XO Kitchen Redux - January 17, 2011

Now, here is another case study of a second date following an ecstatic first date - A heavy dose of reality check. Previously clad in a suit, does the guy still look as confident in a pair of jeans? Or, has the girl now gotten careless with her appearance, leaving a smudge of lipstick on the right front tooth? And, how about their friends? Does your new partner come with a set of unsavory friends, boring acquaintances and garrulous relatives? In the case of XO Kitchen’s fish congee and Yuan Yang, it seems that I had picked out the best of XO’s mediocre clan; however, even the best of XO clan seemed to cower in the midst of their embarrassing relatives.

Yuan Yang & Fish Congee

While Yuan Yang was still going strong as ever – plenty of brewing time on the hot plate, no doubt, the fish congee in an iron pot made a less stellar impression. Compared to the fat slices of fish chunks in the first congee, the skimpy fish slices were less evident and smaller this time around.

Shrimp Rice Crepe


This Hong Kong dim sum classic of simple steamed rice crepe needs two things to be right: 1) The crepe must be chewy but tender, and 2) the shrimp must be so plump that it is almost bouncy. My chopsticks could not transport XO’s crepe to my plate; not because of slipperiness, which would have been fine, but because it was so soft that it was breaking apart from the mere touch of my chopsticks, like the demonstration of the samurai sword with Whitney Houston’s silk scarf in Body Guard. Although the cause of such spineless rice crepe could be attributed to either overcooking or the use of wrong formula, the former was more likely as the crepes were flying out of the double doors of the kitchen on this holiday Monday. As for the shrimp, it was a textbook example of cheap shrimp frozen for too long; in other words, it was an unappetizing pink mushy paste.

Steamed Egg Custard

Their custard seemed so delightful the first time, but the second date proved too much for this rather pretty airhead. She was sweet, gentle and pretty in yellow; however, its merits were not so powerful that I could be blind to the lack of intelligent stimulation.

Milk Pudding with Ginger
The sister of the egg custard was a pale, wobbly and ridiculously soft imitation of the famous Hong Kong dessert. The ginger flavor notwithstanding, it offered even less excuses than its brighter sibling for going back to the XO family.




XO Kitchen
Address: 148 Hester St
Phone: (212) 965-8645