PLUM BLOSSOM HAS BLOSSOMED INTO ONE OF MY FAVORITE PLACES FOR CHINESE FOOD!
For almost 20 years, Plum Blossom has been a part of my life whether I was going to RPI for college, passing through Troy on the way up to Vermont, or going back to RPI for an alumni weekend. NYC has its own Chinatown which is known throughout New York State and the world beyond. Until recently Albany/Troy has not had a Chinatown of their own, so all Chinese food has been relegated to take-out restaurants. Forget about fine dining, you better hope that the pictures on the wall even vaguely resemble the food in your Styrofoam container.
My first time at Plum Blossom was when I was a freshman at RPI (Fall 1994). A classmate from Intro to Economics took me under his wing and brought me there for a lunch special. The purpose of the lunch was to help get me back on track, but I was too cool for school and instead I was focused on our order of fried dumplings and my order of beef and broccoli to pay him enough mind. Between the wonderful wooden decor and the fantastic food, I was completely entranced in getting myself on-board the dot-com express that had taken the world by storm. The lunch I had there on that day had a lasting effect on my memories and would be one those places that would set the standard in a city of take-out only.
Fast forward to the present day and having passed through Troy many more times since that day. That classmate was right about one thing that day, because as we all know that the dot-com boom went bust and I found myself back at RPI in 2004 for some unfinished business. Times have changed since my old college days, but one thing has remained timeless since then. The hot and sour soup is every bit as flavorful today as when I had my first taste half a lifetime before.
I consider my father Sam K. the original foodie, and I have brought him here several times on our way through to Vermont. To watch my sip his soup and nod his head in an approval is enough proof for me that I have done well as a son. Perhaps I was a bit reckless in my younger days, but to know that the man that I am today can bring happiness to my father by finding him the best places to get hot and sour soup no matter where we go must make me good at least by his own measure.
To those who say that Plum Blossom has lost its way, I defer to Sam K. And judging by the recent look on his face, he seems happy as a hippo. I've had bad Chinese food all over New York City and especially in upstate New York. I've had great Chinese food in fewer places than I can remember. It's great to see that the Plum Blossom of my memories has not faded and continues to serve the same soup of my youth. read more