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| - So bland. Madison has loads of great food, but very little even passably good Asian food. I have no idea what people are comparing this to saying it's flavorful. After numerous bad experiences, I read the reviews here, hear Madison people rave about this place, I think I must be overly judgmental or had one bad dish or something but no. So disappointing.
Got a delivery order, spring rolls & a "mock duck" ( aka seitan) dish, cucumber salad. Every item was bland. With a heat level of supposedly 3/4 it was mildly spicy, not so hot, but that's not my complaint - the sauce was both 1 note and texturally watery. The veg were cut really unevenly too, which resulted in some overcooking. Would it kill you to use some fish sauce? It tasted unfinished and dull. The salad looked nice - generous amount of ground peanuts and shredded carrot, bits of pepper, but again it tasted watery - no vinegar notes, no heat, no salt, nothing - moistened raw veg. The spring rolls were not cut, I have never seen anywhere else serve them uncut, they look less finished and are harder to eat that way. (But whatever, at least the wrappers were done right) The shrimp tasted decent, but the rolls had too much rice noodles, which are bland, and no fresh herbs - good ones have a bunch of fresh herbs in there. Without the herbs it doesn't seem like a spring roll, it tastes unfinished. So very dull.
I don't know what everyone else on here is eating that this food seems flavorful to you - mayo on white bread sandwiches? Get some spice and veggies in your life, try some Asian food in a different city or get a friend to cook for you. The atmosphere in the restaurant is usually nice, is that maybe fooling you, Madison? I wish it was half as good as people seem to think.
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