we are 1 billion strong, aren't we?

tong lai shun chinese restaurant

i like being chinese. i like that i am part of an ethnicity that is 1 billion strong. i also like that we chinese are everywhere. is there a country that doesn't have a chinese person? is there a place in this world that doesn't have a chinese restaurant? which i find very favorable, since i likes me some chinese food.

which strikes me as a little weird here that in bangkok, a city that has a TON of chinese people, chinese food is kinda hard to find (at least the kind i'm used to - cantonese, szechuan, shanghai, taiwanese, hunan). my tastebuds yearn for good old fashioned HK dim sum that's not in an overpriced hotel, xiaolong pao filled with meaty broth, hand-pulled noodles that attain that elusive Q-ness, and the calming, rounded signature flavor palette. oh god, i think i'm going to faint.tong lai shun tied me over. this is like chinese "soul food." steamed fish (450B) was just right - the fish light and tender in savoury sauce. eggplant (100B) in "seafood sauce" (originally made because fish was expensive or unavailable, eggplant was prepared in the seasonings used for seafood) was delicious, if not on the oily side. xiaolong pao (100B) were small little delights - eat them *cautiously* fast or the sultry broth congeals upon cooling. the soul-foodiest of them all, mapo tofu (120B), gets a solid manchurian stamp of approval with its thick, spicy sauce with sour pickled cabbage. the standard deep fried green beans (100B) with garlic were on the greasy, limp side, but passable.

and to their credit, they make the rare, beloved sweet potato dessert (150B). sweet potatoes are battered and deep-fried, then covered in a burning hot caramel and served with a bowl of ice water. as fast as humanly possible, fork sweet potato, dunk it into the ice water to harden the caramel and eat it without burning the dickens out of your tongue. it's nirvana. we chinese are a bit "zen" with our cuisine. chinese (cantonese) use the term "wok-kae" referring to the energy of the fire and wok that is in the food. it is meant to be consumed immediately. you wait, you miss the magic. confucius say: eat yo' food hot and fast, sucka.

tong lai chun, sukh 41, alley behind the miracle mall.
10am-10pm (i think)
02-259-0765