17C Link Drive, Wairau Park
Areet, OK... Issyabuoy, Young E.B. AKA The Cha-millionaire AKA Dimset AKA Shrimp C. It's been, what? a minute since I last deigned to bless you with a little mid-morning knowledge. In any case it's certainly been a min-ute since I last fucked with the dim sums, on this internet web-log anyway.
Word to the #SpiceBoyz gang. Of late I been tryna obtain some legit intel RE: new gook-muck spots, IE. spots that aren't New Flavour or any other over-arse joints (peace to Spicy Joint, which by the way, is not over). Intel from real live Azns.... the word from two of my oriental colleagues at the Sweatshop was that Star Caf was the place to be.
N-Dundee Pro-tip: get here early, especially if you come on a Sunday. The place opens at eleven, we arrived about eleven-thirty, and had a brief, tolerable wait, until the dude with the earpiece retrieved P. and me from loitering outside - we'd been admiring the majestic Lake Wairau. By the time we bounced the queue was out the do'!
Cyber-rumours of authentic Chinese style service were mostly confirmed, it did suck. At times it's a stretch for mild-mannered palagis to get comfortable about being what would be considered rude at a non-chinese restaurant. You gotta be pretty direct, even then it's a struggle. A few of our faves proved highly elusive, but the sweet-n-sour pork was proffered to the whites more than once.
Straight off the bat decided to switch the style up (and watch the pile up) and cop some pork slices. These were chilled and resplendent in a well ratio'd bath of chili oil and other mysterious elixirs. Nothing like kick starting your Sunday fuzzbrain with the magic of spice. Sweating and buggin' in seconds.
The proceeding plates & baskets that did land were competent. Dumpos could've been a little firmer, IMHO, and could've been a little more various - they all seemed to be prawn. Where the coriander at!!??? That's my shit! Prawn toast was official, doe, while we're talkin' prawn. Nice ice cream balls, but real-talk, kinda hard to fuck-up something pre-packaged.
I left feeling satiated, but not disrespected, which is mission failure in my kindle. Side note: at Star Cafe Seafood Restaurant $64 three ways is $19.20... which seemed to suggest a surcharge for not splitting. Buzzy, eh. I would/will return, but not in a hurry - maybe just for the pork slices. Judging by the mob forming in the foyer as we gapped, they'll do fine without my frequent custom. Miss.
