Hunan Palace

Hunan Palace is now closed. For the past few days, a sign said that the restaurant was closed for renovations but today a new restaurant sign popped up as «Bao», supposedly under the auspices of a restaurant lounge. From the looks of it, it’s a much needed make-​over but I suspect Bao has the same owners and the same kitchen. Keep an eye out for Bao’s grand opening — 10% off. [Last Visit: May 1, 2009]

Disgusting.
Everything (table, dispensers, etc.) was sticky, the wooden walls had been bleach-​spotted by bleach water rags, the rice had day-​old dry grains in it. The wait staff seemed bored, unapologetic and at the same time insistent.
I ordered the dry bean curd and pork hoping it would be great, but it was flavorless, oversalted, too greasy, etc. The hot mustard for the egg rolls was so rancid it almost made me gag.

The first time I went to Hunan Palace, it was out of desperation. Nothing else was open and I was looking at a long, miserable night at the office. But the meal was delicious — I got bean curd with broccoli, and the hostess asked if I’d prefer it fried or steamed (I picked steamed, and it was steamed perfectly, until the broccoli was soft and the tofu had firmed up).
Tonight I went back at the same time of day and placed the same order. This time, when I got back to the office I discovered the food was almost completely uncooked. The tofu was as raw as when it came out of the packaging and fell apart in the sauce (clearly had not been steamed at all), and the broccolli had at most been blanched and was nearly as crunchy as crudite. I ate it because, well, it’s still tofu and broccolli, but what a disappointment! What’s the point of going back or recommending the place, knowing there’s a 50 percent chance the food will be raw? What if I’d ordered meat?
An hour after eating it tonight I got slammed with a nasty headache, but since that didn’t happen the first time, maybe it wasn’t the fearsome msg. If they don’t use it, it wouldn’t even be in the restaurant, right? And yet, my head is wailing…