Disappointing meals

A bunch of small eateries and cafes line the small strip behind LG Towers. Taiwan Kitchen Workshop (台湾厨坊), just a few doors from the Na Family Restaurant, is one of them. My young friend Isabella and I went there for lunch last Saturday. It’s a cute family-run restaurant with not much in the way of decoration, but nice window seats. We ordered three-cup bull frog and Hakka small stir-fried. Both dishes were soulless, and the beancurd strips in the Hakka small stir-fried were spoiled. The owner did not even bother to apologize when I mentioned that the beancurd had funny taste, which is a very bad sign. I should have refused to pay for a spoiled dish. With such indifference, I definitely will not give them a second chance. Another disappointing meal I had was about two months ago. I was invited to dinner at a restaurant that has the glorious and alluring name of Imperial Icehouse (皇家冰窖小院), as the site was once an imperial icehouse. The restaurant is tucked deep inside Gongjian Hutong on the south side of Di’anmen Xi Dajie. The entrance is a big red painted door studded with golden nails, just like the door at the Forbidden City. I stepped inside by going over the threshold and my eyes were drawn to a fake imperial wall with a story that in ancient times, this site was the place where blocked ice was stored for the royal family. I was dismayed to see that he courtyard was covered with a roof, destroying the original look. I had a Lao Beijing friend with me, who argued with the waitresses and who kept criticizing the way the dishes were made. The mustard cabbage, for example, was too sweet and the mustard used was Japanese wasabi instead of traditional Chinese mustard. Chinese cuisine is progressively getting worse. Many restaurants try to hide their poor cooking by smothering their food under a pile of chillis. I’m feeling increasingly frustrated with the game of restaurants that have grand names, fancy menus but horrible food. Where is the pride of Chinese cooking?