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ReviewLuckyRiver

Page history last edited by Mark P 14 years, 11 months ago

Lucky River Review

 

Most people believed Lucky River was one of our worst dinner outings. People left hungry, not because they we ran out of food but because they didn't want to eat more, and didn't even want to try their luck ordering more.  One person angrily stated "$11 was too much" for the cost of the meal, a significant statement in light of what we normally pay on these outings.  I wasn't anywhere near as down on this meal as everyone else. Also, for some dishes, different people disliked them for different reasons.  All this will probably come out in how I describe/review each dish.

 

  • Zhejian spare ribs (not listed on the menu).  A huge plate of sticky sweet-and-sour ribs, though not your typical sweet-and-sour sauce. Though most people were fine with the flavor, they didn't like the quality of the meat, complaining that it was chewy and, in places, gristly and that one has to use one's teeth to rip meat from the bone.  It certainly wasn't possible to eat while holding the ribs in chopsticks.

 

  • Crispy chicken.  A whole fried chicken chopped into slices.  Good, and probably the favorite dish of the night.  Nevertheless, as the chicken had a number of small bone and cartilage one had to eat around, Oj complained he wanted a higher meat to other stuff ratio--i.e., less work. By the way, the menu also had a "hot spicy" version of this dish.  It sounded like that version was the plain version with hot sauce slathered on it.  We ordered the plain version because we figured we could add hot sauce ourself.

 

  • Honey walnut prawns.  Presented unconventionally as separate piles of prawns and pile of candied walnuts.  Less gloopy than most preparations, the prawns were simply covered with a thin sticky coating; there was no sauce to the dish.  Though "quite tasty when hot," they rapidly cooled and became decidedly unappealing.  Ow doesn't like honey prawns.

 

  • Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce.  While I liked the fact that the broccoli was still crispy, Ow and Oj, though initially thinking the dish was fine, found the oyster sauce got to them.  Nevertheless, this is the main dish they returned to after trying the others.  S doesn't like Chinese broccoli. 

 

  • Tofu, along with salted (fermented) fish, in a clay pot.  This dish was easy to identify when it arrived by its funky, fermented smell.  I thought its fermented nature made it the most distinctively Asian of any dish we ordered.  Indeed, this offensive odor and taste is probably why all my compatriots didn't like it.  (I thought it wasn't particularly bad, but was still the least appealing dish on the table.)  Incidentally, the compatriots claimed the fried chicken was the quintessential Asian dish at the table, remarking where else would one get a whole chicken on a plate, simply cleaved through the bone into slices.

 

My nose tweaked slightly when the rice arrived.  Though subtle in taste and scent, I think the rice was slightly burnt.

 

The restaurant's entrance, with just a counter and cashier, makes it look like a takeout joint.  The dining room proper is upstairs.  It was a quarter full with mainly Chinese families when we arrived.  The decor is typical for low-end Chinese restaurants.  Menus written in Chinese dotted the walls.

 

The total was $11/person including tax and tip.  We didn't have any drinks.

 

Original Announcement

 

Tonight we'll venture into the boonies of San Francisco to try the Chinese restaurant Lucky River.

 

Comments from Other Attendees

 


 


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