In looking back at last year's December posts, I noticed I had tried a new Chinese restaurant with some friends. Well, it's apparently becoming a tradition because I tried another new Chinese restaurant with those same friends last weekend! Hooray for Christmas Chinese food! :)
We didn't head all the way to Flushing this time - instead we went to Elmhurst, which is only a hop, skip and a jump from my apartment (just four stops on the subway!), so I definitely will need to head out there again. My friends just got back from Vietnam (and brought me a lovely souvenir), but they do love their Chinese food. So off we went to Uncle Zhou.
The food at Uncle Zhou is from the Henan province, in the middle of China. They're known for their sweet and sour sauce and also their noodles. The chefs at Uncle Zhou makes all their noodles by hand in the back of the restaurant - I definitely have to go back so I can get photos of that! The restaurant is an unassuming place, filled with families and locals. My friends were known to "Mrs Uncle Zhou" and she came out to give them a greeting. 
We had several dishes - in the front of the restaurant is a case of unlabeled cold appetizers, so we started with some plates of chili-marinated cabbage and marinated lotus root. Both were very crisp and refreshing. Then we got a bowl of the tomato and egg knife-shaved noodles. Wow. SOOOOOOO yummy. Those noodles were amazing - chewy and dense, yet still soft and pillowy. There's also bits of stewed tomato, scrambled egg, marinated mushrooms and just a hint of peanut sauce. I could've eaten that whole bowl (the three of us shared it since we were getting so much food). Just clean, delicious flavors.
We also got the 'spicy crispy rabbit in big tray,' which was exactly as advertised. It was a huge plate of little deep-fried rabbit nuggets, bone in, with chiles and Sichuan peppercorns. Please don't tell the vegetarian police, but I did try a couple of bites of the rabbit nuggets. They weren't overly spicy, which I appreciated, but I did find the bones to be a little annoying. It wasn't my favorite dish, but it was certainly tasty. 
The next dish was just astounding and now I have to adjust my 'favorite dishes of 2012' post to add it. We got the baked noodles and fish, which was a whole tilapia, lightly fried, smothered in the most delicious sweet and sour sauce I've ever had. Then it's topped with bei mian noodles, which looked like shredded wheat to me. The noodles are hand-pulled and then baked. Some of the noodles get soft in the delicious sauce and some stay crunchy. This is an amazingly delicious dish. The contrasts of the sweet and sour, crunchy and soft, was terrific. I wish I could describe it better. YUMMY is the best I can do. :) We also had some excellent sauteed eggplant in garlic sauce, but it wasn't as special as the other dishes. Plus, I forgot to get a picture. Oops. But it was tasty.
Thumbs enormously way up for Uncle Zhou. I will definitely be going back. Apparently, in that neighborhood near the Elmhurst subway stop, there are other restaurants worth trying, so my friends and I will definitely be going back. And I will be going back myself to have some more of those noodles and that fish. SO good.
To end, I'll keep another tradition going and attach some Christmas-y photos I've shot around town. I love Christmas decorations - enjoy!
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