Monday, January 11, 2010

Mekong


$+
With all the choices for restaurants out there, it's really difficult to make it back to the ones that have been around for a while – mostly because you know they'll always be there to back you up on a night that you really don't feel like making any decisions. One of the first Asian restaurants I tried when I moved to Ottawa 10 years ago was Mekong. I adored it. We didn't have a restaurant in Moncton, NB that lived up to this type of cuisine at the time. In fact I don't think we had any restaurant that served any kind of Cantonese, Szechwan, Vietnamese or Thai. And if we did, I didn't have anyone to introduce me to it.

It's been quite a few years since I'd been back, but one evening my husband and I were on our way home, tummies partially full from a late lunch and thought, why not just stop in for a few nibbles. Mekong is one of those restaurants that is consistently good. You won't leave there unsatisfied. The service is always fantastic, the atmosphere warm and welcoming, and the food, fresh and yummy.

We ended up ordering more than we needed; nonetheless, we gobbled down every bite. Pot Sticker Pork Dumplings, Curry Beef Triangle Puffs, Shrimp and Crab Cakes, my absolute favourite dumpling in the whole world – Hunan Dumplings, and the final appetizer, one we asked our server to surprise us with, Shrimp Shooters.

Everything was delicious. My soft spot for any kind of dumpling will put both the pot sticker and hunan dumplings on the top of my list. I was surprised that the beef triangle puffs were fried, not sure why, but they were fantastic dipped in the curry plum sauce either way. The crab cakes I wasn't crazy about. I prefer a crispier outer shell, and a more minced texture inside, these pieces were small chunks. My husband enjoyed them though. And the shrimp shooters were very fun, 4 lovely shrimp wrapped in a wonton wrapper, fried and dunked in a shooter of sweet and sour sauce. Delish!

Each item in the Dim Sum and Appetizer section of the menu is only $5. Appetizer soups run between $4 and $5 and mains between $11 and $20.


Mekong on Urbanspoon

1 comment:

nooschi said...

You know, I've never been to Mekong. It is now bumped up on my list. You're right...way too many places to choose from now. It's great.