Friday, January 20, 2012

Traditional Chinese, Western Style - Han Dynasty

November 27, 2011
Han Dynasty, Philadelphia PA
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DanDan Noodles
Dry Pot Rabbit
Snow Peas Leaves
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Creative? I think so! This is perhaps the darkest Chinese restaurant I have ever been in, with bright red tables and classic Chinese chairs. But there were hardly any lights - totally western style in that sense. Yet, it was one of the best reviewed restaurants for Szechuan cuisine and I was set to find out if that was true. Indeed, it was - sort of.

We started with DanDan Noodles. Not authentic, no. It was nowhere near spicy enough. And zero numbness which is not Szechuan. However, their spicy and sweet peanut/sesame sauce was good regardless - a very unique dandan noodle. There were no vegetables, ground meat, or Chinese sauerkraut. Still, it was good. The noodles were chewy and tender and the thicker kind. Suits me just fine.

I wanted really spicy food so naturally, I picked the one with the highest level of spicy - Dry Pot Rabbit. I don't remember ever eating rabbit, though Dad claimed I have tried it back in China. I don't remember, honestly. So he encouraged me to try it now and try it we did. Such tender meat! I never thought I would fall in love with eating rabbit meat. (On a side note, is rabbit considered red or white meat???) It was really spicy, a bit too much for Dad. But I loved the spice lingering on my lips. The celery, red bell peppers, bamboo shoots, and water chestnuts were nice complements to the meat.

Finally, not wanting to eat unauthentic string beans, we opted for Snow Peas Leaves - very refreshing, very light, and not spicy at all. The leaves were not very...um...嫩(tender?). But the garlic was nice. I ate most of it.

Overall, it was a great last dinner to end the mini-vacation. It would have been nice to see the dishes better though - a little too dark for Chinese food.

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