Fuloon As Good As Ever 12/4/2012

[opinionatedchef]

I know a while ago, a few CHs were wondering if fuloon was slipping.
We introduced some friends to it the other night and had a terrific dinner. Diane and ger husband still own it; the original chef is still there.
Favs:
Wok Baked Beef w/ Watercress
Spicy Sour Cabbage
Orange Chicken
Moo shi Pork

Good :
Green Noodles w/ Pork- another of the unique dishes here w/ a tangy vinegar component

Disappointing(still)/ won't order again:
Pork Lo Mein- Fuloon's version has often been really distinctly more flavorful/saucy than others,
but the last few visits, it has been mundane. They were out of our other fav noodle dish- Szechuan Chow Foon.

Peking Duck- Duck was once stellar here, but no more. This time is the last time I will be disappointed by it's lean overcooked and skimpy meat. Wherever they get their ducks, it seems that vendor is raising them on a starvation diet.

[croutonweb]

The Spicy Sour Cabbage is a great find. We had this at our first trip to Fuloon this week.

[opinionatedchef]

yes, isn't that so refreshingly bright flavored? love it. :-}

[croutonweb]

It was a hit with my wife, as well. She's a kimchi hater and was fearful of the similarity, but there really isn't any. It's not fermented, it's served hot, and it's not limp.

We went to Venice last year and I had a local specialty (many, really) called Sarde in Saor. It's a plate of fried sardines smothered in onions in a vinegar-based sauce with raisins and pine nuts. Eating the cabbage at Fuloon immediately triggered that hot, thickened agrodolce memory.

[KWagle]

Sichuan flavored chow fun does sound like something I'd enjoy. I've always wondered why there isn't more such fusion cuisine on Chinese menus. (One good example can be found in the DC area: fried "good dale" which is basically Singapore-style chow fun, and extremely delicious.)

[Chris VR]

I was there for lunch recently and ordered my favorite lunch, Peking Meat Sauce Noodle, just as satisfying as ever.

[opinionatedchef]

chris, plse describe! i've never had it. beef, pork, minced, ground,; wheat , egg or rice noodles; plum sauce component or vinegary or other? heat level? thx much and plse share any other favs there. we have struck out on many other dishes but would love to expand our list.

[Chris VR]

It's a very simply and homey dish. It looks like whatever noodles they use in the lo mein, topped with ground beef in a salty sauce (I always figured it was black bean), topped with scallions and bean sprouts. It's not at all spicy, but they also have Szechuan Meat Sauce Noodle which I *think* I have gotten before and is nice and spicy.

[lipoff]

That dish is called zha2 jiang4 mian4, and the salty sauce is a fermented soybean paste. I would be very surprised if it's made with beef, rather than with pork, though. I've never ordered it, but assume it's pork, since zha jiang mian is basically always made with pork.

If you like the cu4 liu1 bai2 cai4, which I think is on their menu as Mandarin Cabbage with Spicy & Sour, try the duo4 jiao1 bai2 cai4, or Mandarin Cabbage with Chili Pepper.

I have never tried orange chicken, moo shi pork or lo mien there, but maybe they do those Americanized dishes well. Their signature duck dish, the jiang4 bao4 ya1 pian4 or Jiang Pao Duck is quite fatty and just as good as ever. I haven't had Peking Duck there in literally five years.

[opinionatedchef]

sam, we didn't care for that cabbage version but i am addicted to the spicy sour(i'm a real acid fan- citrus, vinegar, wine...). I've often been tempted by that duck dish; does it have plum or hoisin sauce? (i really dislike both) Also, would you plse tell me what those numbers mean?thx.

[lipoff]

The Jiangpao Duck comes with garlic, scallions, cucumbers and hoisin sauce, all served on the side, along with pancakes. The duck itself is sliced into pieces, and has been cooked in a thick soy-based sauce that becomes a sort of reduction on the duck itself. So it served with the traditional accompaniments of Peking duck, but it's not a whole duck, the skin isn't crispy, and the duck itself is coated and infused with a sauce. If you don't like hoisin sauce, don't worry, you aren't required to use it! =) The sauce the duck is cooked in isn't particularly sweet, but it is a thick sauce. It's one of my favorite duck preparations.

When you transliterate Chinese characters into the Latin alphabet, the letters can only represent the sound of the characters, not the tone. In Mandarin Chinese, each character can have one of four tones, or in some cases, no tone at all. So for example if you read duo4 jiao1 bai2 cai4 you'd know it's chopped pepper cabbage, rather than duo1 jiao1 bai2 cai4 which could be many pepper cabbage. It's a little bit like putting the accent marks on in French or Spanish.

[opinionatedchef]

thx much for that very clear explanation!

[Chris VR]

It has a dryness and lack of individual flavor I associate with ground beef so I always assumed it was beef and not pork but I am sure you are right.

[emannths]

Have you tried many of the Sichuan dishes? Most of the things on your list don't seem to be particularly Sichuan. We usually order Sichuan classics like ma po tofu, water cooked beef, bang bang chicken, Chongqing dry-hot chicken, cold jellyfish, and pork/bacon with leeks.

[hargau]

I was thinking the same thing. Other than the wok beef and the cabbage, i cant imagine ordering any of those items at Fuloon or anywhere for that matter.

[opinionatedchef]

hi em, yes we tried alot of those at the chowdown we attended that introduced us to F. But i don't think i've had the bacon/leeks and that sounds luscious. could you describe the water cooked beef and that dry hot chicken?thx!

[emannths]

The bacon w/leeks dish, which I think is usually translated as something like "double-cooked pork" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twice_cooked_pork), is sliced pork belly with garlic, black beans, and leeks. You have to be accepting of unrendered pork belly fat though. The water-cooked beef (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuizhu, I think Fuloon calls it "Sichuan steamed beef"), is slices of beef, cabbage, and celery in a rich, meaty Chinese broth with lots of chili oil and Sichuan peppercorns. The portion at Fuloon is huge. I think there's a thread on CH about the fish version of this dish. Chongqing dry hot chicken (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_...) is chunks of deep-fried chicken tossed with garlic, ginger, scallions, Sichuan peppercorns, and comical quantities of chilies. It's a bit like Sichuan-style popcorn chicken, I suppose.

[tamerlanenj]

I moved away from Boston a few years ago, and the steamed beef szechuan style at Fu Loon is one of the things I miss most in the world. Right up there with Speed dogs. And it's not even as crazy hot as it looks!

[KWagle]

What kind of beef? Is this the dish with seasoned rice powder? I get that at Shanghai Gate and love it.