Eastern Lights Blogging: New and Nostalgic

When one has been going to a restaurant (or the predecessor of one) since 1981, you'd think there wouldn't be anything new to try. Despite my love for trying new things, I'm just as likely to order the same dishes over and over without experimenting. The ideal solution is to go to such a restaurant with someone who has been going to the same restaurant about as long, but has been ordering different things. That was the case for lunch today, at Eastern Lights. We shared an order of Sizzling Rice soup, which used to be my family's favorite until my Second Most Faithful Reader became addicted to their Hot and Sour soup, maybe 15 years ago, so it was nice to have a serving of nostalgia along with the meal. Sizzling Rice soup, which serves two or more people, contains chicken, shrimp, water chestnuts, avoidable mushrooms and crispy rice. The rice often makes a dramatic entrance as it is added to the soup, hence the name.

For our main course, we shared Spicy Shredded Dried Tofu with Pork, which I'd never tried before and was excellent. The tofu was very flavorful and the texture reminded me of thick cold-cuts, because it was denser than most tofu I've eaten. The dish also contained fermented black beans, which reminded me slightly of teeny olives with the texture of beans. It was spicy, but not excessively so. I would definitely recommend this entree, which can be found in the Chef's Specialties section of their menu.