Controlled Chaos: Jing Fong

The interior of my brain

My friends, Mike and Diana, were in town from Oakland and a bunch of us met last Sunday at Jing Fong. It should be called Jing Fong Convention Center - it fits nearly 800 people, with plenty of aisle room for dim sum carts, their lady pushers, host men in black, waiters, fidgety children and people running around chasing after hot ticket carts. Not to mention, there is bizarro red and pink decor, accentuated by blue and pink neon lights.

Paul came late and he had hard time finding us, even when we were waving, because at any given moment 10 people in the room are waving someone in. The food was great. Diana, who taught me how to stir fry romaine lettuce at the age of 18, said that Jing Fong was no slump compared to that of the dim sum found in our hometown*, which is saying something. (*Referring to the city of Cupertino, where Chinese culinary distinction is achieved through all the computer money floating in the air.)

The fish paste stuffed eggplant was slimy, oily and very good. The fried taro was a fantastically crunchy on the outside and creamy on the inside. Spareribs, choy sum, all manner of shrimp dumplings, barbecue pork buns and dumplings, fried shrimp nests, sticky rice with pork in lotus leaf, and on and on, until we were lying belly up. The only thing that was off was the fried turnip cake which needed more cooking. There is a buffet stand where you go to pick up the turnip cake, eggplant, choy sum, rice noodles, pig's blood, etc.

We walked off the dim sum by making a stop at The Chinatown Ice Cream factory. I got the Longan flavored sorbet. Apparently, one of the family members of the establishment broke ranks and opened up a shop of his own.

Then we sat on a rock in Columbus park. There was an old Chinese man who had all these birds hanging in the trees. He moved them tenderly around to get them better situated (a nicer place in the shade maybe?)

Jing Fong
18 Elizabeth St
(212) 964-5256

Chinatown Ice Cream Factory
65 Bayard St
(212) 608-4170

Comments

[city of cupertino]

WoW the foods look so delicious,..Yummy!