AS we were deciding what to order at the Star of Canton restaurant in the Lee Theatre Plaza, we attempted to compare prices between the Chinese and English menus.
This proved difficult, because they were almost entirely different. The Chinese menus were fairly extensive, with many items that sounded intriguing, while the English version was limited mostly to the generic standards, such as sweet and sour pork, crispy-skinned fried chicken and prawn balls in spicy sauce, supplemented by expensive shark's fin, bird's nest and abalone dishes.
When we asked the waiter the reason for this, he said foreigners would not like the dishes on the Chinese menus.
Well, we asked, what about overseas Chinese who could not read Chinese? Fortunately, there was one in our party of five who could.
We started with a cold dish of sliced kidneys and pickled vegetables. The kidneys were tender and the vegetables had a crisp texture and a sharp, salty taste that was enhanced by a thick, spicy sauce.
Deep fried eel came next; by far the best dish of the evening.
The six large boneless pieces came ungarnished on a white, doily-covered plate, but they were crisp on the outside and tender and moist inside, lightly coated with a sweet honey glaze.