Sun Wah BBQ

I was so excited to go to Sun Wah BBQ.  It has excellent and numerous reviews on Yelp and is somewhat close to my apartment.  Yay!  Upon arrival, the restaurant looked very promising.  Whole, darkly roasted ducks hung in the window, tripe was featured prominently on the glass window menu, Chinese writing was everywhere, and most importantly, I observed patrons and workers conversing fluidly and joking with each other in Cantonese.  Jackpot, I thought.  As I waited for my table, I eyed the humongous jar of fried chicken skin with joyful approval (25¢ for a taste!).  I'd definitely have to get some before I left. 

I would guess that there are over 100 menu items.  It was almost overwhelming!  Since this was my first visit, I figured I'd go for my favorites to see how the kitchen handles them.  The tea arrived, and this was my first disappointment.  My boyfriend (K) looked into the teapot to ensure that the leaves had steeped enough, and I noticed that he looked a second longer than normal.  After he poured my tea and his, I peered into the teapot as well.  No tea leaves.  Brushing the knowledge aside, I sipped the tea but couldn't help but notice its weakness.  The waiter arrived and I ordered egg noodle soup with shrimp and pork wontons, black bean spareribs on rice, pea pods, and a small plate of the roast duck.  

In no time, the duck was delivered.  By itself.  No rice.  Wahh?  How can you have meat with no rice?  Veggies with no rice?  That is like asking a painter to paint without a brush.  Starving, K and I decided to dig in.  The meat was good.  The flavor was full.  The skin was crisp.  The duck fat was intact.  Clearly, authentic Chinese roast duck.   I liked it.  But there was a hint of sweetness that I didn't love.

Next came the egg noodle soup.  Now this was delicious.  We devoured every last drop.  The noodles were cooked to perfection and the broth was yummy.  I did not like the wontons, but K liked them and ate them all.  I was a little sad that we just got a handful of veggies, but that was okay.  I happily slurped down the noodles and broth.

Then the pea pod shoots arrived.  It was a mountain sized serving!  Yay, I love vegetables!  I placed a bunch in my rice bowl and tucked into them.  They were a little bit tough and chewy, but the flavor was good.

The black bean spareribs arrived last.  The menu states that it is black bean spareribs on rice, and that is literally how it is served.  The spareribs are served on a bed of flattened rice, topped with gravy.  I dug in - this is my "last meal on earth" dish, my go to, my fave! - and heaped a bunch into my bowl.  Wow, was I in for a disappointing surprise.  One, the sauce was not that good.  The actual flavor of black beans was weak.  Two, again, I tasted the smallest hint of sweetness which I do not like in my meat.  Three, the meat itself had no black bean flavor - the flavor was all in the gravy.  Four, I bit into the sparerib and the center was COLD.  Aiii!!  

The best black bean sparerib dish stews in the bubbling black bean sauce for 30-45 minutes.  The meat is so tender and juicy; it bursts with black bean and hints of garlic.  I have a hunch that they precook the spareribs in the kitchen and, when a spareribs order comes through, they heat the spareribs and pour the requisite gravy on top.  Not a bad idea, but a bad result in this case.

I sent the dish back, explaining that the center was cold, and the waiter seemed very nice and apologetic about it.  When it returned, K bit into another sparerib with a cold center.  Sigh.  I was done eating and very disappointed.  I didn't even feel inspired to taste some fried chicken skin on the way out.

While Sun Wah BBQ gets points for authenticity and great prices (the whole meal came out to $27.20), I am not impressed with the food.  I'm sad that we didn't get a pot of rice, sad about the weak tea, sad about the cold meat, and sad about the overall experience.  I will go back for the egg noodle soup, and maybe then I'll try some new dishes. Hopefully, those dishes will be better.

Rating: Eh.