You said we were going to try new food! An umbrella isn't food!
April 25, 2013 3:04 PM Subscribe
This is one of the most adorable things I have ever seen in my entire life and I really, really want to take [some number] of my nieces and/or nephews to Mission Chinese the next time I'm in SF!
posted by Kpele at 3:18 PM on April 25, 2013
posted by Kpele at 3:18 PM on April 25, 2013
That was far cuter than it threatened to be. Well done.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:19 PM on April 25, 2013
posted by Thorzdad at 3:19 PM on April 25, 2013
Okay - I was already to get my hate on for "cute kid tries difficult cuisine - how adorable" - but damn - that kid can EAT. I mean the things he likes are not easy to like - bitter melon, confit makeral, salted plum... so he has a pretty good palate. One dish that he hates sounds like a concaphony of sugary sweetness - again, a sign of a remarkably good palate.
Now - whether a kid likes something or not is certainly not going to sway my COMPLETE obsession with going to Mission Chinese - but I'd break rice with this liltte guy any day.
posted by helmutdog at 3:27 PM on April 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
Now - whether a kid likes something or not is certainly not going to sway my COMPLETE obsession with going to Mission Chinese - but I'd break rice with this liltte guy any day.
posted by helmutdog at 3:27 PM on April 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
I have been to Mission Chinese, and it was just okay. What’s the story, why do people like it, and what makes it different from to-my-palate equivalent Big Lantern on 16th?
posted by migurski at 3:29 PM on April 25, 2013
posted by migurski at 3:29 PM on April 25, 2013
I have been to Mission Chinese, and it was just okay. What’s the story, why do people like it, and what makes it different from to-my-palate equivalent Big Lantern on 16th?
It's 'in.'
posted by mudpuppie at 3:35 PM on April 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
It's 'in.'
posted by mudpuppie at 3:35 PM on April 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
Oh, and I'd love to see a whole series of these. Take him to Incanto next, or the French Laundry!
posted by mudpuppie at 3:36 PM on April 25, 2013
posted by mudpuppie at 3:36 PM on April 25, 2013
All the four year olds I've known would only eat chicken nuggets.
posted by desjardins at 3:38 PM on April 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by desjardins at 3:38 PM on April 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
This person is obviously a great photographer. I just wish her favorite subject wasn't sloppy food hanging out of a four-year-old's gaping mouth.
posted by Gable Oak at 3:45 PM on April 25, 2013 [5 favorites]
posted by Gable Oak at 3:45 PM on April 25, 2013 [5 favorites]
I have been to Mission Chinese, and it was just okay. What’s the story, why do people like it, and what makes it different from to-my-palate equivalent Big Lantern on 16th?
Nothing about Mission Chinese Food is meant to represent authentic Chinese restaurant food, from the ninja flying across their webpage to the kung pao pastrami. I'm not sure if the intent is to cause giggles and questioning with the two menus they give you when you sit down (one from Danny Bowein, whom I understand is of Korean ethnicity and grew up in Oklahoma, this is the Mission Chinese Food menu; the other is from the carry-out hole-in-the-wall divey Chinese restaurant whose space they've taken over and is mostly indistinguishable from a menu from a Chinese take-out place in, say, Oklahoma) or to increase the incidence of arterial blockage with the heaping amounts of fat and umami that their food presents.
Personally, I find it inventive and tasty, and have enjoyed eating there (I've been there twice). It's fun. But you know, disputandum non est de gustibus, and their Westlake Rice Porridge is the best congee I've ever had (on chicken broth and full of crab).
posted by Prince_of_Cups at 4:00 PM on April 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
Nothing about Mission Chinese Food is meant to represent authentic Chinese restaurant food, from the ninja flying across their webpage to the kung pao pastrami. I'm not sure if the intent is to cause giggles and questioning with the two menus they give you when you sit down (one from Danny Bowein, whom I understand is of Korean ethnicity and grew up in Oklahoma, this is the Mission Chinese Food menu; the other is from the carry-out hole-in-the-wall divey Chinese restaurant whose space they've taken over and is mostly indistinguishable from a menu from a Chinese take-out place in, say, Oklahoma) or to increase the incidence of arterial blockage with the heaping amounts of fat and umami that their food presents.
