barrio chino

la boca, buenos aires

maybe it was between the sixth and seventh milanesa completas (thin chicken breast fried with ham and cheese), perhaps after the twenty-third empanada, or quizas it was after another night of bife de chorizo. regardless of when it was, what happened is that the comida here lost its zang at some point. i know the last thing you want to hear is someone whine about how they're tired of all the delicious, grass-fed beef they've been eating. but the fact of the matter (and i hate to break it to you, argentina) is that somethin's missing. by serendipitous fortune, i have worked in close proximity to barrio chino where i've been able to diverge from the traditional porteño fare a few times. since i could not find much mention of it in my guide book, figured i'd give a little run-down of where to go next time you're fixin' for some good ol' msg:

cantina chinatown: atmosphere is definitely a plus here, although i found the spicy beef to be a little lacking. it offers the cheapest of the menu ejecutivo (prix fixe) options at 16 pesos and its arrolladitos primaveras are not to be missed.

todos contentos: a little more expensive at 18 pesos, this lunch special makes up for it with a delicious noodle soup. extra credit must be given for a hot sauce that can spice up any winter afternoon.

dragon porteño: if you're seeking a mountain of rice, this is your lugar. while a combination would be nice, they will force you to choose between the vegetable, beef, chicken, or pork options. the veteran play is not to order the vegetable, as the other three contain the same ingredients in addition to their own contribution. they've got an egg drop soup that would make chairman mao proud.

la gran muralla: similarly decent arrolladitos primaveras, though i found the salsa caliente to be anything but. still, the chow mein fulfilled your reasonable expectations and the service was excellent. the jasmine tea is a must.

lai-lai: in my humble opinion, the best of all options. not only was it strong in aesthetics, but it had probably had the strongest of the menu ejecutivo options. not only was it the only one to offer pollo sesamo, the portions were enough to meet a hungry man's desire without so much as to render them useless for the rest of the day.

before you treat this review as gospel, take note that i was unable to survey palillo among others. if you arrive in barrio chino in the unfortunate hours between lunch and dinner, you always have the option of heading straight for mercado asia, where the lunch counter will fill you up with what you need.

unfortunadamente, fortune cookies did not make the trip.