Beast Blog

yum! chinese!

i've never been a big fan of chinese food, probably because there is sooo much bad chinese food out there (being the oldest ethnic food in the us, there is bound to be!). but i am quite impressed with May Flower! (2156 University Avenue, 510.883.9788)

i stopped in for a quick lunch today and was happy that they serve dim sum (my fave of all chinese food) all day long!

but i was unprepared for the level of quality and freshness- amazing!
for example, i've always hated egg drop soup- it's always such a slimy mess. this egg drop soup was fresh, light, infused with fresh corn flavor and NOT slimy at all!

my friend & i shared 4 orders of their dim sum (they have a limited dim sum menu, but the quality more than makes up for a small selection).

1. shui mai (4 pcs, $1.98) amazingly fresh- the pork puree has whole shrimp in it! yum!
2. pan fried chive dumplings (3 pcs, $1.98) inside the rice wrap was shrimp, ginger, and LOTS of chives. really amazing fresh chive smell when you opened the dumpling.
3. steamed bb pork buns (3 pcs, $1.98) they must make them there. the filling was fresh and tasty- not like the frozen ones from other places!
4. shrimp dumplings (4 pcs, $1.98) whole shrimp, not steamed puree.

i would highly recommend this place, and guess what, they deliver for free!

China Village: Chowhound Find

In trying to find a tasty place that could comfortably seat 12 in Albany, I resorted to Chowhound.com. A restaurant which kept coming up is China Village on Solano. The Chowhounds noted it for it's authentic Sichuan cuisine (which you have to ask for specially -- most gweilo are given the American Chinese menu).

Well, the restaurant is not much to look at from the outside, but the meal we discovered inside was delightful. Here's what was left of it:

Particular favorites included a fish soup with chilis, cumin lamb, pork shoulder, boiled beef, and eggplant.