Tasty China: Hot & Sour Soup Nazi
February 13th, 2008 by Andisheh Nouraee in RestaurantsOn Saturday, I finally followed Creative Loafing Food & Drink Editor Besha Rodell’s advice and dined at Tasty China in Marietta.
It was fantastic — easily the tastiest Chinese food I’ve ever eaten. It was so good I went back last night with my FutureWife, Christi.
On the way to the restaurant, I told her to expect brusque service. On Saturday, our server was quite abrupt. I didn’t take notes, but the conversations went pretty much like this:
ME: What is Sichuan Boy Chicken?
SERVER: You don’t want that.
ME: What is it?
SERVER: It’s a whole chicken. You don’t want that.
And this:
ME: I’ll have the Spicy Sichuan Crispy Beef.
SERVER: No. You’re not gonna like that.
ME: Why?
SERVER: It’s too spicy.
ME: How spicy is it?
SERVER: Too spicy for you.
ME: How spicy it? Is it spicier than Tabasco sauce?
SERVER: Tabasco’s not spicy.
At which point she laughed and walked away. I laughed, too. For some reason, I like it when servers seem annoyed.
Last night, we had the same server and she was similarly abrupt.
On the way in, we noticed a dry-erase board marked “Chef’s Specials.†Other than “Chef’s Specials†and the prices, everything else on the board was in Chinese. We tried to inquire about the specials, and the conversation went something like this:
CHRISTI: What are the specials?
SERVER: What do you want?
CHRISTI: What are the specials on that board?
SERVER: What do you want? Tell me what you want.
CHRISTI: I want to know what the specials are.
SERVER: Pork intestines. You want pork intestines?
CHRISTI: What are other specials?
SERVER: Kidneys. You want kidneys? Only Chinese people eat kidney. We’ll make it for you, but if you send it back, we still charge you.
Each inquiry we made about items on the menu was greeted with the same response — “What do you like?†Basically, she didn’t trust us to order, so she wanted to know if we wanted beef, chicken, pork or seafood so she could select something for us based on her assessment of our tolerance for authentic Sichuan cuisine.
She also lectured us on how we were taking too long to order, never acknowledging the fact that her refusal to answer our questions or to serve us nearly everything we suggested was the primary reason it was taking us so long.
Here’s the thing — I don’t think she’s ticked off at me. When we were walking out the door, she waved, smiled and yelled across the restaurant “See you soon!â€
I think she thinks she’s helping us. I think she thinks she’s protecting us from ordering something too exotic for what she assumes are our Chicken Chow Mein-stream American palates. She’s probably also protecting herself and her restaurant from preparing meals for people who try to return them because they don’t taste like the Chinese food most of us are used to. And though she is correct that I don’t, in fact, want to eat pig intestines, kidneys or “Hot and Numbing Rabbit Cubes,†I’d like to be trusted to make the decision myself.
Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed every minute of the experience. I suspect, however, that most customers would find it annoying.
February 13th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
You’re wrong Andy. You DO want hot and numbing rabbit cubes. They are delicious!
I have heard similar accounts from other diners. Phuong, the woman who is almost always the server there, is quite a firecracker, and it seems her tableside manner is getting crazier by the day. The place has become such a destination for adventurous eaters in particular, I doubt it does her much good to be so unhelpful. I remember the first time I went there we ordered the sharp pepper fish, and she tried to muscle in and take the hot peppers off the top of the dish before we could touch it. I had to literally swat her away to keep her from stealing half our food.
Next time, hold fast. Say, I WANT HOT AND NUMBING RABBIT CUBES, DAMMIT!
February 14th, 2008 at 10:28 am
You do have a point. I’ve seen people there time and again either complain or send things back because they were “too spicy.” I’ve actually brought people myself, after telling them is was Sichuan and known for their spiciness, only to have them ask me what to order because they can’t eat spicy food.
In short, people are pretty dumb.
If you get on her good side, though, she’s AWESOME. She’ll tell you about off menu items and, once she gets to know your palate, she’ll even make the chef/cooks put together combinations they normally don’t .
How does she get to know your palate? Believe me, the woman’s got a memory like a steel trap. I was sitting with a friend recently and we were trying to decide what to order. I pointed at something and she said, “No! You didn’t like that last time, remember?” Whoa.
