Mathew S.
Yelp
Exceptional in its simplicity. No frills, no clutter; a paired down menu that focuses on what is done well and nothing else. The complex textures are what food from here offers that don't show up other places. Tastes good, too.
The inside is nearly stark. It's white, it's open, it's slightly barren. For what you're going for it's fitting. This isn't about an experience (sights, sounds, smells, and flavor), it's simply about flavor here. Not to say the staff isn't hospitable or the setting isn't enjoyable (the woman who rang up our order was helpful when given my patented 'narrow it down to two/three and which ever the staff says first is selected by me' approach) or that the seating is torture (it's ok)- the focus is on the ingredients and the product.
Had a late lunch on an early April afternoon on the patio. It was relatively quiet: a pleasant disconnect while out of town if only for an hour on the way to Hot Springs.
I had the potstickers (pork, obviously) and the sesame balls (hint, this was the star of the show), the Scientist had the half and half (dumplings- chicken, noodles with lightly pulled chicken) and carrot slaw.
The sesame balls- light, doughy, delightful; but the magic is in the transient nature of the texture through the bite and chew. There's some pull, then a feel of slight crunch from the seeds, it turns ever so (a good thing) gritty towards the end. These are just fun to eat mindfully, thinking about what it is you're doing, and how the eventual sesame paste (maybe some mung bean with tamarind amalgam) shows up like like a sophomore for a post-survey level humanities class.
The potstickers: wrapper is thin, well-fried, crispy and chewy at the same time. Again, texture. Nothing earth-shattering from the taste perspective with regard to the filling. Good, loose pork mixture. Topped with scallions and a fun crunchy lattice likely leftover from the batter while frying.
The dumplings were full and doughy. The mixture inside was covered up by the noodle of the dumpling. The noodles were thin, light, fun to grab at with chopsticks. The chicken was perfectly cooked, though not much more than chicken in the taste arena.
The sauces offered were depthy, though not especially deep with various levels of heat. I got the hot- it was a step under what I was looking for (though a poison level was offered, and this was probably more my speed), but the soy with the chili did have me tipping up the dipping sauce cup at the end of the meal.
Recommended. More of a 3.5 star rating, but I was out of town and anything that's novel (somehow I get more generous on out of town food than that close to home) gets the bump up rather than the rounding off. Remember: this is about the food, not the service or the aesthetic!