Sea Garden – Chinatown-International District, Seattle
Posted on: Thursday 23 August 2012
- In: Chinatown-International District | Eating | Seattle | USA | Washington
- 2 Comments
Chinatown-International District. I’m sceptical about this hyphenated neighbourhood in Seattle. It was eerily quiet on Chinese New Year (農曆新年) last year. The streets were devoid of people and absent of colour. There were no red lanterns, no auspicious posters and no lion dances. It was a forlorn hour as I wandered up and down King Street.
In contrast we were greeted by a cacophony of sounds at Dragon Fest last month. Dull drums and sharp cymbals reverberated through the crowds as the nimble lion pranced and leaped. We were there for the $2 Food Walk to sample the multicultural eateries. Sea Garden (一定好) was last on our list and their salt and pepper chicken wings were a highlight.
I return for weekday lunch the next week and shared four items between the three of us. The walls were painted a drab olive green, and the dining room was furnished with laminate tables and wooden chairs.
Thickened by corn starch, morsels of tofu and shiitake mushrooms were suspended in the savoury bowl of complimentary soup.
A tangled mess of egg noodles were crispy on the bottom and topped with brown sauce. The pork and bean sprout chow mein (肉絲炒麵) was a hearty and toothsome dish.
A neon orange, the sweet and sour pork (咕嚕肉) was sticky and bold. Chunks of tender pork were tossed in a sugary and vinegary syrup.
These six crescents were deep fried prawns (炸蝦球). Similar to beer battered fish, the prawns had an airy coating and were dipped in plum sauce.
Last was eggplant Sichuan style with minced meat (魚香茄子). Silky and spicy, its richness was tempered with plain rice.
The Chinese name of Sea Garden aptly translates to ‘certainly or definitely good’.
Sunday 26 August 2012 at Sunday 26 August 2012
Hey, glad you enjoyed Dragon Fest, but sorry you missed out on the the Chinese Lunar new Year celebrations! We had over 10,000 people and three Lion/Dragon dance troupes and a 20-restaurant food walk last February for a week-long series of events–but most take place on the two Saturdays nearest the holiday. Catch it this time around by keeping up to speed on FB or Twitter: iheartID
Sunday 26 August 2012 at Sunday 26 August 2012
Thanks for your comment! That was my first week in Seattle and I’ve since dined at Chinatown-ID many times and shop frequently at Uwajimaya.