Tong’s prime table—the big round one to your left as you enter—seats 20. One night it was filled with Chinese businessmen who shared dishes, then sat and talked. Another time, it hosted four Chinese college students.
“All my friends say that Chinese is the best food—but all my friends are Chinese,” said one, laughing.
Along with the natives, Tong’s House draws diehard fans, for whom the place was an early introduction to exotic food. Tong’s has been around for more than 20 years and prevails, even as the Pei Weis and P.F. Chang’s of the world have transformed the standards by which Chinese food is judged.
Still, if you want it weird, Tong’s can oblige, be it pig’s stomach soup, shredded pork ear, or beef tendons, served cold. Sliced into thin rectangles and drizzled with hot sauce, the tendons had that head-cheese thing going on, with bits of meat suspended in the transparent, jelly-like goo that is a cooked tendon. Hey, you wanted it weird.
Slightly less weird was vegetarian “duck”: sheets of tofu pressed together and mounded to simulate a duck breast. That’s some stretch of the imagination, but the stuff wasn’t bad, with a sweet sauce that made it seem like drenched baklava.
Not weird at all was pine nut chicken, served with crisp iceberg lettuce for make-your-own wraps and a bowl of flawless white rice. The sautéed mixture of minced chicken, green onion, and water chestnuts would’ve been a total charmer had it not also contained a long, thick black hair. While we’re on the topic, it might also be difficult to overlook the stained tablecloths and sticky, dog-eared menus. There’s only so much weird you can take. 1910 Promenade Center, Richardson. 972-231-8858. $-$$. —T.G.
