To start with, let's get this out of the way - THE PHONE NUMBER TO RESERVE YOUR TABLE THERE IS 6223 3688. This is something that Telstra, who surely must have supplied and connected the phone, seem to not be able to provide! I called Directory Enquiries 3 times, to be told all times that they had no listing under that name, or any other variation of the name, in Sandy Bay Road, Hobart! Dickheads!
Anyway - to continue with the story - I ate tonight at Me Wah in Magnet Court - where the old Eduardos Music Shop used to be - with a party of 7.
The place is, as GP described - magnificent. The kitting out of this restaurant is just fabulous. I loved the following:
huge amount of space between tables
the tapless hand basins in the toilets (so you don't get everyone elses nasty toilet germs off the taps when you wash your hands)
the thicker than average public toilet loo paper
the huge number of staff all doing what they're meant to do very efficiently
the company at my table - I met them all, except Deb, for the first time tonight and they were exactly perfect as dining companions at Me Wah
It seemed to be a place where anyone who is anyone was there.
The place was buzzing. Staff were busily but not frantically working their butts off. Everything seemed totally controlled and calm despite the number of people dining. Most impressive.
So now we come to the food. I'm afraid to say I think we chose wrongly. A decision was made to order a banquet menu, presumably so we could get a reasonable tasting of a good cross-section of the food. We chose their Bamboo Set Menu. It was actually quite boring. If you'd blindfolded me, fed me and asked me to guess which Chinese restaurant in Hobart we were in, I honestly wouldn't have known. It wasn't by any means bad. It was just typical Chinese tucker from any Chinese restaurant.
It comprised:
Chicken Spring Roll, Pork Dim Sim, Curry Beef Puff
Chicken & Sweet Corn Soup
Honey Glazed BBQ Pork Tenderloins
Saute Chicken Fillets & Assorted Nuts
Special Fried Rice
Eye Fillets Sauteed with Black Bean Sauce, fresh snow peas & pan fried rice noodles
Banana Fritters with ice cream
Percolated Coffee or tea with Chinese Cookie
It cost $42 per head.
Next time I will definitely opt for individual ordering. The menu looked very extensive and I look forward to returning at some later date to try what I really thought sounded good.
I took away with me a copy of their Take Away Menu, and will order some take out soon, so at least I can check if I really do like their food or not.
It was no ones fault really, except mine for going along with the group decision, when I knew I would have preferred to sample more variety of the goodies, but I highly recommend the Chicken & Corn Soup. I could have left the other courses actually. The chicken didn't taste like chicken fillets, and the eye fillets didn't seem like eye fillet to me either. And you know how much of an expert I am about Eye Fillet after my Le Provencal experience of a few weeks ago!
Hmm. Back to the drawing board. I'd recommend Me Wah just because it's a great place, but frankly left me a bit cold as regards the food. Could it maybe have been a case of 'The Emperors New Clothes' though? I need to think about that particular conundrum.
PS the bill came in at well over $1000. You can see how extensively the rest of the occupants of our table researched the wine list! One of the bottles of red purchased cost $580, which Deb calculated at $35 per sip! That's one helluva nights drinking!
Friday, 14 September 2007
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9 comments:
I was a once a week regular at the old Launceston Me Wah many years ago and I have eaten thre recently. I love the make over of the new place but I can see flaws in the menu and its pricing. I will for once agree with GP as to the expense on the menu. I only had takeaway after a hectic day and was looking forward to a simple but satisfying meal. Satisfying yes but the portion v price is a bit out there. One soup, one vegetarian entree, one squid (not fresh Calamari $18.00 and tiny)one pork main and a rice. Total - $59.00 and no bonus offered as it was for spending over $40.00 to other customers. Petty I know but if you are going to advertise the fact.... I would pay more to dine in, as I think very few restaurants charge enough for what they do.
The food? Okay (pork was good and the soup rich and gelatinous as it should be), but not as I remember it. Maybe absence make the heart grow fonder.
I will give it another go, hopefully dining in but as a price for takeaway, a little steep.
I can offer an explanation why the beef fillet did'nt taste like beef fillet Rita.
Asian restaurants & I am clear in saying that this restaurant MAY NOT DO THIS, but many do.
'Season' lesser cuts of meat say chuck, blade, 'stewing steak' etc with bi-carb BEFORE marinating in the ubquitious soy/whatever mix.
The longer the meat 'marinates' the harder it is to discern what actual 'cut' it is. So it appears tender, perhaps tender enough to resemble 'Fillet', catch my drift?
Buyer beware!
Rita - they may not have found the phone number as I think Magnet Crt is an actual street by their reckoning.
Hi rita, back from hols and so too lazy to cook - we went to Mee Wah last night and had the peony set menu. Didn't remember to bring the food list home, but thought it was a good touch that they put it one the table. portions were small (just as well Number One Son had extra spring rolls first)Liked the lamb in mandarin pancakes and the crispy duck and the crab dumplings. When the menu described something like "crispy duck with vegetable" - they really meant it - vegetable single and singular - one strand of choi sum!
Dessert of the day was a lovely tapioca pudding, brulee-style, and a bean paste pastry. V nice indeed.
Will go back, but a la carte and in a big group.
Shall we start a yumcha petition???
Foodkitty
Yes - Yum Cha - needs to happen and how busy would they be!
Yes - Yum Cha - needs to happen and how busy would they be!
I could live the rest of my life on Yum Cha, so yes - I'm with you & HRV, Kitty.
I wish we'd opted for the Peony set menu. It did look better than the Bamboo. But it'll be a la carte for me next time.
Gobbler - I hate to think you're right about Me Wah but it just didn't taste like eye fillet...??
Zelda - I mentioned to Directory Enqs that it might be street address of either Magnet Court or Sandy Bay Rd, so presume they checked both.
Hmmmm Yum Cha. I heard on the Hobart grapevine that there is still Yum Cha in Hobart - At Castle Zayee in New Town. We are hoping to try it out very soon. I also heard the chef is from Asian Sensation, so we are definitely looking forward to having yum cha again in Hobart!
Went to the Me Wah on the weekend and absolutely loved it!!
In comparison to the other Chinese restaurant offerings in Tassie this is by far the best and you get what you pay for!! (top food)
The food was cooked as it should be and the service was A-class.
They obviously fit into a niche market as this kind of quality isn't as common in Tasmania as it is on the mainland.
Very impressed, will be back!
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