Remember the TV show called The Pantomime Hit Parade, with Dottie Mack? Probably not. That was when TV was in its infancy in the early 1950s. Those were the days when a viewer had to get up from the couch and change the channel manually by turning a knob on the set. But I digress. Restaurants have hit parades too, in my estimation, especially if the eatery has been around for a while. That is the case with China Gourmet on Erie Avenue in Hyde Park. The place has been there for almost 50 years, and it has a following of folks the likes of me. We have our favorites, our own personal “hit parades” of go-to entrée dishes we’ve enjoyed over the years.
The chicken almond ding
One of my favorites that is a somewhat recent addition to the Hyde Park Specialties section of the menu is beef short ribs. So, just how does a chef put a Cantonese spin on beef short ribs, one might ask? Owner/operator Matt Loomis explained: “Well, we start it in the wok — wok braise the short ribs for about an hour. We do that — wok braise them — at a low simmer and make an au jus as part of that. The wok portion (of the cooking process) is more to get the flavor, to pull the flavor into the au jus. Then we put them in the oven, in a pan with the au jus and let them in the oven for two to three hours, low and slow at 225 degrees. The oven is where you are breaking down the meat — getting it really tender. At that point we test them and make sure that they are tender,” he said, adding that in the end the meat is falling apart because it is so tender.
At this stage of the cooking, the beef short ribs are prepped, so that when you order the entrée all the time-consuming part is finished. When an order is placed, the meat from the fully cooked short rib is pulled from the bone and the chunks are given a quick sear in the wok. The veggies and some of the savory au jus are added, along with a yellow Cantonese curry, and voila! A dish featuring All-American short ribs of beef is a Cantonese sensation, piping hot from the wok. The short rib entrée can be made even more Chinese by the diner’s option of adding Singapore style noodles to the dish, as it is shown in our photo. My prediction: you’re gonna love it!
In the vegetarian section of the menu reside two of my favorites, which we generally order for sharing with other entrée items. These are the Szechuan green beans and Szechuan eggplant. Both of these dishes are on the spicy side, but not overly so. Plus, Jewish diners-out should know that they can ask for a spice level that fits their palates. Whatever appeals, these two dishes pack plenty of flavor punch, and are wonderful examples of vegetarian dishes that are both tasty and filling.
The Pekin duck eggroll with hoisin sauce
Another favorite section of the China Gourmet menu is the appetizer section where you will find an item likely not available anywhere else in Greater Cincy. “We do a Pekin duck spring roll. When we do our duck (dishes), we strip off a lot of extra duck (bits and pieces too small for an entrée plate) from the carcass. We stir fry the duck in the wok with some mixed vegetables, some bamboo shoots, some Napa cabbage, carrots, and then we roll it in spring-roll skin, and deep-fry it in the wok,” he said. The Pekin duck eggroll comes to the table with hoisin sauce, aka Peking sauce, which is house made, reddish brown, sweet and spicy. Looks delicious!
Loomis stated that the Pekin duck eggroll is the only one that features the hoisin sauce, because of the delicate flavors in the eggroll. Powerful Chinese mustard is the usual accompaniment for eggrolls, and it is the sidekick for all other varieties of eggrolls. Here too, China Gourmet makes its own Chinese mustard from mustard seeds. It’s not the “packaged stuff,” according to Loomis, and he says it comes with a kick that reminds one of wasabi.
Another of my favorites is the chicken almond ding. This entrée is served with lots of veggies and a deliciously aromatic garlic sauce that is to die for. China Gourmet makes all of its sauces from scratch, and the garlic sauce gets top billing in my book. The sauce in this dish sets it apart from other chicken dishes one finds in Chinese restaurants. Really good, really tasty. But then, that is true of all my favorites at this venerable eatery in Hyde Park.
See you at China Gourmet!
