review - house of taipei, huntersville (chinese)
the world of americanized chinese food is an interesting amalgamation of fried chicken, monosodium glutamate, soy sauce, and argo starch. culinarily problematic, in many ways.
nevertheless, it's also a spot with a very particular kind of itch.
i've searched high and low for the best back-scratcher around, and this is my answer.
i'm notoriously lazy when it comes to driving more than twenty minutes for food. i deem the distance negligible when it comes to house of taipei.
the food arrives within moments of ordering it, and be careful! it's still piping hot. the vegetables are not overcooked, and the cuts of meat used are surprisingly lean. best of all, they have an amazing vegetarian menu. the sesame tofu is absolutely delicious. throw in some asparagus, and you're golden.
the service can be comical. my good friend's mother likened our server to a prison warden. i had a moment where i felt like a certain dickens character asking for "more".
it's housed in a large space decorated with the requisite "backlit waterfall" painting. highly glossed wood carvings take up arbitrary space here and there.
i really don't care about any of that. what i care about is general tso's chicken, beef with broccoli, lo mein, mushu pancakes, egg drop soup, stir fried vegetables, etc . . . you name it, they've got it.
it's just damn good chinamerican food. if i have to make excuses for the effects of imperialism on cuisine, i'll gladly do it on behalf of this restaurant.