Ho Lucky Restaurant

So I only have a small sample size — just one takeout order. They were quick enough — and the place looked clean (though I didn’t go in the bathroom). But the food was a cut below (nothing special) receding down toward awful, though surely at least slightly better than inedible.
I was driving from Moncton, NB to Halifax, NS on a poker playing journey. I was very hungry, having missed lunch somehow. It was about 3PM. I decided that I just wanted something I could eat while I drove. And though it might seem incogruous, an order of pork strips and hot and sour soup fit the bill perfectly (I have mastered the art of drinking soup like a cup of coffee. And with handy napkins, pork strips make the ideal «driving snack» — as long as they’re not too hot).
After placing my order, I waited in my car, listening on satellite radio to some 1950s drama. I went in to check on things after about 15 minutes — and my food was just about done. I left 5 minutes later, eager to enjoy Canadian-​Chinese food. Would it be the same as American-​Chinese? Would there be a slight difference? A profound one? My tastebuds wondered.
I had my answer immediately. As soon as I took the lid off the soup and started sipping I knew that this was not my grandmother’s Chinese soup. The broth was thick, almost stand-​up-​on-​its-​own thick with corn starch. Yech. The small shards of vegetable and meat were completely overpowered by the thickness of the soup — that tasted vaguely like the crap they pour over fries up this way — poutine or something like that I think. The wonderful clashing of white pepper, vinegar, and tomato that makes for the hotness and the sour? Barely a note. I did something I have done only 3 or 4 times since I started buying meals for myself at the tender age of 12. I tossed out more than half of something that wasn’t rotten — just not to my liking.
The pork strips were not as bad. But they were only distant cousins to the moist and juicy ones I normally find in American-​Chinese take-​out joints. These were dried, ¼ inch pieces of pork, literally buried in a thick syrupy goo — I guess they consider this to be the «honey-​sauce» or «orange sauce» or whatever their name for the heavy-​on-​the corn syrup sauce is. I confess to dutifully finishing the container of them. but I felt sick and guilty about it afterwards.
This wasn’t the worst Chinese food I’ve ever had (half frozen egg rolls accompanied by a rancid hot and sour soup takes that prize). But «methinks not» sums it up fairly well.

Driving from Wolfville to Moncton, instead of our usual fast-​food order at one of the outlets just off the highway, we went on a little extra way to try the Ho Lucky. And were pleasantly surprised. Chinese food in the Maritimes is usually characterized by being drenched in over-​sweet, glutinous sauces, or in too much soy sauce (and occasionally both!) but our beef and broccoli was lightly glazed with the sauce and the broccoli cooked to perfection — that tricky stage between crisp and limp, and when the broccoli is that sprightly green colour, enhanced by the glaze of the sauce. The coating on our chicken wings was crisp and not heavy, the underlying meat tender. The fried rice, instead of tasting primarily of soy sauce, was seasoned lightly with it, and studded with dice of pork and egg. Our one small disappointment was that we’d have liked to taste a little more of the characteristic Chinese flavourings of ginger, garlic, and green onion, so the whole was a trifle bland — but perhaps other dishes on the menu include these, and we look forward to devoting time to explore more of the dishes in future because our first visit was so promising.

Ho Lucky moved from Dartmouth to Stewiacke, NS. I was so sad when they moved from Dartmouth because it was the freshest Chinese food you could get in town. What a delight when we discovered it in Stewiacke. We always stop in on our way through now. The owners are very nice and thoughtful, and they are always up for a chat. The premises are clean, the food is fresh and delicious, and it’s great value for the money.