🇺🇸 2 Days of Chinese Food in Madison – A Foodie Review!

Accompanied my wife back to Madison for the Coldplay concert 🎵, and we revisited three of her favorite Chinese restaurants from her college days. Here’s our honest take! 🏮 FUGU We went right after landing – the owner was super kind and let us order even at 9 PM! According to my wife, this was their go-to spot for group gatherings. The flavors haven’t changed! 🍆🦐 Eggplant & Seafood Hot Pot: Soft, chunky eggplant with shrimp, crab sticks, squid, and scallops. Hearty and perfect with rice! Though a few eggplant pieces were undercooked (hard in the center). 🐟 Twice-Cooked Fish: Fish chunks fried before stir-frying – incredibly flavorful and great with rice! Got a bit greasy toward the end, but ideal for strong taste lovers. 🐂 Pickled Pepper Beef: A bit salty, but my wife loved it. The pickled peppers balanced the saltiness well, but still… salty. 🐔 Spicy Chicken: Not bad, not amazing. Crispy outside, tender inside, but not spicy at all. 🥢 NANI (Dim Sum) Big letdown! 😵 🐔 Steamed Phoenix Claws: Dry, bland, not hot enough, and not well-deveined. 🐮 Beef Tripe: Tasted like raw soybean paste – no other flavor. Terrible. 🍳 Durian Egg Yolk Pastry: Probably pre-made, but one of the better items on the table. Ate 2.5 of these. 🦐 Asparagus with Shrimp: Tasted like American Chinese food – better than the dim sum. 🥬 Pea Shoots in Superior Broth: The best dish! Savory and comforting. 🍰 Coconut Pudding: My wife was mad – coconut pudding topped with whipped cream?! 🦐 Har Gow & Soup Dumplings: Felt pre-made and mediocre. 🍲 Beef Congee with Silky Egg: My wife’s favorite! Freshly made, though the beef slices were a bit thick. Still delicious. 🏯 TAI’S ASIAN BISTRO After the Nani disaster, we went to Tai’s. Looks like typical American Chinese, but some dishes are authentic! 🐟 Steamed Sea Bass: Tasted like home – similar to how my dad makes it! Flavorful and tender. 🍲 Radish & Beef Brisket Hot Pot: Delicious! Only downside: the radish wasn’t soft enough. Had soft tofu too – perfect with rice. The beef was melt-in-your-mouth tender. 🦑 Salt & Pepper Squid: Just okay – lacked peppery flavor. Tasted like regular fried calamari. #MadisonEats #ChineseFood #UWMadison #ColdplayMadison #FoodReview #TaiAsianBistro