Dining Out
Karl
Wells
Kenmount Restaurant
75 Kenmount Road
Ph. 753-8385
It's so easy to leave me
All alone with the memory
Of my days in the sun
Memory, CATS
It used to be the place everyone chose for dining out,
if it was Chinese food you wanted. Today the Kenmount Restaurant seems to have
been forgotten by many. However, despite the decline in business it continues
to operate, reminding me of a proud starlet from yesteryear who, regardless of
her diminished status, still carries herself with a modicum of style and grace.
When we arrived at the Kenmount Restaurant three cars
were parked in front of the building. The parking lot could have accommodated
dozens. The brick structure with pagoda style roof looked like it was in need
of a little freshening. Wear and tear was showing under the eves, calling for
some repairs and a new coat of paint.
Inside, apart from some fading here and there, the Kenmount Restaurant looked much the same as it did thirty years ago. At the threshold of the dining room the beautiful, ornately carved arch that contained Chinese symbols and characters made an impression. It was brilliantly coloured in red, gold, blue, green and orange. An angry dragon appeared on one side of the arch while an elaborately feathered bird adorned the other.
As I scanned the room in which we were seated, looking
at the green, blue and red floral wallpaper - with matching drapes - I imagined
what the room looked like twenty years ago, when each of the sixty salmon
coloured seats would have been occupied. That was back in the days when many of
the patrons would have been ordering the Kenmount’s own Boston cream pie for
dessert. They don’t make it anymore, pity.
Our server brought us menus,
the same menus I believe I've been looking at for at least ten or fifteen
years. Each page was filled with item after item of beverage choices, as well
as the various choices in styles of Chinese food and Canadian food.
Unfortunately, some items were not available. For example, I ordered mu shu
pork with pancakes. We were quickly informed that the item was no longer
available because the cook's mother had made the pancakes herself and that
since her passing the item was no longer being offered. That explanation seemed
a little odd, however, one would hope new menus could be printed soon to more
accurately reflect what IS available at the Kenmount.
I'm a huge fan of seafood soups so the assorted seafood and bean curd soup for
two was an easy choice. It was good but not exceptional, mainly because there
was little seafood and what seafood there was, was not an assortment. The soup
contained one and only one kind of fish, cod. Sadly, I found only a few
slivers.
The Kenmount's spring rolls came with one of the best plum sauces I've ever
tasted. It was warmed, in a bowl and full of fresh fruit flavour. It reminded
me of a homemade preserve. The sauce greatly improved the enjoyment of the
rolls. They weren't bad in themselves, being crispy and filled with a tasty
filling of chicken and vegetables. However, the sauce brought them to a higher
level.
By far the spiciest dish of
the evening was shrimps with Szechwan sauce. It was a bright red dish -
dominated by tomato paste - interrupted by dozens of small pink shrimp. Less
obvious to the eye but not to the palate were pieces of sweet red pepper, green
pepper and onion. I liked the heat of the dish because it seemed to marry well
with the fresh shrimp.
Fuji beef was a combination of beef with mixed vegetables and crispy vermicelli
on top. It also contained broccoli, mushrooms, baby corns, and snow peas. I
appreciated this dish but thought it was just a tad too heavy on cooking oil
for my taste.
Kenmount Restaurant's lemon chicken was unique but worked for me. Thin scallops
of chicken that appeared to have been pounded out were coated with breadcrumbs
and fried. Covering all was a bright sweet lemon sauce that would have
benefited from more obvious lemon flavour.
The minced pork with bean curd was a little spicy as well. Texturally there was
a lot happening with the dish. First there were the tiny clumps of very lean
ground pork, the crunch of snow peas and the soft texture of cooked sweet
peppers, onions and mushrooms. But the most outstanding ingredient was numerous
squares of ultra creamy tofu that just melted in the mouth.
"I know what I'm havin', sub gum chow mein! Try it. It's the best thing
they've got here." With those words from our current mayor - no relation -
I was introduced to what has also become a favourite Chinese dish of mine. It
was over thirty years ago. I was working part-time at MUN where Andy Wells was
my boss and we had gone to the Kenmount during its glory days for a feed of
Chinese. I'll never forget the way he relished that dish. Andy and I actually
have similar taste in food. We like everything!
The Kenmount’s latest version of their sub gum chow
mein was good but it didn’t seem to have the same variety of ingredients I
remembered from bygone days. I didn’t see any scallops, barbecue pork or the
calamari I used to love in their dish. However, it did have plenty of flavour
from the chicken, shrimps, snow peas and bok choy that were included. By the
way, according to our server, sub gum chow mein is the same as Cantonese chow
mein except the vegetables are cut differently.
Dessert
wasn’t even a remote possibility. Our server surprised us by saying the
Kenmount doesn’t usually serve desserts because, quote, “we can’t keep them
long enough.” I wasn’t sure what that
meant but I would suggest they put some kind of dessert – even a good ice cream
– back on the menu.
I
thought the Kenmount had a wealth of good things going for it. It has a dated
look but it’s still an attractive restaurant, large and comfortable. It’s in a
good location, has plenty of free parking and the food is good. Give it a try the next time your looking for
a Chinese dining out experience.
Our
meal for two at the Kenmount - including drinks, gratuity and enough food to
take home for a second meal for two - cost $106.31.
The
Kenmount was not wheelchair accessible and the noise level was low.
Spacious,
comfortable dining.
Areas
for Improvement:
Print
new menus and refresh the interior and exterior of restaurant.
Ratings
Category:
The
Kenmount gets 7.5 points out of 10.
7 points = satisfactory, 7.5 = good, 8 = very good, 9 =
excellent, 10 = perfection