i are what i eat: a food blog

16th November 2009

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Aroma: Beef Chow UnFun

I’m no Chinese food snob.  Sure, I am Chinese.  And yes, I do enjoy Chinese food more often than others.  I’ll eat the greasy, hole-in-the-wall place and enjoy it just like anyone else.  Despite this, my meal from Aroma did not impress me one bit, especially considering it’s supposed to be one of the more “premium” Chinese places in Hoboken.

A little self-disclosure: I rarely go to sit-down Chinese restaurants outside of Chinatown.  Call it my upbringing, but I don’t feel as if I’m getting the authentic, better tasting food anywhere else.  With a place like Aroma, it seems to put too much stock into dining atmosphere and presentation, and less in the what really should matter: the food.  The way I see it: if you’re bold enough to eat in some of Chinatown’s ragged places, you’re rewarded with a higher quality of cuisine.

Case in point: the beef chow fun.  It’s simple dish, yet incredibly filling and tasty.  Aroma did give plenty to eat, but not much to savor.  The noodles were way over cooked, almost falling apart upon scooping on my fork.  They also appeared much lighter than what I’ve been accustomed to, which translates directly into the flavorless taste it brings.  There were a few traces of snow peas, but they were crunchy hit or limp miss.  The beef was a little below par, but thick and fairly abundant in the dish.  As were the bean sprouts (which I would eat with pretty much any dish) and onions, but let’s face it: how can you screw that up?

I was initially pleasantly surprised with their house special dumplings offer: two pork, two chicken, two veggie, and two shrimp dumplings, for the same price as eight of any single one of those varieties.  To hear I get a little of each made my round belly jiggle with glee.  Unfortunately, the taste buds did not follow suit.  Something that was obviously was there four different frozen dumpling packs that these came from, which doesn’t really bother me so long as the taste is good.  However, the pork dumplings, normally the consistent staple fried appetizer of choice, were a little bland.  There was a faint taste difference between them and the chicken, which I suppose is more of my own palette’s shortcomings, but I’m skeptical.  The shrimp dumpling filler was more shrimp flavored paste than shrimp pieces.

The vegetable dumplings were interesting though.  I did like the color, which even for my color blind eyes were distinct enough to be able to pick out.  But again, like its brothers, lacked in a tasty filling.  For once I missed the overly salty taste that Chinese take-out has been known for, as the bland taste did nothing for me.

So what have we learned?  Well, don’t judge a book by its cover.  I had a history teacher who frequently road-tripped with some of his friends.  When hunger pangs hit while traveling, his fail-safe tip was to go to any greasy spoon that had the most semis out in the parking lot.  Even if the places didn’t look impressive from the outside, the secret would be concealed and the brave patrons who simply ignored appearances were treated to consistently great food.  The same thing applies here.  Aroma may have a calm, dimly-lit romantic dining room, but what’s going on the kitchen?  Place settings may have shiny silverware and fine china (no pun intended), but does necessarily mean the contents on your plate are just as nice?  If this meal was any indication of what the rest of the menu has in store, I may keep on driving down the highway, and wait for the next exit.

Tagged: dinnertakeoutaromahobokenbeef chow fundumplings