After I got a recommendation for this spot by some coworkers on my new team, Jimmy W and I decided to come here for lunch last Friday before he leaves this week for new adventures in Chicago! This place is fairly close to our (now Jimmy W's former) place of employment in South Everett.
I loved the interior decor and ambiance of Terracotta Red, it definitely had an upscale vibe after walking in. No hole-in-the-wall here! This would be a good place to come for dinner, when you can linger a bit.
First up, two teas from their tea bar menu. Fragrant, flavorful, and a steal at a bottomless steaming (large) teapot for $3 each. I went for the House Oolong ("From the central mountains of Taiwan, this roasted tea aids in metabolism and digestion.") and Jimmy the Yunnan Black ("This full bodied infusion is deep red with a molasses-like sweetness and light creamy finish.") I was very happy with both flavors!
My coworkers had previously raved about the potstickers, so we ordered this as an app to split- Pork & Chive ($9), pan fried or steamed and served with a black vinegar dip. 6 large pieces arrived (pan fried) and though they were decent- I'm pretty used to good dumplings and this wasn't anything extraordinary. For my main, I was torn between several options (including Tangerine Beef & Crispy Drunken Chicken) but eventually went for the Carmelized Spicy Tiger Prawns ($12.75; garlic, sweet onions, string beans, chili sambal). This came with either soup or salad and rice. I chose the chicken and coconut milk soup (mushrooms, galangal, grape tomatoes, spices) and brown rice. The soup was incredible... and HUGE for a complimentary starter size. Actually portion sizes in general were fairly big. If I ever come eat here with hubby, we'd be able to get away with one main to split, no problem. The Carmelized prawns were also very yummy, but decidedly NOT spicy as billed. I had to add a bunch of extra chili sauce to get even close to my expectations. Also, I would have preferred them to be a little more "saucey" to go nicely with the rice. It made for a dry dish with too little of the sauce. Jimmy W got the Terra Rice ($11; prawns, bbq pork, chicken, basil, fried shallot). I think this was the biggest disappointment of the meal, lacking both in flavor and texture. With fried rice, I think of the browned bits of flavor that make it so tasty and there was none of that here. This was Americanized Chinese food at it's blandest and least creative.
Despite the fact that I had boxed up at least 3/4 of my main meal (and this was after Jimmy tried some!), I was not going to leave without trying some Chinese donuts! Luckily, Jimmy was game cause boy can he eat (and I remember I could too back in my 20's). These were also different than what I expected- generally Chinese-style doughnuts are long and thin, but these came as balls (6 child-fist-sized bombs "aka crispy fritters" for $5.50 and rolled in sugar and cinnamon with a passion fruit dip). I wish they would offer a 1/2 sized option. The passion fruit dip was WAY sweeter than expected... it definitely tasted like they had added sugar to the mix and I would've preferred the tart/sweet of the fruit itself to have shined through. The fritters were savory and a little grainy (almost like they had some blend of a coarser flour or cornmeal), but I didn't mind this.
Service was average, although the busboy was friendlier than the waitress for some odd reason- coming over to ask us how we liked our tea and if he could refill pots with hot water and staying to chat about tea flavors. Not that our server wasn't friendly, she was just fine too!
All in all, I would say this place was a solid 3 stars (A-OK), but nowhere near what my coworkers were raving about- and probably my expectations were set high. Looks like I need to take them out for some real authentic Asian food. In full disclosure, I'm not a big fan of PF Changs that everyone goes bananas over either- I'm just not a "chain restaurant" kind of person- and this food reminds me a lot of PFC!
HOWEVER, if I was a person with dietary restrictions- to gluten, dairy, or others- I think this would be a good place as it looked like there were a ton of options for any sort of limitations. (Though not sure about cross contamination/ separation of kitchen areas) read more