MPBSFA Day 1: Dynasty Turned Out To Be Just MMD.

You might be asking yourself, "Hm. Did she just say, 'MMD?' Or, am I imagining things?" No, you are not imagining things. I did indeed say that Dynasty was just "MMD." For those of you who are not one of my sisters, I will explain. MMD is short for "ma ma day." That's Cantonese for "just so-so," or "meh *shrug*."

After dining at Dynasty this evening, both MonkeyPig and I have judged Dynasty to be merely MMD. It could be that we are spoiled rotten from Monterey Park Chinese food, what with its Sam Woos and Ocean Stars, but we really weren't blown away by Dynasty.

After hanging around at the Nu residence for a while, MonkeyPig and Nonny Nu went to dinner with Freelance Midget and her studmuffin. Sorry, I forgot to bring my camera so I can't personally document any of this, so I'm providing pics from the Net. We had the Fish Maw and Crab Soup (MonkeyPig's choice), Stir Fried Chinese Spinach (mandatory), Scallops and Shrimp in Szechuan Sauce (studmuffin's choice), and Chicken in Dynasty Sauce (Freelance Midget's choice). Now, I thought that the soup and scallops/shrimp were okay, and I actually really liked the chicken because they used thigh meat instead of breast meat, which made the chicken dish very moist. But, MonkeyPig, the guest of honor, was unimpressed by it. She thought the chicken too fatty because it was thigh meat. But, that's what I loved about it! Anyhow, we also had hot and sour soup at the end because we were still hungry. That included a strange ingredient that is not traditionally in hot and sour soup, and it caught us by surprise (and not in a good way).

But, the veggies were the worst. Growing up, the number one most beloved kind in my family was Chinese spinach. (It still is.) The stem is hollow, so I used to use it like a straw to drink soup, which thrilled my mother. (She was also charmed when I lost one of my front teeth and routinely pulled noodles through the hole it created.) Anyhow, Chinese spinach is easy to stir fry. You just cut it into manageable lengths, put them into a heated wok with garlic and oil, toss them around, and you're set. Whether stir fried in garlic, or stir fried in garlic and chili, or stir fried in garlic, chili, and preserved tofu. No matter what other flavors we put in it, it will look something like this or this. But, when the Chinese Spinach showed up, we were awed by its hue. It wasn't green like what we had all expected and grown accustomed to. Instead it was almost turqoise.

But that is what did Dynasty in for me. If you can't do a decent Chinese spinach stir fry, then you're in trouble.