Restaurant Review - Chinatown Dublin
Wednesday 24 September 2014
Fancy chowing down on chicken feet, jellyfish head, frogs' legs, razor clams, shredded tripe, whelks, or a Chinese breakfast buffet for €6? These are just some of the delights that are available in the array of eateries in Dublin's Chinatown area of Parnell Street.
I might have slightly scoffed at the Chinatown tag a few years ago, when there were but a few very basic eateries on the street, but this has all changed, and some of the restaurants and Asian food stores have started up a website - chinatowndublin.com - embracing Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Japanese eateries.
They have also smartened up their shopfronts, some with cheery Chinese lanterns, and most have their menus displayed outside. Our interest being piqued, my friend Paul and I decided to set off on our own little Chinatown adventure.
Our first port of call was to Jindal Chinese Korean restaurant, which was awash with colourful menus and photos of food in its windows. The room was fairly simple, but the welcome was warm. We ordered three dishes: razor clams; prawn and pork dumplings; and Korean spicy fired beef. However, this all went pear-shaped pretty quickly - the waitress returned to tell us that they were out of razor clams and suggested we try whelks. We agreed, but she returned saying they were also out of whelks! We were getting mildly cheesed off and neither were we enthused by what did arrive out on plain white dinner plates.
The spicy fired beef (€8.80) had colourful mixed peppers in it, but the meat was soft and tasteless, with about as much oomph and fire as boiled brisket. The prawn and pork dumplings (€6.50), although plentiful, reminded me of what my father used to call 'sinkers' - they were doughy and tasteless, even when sprinkled with chilli oil. Finishing Paul's glass of Tsing Tao beer (€3) and my bottled water (€1.80), we moved on.
Nearby, we found the Lao Hot Pot. A big, contemporary place, they had really kick-ass menus delivering on all our exotic desires, including an extensive a la carte menu, plus a BBQ and a Hot Pot menu at €15.95, whereby you cook your choice of raw ingredients on a hot plate incorporated in the table.
Concentrating on shellfish, we loved the lightness of the food. Razor clams (€11.80) were tossed with crisp beansprouts, scallions, oil and chilli, and topped with julienned spring onion and chilli. A Korean cold dish of baby squid with vinegar sauce (€9.90) was top notch - curls of baby squid, tossed in a piquant sauce, contrasted with shards of cool cucumber, red onion, peppers and coriander. However, that was not all: the crispy, deep-fried oysters with a chilli sauce and spiced salt (€10.80) were also excellent. Very lightly coated, the ethereal crunchiness gave way to the softness of the precious molluscs within.
Kimchee (€3.95), Korean fermented cabbage in chilli sauce, was breathtaking in more ways than one - hot, hot, hot - but a glass of white wine at €5.50 did the trick.
Our next stop was Lee Kee, specialising in Xiang and Szechuan cuisines. This was a total gem, where we were looked after by a delightful young man. Resisting exotic dishes of marinated duck tongue, fish and lamb soup or griddle-cooked frogs legs, a succulent half aromatic duck (€16) with warm, moist pancakes, plum sauce, spring onion and cucumber, was delicious. So, too, was our final dish, a vast mound of Singapore noodles (€10.50). All of the diners here were Asian, a good sign in any Asian eatery, and we were fascinated watching a tinfoil-encased large sea bass being 'flamed' at a table. Try the Qingdao beers (€6) here, they're very good.
Jindal Chinese Korean,
106 Parnell Street,
Dublin 1
Tel: (01) 872-8376
facebook.com/jindalrestaurant
Lao Hot Pot,
102 Parnell Street,
Dublin 1
Tel: (01) 873-6666
Lee Kee
100a Parnell Street,
Dublin 1
Tel: (01) 804-4517
leekeechinese.ie
lucindaosullivan.com
Sunday Independent