TSANG RESTAURANT

            “Try the Vietnamese up the hill from Traverso”, we were told when asking around about different restaurants.  “The owner is no PR man, but the food is good”.  “OK, sounds good.  Tsang…is that a Vietnamese name?”  “I dunno, they all sound alike to me!”  Actually, Tsang is Chinese, and so are the owners, Johnny Tsang and wife, Kim (Chinese ni-Van), and so is the restaurant.  It USED to be Vietnamese, but that was over 6 years ago.  How time flies!

            This is my stereotype of the Old style Chinese Restaurant.  The interior is utilitarian – tables and chairs, rice bowls and chopsticks, lazy susan on the large round tables, some Chinese knick-knacks on the walls.  As Grandma used to say, “Décor?  Why needing décor?  You no can eat décor.  Come here eat food!”  A Chinese restaurant was where you went to get a big plate of good food for a good price.  There were plenty of Asian faces behind clacking chopsticks that Tuesday night, who apparently agree with Grandma. And in truth, the concept of a Dining Review was quite foreign to the Tsangs. “Everybody knows us!”

 Tsangs food fits the old stereotype again.  Plain good Chinese (Cantonese) food.  Johnny cooked in Hong Kong. The sweet and sour was justly crisp-chewy-tangy with no greasy or off taste. The Chinese greens were bright green, al dente, with just that little bitter bite; the meat was tender.  They will cook without MSG if you ask.  The prices are a little lower than other Chinese we’ve visited.  Best buys look to be - Soups: 350-500vt, Vegetable dishes: 500vt, and Soup Noodles: 800-1000vt. White Rice only 100vt.  Majority of Beef dishes are 900vt, Chicken 1000-1200vt, Pork: 1200-1400vt, and Seafood mostly 1600vt.  Choose a protein and a style of cooking:  sweet and sour, with Cashew, with stir-fry veggies, black bean and garlic, mild Cantonese curry, or with pepper on a sizzling platter…it’s hard to go wrong. A few Vietnamese dishes, a legacy from the former owner, are offered too.  Kim confided that everyone knows they’re the place to order their Crispy Roast Pig for special occasions (Give advanced notice, 10,000vt).  Tsangs is open 7 days a wk. 10am-1pm for Lunch, 5:30-10pm for Dinner.  Take-aways are available, even outside of these hours.  Phone: 25160.