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| - This place is so hard to find. I know it is in Station Square; that wasn't the hard part. The hard part was finding the restaurant once I arrived at Station Square. I really don't care for the organization of this odd mall, but that is another review. Located at the North-East corner of the complex on the second floor, Sesame Inn is easily missed. After having called the people several times on my cell trying to figure out where they were located, I was finally able to get to the stairwell leading to the front entry.
Unintelligible Chinese people? Check
Chinese kitsch? Check
Good Chinese Food? Read on...
So far, so good. Everything was appearing in place and had the proper feeling. I was craving some good Sichuan food. We were seated by the host and I looked at the menu solely to make certain that what I wanted to order was present. When the server arrived I asked her some quick questions to make certain that there wasn't too much of a deviation from what I was craving and ordered:
Egg drop soup
Wonton soup
Panfried pork dumplings
Combination rice (no peas or carrots)
Kung pao, extra spicy, with only peanuts and red bell peppers
Our server was quite peppy and sounded like she was a first generation American since she spoke English flawlessly to us and then spoke Chinese to people in the back. She was quick to bring out our Iced tea, Pepsi, and soups. I was a tad taken aback by the appearance of my egg drop soup -- it was a deep red instead of a light yellow. I spooned it through to make certain it was the right soup and found the cause for the deviation -- the addition of tomatoes to the soup. Feeling comfortable, I tried the soup. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. It was thick and heavy with very little of that flowered egg/broth combination that makes for a very good egg drop soup. I could live with a thicker soup, just don't take away the flavor. The wonton soup also had that heavier feeling about it as compared to some of the lighter wonton soups that I have tried and enjoyed.
Our panfried dumplings arrived to our table and they smelled good. While the skins were a little thicker, they weren't dumpling thick and the meat filling helped to balance it in terms of consistency. The flavor was a bit muted, though. Trying the dipping sauce, I received a bit of a shock. Contrary to everything else thus far, it was quite vibrant. The dumpling sauce had a very strong acidic flavor to it and could possibly have use a tad less vinegar in the preparation. Together, though, I enjoyed the dumplings and dipping sauce. And, truth be told, I would rather the sauce be a little strong on the acid than a little week since I can always dilute with some soy sauce.
Our entrees arrived and they smelled quite good; but I had to send the chicken back. There were mushrooms. Sorry, can't eat mushrooms. While waiting on the chicken to return, we started on the fried rice. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. It was fully cooked, but it was a bit soggy. The meats were somewhat flavorless and only added another texture to the whole dish. The flavor of the dish as a whole did not transcend being rice and meat. A good fried rice really helps me understand the adage, "Greater than the sum of the parts."
As we were finishing the fried rice, the new chicken arrived. It was steaming hot and smelled good. It looked to be more in a red sauce than a glaze as is customary with Sichuan foods. I figured as long as it tasted good then there would be no issue. I took my first bite. It was sweet. It wasn't piquant. I had asked the server if items were spicy. I had asked her about which peppers she thought were hot. The chicken tasted okay, but it was nothing spectacular. I continued to eat the entree and finished it. It could have at least have been made from white meat since it was not spicy. Oh well.
They don't serve Sichuan food here. It is too heavy and sauce oriented. I would say that it has to be some mixture of Cantonese, Hunan and Mandarin. Will I return, probably not. Why? I just don't like the Station Square location. There are other Sesame Inn in Ross Township and Dormont. I will most likely try again at one of those related restaurants to see if I like anything else on the menu. For better or worse, it is one of the better Chinese in the area.
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