Lu Din Gee

Met some friends for dinner yesterday at Lu Din Gee. None of us had ever been, but we were looking forward to the Peking duck. The food was just okay, but not expensive at $15 a head for a very filling dinner. What was really irritating was the service. We called for a reservation at 7:30 and were told we would have to do 6:30 or 9:00. Fine, we took the 6:30. Later, the guy called back and said we'd have to clear out by 8:00. Okay...but then doesn't that mean there was an 8:00 slot that he didn't tell me about when I asked for 7:30? Whatever. We showed up, service was bleh even though the restaurant wasn't full, and we were reminded a few times that we needed to leave by 8:00. Jeezus. There wasn't even anyone beating down the door for our seats when we left (before 8:00).

These are the mung bean noodles. High on color, great texture, not much flavor in the sauce. The duck was okay, but I prefer when there's a little meat connected to the skin and the skin is fattier and crispier. The other dishes were just kind of uninspired so I didn't take photos. Lu Din Gee's food is really beautiful--colorful and fresh looking. But when I put it in my mouth, it was all just okay. Still, a nice time was had by all and no wallets were saddened at the end of the meal.

Note: Volcano Tea across the street has the most interesting shaved ice. I think their grass jelly is homemade. It's really soft and flavorful. And instead of lightly golden sugar syrup, they use a dark caramel-ish syrup. It's really delicious, even though I think they put too much.