Hing Loon has hand written placards taped to almost every available bit of wall space. “Deep fried tofu hot pot,” they say, and “Country style pancake with shrimp” and “Radish with fish ball.” You can order your dinner without opening a menu, if you like, and you won’t miss out. The food arrives fast and furious from the kitchen, which you can see through a fish tank like window. The waitresses are sturdy with suspicious haircuts and they’re super efficient with a cheerful edge.
The salt and pepper squid is a favorite, as are the green onion pancakes and the chow fun with prawns – dry, not with gravy. We skipped the duck this time – this was our second visit to Hing Loon – and subbed in some tofu dishes for our vegetarian friend. The hot pot was hot all right, but only okay for flavor, but the Szechuan tofu, in a spicy red sauce, was yummy. We also had an order of pea vines with garlic – always good – and it’s important to eat your greens. The people next to us had sizzling eggplant so we had to have it too – it arrived sputtering in pale bubbling sauce, so hot as to be dangerous. We had to wait for it to simmer down to taste it. I found it odd – eggplant is tricky – but the sauce did have a spicy bite that sneaked up on you when you weren’t looking.
Hing Loon brings your bill – 19 dollars a head for 7 dishes plus beer – with fortune cookies and sesame balls. It’s a good place to go with lots of friends – that way you can order some old standards and something new and still get plenty to eat.
Hing Loon Seafood Restaurant is at 628 Weller. Here are some pictures of Hing Loon taken by people I don’t know.
[tags]International District, Seattle, Chinese food[/tags]