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Thursday, July 12, 2012

The Annals of Chinese


The Roasted Meats Diaries: The Rise of the Meats

When last we spoke, I had sampled the meats from Yummy Noodle and I thought they were fine.  This is a common issue with Chinese roasted meats.  Rarely, if ever, are they terrible; almost always the meats are reasonably fine.  It's the search for the elusive meat that rises above the rest that keeps a man like myself going.

The day was a fine one, the sun bright in the sky, the rays silently burning people's skin, the cries of the children still far away.  My spirits soared, wondering if perhaps this would be the day that I had a truly wonderful roasted Oriental meat.  My target: OK 218 Restaurant on Grand Street, a well-known roasted meat house.

I walked in and it was clear they run an efficient roasted meats business.  There is an exterior room from whence the meats are roasted, cut, placed into containers and dispersed.  If you want, you can go inside and sit down, and there is a larger menu.  I would like to do that sometime, but on this occasion the meats were the thing.

$5.50 got me a nice portion of roasted pork and whole roast pig with plenty of rice and some lightly sauteed cabbage.  The roast pork had a pleasing saltiness and the distinct but not overpowering flavor of soy.  The meat was not exactly what I would call tender, but it wasn't horribly dry either.  Whole roast pig was one of the finer versions I've tasted, rich and almost buttery.  Succulence, thy name is roasted meats.

So yes, an admirable showcase of meats.  Not necessarily mind blowing, yet certainly above average.  I pondered meats and soaked in the sun, and then went for a stroll.  



















OK 218 Restaurant
Grand Street, Chinatown