Charlotte, NC Food Diary – No Pics, No Ads

A food journal from someone who just moved to NC from the DMV area. 🍊 🍟Pure personal sharing, no photos or sponsorships—tastes vary, so please don’t argue Cary, NC: - Brecotea: The mango cake’s cream was a bit cloying, and the mango chunks were underripe and too firm. 🍦 Overall, the dessert wasn’t as sweet as American-style treats, but neither was it as delicate as Korean ones.💞💞 💓I forgot to ask for half sugar in my milk tea, and it was way too sweet—just average tasting. I still prefer Kyoto Matcha and Tous Les Jours back in the DMV. - Da Zhai Men Hot Pot: The flavors were just so-so, but the portion sizes were decent. 🍆 The beef tallow broth turned bitter toward the end, while the bone broth was passable.🌵 🙉The sauce bar had a limited selection, and there was no dry dip option. The crispy pork strips were all fat with every bite… though the service was so friendly, it might just draw me back.🍐🎼 - Da Feng Shou: I only tried the triple combo dry pot. The fish had a surprisingly crispy texture, but it was overly spicy with a lingering muddy aftertaste that I didn’t enjoy. 🌻🌻 The chicken wings, however, were tasty and well-seasoned. 🍱🍱 All in all, it’s not as good as the Rockville, MD location, but it’s still decent enough.👣 Charlotte, NC: - Texas Roadhouse (Concord location): This is one of the few chain restaurants I’ve had a bad experience with here. 💓💓 They even served me a raw steak… and instead of replacing it, they just threw it back in the kitchen to reheat.✨✨ 🎉- Lao Sun Jia: The place uses paper plates and offers semi-self-service ordering. The beef paomo was not good—the flatbread was fluffy like bread, not the crisp, layered kind it should be. 🏠🏠 The grilled skewers were mediocre too; they were oven-roasted, lacking the charred, caramelized crust from an open flame that gives that rich Maillard flavor. 🌈🌈 🌟The doneness was okay, so the meat wasn’t too dry or tough. The lamb skewers had no distinct lamb flavor, just a faint onion taste—probably added to cut the gaminess of the leg meat. The beef skewers were passable, and the sausages were decent (it’s hard to mess those up)—they tasted like the slightly sweet ones you get at tourist spots.🏝️ The fish tofu was totally bland, and the broccoli was swimming in oil… As for the northern-style big wontons, I’d rather just cook frozen ones at home—it’s way more cost-effective.❄️❄️ - Great Wall (inside Ally51): The beef noodle soup was disappointing—the noodles were machine-made and overcooked.🎄🎄 💓 The stir-fried rice noodles, though, had great wok hei and were cheap and filling—definitely recommended. The soy sauce chicken was no good; it was sweet, tasting more like char siu, and the meat was dry and tough.🍅 - Tofu Pudding (from New Asian Market): No savory sauce to go with it—total miss. The roast duck rice was just average, and I won’t be ordering it again, though it’s cheap and filling.🎋🌻 - STK Steakhouse: It’s pricey (three-digit bills), but overall, the food was good.👍👍 I had the ribeye filet cooked medium rare, and the doneness was spot on. I can’t remember what else I ordered.💕💕 #FoodieAdventures #EatAndWander #FoodOasisInTheDesert #CharlotteNCFood