San Tung Review

San Tung, a Chinese restaurant with some Korean influences, served us very good dumplings, good string beans, fairly good fried chicken, and some other stuff.

The restaurant was insanely crowded when we arrived--literally, a mob scene. There were so many people that over a dozen overflowed to the sidewalk out front. Luckily, we ran into some of Oj's friends who were already on the waiting list. We joined their party and were seated fairly soon afterward. (Otherwise, it likely would've been an hour.) Our table was in a private back room, which was nicely secluded and quieter than the chaotic main room. (Still, had we eaten in the main room, the chaos may have added something to the atmosphere.)

The meal started with a plate of kimchee, which was too strong and should've been avoided.

The modest dumplings (shrimp and leek, and pork) were moist, and the best things about the meal. Oj says which item he likes the most (out of both types of chicken and both types of dumplings) changes with each visit. Su, one friend we met at the restaurant, showed us how to make a good dipping sauce: 3 parts soy sauce, 2 parts hot oil, 1 part vinegar, and a bit of red chile paste thrown in for good measure.

We tried the original dry-fried chicken wings dry style, the original dry-fried diced chicken dry style, and the dry-fried fish. All were served very hot; we had to wait a while to eat them. The fish, though moist inside, was heavy with a thick batter. It was nothing special and clearly the worst of the lot. The chicken wings had a thin, somewhat sweet coating. About half the table preferred these to the diced chicken, which was sweeter and had a more interesting, crunchy texture. One person aptly described the latter as "candied chicken" or "candy masquerading as dinner." In this way, though good, it was too sweet to eat exclusively. Some of us toned the diced chicken down with white rice. Then, as we got comfortable with it, we started spooning some of the sticky, sweet sauce onto the rice.

We shared a bowl of "combination spicy soup noodle," containing shrimp, calamari, mussels (shelled), and soft noodles, in a seriously spicy broth. Though decent, we definitely would've preferred it milder.

We also had a quite respectable dish of string beans sauteed in garlic. Still crispy, it's pretty much exactly what one wants when ordering the dish.

Aside from the soup, none of the dishes were as spicy as at the vaguely related, sister restaurant, So

We were amused by the type-os in the menu. "Died zucchini"? (Probably diced or dried.) "Tons of fresh spinach and garlic tossed quickly to your table." (Watch out!)

The total was $14/person including tax and tip but not including drinks.

Original Announcement

Since San Tung was the result of a last minute planning, there was no original announcement.

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