I came here with a friend and we ordered the cucumber salad, the clay pot with beef, enoki mushroom and vermicelli and the cured meat clay pot rice.
The cucumber salad was really flavorful. My expectations for cucumber salad are generally pretty low, as many places serve a relatively plain salad with just cucumbers and few sauces. This was really a maximalist version with wood ear mushroom, peanuts and a very flavorful dressing fully covering the cucumbers. It had the mild burn of raw onion and garlic, combined with the nuttiness of sesame sauce and a good hit of salt. Very well balanced with a strong flavor throughout- no plain sad cucumber in sight.
The beef, enoki mushroom, and vermicelli came out piping hot and bubbling, providing a spectacular tableside unveiling. The beef was very tender with a smooth velveted exterior. The enoki mushrooms had a pleasant texture and along with the soft vermicelli noodles they had fully absorbed the savory sauce from the braise. Each bite was saturated with flavor. This portion was very large, I felt like we just kept eating and the clay pot didn't look any emptier.
The clay pot rice was topped with chewy, slightly sweet lap cheong, marbled with transparent cubes of rich fat and perfectly steamed and tender slices of Chinese style bacon. The rich fat of the cured meats had rendered out and infused into the rice below, seasoning it well and marrying with the natural sweetness of the rice- I even forgot to use the provided sweet soy sauce as the rice was flavorful enough on its own. The bottom was perfectly crispy. An expertly prepared clay pot rice with exactly the combination of textures you expect.
The entire meal came out the less than $50 and the large portions left the two of us stuffed with a bag of leftovers to take home for dinner. The service was friendly and patient despite the language barrier and the restaurant is clean and comfortable.
A great options for Cantonese food in Bensonhurst. Would return if I found myself in the neighborhood again. read more