Hai Long

Pleasant surprises are hard to come by in these times. Hai Long is one of them. For reasons unknown to me I kept passing them by for couple of years, with no attempt whatsoever to walk in their door. Just couple of weeks ago I took a chance and I'm glad. I've been back three times since.

Sure, if you're planning a romantic dinner or a celebratory dinner or a dinner function that requires any kind of pleasant atmosphere, this is not the place. The food on a other hand is real nice, well prepared and you can actually taste the freshness. Hai Long is not a Korean reaturant, nor is it Chinese. Not sure where to place them, since they even have some Thai and possibly Indian influenced dishes on the menu.

I have tasted at least 10 different dishes and of course some are better than others, but all of them are good. If I would have to pick on anything then it would have to be the desserts. Even that is not their fault. It's me. Whenever I think of a dessert, my mind skips the whole continent of Asia. Then again I absolutely have to praise the chefs of Hai Long for not being afraid to make dishes little spicy. We all need spice, some of us just don't know it.

I have to bring up MSG. I have couple of friends who are seriously allergic to it. Since I personally don't have a strong reaction to it I can't say that it's not used in their kitchen. I've had some food seriously laced with MSG in a past and remember that it did not sit well with me either, so there's a chance it's pretty safe at Hai Long. Hey, take little bites.

Now I'm going to bring up a different question. They're real proud of the fact that the guys working in the kitchen are of real Korean ethnicity. Why is it that so many people think that as long as you're of right ethnicity, you'll be able to cook better food originating your home country? I have had the best pizza in a world made by Puerto Ricans, best Ratatouille prepared by Ecuadorians and the most mouth-watering croissants by Albanians. Same time I have a feeling that there's gotta be at least a billion Chinese who are not all excellent chefs. I think it's time to get over this silliness and for everybodys sake just hope for a good, talented and hard-working chef, no matter his or hers background.