Matthew Loomis, China Gourmet owner, announced the recent hiring of T.C. Long as executive chef. Long, 64, brings a wealth of culinary experience to the China Gourmet kitchen, having served in Chinese and Asian restaurants throughout his career. Previously, he held the same position at Oriental Wok for 15 years, and also spent time in the kitchen at Teak. Loomis had this to say: “Now I have two chefs back there (in the kitchen) and they are knocking it out of the park. T.C. has helped to bring the kitchen to a whole new level — his professionalism is what shines through, changing the layout of the kitchen. And while the recipes are the same, he has tweaked some things and brought in some new recipes. The knowledge, the new recipes, the consistency, and the adjustments in the kitchen, it’s all good.”
Loomis said that his patrons, Jewish diners among them, have had nothing but praise for the recent adjustments that have been made. Also, there is a buzz about the new dishes that have been added to the menu.
Spicy dragon eggplant
So, new recipes? “One is the spicy dragon eggplant. It’s a really good dish. The eggplant is dipped in a tempura batter, and we fry it crispy and serve it in a garlic white sauce,” he said, adding that patrons who have tried the entrée rave about both the flavor and texture of the spicy dragon eggplant. Looks delicious, don’t you think?
Another new item on the menu, and a part of Long’s Asian heritage, is the tom yum soup. This is a Thai hot and sour soup, which can be served as a vegetarian dish, or Jewish diners-out can choose to add chicken to the soup as well. Either way, tom yum soup is loaded with vegetables, including a base of mushrooms, complemented by pea pods, carrots, onions, water chestnuts, and Napa cabbage. “Our guests who come here a lot, they are going nuts over the soup and the eggplant, and also the pad Thai, which we have not had before our new chef got here.
The tom yum soup, a hot and sour soup popular in Thailand
“People love the pad Thai. It’s a really good addition to our menu,” Loomis said. As one might expect from the entrée name, pad Thai likely is a dish from Thailand. In fact, it is one of that country’s “national heritage dishes,” said to be created in the late 1930s to help the country navigate food insecurity in the tricky times of Japanese aggression and looming world war. Due to weather issues and the upheaval of a regional war, rice production in Thailand decreased in those years. Noodle dishes were a way around the rice shortages, and pad Thai turned out to be a tasty answer that gained instant popularity. While there are disputes about the origin of the dish, what is clear is that diners-out of all stripes seem to love it. And Loomis says his patrons are no exception.
The newly featured pad Thai
Also recently, Loomis stated that China Gourmet added Mondays back into the service days at the restaurant. You may recall that during the pandemic and its aftermath, many restaurants shortened both hours and days of service to the public due to staffing problems and other shortages caused by COVID. “So, we reopened on Mondays, calling it ‘Martini and Monday Mein-ia’ and we’re doing great so far,” he said.
The Mein-ia part of Mondays is a make-your-own noodle dish, at a special price of $18 for whatever entrée you may concoct for yourself. Loomis stated that some of the dishes you can assemble (due to protein choice) from the list of noodles, veggies, protein, and sauces would cost considerably more if ordered on any other day of the week. Therein lies the deal. But also, Jewish diners-out are able to fashion their own dishes in every way, which is a benefit for kosher-style observers. Loomis said that all the veggies can be added to any dish, along with a protein, a type of noodle, and a sauce or a mixture of sauces. Some of the sauce mixtures have produced rave revues from the diners who have authored them, he stated.
Other special days include Tuesdays with fish specials, Wednesdays with half-price wings, Throwback Thursdays with dishes from China Gourmet’s past menus, and Friday Jazz nights, from 6 to 9 p.m.
See you at China Gourmet!
