Sunday, January 30, 2011.
Chinese New Year At Sesame Inn.
The two of us had a late lunch at Sesame Inn in Mandeville. Steve, the always genial owner, was in the throes of celebrating Chinese New Year. He says that in the part of China where he comes from (Szechuan Province), Chinese New Year works sort of like Christmas does in this country: there's a big lead-up to the holiday, but the celebration is all but over by the time the lunar moment actually arrives.
Sesame Inn had an intriguing special menu for the celebration, and we ordered almost everything on it. First came a bowl of won ton soup, the noodles stuffed with chicken and the broth more flavorful than any such soup I could remember. (In other restaurants, it's usually like the soups they give you in a hospital after gastric surgery.) I could pick up a stronger accent of black pepper than normal, but there was more to it still. Steve said that it was a reduced broth, and finished with a little sesame oil. Well! I will have this again, even though I like the hot and sour soup better.
Next, shrimp balls. Like shrimp toast, but softer and without the toast, and topped with drizzles of some kind of enriching pale yellow sauce. Mary Ann put these away in rapid, order, but I managed to score one of them. Sesame Inn could become famous for these.
Next, a chicken special that Mary Ann enjoyed last time we were here. Steve remembered it, of course (he seems to recall everything you ever ate in prior visits) and made it again. For me, Peking style pork, made with a few vegetables and exotic mushrooms in a tremendously savory light brown sauce.
And, as these folks do for their regular customers, they bonused us a plate of oxtail stew, also from the New Year menu. "Don't be too civilized eating that," Steve advised. "Just pick up the bones and nibble the meat. I'll bring you some hand wipes." I'd had this a year or two ago and was put off by it. This time, I couldn't stop eating it until I was utterly sated.
In fact, this was the best meal we've had here, something I find myself saying every time we come. That's a nice trend.
The Year Of The Rabbit begins on Thursday, and I say bring it on.
Sesame Inn. Mandeville: 408 N Causeway Blvd. 985-951-8888.
