One from Column A
Last week when I posted an entry about David Chu's China Bistro (pictured when it was last reviewed in 2002) being named Best Kosher Restaurant, I said I was surprised. My surprise stemmed from the fact that a Chinese restaurant in the Baltimore area got any Best, except maybe Best Chinese, not that it got Best Kosher.
I haven't eaten at David Chu's (it was reviewed by the LIVE reviewer at the time) so I'm not speaking specifically about it; but of all Asian cuisines, Chinese...
(Kenneth K. Lam/Sun Photographer)
...seems most Americanized to me, with overthickened sauces, meat-heavy, and often too sweet -- maybe because it was first on the restaurant scene.
I remember former Washington Post critic Phyllis Richman telling me that of the various types of restaurants, Chinese were the ones she dreaded having to write about most, so I'm not alone in this.
I've had Cantonese restaurant food that was beautifully done (see one of my early posts, on the Shanghai Grill in Los Angeles), but it's the exception, not the rule. There are Chinese restaurants around here I enjoy eating at, but more for comfort food reasons than anything else.
Maybe things have changed, and I just haven't been to Baltimore's best Chinese restaurants recently enough. I should make up a Top Ten list of what I think are the best, and post it on Tuesday, Dec. 25, for those who are looking for places that are open on Christmas day.
Comments
If you can find ten GOOD Chinese restaurants in Baltimore, let alone ten best out of all them, I'll be impressed. There're a lot of things to love about Baltimore's food scene, but the Chinese food isn't one of them.
I'm afraid you're right, but of course that never stops me making up my lists. :-)
Posted by: Matt Terl | November 14, 2007 11:41 AM
Jesse Wong's Hong Kong is the best that I've tasted around these parts. And my Chinese-born friend appreciates their authenticity.
Posted by: Kathy | November 14, 2007 12:54 PM
Ding How in Fells Point and Joey Chiu's Greenspring Inn in Greenspring and the Bamboo House in Cockeysville.
How about 10 best sushi restaurants?
Posted by: KB | November 16, 2007 1:14 PM
Paul Kee off Georgia Ave in Silver Spring, but I guess that's too close to DC. It's as authentic a Cantonese restaurant is going to be so says my mainland Chinese friends.
Posted by: Eric | November 20, 2007 11:29 AM