After our dinner at Mister Jiu's in San Francisco; the Missus really wanted to head on over to Bistro Na's in Temple City, which also has a Michelin Star and has become a favorite of Hers. Since my Birthday was on a weekend, we decided to head on over for lunch.
At this point in time the first positive cases of Covid-19 had been reported and infections were still in the single digits and the first confirmed cases were reported in the UK and Spain….man, that just seems so long ago.
At this point; we could tell that folks; especially in the Chinese community were getting a bit leery as was clearly indicated by how empty Bistro Na's was during our visit.
Even though it was my birthday; the Missus took charge of ordering, and She quickly found another dish to add to Her "favorites list"; the Okra in Seasoned Dressing.
The okra had been nicely presented in a wonderfully balanced salty-sweet-savory sauce that heightened the pleasantly earth-grassy flavor of the okra. The Missus loved the combination of the crunchy, yet slippery (gotta love that "neba-neba") okra as well. We have another one for the list.
Man, that spinach with sesame sauce was slathered in the stuff.
There was a deceptively large amount of spinach in this as it had been compressed into a square shape. Just a bit too much sesame paste in this for us.
Of course; my favorite is the Chili Tofu Skin. We always place a full order and get another order to go.
So refreshing, crunchy, with a touch of spice, the cilantro adding a nice, bright, mild pungent-lemony touch to things.
We did not care for the Stuffed Lotus Root; it was too sweet and the texture quite mushy.
And two other favorites – you can read about those in my previous posts.
Of course the Crispy Shrimp is a must.
And the light and crisp; super tender, but wonderfully gamey Crispy Lamb Brisket.
While we still haven't roamed very far yet; we are sorely tempted to get takeout from Bistro Na's….which is what they are doing right now.
Who knows; we might just give in and treat ourselves…..though driving 120 miles each way might just be pushing it a bit, don't you think?
Bistro Na's
9055 Las Tunas Drive
Temple City, CA 91780
(626) 286-1999
What have you been doing to treat yourself and make things more bearable these days?
we’ve been trying new (to us) places (take out style) that we have had bookmarked..stay safe!
That’s nice Kat! We’ve kinda kept our C-19 footprint pretty small.
All my friends that work in the industry said the 25% capacity limit that went into effect yesterday isn’t worth re-opening their dining rooms. So take-out for the foreseeable future for me.
I have been looking at posts/pics/vids like this of the pre-covid world……and I kind of understand why my dog stares when I eat something & how he feels. Anyone else feeling that way?
I agree Junichi…and then all the hassle if things get shut down again. Better to wait another 3 weeks and hope that Labor Day doesn’t mess things up.
Lol Leo! Or is it Loren?
How was the okra cooked?
I’m also still only doing takeout and won’t even consider indoor dining until likely mid next year.
It’s just lightly cooked; still quite crunchy; awesome with that salty-sweet sauce Dereck!