Being the busy students we are on the GW campus, Carlo and I decided to stop in at the Magic Gourd restaurant, located in the Columbia Plaza apartments on 23rd street, right on the Foggy Bottom campus.
The Magic Gourd can be described in three words: quick, cheap, and average. We arrived at the restaurant around 6:15, and were seated immediately in the (almost) empty dining room.
The decor was nice at the entrance, but the remainder of the restaurant was plain and outdated. There wasn't much of an atmosphere at all; while the restaurant has the potential of being described as quiet or calm, my experience was nothing of the sort. The only other customers in the restaurant were a large party seated at a round table across the room from us. They were a very loud group, and although they were the only people around, we could hear their entire conversation. It was very distracting, and would have been a much better experience if the restaurant had music of some sort in the background.
The service was very fast, but not friendly. Our waitress barely said 2 words to us and was almost like a robot. Both of us being in the hospitality industry, we were not impressed. Although there was a definite language barrier, the waitress could have said a few more words to welcome us into the restaurant, and maybe even smiled!
The menu provided a lot of traditional options- with appetizers ranging from $1.50 egg roll to a $11.95 Pu -Pu platter. Carlo ordered Fried Wontons with sweet and sour sauce for $3.50, while I got the Pan Fried Vegetable Dumplings for $5.75.
The Fried Wontons were a good choice- very tasty, and served hot. The dumplings were also very good-although if they aren't dipped in the soy sauce, they VERY bland.
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| Fried Wontons |
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| Pan Fried Vegetable Dumplings |
For our entrees, Carlo ordered the General Tso's chicken, while I ordered the Sweet & Sour Chicken. The service was so fast, that we hadn't even finished our appetizers before being served the entree. The waitress, again, wasn't very accommodating. Rather than moving our plates over to make room for the entrees, she put the plates on the edge of the table, leaving us to clear the space, and turned to walk away without saying a word. I realize that this isn't a high end restaurant, but if I were the waitress, I would have at least waited until we moved our small appetizer plates over before putting the entrees on the table.
Both offered descent sized portions, and were served at a very hot temperature. The General Tso's chicken was very well-made. The sauce was flavorful and sweet, and the chicken was good, yet a little chewy.
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| General Tso's Chicken |
The Sweet & Sour chicken was not as crispy as I would have liked it to be, but the sauce was perfect, and the chunks of pineapples on the side added a perfect addition to the dish.
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| Sweet and Sour Chicken |
Overall, the restaurant was average. While the food
was good, it was only one notch above what you would get for a chinese delivery. The convenience and price made up for the difference in service quality. I am not sorry I went, but I am not overly eager to return.
Stay tuned for more blog posts!
Love the MG! May want to make a smaller font for your intro, and perhaps change your settings so visitors have to click "more" to read your whole postings - which are good but very long. SL
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