| rev:text
| - I've never been to Cambodia, Vietnam, or Thailand, so rather than being influenced by reviews exalting authenticity, which might not necessarily mean good-tasting to some palates---whether a Cambodian dish, a Thai, Italian, Mexican, French, Yugoslavian, Greek, or Samoan---I was convinced to try Cuisine Du Cambodge based on their impressive star power. If it tastes so good to so many, I'm in. And Annette, who took our order over the phone, was likeable, friendly, and helpful, making the best first impression.
Whoa. We never expected to be so disappointed with our take-out menu choices. I have to believe that two of our off-putting dishes were mistakes---not authentic. They couldn't possibly have been what they were intended to be.
Although some were flavorful enough---Stir-fried Spicy Beef (43), Spring Roll, Shrimp Roll, and Egg Roll---these two were inedible. Couldn't eat more than a couple of fork-fulls.
52 HOUSE SPECIAL MI CHHA (Lo Mein) . . .
noodles may have been stale (I've ended up
with stale myself, but tossed out after tasting
first---before adding to other ingredients),
or weren't rinsed well with cold water after
boiling. Sounds odd, but true. A residual
thing---especially with some ramen-style
noodles; or maybe it was seasonings---
incorrect, the ratio, combination of, or old
53 VEGETABLE FRIED RICE . . .
very greasy with a strange, earthy-like flavor;
may have been colored with turmeric, which,
if too much added---or old---will make a dish
taste unappetizing; too meager an amount of
peas and carrots
I may not be Asian, but I'm familiar enough with Asian dishes to know when results are successful or not---having prepared them for years, mostly Chinese, Indian, and Thai, using cookbooks from respected authors.
Even favorite, frequently-prepared dishes from highly-rated restaurants of any nationality/country, can occasionally fall short for whatever reason.
* purveyors not providing the freshest ingredients,
and owners unwittingly (or maybe not) using
them
* unwashed vegetables/fruits
But there's another, more likely reason, for mistakes. It could be as seemingly harmless as distracting the person involved in any of the prepping or cooking processes, if even momentarily. That's especially risky with most Asian dishes, as the strictest attention is required because of the many steps, the necessary quick-fire speed, and the number of ingredients. And prepping Asian foods involves more than most other types of foods. After cleaning and trimming the proteins and vegetables, there's the chopping, shredding, steaming, boiling, egg-washing, dipping, breading, slicing, dicing, and even some pre-roasting, too. Then all the measuring and mixing for various sauce preparations, plus readying all those distinctly unique and exotic seasonings, herbs, and spices to add to so many different dishes. A lot going on.
Interruptions during any of these steps---especially the lightening speed cooking, saucing, and seasoning, demanding concentration and timing for even average results---can quickly turn a favorite into a flop. Like their House Special Lo Mein.
"House Specials" should ALWAYS be as close to perfect as possible. Ours even smelled bad.
Also...
Be VERY clear when ordering over the phone. Repeat your order, PRICES too, if using their menu---or you might receive something that you didn't want. When I ordered 43, Stir Fried Spicy Beef, I said I'd like the Vegetable Fried Rice with it. (Clearly, right above 42 to 45, in bold, capitalized type under the "Steamed Rice Dishes" heading---it states "$2.85 ADDITIONAL WITH VEGETABLE FRIED RICE".) To me, there was no interpretation other than this was a SUBSTITUTE for steamed. But when my husband picked everything up, the total was about $2.00 more. No big deal---prices may have increased. Well, that wasn't the case, once I opened the containers.
They charged 4.75---not the printed $2.85---packing a FULL size of vegetable fried rice, and STILL packed the small container of plain steamed---what I didn't
want. May have been a misunderstanding between Annette and whoever was cooking, but surely they don't ever offer upcharged rice to ADD even MORE rice to a dish that already comes with it, then charge FULL price for a FULL order. Someone should have caught that mistake. It was less than $2 more, but that's not the issue. It's principle. I wasn't in Thailand trying to figure out how to order from a menu written in unfamiliar characters. I was a 15 minute drive from this Cleveland restaurant, ordering from a menu in English with US dollar amounts, taken by a fluent English-speaking person.
I might give them another try, but I'm wary. I'd hate having to throw out more of their mistakes. So far, nearly $15 worth is unappetizing enough.
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