Mein Menu, part 5: Daimo

There are a few ways to tell that a Chinese restaurant really serves authentic food. For one, it has to be hard to find, unless you've been there before. Daimo certainly satisfied that requirement... we ended up turning around after driving through some slums in Richmond, and then stopping at a 76 and calling 411. Once we found it, it turned out that it was only just outside of Berkeley, in a cleverly-hidden full-fledged Chinese mall, complete with Chinese grocery store and lots of signs that are not in English. Signs that are not in English are good signs.

Inside, it is one of the most crowded restaurants I have ever seen, and about 98.4% of the patrons are of Asian descent. Definitely a good sign. We take a number, which is handwritten on a small slip of paper and appears to consist of a 2 and a backwards 9. We also note that the numbers are being called in another language. Although ours is called in English, eventually (it is number 29).

Craig found this place on the internet and was intrigued because it claimed to have 900 menu items. The actual menu doesn't seem to be quite that large, but it's still farily gigantic, with at least a few hundred items on it. They also have a separate menu of dinner combo specials that go up to around $400 in price and feed about ten people. It was impressive. We stick to the normal menu, and note something written on the front:

QUALITY OUR CONCERN
CUSTOMER WE RESPECT

Excellent.

I check out the noodle dishes, and find that there is only one dish that is actually called Chow Mein... the Mixed Vegetable Chow Mein. However, there are many dishes that are served over pan-fried noodles, and there are also several dishes that are referred to as "tossed-noodle". I figure this is probably another indication of the food's authenticity. In the interest of the Mein Menu series, I want to try something close to Chow Mein, so I ask the waiter when he arrives. He tells me to go for the "Mixed Meat and Vegetable over pan-fried noodle", explaining that I can get it over soft noodles instead of pan-fried noodles. Sounds good to me.

The others try some samplings of a variety of other menu items. Dan gets barbeque duck over rice, Manish goes for the barbeque beef noodle soup, Aaron gets a chicken and green bean dish, and Joe Batchelor and Craig each go for a hot pot dish... Craig's is a beef stew type of dish, and Joe's is a curry. We also get an order of dumplings as an appetizer. Amusingly, everyone's main course arrives before the dumplings. The first thing we notice is that the portions for everything are uniformly gigantic, and the second thing we notice is that everything is very delicious.

I have eaten many heaping plates of Chow Mein in my life, but this one is definitely the heapingest. The noodles are the thin type that are usually pan-fried, though these have not been pan-fried. Now, I've eaten many Chow Mein dishes that claim to feature a variety of meats and vegetables... usually this means that they contain chicken, beef and shrimp. Sometimes pork too. That's nothing compared to what Daimo serves. I found chicken, beef, pork, possibly duck, shrimp, squid, mussels, and an unidentified shellfish, in addition to a decent array of vegetables. As Manish put it, "there's a party in your noodles, and everyone's invited."

Somehow I manage to eat it all, a feat I did not expect to be able to accomplish. It was quite tasty, though a bit different from other Chow Mein I've had, due to the smaller noodles and the fact that there was not much of a sauce. But I have a strong feeling that this one was a lot closer to the real thing. I also had some tastings of the dishes that the others had ordered, and indeed the quality of the food was pretty high all around. The only exception, interestingly, were the dumplings, which arrived in the middle of the meal. They were a bit lackluster, and at that point we were already fairly stuffed.

Other highlights of the meal included Joe Batchelor finding chicken feet in his curry, and Dan's milk bean drink. It appeared to consist of about one-third coconut milk, and two thirds beans. I challenge you to find that at your standard Chinese restaurant.

It was definitely one of the more interesting places I've been to since starting Mein Menu, and it makes me wonder how many other places there are hidden around. If you're looking for something a little different for Memorial Day, Daimo does not disappoint.

Mein Menu, part 4: Chinese Express

"Chinese Express: $1.45." That's what it says in large neon writing in the window.

We are intrigued.

It took us a while to actually try it out though. I think it was Craig and I who first stopped in. It was a Wednesday night. In the Saykally group, Wednesday nights mean group meeting, which means free food. And when you're a first-year graduate student, opportunities for free food are very important. If you've never tried being a first-year graduate student in Chemistry, you may not fully understand how important opportunities for free food are. But they are. Trust me.

The thing is, this time we didn't get any food at group meeting. I don't remember why... it may have been a special guest talk or something like that. The important thing is that Craig and I were left without our free food option for the evening, and this was not cool. However, after spending most of group meeting thinking about the lack of food rather than actually listening to the talk, we felt we had come up with the solution. "Dude... Chinese Express?" "Yes."

The place is just a few blocks south of campus and is very tiny. When you walk in, there are newspaper clippings on the walls in which the cheapness and quality of the food of Chinese Express are lauded. If you come during lunchtime, the place is often filled with construction workers and the like, all of whom have the slightly smug look of those who are in the know about the best and cheapest places to eat. Of course, we did not come during lunchtime... more like 9 PM.

It turns out that the $1.45 is a little misleading. That is the price for a single menu item, of which the choices are clearly presented in a buffet-style counter. Most meals are actually "combo deals"... for instance, 3 menu items and a soda. You point out what you want, and they heap it onto a plate for you. The overall price for a meal is still very cheap though. Also, we had inadvertently discovered another advantage of Chinese Epxress... if you come close enough to closing time, they will give you a significant amount of extra food. "You want some of this?" the guy behind the counter asks me, after I've already ordered my meal. He also offers two or three more things to me. I don't think I need to tell you what the answer to those questions were.

Anyway, Craig and I find a table on campus and set to eating our incredibly large amounts of Chinese food. I got the Chow Mein as well as a bunch of other things. How is the Chow Mein? Not very good. The other dishes fare better though, and for the price we certainly weren't complaining. Because if you can't have free food at group meeting, large amounts of extremely cheap Chinese food is the next best thing.

Tis cubs vs. Whitesox Times

Once again we turn to what really matters. Cubs vs white sox.

check out the palehose six

GO SOX!!

Schwak