Well I did manage to have a bad meal in Philadelphia: an oyster plate at Pearl's Oyster bar in Reading Market. Where do I start... well, it's a plate. With oysters and fries and coleslaw and two little pots of relish. But the oysters are in batter: not light, floaty, enhance-the-taste tempura, but the sort of batter usually found round a 3am fried and anonymous piece of chicken: heavy, nasty, cloying. And the oysters? There are fish stands in the market with lovely lovely fresh fish in them, all full glassy eyes and taut shimmering tails. These oysters didn't taste that way. Although that may have had something to do with the strange slimy green sauce that they were each wrapped around. I had coffee with this; the cheque arrived on my table before I could even think of asking for a second cup. Think I didn't enjoy this? Let's talk about the other seafood...
...The Imperial Inn in Chinatown. I wandered in quite late, alone, and was amused to be ushered past all the big circular tables and gilded decor into a singles, locals and other sad folks room. Which was really rather jolly: I had a table with a prime view of a Chinese news channel (earthquake pictures very sobering over dinner) and the lady who was really in charge doing the accounts and being properly fussed over. As was I. As soon as I sat down and started thinking about my order, a glass of ice water, a pot of chinese tea and some nibbles (some form of chinese cheese straws as far as I could tell) and sauces appeared, although it's only fair to warn you that the yellow sauce with the nibbles is in fact very hot mustard and not a sweet mango relish as I'd supposed. So repressing the urge to order something smaller, I decided to try the pork dim sum and the mixed seafood-and-other-stuff (chicken, pork, vegetables) sizzling plate. And a beer: which arrived, as asked and requested, with the main meal; not a moment sooner, not a moment later. Which given it was a very drinkable pot of tea suited me just nicely. The dim sun: cheap, hot and four of them: looked hand-made, tasted authentic (as in would be perfectly acceptable in Wing Wah's in Birmingham: that's an accolade, btw). The sizzling plate: delicious (and came with rice: no "do you want anything with that madam", just a sensible bowl of proper sticky rice) , with big fat fried prawns (light tempura) and some other battered seafood that was firm, tasty and had just the right amount of bounce to it. Now Imperial managed that well as part of a much more complex dish: why couldn't Pearl's?
I ended with the water and a fortune cookie. "You are a person of strong sense of duty". Hmmm.
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