Before any of that happens, I thought it would be best to get caught up on the blogging thing - so here goes:
I know I've seen Hong Kong '97 at least a hundred times before, but no matter how hard I tried I could never quite place exactly where it was. After steeling myself with a few pints at Winestock, I jumped in the car and called HK'97 to order my #7. The lady told me ten minutes, like they knew I was coming. Street address in hand, I ventured down McLoughlin Blvd in search of nourishment. As it turns out, Hong Kong '97 is in a tucked away mini-mall right next door to a head shop called The Stash. One stop shopping for some I'd imagine.
You can see a guy there in the photo sitting down, but he didn't appear to be drunk - just smoking and talking on the phone. Nothing nefarious going on here folks. In fact, HK'97 doesn't even have the omnipresent bar attached next door. This is a bold move. They appear to be proud enough to stand on the quality of their food alone (and Oregon Lottery revenues.) We'll see about that. This place does come highly recommended by my friend Tyleen though.
Damn blurry photo. As you can see, HK'97s #7 only comes with three items - which is pretty disappointing to begin with. I'm pretty bummed at this point - noting that their menu goes all the way to a #12, which really tends to scale down the lower numbers I guess. Oh well. If a #7 is usually the "ultimate" combination meal, simple math tells me that what I'm actually ordering is a #4.08 here at HK'97.
The Weigh In: Here it is, at a whopping 2 lbs. 4.9 ounces. It feels a bit light in the bag.
Right off the bat, I want to say this both looked and smelled really good. I was also glad to see that they kept the mustard separate from the red (whatever) sauce, and gave you plenty of it.
The Good: The Pork Fried Rice was actually really good. Not too much soy sauce, with a fair amount of pork, peas, carrots and whatnot. It was fresh and hot, and a pleasant surprise. Certainly the best I've had so far. The Kung Pao Chicken was also really good, and I thoroughly enjoyed eating it. Note the * in the photo of the menu next to Kung Pao Chicken. This means it's supposed to be spicy. I think for the first time ever in a Chinese-American restaurant, the asterisk didn't lie. Don't get me wrong - it wasn't "hot" or anything, but it had a nice little peppery bite to it - quite pleasing. The sauce was well developed and not overbearing, allowing the flavor of the chicken, peanuts and assorted vegetables (I saw mushrooms, celery, peas and maybe green onions) to express themselves without getting lost in the mix. Lots of peanuts too. Totally solid.
That's Linc, from famed 70s TV show The Mod Squad. He was known to express his approval by saying, "Solid" and making a fist. I couldn't find a picture of him actually doing that, so I have to settle for this instead. It's almost as if he's saying, "Hey, can I have a bite of that? The fork you've already loaded up is fine by me." You can tell he's sitting down as he says this, and I'm standing in front of him.
Before we get into the ratings, I'll mention that the name Hong Kong '97 is in reference to the year that Hong Kong was given back to China... but you already knew that unless you are currently in high school or have just recently graduated from college within the last five years.
Is that a slam against the current state of education in this great country? Yes.
The Mediocre: I've previously said that all shrimp will likely be judged as mediocre. Shrimp don't lie.
The Bad: Absolutely nothing. OK, I guess it could have been bigger, but judging solely on the quality and craftsmanship of the food, I have zero complaints.
Hong Kong '97 #7
Items: Pork Fried Rice, Fried Shrimp, Kung Pao Chicken
Cost: $8.75
Weight: 36.9 ounces
Cost per ounce: $.24
Accoutrements: One red sauce, one hot mustard, two off-brand soy packets
Fortune: Things are not always what they seem. It's not that bad! (in bed)
Rating: 3-1/2 Stars.
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