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| - At 88 China Bistro, my husband and I were absolutely delighted to enjoy true Cantonese dining for the first time in years! The spring rolls are crispy, hot and delicious and the pork dumplings are the best. They are steamed in broth and then fried in a minute drop of oil to make them crispy. When you bite into the dumpling, there is a little bit of broth that accompanies your first taste and it is eye rolling good!
On our first visit, I enjoyed the soft shell crab with veggies and my husband consumed an enormous plate of Moo Shu chicken. We were hooked! Our waiter was delightful and even though the place was busy with soaking wet and hungry customers from a sudden deluge of rain that began just as we left our hotel, he could not have been more gracious.
Last night, after a brief attempt at finding another Chinese restaurant closer to where we were staying this trip, we figured we were silly to miss what we already were sure would be a great meal, so back to 88 China Bistro we went. The evening was calm and clear, and we were the only customers. Our trip into town showed us why 88 China Bistro is not as busy on a Friday night as one might expect. It is located in a very small strip mall perfectly placed between the enormous medical complex and Charlotte's central court system. On our first visit we stayed across from the court house and were the only people alive in Charlotte on Saturday morning when I walked my dog! That enormous 'parking lot' of a highway system that removes everyone from the city is the reason Friday night is the PERFECT evening to head for 88 China Bistro. If you work in town, stay a little late at the office, then head over to relish a terrific dinner at 1620 E. 4th Street. Your ride home will be smooth(er) sailing, with a lot less wear and tear on your brakes. What a peaceful beginning to a weekend!
Back at the restaurant, we were charmed this time by the waiter (owner?) who told us more about the type of cuisine that is their specialty. While there are a LOT of spicy offerings in every category, the Cantonese style dishes are not inexpensive to prepare and absolutely perfect. In addition to more of their fabulous spring rolls and dumplings, I kvelled over a gorgeous platter of tender scallops, shrimp, vivid green and orange (and fresh!) broccoli and carrots over pan friend noodles (Seafood Pan Fried Noodles). Every mouthful was as good as it gets and brought back memories of dinners my family shared when I was young. The difference between my memories and this meal was the lightness of the sauce. NO thick, MSG-ladened white sauce this, but a light broth based sauce to hold the flavors. YUM!
My husband ordered the Crispy Roast Duck (half). Could they really do this in a reasonable amount of time? Yes, we were told, because the restaurant was not busy, the duck would be served fairly quickly. (Don't try to order this at lunch when every doctor and lawyer in Charlotte wants what they want when they want it!) And it was. And it was fall-off-the-bone tender and delicious! I sampled the duck and could understand how my husband was able to consume the entire serving platter with little time or room for the brown rice (which was perfect, but extraneous under the circumstances).
Dining at 88 China Bistro is not a kitschy or latest Asian trend experience. It is the best of traditional Cantonese style cuisine, and if you like that as much as my husband and I do, look for us on a Friday night at 88 China Bistro!
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