po tofu.
Before arriving, I prepared myself in full Debbie-downer mode. When I think of Chinese food, this is what I think of: Cops in movies sitting in the office late at night eating oily noodles out of a white and red to-go box. And it always looks so good. But whenever I go to a Chinese restaurant to recreate this image, it is always so disappointing. Chinese food, to me, is dark brown corn syrup with a pinch of MSG.
Mission Street Chinese Food was not this at all. First of all, if you go, don’t judge the book by the cover. The restaurant façade looks like all the other sketchy gated pawn-shops in this area of the mission, with a stained yellow sign that says Lung Shan Restaurant (Note: Nowhere on the sign does it say Mission Street Chinese Food). Walking in is a bit more comforting… clean, nicely lit, spacious, casual.
My buddy Winsie ordered the thrice cooked bacon, and I, of course ordered the ma po tofu. (It usually takes me a solid hour to choose an item off a menu, so thank you 7x7 magazine for making life so much easier!)
First of all, I will say that ma po tofu is where the idea of tofu as the vegetarian/health option goes to die. I received a steaming vat of ground pork with large cubes of tofu, red chili peppers, black beans, all swimming in bright red oil. Looking at this thing made me sweat. It was basically a giant bowl of Chinese Chili… but better!
The tofu was silky smooth. It melted in my mouth. And the flavor of this ground pork stew was indescribable. The only word that comes to mind is savory… not like the corn syrup sauces I was used to previously. And the spice… oh the spice. That was the best part. Although the menu gives this item the highest spice rating (Two cartoon flames!!! Whatchout!), it wasn’t the kind of spice that lights your entire body on fire preventing you from tasting the food. It actually gave my mouth the same feeling that a beer makes my body feel (yeah, I have a low tolerance); tingly, slightly numb, and extremely happy.
Tasting Winsie’s thrice cooked bacon made me realize that, although the ma po tofu is wonderful and unique, it need not be the only item considered on the menu. Each menu choice seems to be fantastic, original, and just as good, if not better, than the #1 item on 7x7’s list. Lung Shan is a must-visit destination in San Francisco.
Thank you, ma po tofu, for giving my mouth the most fantastic afternoon buzz. And the best part is that I was able to take about three quarters of it home (that is one big vat of ma po!) So I put my plastic container of stew in my backpack, rode my bike home, and once I arrived, happily found a pool of bright red oil in the bottom of my backpack.
What a lovely afternoon.
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