Critic's Review
It's funny how you usually find things when you're not looking for them, and South Sea Chinese Kitchen is quite a find. I had tried to order a pizza from Bada Bing next door yesterday and they didn't answer their phone, and I needed something today from Target so I swung by on my way home to see what was up. Bada Bing is closed and I was in the mood for some chinese food and there was Seven Sea, so I ordered some dumplings and Mongolian Beef.
Inside, the place is as big a dump as a place could be; out of date and probably not very nice when it was in date. There's a 12" TV on some random station. This place is take out only. Sure there's a table and a bench, but you don't want to eat here.
Something that may be a first for me is that the counterperson, and I think the cook, were Caucasian. Can white people make good Chinese food? I was about to find out.
It took about 10 minutes to make the food and they happily handed over the extra condiments I asked for. The portions weren't enormous; the Mongolian Beef was a "chef's special" so only available in one size; the dumplings where medium size and they give you 6.
Mongolian Beef and Steamed Dumplings
I could tell from looking at the beef that it was skillfully made; the meat was nicely seared and the proportions were just right. I tried the dumpling first and they were pretty good; not too doughy and they had an asian taste; sometimes dumplings just taste like balls of nothing. They gave me some sort of chili sauce which I had no use for; I use a mixture of mustard and duck sauce for dumplings. I'm not sure why; just an old habit that sticks with you forever.
The Mongolian Beef was excellent; it was spicy, tender and there were just enough snow peas, scallions and mushrooms to balance it out. As take out goes, I was quite pleased with the food. Its not a cheap place as it was almost $16.00 for the one dish and the dumplings, but it was very well made with quality ingredients.
Just a note: they leave in the chili peppers, and you really don't want to bite into one of those boys or it will light your mouth on fire. So be careful!
