Yesterday afternoon, Mike calls me at work and asks what our plans are for the evening. Being that it's Friday, we both would like to get out of the house and do something fun with the family. He suggests we go out to dinner and have Chinese food. Okay, I guess. Chinese food doesn't really fit into my diet, but it does sound good. So we agree! And let me just add here, going out to dinner has not been something we have been able to do very often because of budget restraints, so this is kind of exciting!
Mike gets home from work late, at 6:00pm, and I get the kids re-dressed (clean clothes) and pile them into the car. Now the question, "Which Chinese restaurant should we go?" Canton, China Garden, Kow Loon's, Gozen, all of which are tried and true. Nope, Mike suggests we try this new Chinese restaurant called Taste of Asia. Let me provide just a little background:
Taste of Asia is a small, one-room building on a dark corner, next to a car lot and lumber yard. Not necessarily where you would expect to find an eating establishment. It used to be a balloon and flower shop. Taste of Asia has had their name on this building for over a year, but has never opened, which I thought was strange. On the way home from work a week ago, Mike noticed they had finally opened, which prompted his request to try it. I protested, of course, and we agreed to go to Canton's, which we new had okay food. With the exception of the owner having a huge mole on her cheek, with a very long gray hair growing out of it, Canton's is a safe choice! But we drove by and it seemed to be quite busy. Alright, so Mike gets his way - we drive a couple of blocks to the "Unknown".
We unload the kids and walk in Taste of Asia through the back door, which is next to the kitchen. I sneak a peak to get an idea of what we're about to dare. It's a tiny kitchen, with two men diligently cooking. It looks clean - check! The cooks looked Asian - check! The food they had out looked fresh - Check! But, as I mentiond earlier, it's a one-room dinning room with five tables, and looks a bit like something out of the movie "The Shining". I still try and have an open mind. We are greeted by a very young, not too attractive, young lady who shows us to our table. We sit down and I take a moment to look around at two other parties, brave souls, one of which is already eating, the other is waiting for their food. They look like almost normal people, so again, I'll keep an open mind.
We wait quite awhile for our food to come. I ordered shrimp and mixed vegetables, Mike ordered shrimp and mushrooms, and we ordered a combo plate for the kids to share. Okay, so here's my second clue I won't be coming back: we ask for Soy Sauce. The young waitress quickly and happily complies, runs back to her station and brings back "to go" packets of Soy Sauce an puts them on our table. Huh? So, you're telling me they don't have normal bottles of Soy Sauce? Strange. "Thank you", I say, "May I please have some hot mustard?" "Oh sure!", the waitress responds, and again runs back to her station. Third clue: She sets a little white bowl on the table. I, of course, thank her. But, um, this doesn't look like the hot mustard I've had before....OH!! Because it's NOT!! Nope, it's DEJON MUSTARD!?!? Quoting Melissa, "Are you KIDDING me?" Mike gets up and walks up to our waitress and politely asks if there's another kind of "hot mustard" we can have. Our waitress runs into the kitchen to "ask her boss". No, that is the only hot mustard they have! Okay then! I'm outta here! And honestly, as I'm half-way through eating my dinner, I'm just a little scared! I don't know who "the boss" is, but do they really have any business opening a "Chinese restaurant" if they don't even know what hot mustard is? Hmmmm. We finished our dinner, and no, in case you were wondering, Dejon mustard is not good on Chow Mein, and walk out the same back door. Again, I look over my shoulder to take another look at my "cooks"....this time one of them looks at me, and NO they're not Asian, I'm not sure what they were! I look at Mike, my dear husband, and thank him for broadening my horizons, but next time I'll be the one that makes the decision of where to dine out! Thanks for the lovely night out Tootsie!
