A Final Lesson: Tung Shing House

Restaurant: Tung Shing House

Address: 97-45 Queens Blvd

Rego Park, NY 11374

718 275-0038

www.tung-shing-house.com

Hours: Mon-Fri 12 noon - 10 pm

Sat - Sun 4 pm - 10 pm

Cuisine: Shanghai

Scotch:* The Glenlivet 12 and Glenfidditch 12

*available from the bar

After CA Scotch Chick's abominable ability to evaluate the Beijing Ya (Peking Duck) at Elite Chef, Wise Woman decided that our pupil needed a little Remedial Wise Woman Training. Consequently, the final dinner of the week was scheduled for Tung Shing House, a restaurant known for its Bejing Ya.

Tung Shing House is one of the few Chinese restaurants CA Scotch Chick has visited that has single malt whisky available. One can order both The Glenlivet 12 and Glenfidditch 12 from the bar. While these two are not on the list of the Scotch Chix favorite scotches, they are acceptable. The meal had some pretty powerful flavors, so CA Scotch Chick chose Glenfidditch 12 since it would be better suited to complement and not be overwhelmed by the food.

Wise Woman and her son were once again in charge of the menu. They ordered Sha Guo Yu Tou (fish head soup), Dan Dan Mian (spicy noodles), Hot and Spicy Prawn, Scallop with Black Pepper, Go Ba (sizzling rice), and, of course, Beijing Ya.

Beijing Ya should be the first main dish to arrive at the table, but the waiters indicated that there would be a slight delay and asked if it was permissible for it to conclude the meal with the dish. Wise Woman agreed and the meal was launched with the Fish Head Soup. This is one of CA Scotch Chick's favorite dishes. The head and shoulders of a large fish provide the foundation for broth, and the soup is filled with chunks of fish, mushrooms, veggies and rice noodles. This dense, slightly spicy soup is pure ambrosia. Tung Shing House's was excellent – not quite as spicy as CA Scotch Chick would have liked, but nevertheless rich and flavorful. It was a fantastic start to the meal.

Fish Head Soup

Things got a little interesting when the other dishes started arriving. Wise Woman's other son is a friend of the owner of Tung Shing House, and it is a restaurant Wise Woman and her family frequent. However, they had not been there in several weeks. Some time during that period, the management must have been feeling the economic pinch and decided that smaller serving sizes were the best way to compensate. With the exception of the Fish Head Soup and the Beijing Ya, the portions that arrived were either ridiculously small or contained laughable amounts of main ingredient. Although, the food was still excellent, this attempt to pinch pennies was unwise.

The Dan Dan Mian had gone from being a serving for four to one for two, so Wise Woman had to order two additional bowls for the table. Still, it was quite tasty - spicy without being overbearing. The Hot and Spicy Prawn was mostly sauce, with only half a dozen prawns sprinkled throughout. What were there were what CA Scotch Chick had been wishing for at Elite Chef. They were just a little bit sweet with rich spices as the prevalent flavors. The Scallop with Black Pepper was served in a small dish to make it look like there was more than there was. It was, nevertheless, flavorful and left the diner with a happy black pepper taste on the palate.

Dan Dan Mian and Prawns

The Go Ba, in particular, was a farce. Go Ba, Sizzling Rice, is made by frying several rice cakes until crispy, placing them on a hot metal serving dish, and pouring filling over them. The usual complaint with Go Ba is that the rice cakes are not crispy enough so they become soggy. The complaint at the table on Saturday night was that there were no rice cakes – at all. What arrived was simply a small amount of topping with a few rice crispy like crumbs sprinkled on top. This state of affairs necessitated a call for the owner, who was not on site. A conference was held with the manager instead. CA Scotch Chick was not privy to the discussion, so she does not know why such an important element of the dish was missing. However, the the Go Ba was removed from the table and from the bill.

The Go Ba Before it Was Removed

With the lead up to the Beijing Ya demonstrating such disappointing results, CA Scotch Chick feared the venerable dish would also show signs of difficulties in the kitchen. Her fears were not realized. The Beijing Ya that appeared really was a lesson in what a Peking Duck should be. The skin was so light and crispy that it actually made crackling noises in the pancake. The pancakes were the flat kind and while not the best CA Scotch Chick has had, at least were plentiful. The restaurant also provided the table with the appropriate Tianmian Jiang Sauce. Since the entire purpose of the trip was to educate CA Scotch Chick's palate, she studied diligently – taking part in lesson after lesson.

Beijing Ya with Flat Pancakes

Despite the success of the Beijing Ya and the Fish Head Soup, Wise Woman and her family indicated that they wouldn't be back any time soon. CA Scotch Chick expressed the opinion that if she lived in New York, she would return for the Fish Head Soup and the Beijing Ya. This opinion was met with shakes of the head – a restaurant that is not worthy, is simply not worthy. As the family filed to the car, Wise Woman gestured to a restaurant across the street and indicated that the chef from Tung Shing House had quit about a year ago and set up shop in direct competition. "We'll go there next time. You need to learn!" The tutelage continues!