For quite some time now I have been searching for a Chinese takeaway where the 3-in-1's are altogether well made, doing utmost justice to the combination of sauce, chips and rice. Now, if you're anything like myself, you'll agree with me when I say, "the thought that merely a 3-in-1 is a good means of comparison for how good a Chinese is for its food in general seems rather naive". I don't blame you; there's such a diverse selection on the menu, to take one example is a bit assuming. However, at least it's the same food for every Chinese, so I can talk in terms of how good the 3-in-1's are from place to place, at least.
But, and this is important to note, it just so happens that the better I find the 3-in-1, the better the place is as a whole. When I get a bad chips, rice and curry sauce, my friend gets a bad duck with whatever else it is they throw in there. When I get a good one, someone else swears by the, well... satay chicken I suppose. My argument is: if the Chinese is good, they'll put the effort into making ALL their food. As funny as this may seem to some- the better the 3-in-1's, the better the Chinese.
Now, New Century (in fact the exact one in the photo) has been the latest place from where I bought a 3-in-1 to date. It all started when a certain "Marie B," who swore by a certain "satay chicken," convinced me to put their 3-in-1's to the test, albeit only by mention of the place, but convincing nevertheless. It was the 6th November, a Saturday night- cold and snappy. My friend and I were restless, bored with the monotony of our neighbourhood, when all of a sudden I had remembered...
"There's this place- Luellen's. It's top quality, just opposite the Ashleaf. Give it a try the next time you're up there."
At least, that's what I THOUGHT I remembered. So I took my friend two kilometers from our hometown for a journey to this place- Luellen's. Thing was, it wasn't actually called Luellen's. No, turned out Luellen was the supposed proprietor of New Century, the actual name of the Chinese, which itself wasn't even true. I had been the victim of the misinterpretation of a joke, which even managed to twist what I thought I remembered! I mean, what I remembered meant absolutely nothing really.
However, that didn't stop me from trying the place out, for when I established the name 'New Century' blazoning the top of it, I was quickly reminded of its recommendation by Marie B. And in retrospect, I wouldn't have made the effort to go there that night hadn't it been for my mistake in the first place.
For 4 euros, which is standard 3-in-1 price, I brought home with me a chip, fried rice and King Po sauce 3-in-1. Usually curry sauce is the popular choice, but to be fair I try many sauces from each Chinese. Overall, I've tried; King Po, Oyster sauce, Red Thai Chili, Curry, Sweet&Sour, barbecue, Hot Garlic, Szechuan. I tried the King Po (which is made from hot bean sauce, not like Heinz now) from New Century.
The chips were exactly what you want in a 3-in-1, the way they should be to compliment the sauce- absorptive, but not so much they're drenched soggy. Once you got that down it's just a matter of cooking the rice properly. In my opinion, the sauce- King Po- wasn't the best choice, but for what it was there was no mistaken the high quality of its tastiness. The rice was just fine, you can't really go over the moon with elaborate rice descriptions. It wasn't undercooked, that's the main thing.
As well as ensuring a tasty meal, the bag in which your food comes is piquantly textured and designed compared to other places. A nice addition, I thought. Eh, just for the sake of it, there was one odd encounter in ordering my food, and that was when I was standing at the desk. I was scrolling through the menu, even though I knew what I wanted, when I realised the music I heard when entering the Chinese was actually coming from the Chinese itself and not the pub across the road. Though I agree- innocent a thought at first, that was no radio playing in the backround either. The shrill voice from behind that secretive, little hatch came far too solidly through the air to be produced by a radio.
I wasn't complaining mind you O_o read more
