = good, 8 points =
very good, 9 points = excellent, 10 points = perfection