They ladies taking line orders were fine when I was there as well, but they were also taking phone orders which slowed the line down to a crawl.
So for best results, maybe I should call them WHILE standing in line?! Brilliant.
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After a long meeting in Westwood, arrived around 3, when it was a little too late for lunch and too early for dinner or cocktails.
Good news is that finding a metered space at that time was easy
Bad news is the food was awful. Two of us ordered pork dumplings (with “soup inside”) and bowl of shrimp won ton soup.
The dumplings were thick and doughy, but tasted o.k… The Shrimp won ton soup may be the worst soup I have ever had. The broth tasted only of the flavor of bok choy in the bowl. Otherwise, flavorless. I added chili sauce which helped a bit.
Truly terrible. Only the mediocre pork dumplings warded off starvation. Left over the soup and threw away the takeout menu.
Koala T fried dumplings > Northern Cafe.
Authentic menu but poor execution/cooking.
Agree. Nice looking menu. That is the best thing I can say about this place.
Unfortunately, I had another mediocre meal at Northern Cafe myself. Chongquing “crispy” chicken was crispy as advertised but lacked flavor. There were chili peppers in the batter but no Sichuan peppercorn that I could discern. Pork potstickers were undercooked and gummy. The sauteed stringbeans were the only saving grace – nice and garlicky with lots of fermented black bean.
I’ll give them another try after things calm down and they work out the kinks.
BTW, I actually did what @J_L suggested and ordered by phone before standing in line. Worked like a charm lol.
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Ancient Chinese secret…
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Hit the Westwood branch of Northern Cafe for dinner last night and things have improved since my last visit. Chongqing spicy chicken finally had a hint of Sichuan peppercorn (though still not nearly enough). And the kung pao chicken had a vinegary component that’s often lacking from Westernized preparations – a pleasant surprise.
It’s still not SGV quality.-- or as good as Meizhou Dongpo imo. But the price is right and it’s real close by. I definitely see myself returning, particularly for more of the kung pao.
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