10.05.08: Out to Won Kei

This Won Kei visit was a duty call of sorts, as we were introducing a friend to its delightfully cheap culinary charms, which for Our part meant lemon chicken (His) and mushroom chicken (Hers) over hearty helpings of white rice. We ordered the Chinese greens, but they never made it to the table, more's the pity.

HE SAYS: I was eager to have a hearty lemon Pledge chicken dish to myself. When it arrived I felt a little cheated as the portion was a little smaller then I've previously witnessed. I do harbour some white trash embarrassment over ordering this step-child to the 'sweet n' sour, day-glo orange, deep fried battered prawn ball' dish so common in strip-mall Chinese joints, but it's so good - magic sticky lemony sauce over deep-fried chicken strips, I quickly waved away my shame and dug in and savoured the flava.

SHE SAYS: This is what I order at Won Kei when I'm trying to be a tad virtuous - no deep-frying, for instance - and it's always yumsome, but I found myself pondering the extreme tenderness of the chicken - pondering specifically whether it was a good thing, exactly. But then I decided not to ponder, and just spooned over more of the pepper-oil concoction they set on the table that you can't get anywhere else and that I long for, for days afterwards. The mushrooms are always an impressive mix of wild and mundane, earthy and salty. I missed the gingery greens, but not enough to stay on the table that much longer - white rice is rather filling!