Personally, I find it inventive and tasty, and have enjoyed eating there (I've been there twice). It's fun. But you know, disputandum non est de gustibus, and their Westlake Rice Porridge is the best congee I've ever had (on chicken broth and full of crab).
posted by Prince_of_Cups at 4:00 PM on April 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
My kid is five and doesn't eat anything even close to any of these dishes, despite our best efforts since he was old enough to chew. I am trying not to sigh over this story as I give him cereal and an apple for dinner. It was really adorable.
posted by 41swans at 4:00 PM on April 25, 2013
posted by 41swans at 4:00 PM on April 25, 2013
I want to photoshop all sorts of things in place of the food photos on the report card image. Or maybe just have a selection of this kid's faces to apply to things like stickers. Yeah. Stickers are the best. Maybe I am also four.
posted by Mizu at 4:33 PM on April 25, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by Mizu at 4:33 PM on April 25, 2013 [3 favorites]
Doing this stuff with young kids can be dangerous because they develop a taste for it. One of my kids pretty much eats nothing but dry cereal, unless she can get her hands on sashimi or French triple-cream cheese. She's expensive!
posted by padraigin at 5:00 PM on April 25, 2013
posted by padraigin at 5:00 PM on April 25, 2013
This is awesome and this four-year old is an awesome eater. I really want to try Mission Chinese but we'll probably go without kids.
Though my 3-year old is turning into a weirdly San Franciscan picky eater. Food that touches other food or a "broken" bagel? Hell no! Seaweed salad sushi roll? Bring it on!
posted by feckless at 5:15 PM on April 25, 2013 [2 favorites]
Though my 3-year old is turning into a weirdly San Franciscan picky eater. Food that touches other food or a "broken" bagel? Hell no! Seaweed salad sushi roll? Bring it on!
posted by feckless at 5:15 PM on April 25, 2013 [2 favorites]
If I ever make the whopping four hours down to New York, I may take you up on that. Does any of the food visit you at the table before you eat it?
posted by maryr at 6:23 PM on April 25, 2013
posted by maryr at 6:23 PM on April 25, 2013
I refuse to believe that anyone could like a dish containing bitter melon. It tastes like it's from the Dimension of Yuck.
posted by XMLicious at 7:14 PM on April 25, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by XMLicious at 7:14 PM on April 25, 2013 [2 favorites]
My wife claimed to like bitter melon once, until I bought one at the farmer's market. I carefully prepared a dish according to an authentic recipe, and finally forced her to admit that the stuff is awful and she doesn't know why anyone would eat it aside from impending starvation.
posted by 1adam12 at 9:58 PM on April 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by 1adam12 at 9:58 PM on April 25, 2013 [1 favorite]
I'm bewildered that there is a Mission Chinese in NYC. Weird.
posted by needs more cowbell at 12:27 AM on April 26, 2013
posted by needs more cowbell at 12:27 AM on April 26, 2013
The Mission Chinese in NYC is fantastic; haven't hit the SF one yet.
They had a giant can of beer (also called a 'keg' by the ignorant) that sat in the waiting area; you could drink as much as you wanted until they seated you. When we left, the kitchen staff were outside smoking (it was pretty late) and drinking. They offered us more beer and we smoked with them while I pumped the cooks for secrets.
They have a pretty wacky selection of cocktails which some people find exciting, but after trying a large selection of them one night, I think I'll stick to more trustworthy and trad stuff.
This was a pretty exciting read for me; that kid lit my heart up. Before my first trip to Mission I carried a copy of their menu around on my tablet to steal ideas from, get inspired by, and just generally freak out over. Finally getting to go was like releasing my inner 4 year old. (As a vegetarian I suggest ordering every veggie item on the SMALL menu and a lot of soju and beer. Cover the table/share nothing.)
posted by artof.mulata at 2:26 AM on April 26, 2013 [2 favorites]
They had a giant can of beer (also called a 'keg' by the ignorant) that sat in the waiting area; you could drink as much as you wanted until they seated you. When we left, the kitchen staff were outside smoking (it was pretty late) and drinking. They offered us more beer and we smoked with them while I pumped the cooks for secrets.
They have a pretty wacky selection of cocktails which some people find exciting, but after trying a large selection of them one night, I think I'll stick to more trustworthy and trad stuff.
This was a pretty exciting read for me; that kid lit my heart up. Before my first trip to Mission I carried a copy of their menu around on my tablet to steal ideas from, get inspired by, and just generally freak out over. Finally getting to go was like releasing my inner 4 year old. (As a vegetarian I suggest ordering every veggie item on the SMALL menu and a lot of soju and beer. Cover the table/share nothing.)
posted by artof.mulata at 2:26 AM on April 26, 2013 [2 favorites]
So THAT'S how you get a head of cabbage, fascinating...
Typo joke: getting ahead of cabbage is easy, it doesn't roll very fast.
posted by maryr at 6:27 PM on April 28, 2013
Typo joke: getting ahead of cabbage is easy, it doesn't roll very fast.
posted by maryr at 6:27 PM on April 28, 2013
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Oh and the kid is cute too.
posted by Splunge at 3:12 PM on April 25, 2013