Thursday, September 29, 2005

Ten Ten Seafood - Artesia



Nothing equals the experience of a traditional Chinese feast, where upon dish after dish crowd a Lazy Susan enticing the eyes and stomach with a dizzying and colorful array of choices.

Chopstick in one hand, I use my other to twirl the turntable like a contestant on Wheel of Fortune, stopping only until the plate of food I want is in front of me. My actions topple a water glass across the table as the dishes sweep by, knocking every obstacle in its path. Outta my way!

Spin! Spin! Spin!

I grab a glazed walnut from the dish of Honey Glazed Walnut Shrimp and bite down into it. It's like candy; crunchy and coated with crystallized honey. Then I pop a plump, bulbous shrimp into my waiting mouth. It is succulent and sweet, with just the right amount of mayo sauce perking up my taste receptacles. Afterwards, I shovel some rice to cleanse the palate for the next morsel.

Oooh! What's this? Scallops with Stir Fried Vegetables? I spoon some into my rice bowl. The scallops are enormous and thick, like steaks. It's meltingly soft and briny.

Spin again!

That Deep Fried Flounder is calling my name now. I tear off a piece of flesh from the fish and dab a little of the soy broth onto it. The flounder has a firm yet supple texture, while the light crunch of the batter complements.

I take some Dry Fried Green Beans next. These were first oil-blanched until they blistered, and then stir fried with lots of garlic. Yum! Each bean pod still retained that crunchy bite.

Spin! Spin!

I ladle some hot congee into my soup bowl. Then I slurp with gusto. It's a warm, starchy refresher with little bits of chopped beef for flavor.

What's this now? Clam with Black Bean Sauce! I position the half shell in my mouth and extract the clam belly, scraping it clean with my front teeth. The salty and pungent fermented black bean gives it a nice funk. The onions and bell peppers contribute a veggie crunch contrast to the squiggly, slippery clam meat.

Oooh, there's the Oysters with XO sauce. These suckers are huge and fat, like little sea pillows! A little too big for my taste though. The meat is spongy and has that green pulpy stuff in the middle. Never did like oysters when they get this large. The XO sauce is tasty, but a little too oily.

I try the Crispy Seafood Chow Mein next. It's excellent. Satisfyingly crisp deep fried noodles, delectable gravy and fresh chunks of seafood.

Spin again!

Wait. Is that Sweet and Sour Pork?!? Who ordered this? I'll pass! It has a color that should not occur in nature.

Everything tastes better when served on table that spins.

Ten Ten Seafood Restaurant
(562) 402-2428
18868 Norwalk Blvd
Artesia, CA 90701

11 Comments:

At 9:38 PM, Blogger BoLA said...

Nice! I absolutely love Honey Glazed Walnut Shrimps! Yum! And I've always wanted to have my very own lazy susan. :)

 
At 6:36 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey Elmo - Don't you just love the "Lazy Susan".....where she stops nobody knows.....

 
At 9:31 AM, Blogger elmomonster said...

Kristy,

Honey Glazed Walnut Shrimp are also my absolute favorite. That's the first dish I always order! And the first dish that I twirl the lazy susan to.

Kirk,

Yup! I'll have to do research on why they call it the "Lazy Susan"...probably an interesting story...like the one about John Crapper.

Just Cid,

I have tried the Ten Ten in Anaheim. The food was so-so, but the service was horrible. I haven't set foot in that place for almost a decade...

Eddie Lin,

I saw the comment you wrote sent to my e-mail, but have no clue why it didn't show up here. I thank you for those kind words! I didn't even know what I was writing was free-verse poetry! Didn't know I had it in me!

 
At 4:51 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great write up.
Now I have to bug my SO to take me there.
Been to the Ten Ten in Anaheim, but unlike your experience, didn't find it to be a bad experience. Maybe I was just too overwhelmed by all the food, noise and people...I dunno.
Thanks for a wonderful post.

 
At 12:45 AM, Blogger elmomonster said...

Mealcentric and hbgrrl,

Thanks for the compliments!

 
At 7:36 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Another fantastic review, elmo! You should call the OCRegister & tell them you are 100% better than Elizabeth Evans, Tenny Tanusian and the rest of he mediocre restaurant reviewers.

 
At 8:51 AM, Blogger elmomonster said...

Hey Anon! Thanks! Thanks for the vote of confidence!

 
At 4:38 PM, Blogger Christine Szeto said...

Great review on Ten Ten. This will help me order when my parents aren't with me to order in Chinese. Have you tried the French Style beef?

 
At 12:14 AM, Blogger elmomonster said...

Christine,

I have tried French Style Beef, but not at Ten Ten. I didn't realize they had it actually. Next time for sure!

 
At 1:10 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hmm..no mention of the awesome dim sum Ten Ten Anaheim rolls out on the weekends. Check it out!

 
At 9:56 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

i like tenten's dimsum.

I usually pair the dimsum with fried rice... but as chinese as their cooking goes... it is full of msg... i can even chew crystallines of msg!!!

after that, i tried to stay away from ordering fried rice.

just the dimsum.
the best siomai and chickenfeet!

 

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