Chongqing chicken pick-up from Firstborn, who announced recently an expanded menu of pick-up options through UberEats
Ordered for pick-up right at 5PM (scheduling options are a little inflexible); in-hand at 5:16.
The order: Jidori chicken basket (2 leg 2 thigh), sauce on side, added duck fat rice ($11 (!) ). Promotional free almond tofu.
(Also pictured, Little Alley-brand Shanghai scallion pancake and salad)
Okay so the chicken reputation is very much deserved. That’s an incredibly crispy piece of chicken and needed only a little refresher in a warming oven for about 5-6 minutes after a 15-minute drive home. And the duck fat rice is an excellent companion in order to make rice bites. But really the kicker here is that sauce – subtle tingle with lots of body and ensuing warmth and that charred sweetness from fried shallot (I think). Because if you get it on the side and use it judiciously then you’ve got a great sauce with which to stir-fry eggplants in the next night, which I did. And I’ll do it again tomorrow night too.