COLUMN: Formosa too hot for comfort
I go into any dining experience with a reasonable amount of skepticism coupled with guarded optimism. I’ve worked in enough restaurants to know that not all of them are good, but some of them can be hidden gems.
My most recent restaurant exhibition led me to Formosa Chinese Restaurant, just off Main Street in downtown Logan. I’m always in the market for a good place to get those Chinese-American comfort food classics.
When I first walked into the restaurant I saw a few occupied tables, which was reassuring. It led me to think, “OK, I’m not here alone, that’s a good thing.” A visibly American woman greeted me and took me to a booth. As I sat down, I told her it was my first time dining at Formosa, to which she responded, “That’s good.” She then placed my menu on the table and walked away. Just before she was out of sight, I asked her if she was my server, she affirmed, and so I asked her for a Dr Pepper.
The person who brought my drink wasn’t the same woman I ordered it from. A man who appeared to be Chinese was the next person to arrive at my table, and he came bearing the beverage. He seemed very eager to please, but I was confused. I think he was confused, too. The woman who greeted and seated me said she would be taking care of me, and when she eventually joined the foray, I asked which of the two it would be. They each asked the other who wanted to do it. I felt like a nuisance after the woman said, “I don’t care.”
OK, time out. For all you budding servers out there in restaurant world, I have a small bit of advice. Don’t ever — regardless of how you mean it — say “I don’t care,” if your co-worker asks you to wait on somebody. Essentially, the wrong person or restaurant reviewer could take this to mean you don’t care about them as a patron.
Once I finally knew who I should direct my food-related questions to, I began to ask about the menu. Usually when I tell a server it’s my first time eating where they work, I hope to hear about the signature dishes, or the recipes that set that restaurant apart from the millions of others in the world. Instead, I had to drag it out of my server. With a college-student’s budget in mind, I was looking for the most bang for the buck.
I eventually ordered a combo for $7.95 that included a whole mess of Chinese-American favorites: beef egg foo young, chicken lo mein, ham fried rice, an “eggroll” — actually a spring roll — and, of course, the token fortune cookie. I was also served a simple salad with a secret recipe house dressing. The dressing was one of the tastiest things I had. It had hints of ginger and a nutty soy or miso flavor.
To my surprise, my entree arrived in two or three minutes, and it was surface-of-the-sun hot. Good Chinese-American cuisine usually takes much longer to prepare. When my order shows up at the table before I’m done with my salad it usually leads me to wonder if it was prepared fresh and to order. Lava hot in two minutes usually raises a red flag.
Unfortunately, it was hard for me to taste most of the food because it was so hot. In comparison to a lot of the other Chinese food I’ve eaten, Formosa didn’t do much to impress me. However, the beef egg foo young — an all-time favorite — was different from others that I’ve had. It tasted like it had tempura batter in it, which gave it a rich, cake-like flavor and texture.
After I was done eating, my server told me Formosa has a traditional Chinese food menu, apart from the regular menu. She said this one had more exotic choices such as squid and more shrimp entrees. Had I known this earlier, I would’ve ordered from it, because chances are this is the food the cooks eat. In other words, that’s the good stuff.
I give Formosa Chinese Restaurant a B minus. I wasn’t initially impressed with the service, and I question the freshness and quality of what I ordered. I will, however, give the place another chance to win me over. Since I broke my own rule and didn’t eat what the server recommended, I’ll have to heed her advice next time. And in her defense, toward the end of my dinner she began to take interest in talking to me and insuring satisfaction. Also, for the price I got plenty of food — even ended up taking some of it home with me.
— D. Whitney Smith is originally from Pennsylvania and moved to Utah five years ago. After 11 years’ experience waiting tables at a total of 23 restaurants, he decided to hang up his server apron and enroll at USU. Have suggestions for a restaurant to review? Email him at dan.whitney.smith@aggiemail.usu.edu.