"Apologize to the rice!"
May. 5th, 2002 01:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
robotech_masterFolks who don't live in Springfield may not find this entry terribly interesting. Or terribly useful, anyway.
I've eaten at a few Chinese places here in town.
My Dad tends to favor a place on South Campbell with the unlikely name of "Mister Eggroll". They make pretty decent food, I guess; I've eaten there a number of times. The things that stick in my mind about the place are that they do all their frying in chicken broth, as it's lower in fat than the oils some places use, and that it has one of those "get your ticket stamped enough times and get a free meal" deals. But I've started to find the food a bit bland for my tastes after eating there a lot.
The other day, while I was selling plasma, the fellow in the bed next to me was talking about how good a nearby place--the Rickshaw--was. He seemed to think it was the best Chinese restaurant in town, so I decided to stop by and eat lunch there afterward.
I think the first sign that it wasn't all it was supposed to be was when I saw the fried rice that came with the cashew chicken I ordered. It was just that...rice, and kind of gummy rice at that. Most of the good Chinese places serve fried rice that isn't just rice...it's rice with bits of egg and veggies and things in it; rice that is in itself delicious and flavorful and you could almost believe that you would find it filling and satisfactory enough to eat by itself for a meal. And the cashew chicken I was maneuvered into ordering...well, let's just say the chicken pieces weren't very high quality and leave it at that.
Of course, I'm not overly fond of cashew chicken as a general rule, for all that it is a Missouri invention. I tend to prefer stuff with vegetables and mushrooms and little ears of corn and things in it, and more of a bite to the sauce. Which brings me to the two decent places in town I've found so far.
Of course, these both fall into the category of cheap Chinese food...I'd almost say fast food, except they beat out Master Wang's by a good degree, plus at one of them you do have to wait for your order to be made up...ahem. Anyway, suffice it to say you can get a good meal for about $4 there.
One of them is the one I live behind--the Dragon Inn II. That's the name of the place on the sign, "Dragon Inn II". I can't find any other Dragon Inns in the phone book; someday I really should ask them what happened to the other one. Anyway, I have one of their menus pegged to the corkboard by my fridge, and every so often, when I get the urge for some nice Chinese food, I call them up, then walk over about ten minutes later to pick it up. They do good eggrolls, too...I suspect they make them themselves, rather than using the frozen ones that a lot of places do.
The other place is, oddly enough, a little cafeteria-style place, with a bunch of trays of food of varying types, in the food court of the local mall, called something "Max Orient" or something equally unlikely. They tend to have a fellow standing out in front of it with a sample tray...and since they're the first restaurant as you enter the food court door, it's rather effective. I've taken to eating there on my lunch the last few days at work. Not bad at all...and, like the Dragon Inn II, their fried rice actually has stuff in it.
One more place does bear mentioning, I guess--though I haven't actually eaten there in some time. It's another cafeteria-style place, in the student union at SMSU, called "Wok'n'Roll". They actually do a bit more than just Chinese food; they've had a sushi chef in the past, and also handle some Oriental groceries, mostly snack chips and things. I recall their food as being reasonably decent as well.
I've eaten at a few Chinese places here in town.
My Dad tends to favor a place on South Campbell with the unlikely name of "Mister Eggroll". They make pretty decent food, I guess; I've eaten there a number of times. The things that stick in my mind about the place are that they do all their frying in chicken broth, as it's lower in fat than the oils some places use, and that it has one of those "get your ticket stamped enough times and get a free meal" deals. But I've started to find the food a bit bland for my tastes after eating there a lot.
The other day, while I was selling plasma, the fellow in the bed next to me was talking about how good a nearby place--the Rickshaw--was. He seemed to think it was the best Chinese restaurant in town, so I decided to stop by and eat lunch there afterward.
I think the first sign that it wasn't all it was supposed to be was when I saw the fried rice that came with the cashew chicken I ordered. It was just that...rice, and kind of gummy rice at that. Most of the good Chinese places serve fried rice that isn't just rice...it's rice with bits of egg and veggies and things in it; rice that is in itself delicious and flavorful and you could almost believe that you would find it filling and satisfactory enough to eat by itself for a meal. And the cashew chicken I was maneuvered into ordering...well, let's just say the chicken pieces weren't very high quality and leave it at that.
Of course, I'm not overly fond of cashew chicken as a general rule, for all that it is a Missouri invention. I tend to prefer stuff with vegetables and mushrooms and little ears of corn and things in it, and more of a bite to the sauce. Which brings me to the two decent places in town I've found so far.
Of course, these both fall into the category of cheap Chinese food...I'd almost say fast food, except they beat out Master Wang's by a good degree, plus at one of them you do have to wait for your order to be made up...ahem. Anyway, suffice it to say you can get a good meal for about $4 there.
One of them is the one I live behind--the Dragon Inn II. That's the name of the place on the sign, "Dragon Inn II". I can't find any other Dragon Inns in the phone book; someday I really should ask them what happened to the other one. Anyway, I have one of their menus pegged to the corkboard by my fridge, and every so often, when I get the urge for some nice Chinese food, I call them up, then walk over about ten minutes later to pick it up. They do good eggrolls, too...I suspect they make them themselves, rather than using the frozen ones that a lot of places do.
The other place is, oddly enough, a little cafeteria-style place, with a bunch of trays of food of varying types, in the food court of the local mall, called something "Max Orient" or something equally unlikely. They tend to have a fellow standing out in front of it with a sample tray...and since they're the first restaurant as you enter the food court door, it's rather effective. I've taken to eating there on my lunch the last few days at work. Not bad at all...and, like the Dragon Inn II, their fried rice actually has stuff in it.
One more place does bear mentioning, I guess--though I haven't actually eaten there in some time. It's another cafeteria-style place, in the student union at SMSU, called "Wok'n'Roll". They actually do a bit more than just Chinese food; they've had a sushi chef in the past, and also handle some Oriental groceries, mostly snack chips and things. I recall their food as being reasonably decent as well.