Congee

I write this bitter review at 3:40 AM on a Thursday, with my girlfriend still paralyzed in the bathroom with unspeakably painful stomach cramps. I went to this restaurant with my girlfriend and her parents, both of whom are Chinese-American. Because they speak Cantonese, we received excellent service. Unfortunately, less than 15 minutes after walking out of the restaurant my girlfriend became violently ill. Somehow, she still manages to be sick despite the fact that she has done so every 2 minutes for approximately the past 7 hours. You would think she would be dry heaving by now, but no. Rather remarkable when you think about it. The ER doctors can't do anything for her at this point other than recommend Gatorade. NYC's 311 suggested to wait until she begins to hemorrhage from one orifice or another before seeking further emergency care. The only person in existence I would recommend this restaurant to is former Vice President Cheney.

This Chinese restaurant was recommended to us by our tour bus driver as "one of the best Chinese restaurants in the city". Considering such a bold statement from someone who should know, we decided to check it out. Typically inattentive and dismissive service (no water, forgot to bring sugar for tea even after they were asked, etc.) was excused in hope of a good meal. Wow! The slimy under cooked mess being passed off as dim sum was HORRIBLE! I mean the truly tasteless and badly rolled mess served on a chipped dirty plate was totally inedible. The scallion pancake was also dry, greasy and tasteless. Amazingly, even the sauce for the basic, if a bit greasy spring roll was bland and sub par. How does someone mess up cornstarch, vinegar, and sugar? As if this wasn't bad enough, the environment was really, really dirty. I mean, the walls by our table alone looked like a Jackson Pollock painting of old \t\nChinese sauces. Pretty nasty. One last thing, the decor is depressing, run down, and unless you really enjoy staring at bootleg hello kitty mobiles (also dirty), this place is a "must avoid at all costs" establishment. FYI, we went to one of the other citysearch recommended dim sum houses and were blown away by the difference.

First of all, the service we experienced was friendly, warm, and helpful. We have had dinner and did not try any of the more adventurous menu items (we'll wait till Guys Night Out) but the crab, fried chicken, and vegetables were as good as any in Chinatown - not Queens, of course. Feel free to bring your own wine. They will happily cork it for you. A winner!