Hopping off the 1 Bus near Central Square I just didn't have it in me to make a homemade meal, that and a recent power outage wiped out a significant amount of my perishable goods. Strolling down Mass Ave, all the options were laid out in front of me....Pizza, Middle Eastern, Asian, Pub Food, Liquid Dinner (most tempting of all)? Then it dawned on me, how about Chinese? My mind immediately switched gears from what to eat to where I was going to get some quality Chinese take out. I had passed Mary Chung Restaurant a ton of times, but had never even peered through the front window. After closer investigation - large tables of people were still finishing their meals around 9:30pm. A good sign - they were still open and people actually eat there. I peeked at the massive menu and chose 2 of my favorites, Fried Wontons and Spicy Eggplant. 10 minutes and I was on my way. It took every ounce of restraint in my body not to tear open that thick, brown paper bag and pull up a bench with the bums in Central Square, but I would just have made them jealous.....and violent most likely.
When I got home, even the white-hot temperature of the food didn't deter me from getting down to business. The first wonton was nice and crunchy and dipping sauce was a good, sweet compliment. Wait a minute....there's no filling. Maybe it's just this one. Nope. They gave me a bunch of crispy wontons carefully folded into a pocket-type shape filled with absolutely nothing. For $3.50, I expected at least a small ball of cheap pork and scallions, not a box of fried sheets that other restaurants give away free with soup. Strike one Mary.
The spicy eggplant was swimming in a oily pool that would make BP blush and was really over cooked. I'm usually fine with the spiced oil amount as long as it adds flavor and this eggplant really missed the spicy kick that Szechuan cooking is know for. Damn.
A totally unsatisfying meal to be honest. Maybe my expectations were too high, the chef was rushed with a late night order, I ordered the wrong thing, etc., etc. Sorry Mary, maybe next time.......
No comments:
Post a Comment