Mito I.
Yelp
Quick Summary:
- Best tasting fried rice (my type of fried rice)
- Friendly staff
- A lovely tea experience
- Large portions, entered hungry, left near 100% full
If there is such a thing, I would like to nominate this restaurant as the best restaurant I've went to in 2019. I still have a month to go until the end of the year, but this will stand out as the best experience I had.
We found this restaurant when we were walking around the block to El Cerrito Plaza. It was a new place then, and the sign and the bamboo stalks caught our attention. My family loves noodles, so we saved this spot and decided to go on our next visit.
Weeks passed, and here we are.
We entered the restaurant in the late afternoon (3pm). The staff welcomed us and led us to our seats. It was 3pm and we were pretty hungry, so we ordered the dishes we typically order at: fried rice, some type of pan fried noodle, and soup. After observing the menu, we ordered the Yangzhou stir-fry, vegetarian stir-fry, and the Hunan hot and sour. We also ordered our first ever green onion pancake here.
We also ordered a set of tea, oolong, because the photos on yelp showed a beautiful tea set and we wanted to see how the tea tasted like.
The tea arrived first and the owner explained the wait time before serving it. As we waited the dishes came in one at a time, the pancake came first, then the fried rice and noodles, and finally the hot and sour soup.
All the dishes were delicious!
This is my first time eating a green onion pancake, so I'm not not what the best tastes like, but I really enjoyed it. The outside was crispy and the inside was chewy. I liked how the pancake was thin too. As a person who loves green onions, I loved the taste of the vegetable. For me, it was subtle, but my relative who doesn't eat as many green onions as I do, said it was strong.
What we really enjoyed and loved was the Yangzhou stir-fry. This is the fried rice we were searching for, is what we almost shouted in unison. The flavor was on point; despite the dish having a faint color, each rice grain was packed with flavor. The shrimp was plump and sweet, and it tasted very clean too.
It was so good, if my stomach wasn't so full, I would have asked for seconds xD
I was also pleased with the vegetarian stir-fry. Despite no meat flavor, the dish had a rich flavor in every bite. I liked how the staff first mentioned to mix the dish first before eating, and that was a good tip. The sauce was at the bottom, so after some tossing, the noodles got a coffee brown color. I liked the faint vinegar-like taste in the sauce.
Finally, the hot and sour noodle soup. I usually order hot and sour soup because it's my favorite dish. This one was different from the ones I had because this had the name Hunan. I liked this one too! When asked for the spice level, we opted for mild. It was some spices, and if I ate that with the soup and noodle, I almost coughed xD The overall dish, as mild, I can eat without the need of water, but it's the specks of spice chilis that was spicy.
We were surprised of the noodles; it was something I never had before. I can't really explain the exact description on the texture, but it's soft that I can cut it without much pressure on the teeth. However, the noodles were sturdy, that it didn't overcook in the broth.
I'm not forgetting the tea!
We ordered the oolong tea, and the mouthfeel was creamy and round. I really really loved the aroma that emitted from the steeped tea. I was surprised that when the perfect and good steeped tea was very light in color, but when I sipped it, the flavor exploded in the mouth.
The beautiful teapot filled three drinking cups twice, so we drank it while we ate our meal. When we were done eating and the plates were empty, the staff came by with a jar of hot water for us to fill and enjoy post-lunch. She offered a third, but for this time we declined -- but we will definitely consider it the next time.
Before I forget, I would give extra stars for the staff, or the owner of the restaurant. She was so kind and friendly to us during the whole food experience. It almost felt like we visited her home and she welcomed us with tea and a delicious dinner. I enjoyed having a chat with her while she brought in dishes.
For sure, we will come back again.