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| - Wanting some spice in our life, we headed in the direction of food from the Hunan province. Our usual go to spot would be Yun Nan Garden, but we decided to change it up a bit and give its neighbor "Dong Ting Spring" a chance. It's conveniently located right next door to Yun Nan and taking a peek inside, you can see which one has more customers. That's okay though, we're an adventurous bunch and we'll give any place a go! (It doesn't hurt that all their reviews are between a four and five star.)
Walking in, we were warmly greeted by the waitress and shown to a table. She asked in Mandarin if we wanted tea or water (or at least I think that's what she asked.) We confirmed tea and it arrived quickly, along with a menu.
Utilizing Tony T.'s posted pics, it helped with our dinner choice. We figure it was a bit of gamble, but was confident we'd be satisfied. After putting in our order, the waitress asked us how we wanted our spice level and we chose medium.
* Spicy Wild Mushroom Hot Pot ($11.95) - The first dish to arrive and it comes sizzling with a flame below it. It's a combination of mushrooms, some sort of meat, peppers, and packed with flavor. Great choice!
* Shredded Potatoes with Vinegar Sauce ($6.95) - We discovered this shredded potato dish at Yun Nan and really enjoy it. But when it comes with vinegar sauce, woah - what a tangy contrast! One bite and I knew the Husband would be loving this dish. Something so simple and basic, but yet has so much flavor. We're down with the potatoes!
Steamed rice is 50 cents per person.
Service - although English is limited here, the friendly face and patient look on the waitress's face makes ordering and eating here a much better and pleasant experience than other Hunan restaurants in town.
Although it's not quite as busy as their neighbor, we did notice families eating in the back and a group of regulars arrive shortly after us. So they do have a steady following.
Overall, you can't go wrong with Hunan food. It's just so full of flavor, spice, and kick. Their food is far from bland.
Our only downfall was not making this a group thing. The more the merrier, and in this case that means more dishes to try and share! Next time you want to add some spice in your life, do it with a group - it's always better that way!
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