The Old North got a brand new Chinese restaurant a few weeks ago. With utilitarian chairs and tables, the place is not much on ambiance, but in terms of delivering authentic, quality eats, NE Chinese Restaurant brings something good to the table.
There are two menus, but it’s not like one of them is a “secret menu.” You don’t have to establish your worldly coolness to have access to the Spicy Fried Intestines, Braised Pig’s Feet, or Chicken Heart. It’s all offered on one multi-page laminated menu, and General Tso’s is offered on the other menu.
Presented with both menus, it seems only democratic to order something from each selection of edibles. In addition to the tempting organ options, the Chinese menu also offered a more familiar-sounding Moo Shu Pork ($12.95). In delivery, the moo shu was less familiar, but no less enjoyable.
Moo Shu veterans might expect a twisted mass of indistinguishable (but delicious) julienned vegetables and shredded meat served with pancakes. Conversely, at NE Chinese Restaurant, the contributions of each ingredient in the dish are distinct. Velvety, black, wood ear mushrooms circulate with wedges of cucumber, tender grilled slices of pork, and copious quantities of scrambled egg, all of it soaking in a briny sauce. You don’t often see cucumber added to hot dishes, but it worked nicely in this context, providing a crunchy textural addition to the mix.
The same menu holds another winner in the pork department: Spicy Pork with Cilantro (actually, that option might appear on both menus, $12.95). Garlicky and spiked with chiles, it comes with not just a little cilantro: it comes with a great deal of cilantro. The green stuff essentially takes on a winning role as vegetable, rather than acting as an accenting herb.
The same version of the menu also has stews and soups. Mixed Vegetables Soup ($9.95) is built on a viscous broth with a smoky sesame flavor. It’s comforting, but nothing terribly special. Suspended in the broth are skinny noodles and carrots, and little ribbons of greens. Crunchy noodles, of the same breadth and depth of those suspended in the broth, add a little variety to the mix.
Walking over to the mild side on the pages of the other menu, there’s a cheese-something that definitely qualifies as interesting. Called a Cheese Puff ($6.50), it’s for Crab Rangoon fans. Great big triangles of fried wrappers are filled with a flavor that, after considerable reflection, is pretty dang close to pineapple cream cheese. It’s sweet, it’s cheesy, and it tastes very much like a good idea. Other appetizers are more conventional: egg rolls, spring rolls, and edamame.
On down the pages of the mild menu, there are familiar Chinese entrees, as well as classical traditions such as fried rice and lo mein. If not inspired, the Chicken Lo Mein ($9.95) is reliable — the loops of noodles are appealingly briny and populated with chicken and a few token vegetables.
You can find NE Chinese at 2620 N. High St. With the exception of Tuesdays (when it’s closed), it opens every day at 11 a.m. for lunch and stays open through dinner hours.
For more information, visit nechinese.com.
