Lotus Hunan Chinese Restaurant

A lesson along with meal

By Dale Rice
American-Statesman Restaurant Critic
Sept. 9, 2004

Ever wonder why egg foo yong is not on the menus of many Chinese restaurants, but they'll still make the classic dish if you ask?

According to our server at Lotus Hunan, it's because egg foo yong takes so much more time to cook than typical Chinese restaurant dishes that are prepared quickly by deep-frying or stir-frying.

Since Lotus Hunan wasn't especially busy at 8 p.m. on a recent weeknight, she said the kitchen would be happy to make chicken egg foo yong ($11.95), a delicious combination of eggs, vegetables, poultry and savory brown sauce.

That followed the appetizer tray for two ($9.95), with its sesame fish, fried won tons, chicken wings, fantail shrimp, beef sticks and egg roll. Our favorites from that mix of starters were the crisp, sesame-seed-coated white fish; the fried, softly crusted shrimp; and the thin, tender rectangles of beef that could be heated on the small grill in the center of the tray.

The second entree, moo shu pork ($11.95), featured shredded pork, cabbage, bamboo shoots and green onions with hoisin sauce rolled in large, thin crepes in the kitchen rather than at the table, as some restaurants do.

It all made for a tasty dinner at Lotus Hunan, in the strip mall at Walsh Tarlton and Bee Cave Road, as well as a valuable lesson in cooking.