在Pembina Highway上，一家大概能容纳24人的小菜馆，今天在温尼泊自由报（WinnipegFreePress）的美食点评中获得4.5星级的好评（满分是5星级），它就是友家餐馆。
| [/table] | | This week's bargain is in a little house on Pembina Highway, so tiny (24 seats, maybe) it's easy to miss, but with a Chinese menu as lengthy and fascinating as some of its bigger competitors down the road. But also (sigh!), with a server who, although charming and willing, knew little English and even less about the dishes. Inevitably some items we thought we'd ordered didn't turn up. Equally inevitably, some that we hadn't ordered did. But -- and it's a big but -- most of what we did get, whether ordered or not, was marvellous, and the reason for the full column review and the extra half star over Yougot's four star rating of a few years ago. |
| | | | | 友家餐馆的菜单上列出了一些比较熟悉的菜名，有一部分都是来自东北地区的菜。除了菜单上的菜以外，老板还会推荐很多其他比较有特色的菜。 | | The menu does list several familiar standards, but the bulk of it is devoted to food from the provinces, many of them from China's extreme northeast. Fortunately, the boss, who is fluent in English, turned up and led us through the labyrinth of unfamiliar dishes. I did ask his name for future reference, but he said, just ask for "the boss." I suggest doing so (even if you're an old China hand) and reserving your table as well, since the space is so limited. |
| | | | Marion Warhaft对中国传统食物有了大概的了解，而且厨师都会尽自己最大的努力去做好每一道菜。大部分菜价都是在$9.99-$12.99。价格非常划算。 |
| | With his guidance, and with the help (before he turned up) of the little symbols that identify them on the menu we stayed with what are called "traditional" dishes. I can't vouch for such familiar standards as wonton soup, chow mein or lemon chicken, but I suspect that the best efforts of any kitchen will go into what the chefs know and like best. Portions are large and, with most prices from $9.99 to $12.99, a steal of a deal, even for Chinese food. |
| | | | | | Marion Warhaft在点评中对七味虾、羊肉串、牛肉串和鱼香茄子等菜都很感兴趣。省略若干字，洋人吃菜口感与华人大相庭径。 |
| I've eaten my way through many a "traditional" Chinese meal, but there were dishes here that were new to me. The first one, at a recent dinner, had everyone at the table oohing and aahing, a cold appetizer of the most amazing noodles, made of the starch of green beans -- flat, almost translucent and slippery enough to challenge chopsticks and necessitate slurping, their satiny texture and mild flavour offset by the tang and crunch of marinated cucumber and carrot strips.The dish we finished with was as ooh-inspiring as the one we'd started with, a marvellous stew of chicken with hazel mushrooms. It's listed under main courses but is actually more of a broth, rich with the intense flavour of woodsy wild hazel mushrooms, thick with chunks of chicken and more of those seductive noodles.And in between there were other gems. A scattering of cashews and veggies garnished big, beautiful shrimp that were full of flavour and juices -- unpeeled (which preserved those flavours and juices) and easy enough to peel, if you're finicky, or chew off, if you're not. Slightly spicy Szechuan shrimp were peeled, pan-fried and glazed with chili oil. Firm, sweet-fleshed basa fillets were battered and deep-fried, and coated in a scarlet and notably non-cloying sweet and sour sauce.They do wonders with vegetables. I doubt there's a better asparagus dish in the city -- steamed and still resilient, strewn with scallions and strips of red pepper, and a splash of soy sauce. Treatments of eggplant were also remarkable, especially the strips that looked like french fries and were just as addictive, with a salty-sweet, almost crystallized surface. They are listed as "fish scented" but are totally vegetarian -- the fish refers to some kind of mysterious flavouring. Eggplant also came in big, fried chunks that also looked like potatoes, not as sweet as the first one but equally addictive, even if you think you don't like eggplant. We tried the country-style braised potatoes that looked so good on a nearby table, but they turned out to be nothing special, and actually were a lot more interesting in a casserole with eggplant and other veggies.Tongue-tingling twisty strips of lamb were liberally spiced with cumin. The almost kitchen-proof mapo tofu is on many menus, but this one had a rare and intriguing depth of flavour. Stewed beef brisket was tender and pleasant if not particularly Chinese in flavour, In fact it could almost have come from any East European kitchen (although my mother would have trimmed off more of the fat) -- nice enough, but not in the same league as the bolder flavours of the other dishes. On the other hand, you may find a chili or two even in some of the non-spicy dishes. They're there for flavouring, not (I think, after a searing experience) to be eaten.For the adventurous there's deep-fried octopus flecked with chili -- not those cute baby squiggles but sizeable, knobbly tentacles of the beast, a little chewy, and possibly not for everybody, but I liked them. Those who don't consider ox tongue exotic can have it in thin slices slicked with chili oil (for the even more adventurous there are tripe, heart, tendon and ears).There are two kinds of dumplings. I didn't try the pan-fried potstickers, but the boiled ones, filled with pork and shrimp, were sensationally flavourful and juicy. It's not on the menu, but ask for the dessert of deep-fried, almost caramelized chunks of sweet potato, which you dip into a bowl of cold water to caramelize the surface. | | | | | | 友家餐馆虽然很小，但是餐馆的布局还有佳肴，绝对会使这里成为一个用餐的好地方。 | | The place is tiny, but pleasant, with an attractive white-on-black chrysanthemum motif on the chairs and lacquered tables, and colourful photos of some of the dishes on the walls. With any luck your server will be bilingual, but, with or even without guidance from "the boss," chances are you'll be in for a fabulous feast. |
| | | | | http://www.winnipegfreepress.com ... orry-137742643.html | | | | | | | 七味虾 | | | 羊/牛肉串 | | | | 鱼香茄子 | | | 虽然没有容纳近百人的位置，但却可以吸引近百人的顾客，不论是餐馆布局或是美食佳肴，友家餐馆绝对不会让你失望的。 | | | | | | 地址：[table=100%,#ffffff]1521 Pembina Hwy |
[winnipeg=pembina,hwy]1521[/winnipeg] |