As an Asian dude, she reminds me a little too much of my mom. Nevertheless, she’s awesome.
PS. Go ahead and order that boy chicken. It’s smoked, steamed and flashfried. I can eat a whole one myself.
February 14th, 2008 at 10:38 am
They treat you like family, for real! We go there all the time and love it!
February 14th, 2008 at 11:11 am
Honestly, she sounds like everyone on the Chinese side of my family (Ben – totally like my mom, too!). It’s par for the course.
February 14th, 2008 at 11:49 am
I was kidding, the lady really needs to improve they way she treats customers. Everytime we go there we have to designate an ambassador in charge of managing the communication, that we we avoid being harrased. The food is great
February 14th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Most customers just shut up and trust Phong. I go there several times a month, and hardly even bother looking at the menu. She knows the type of food I like and do not like and basically just wants to know what type of meat I want that day… I leave it up to her, she knows what she is doing. She knows you’re a newbie and is simply cutting down on the questions she’d have to answer from all of you “Johnny-Come-Lately’s” that are just getting around to trying the place.
Based on the fact that you are unwilling to try the H&N Rabbit Cubes (dried beef, or rolls) If she let you order something and it turns out it was not what you expected, you’d be complaining about that here instead of the service. You could have kept this post shorter simply by ending after the second sentence.
Stick to MF Sushi or some other style over substance ITP joint. The chef, whose food you think you are coming for, has been gone for about 7 months now anyway…
February 14th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
“The chef, whose food you think you are coming for, has been gone for about 7 months now anyway…”
Gotta love it when someone assumes they know what others are thinking. ;-)
The chef who replaced Peter Chang has done well with the menu he inherited. I still appreciate the food and most of the people I know do, as well. And yes, we all know Chef Chang is gone.
February 14th, 2008 at 12:51 pm
>>Based on the fact that you are unwilling to try the H&N Rabbit Cubes (dried beef, or rolls) If she let you order something and it turns out it was not what you expected, you’d be complaining about that here instead of the service.
Yes, yes, based on the fact that I don’t like the taste of rabbit meat, I should avoid the restaurant entirely. That’s smart thinkin’ JK. Unwillingness to eat rabbit is a deep character flaw.
I’m allergic to shellfish. Perhaps I should avoid coastal cities.
February 14th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
This exchange reminds me of a stand-up comic who did a bit about how it’s hard to tell whether waiters at Chinese restaurants are being serious or sarcastic. Seriously though, whenever a Chinese person has tried to teach me a Chinese word or phrase I’ve found that the only way I can get the pronounciation right is to say it like I’m angry. Perhaps to Western ears that’s just the way Chinese sounds.
And speaking of the way people sound, JK, you’re not acquitting yourself any better than the “style over substance” crowd you turn your nose up at. A snob is a snob.
February 14th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
I to went to the Tasty China in Marietta twice and I to had a unique experience. The first time I went with a friend and had luch and the food was better than most of the Chinese restaurants in the area. What happened to us was just as we were ordering a chinese patron was checking out and the next thing was a bill arguement and then the person was physically thrown out. Two Marietta Police cars and then it was the policemens proble to sort out the problem.
The second time I went there the chinese waitress told me that I could not order spicy food what was basiacally wrong with me. she then told me she did not care and she would order the food extra spicy and it was not her fault if iIcould not eat it. I then again told her I wanted it spicy and not extra spicy. The rest of the ordering from friend went the same way which is out right rude. The food was okay but it was not worth the abuse. I get much better food in Boston and the chinese people are very nice. By the way my girlfriend is chinese and I thought she was going to take the waitress out!
February 14th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
This place sounds amazing! I can’t wait to try it – since I truly am a Johnny-Come-Lately as is everyone else except the all knowledgeable JK Sockey. Do you feel like joining me JK or are you too accustomed to eating alone cause you’re a prick?
February 15th, 2008 at 9:13 am
“Most customers just shut up and trust Phong. I go there several times a month, and hardly even bother looking at the menu.”
They have a menu?
TC complaints (here, or on other forums) are some of the most entertaining reads in town. You’d think the Red Hat Ladies had found this place…
February 15th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Yes, I guess Mike brings a good point…. Is the ABUSE worth the great food they have?