It’s safe to say that house dinners are in full swing, and despite fearing that I’ll be carded every time I try to enter before 7pm as a non-West resident, it’s well worth the fight. Wednesday, October 16th’s house dinner at Rose was one for the books. I approached house dinner hungry, yet not too familiar with the menu for the day.
Like all memorable meals, I started with dessert. The line was so long I was afraid that by the time I finished my meal, dessert would run out (which it did). I enjoyed a mug full of coffee jelly, a common Japanese dessert, whilst in line. It was an interesting textural experience as I’d never had the flavor of coffee in jelly form, yet it complimented the creamer it was served in. The dish was overall surprisingly refreshing.
Moving on to the main dishes, I had my qualms when I realized that the theme of house dinner was Japanese, as Japanese food focuses a lot on the natural flavor of ingredients. The previous week’s house dinner at Bethe was dim-sum-themed yet lacked all aspects of dim sum.Hence, I was nervous to see how Asian cuisine would again be interpreted by another West dining hall.
The specialty dish of the evening was Mahi-Mahi Chazuke, which featured a filet of fish on a bed of rice soaked in tea. While definitely not everyone’s cup of tea, I found the dish to be well-seasoned and fish was not bad for the dining hall. The roasted kabocha squash side was cooked perfectly and extremely satisfying to eat, especially on a crisp fall day. Most significantly, and to my surprise, was the presence of short-grain rice. I’ve had many Asian-inspired meals on West with regular long-grain rice, but short-grain rice is a necessity for Japanese meals. I was impressed that Rose pulled through.
For the entrees, the soft tofu was perhaps the highlight of my meal. Maybe its because I’d never had soft tofu in the dining hall, but its garlic soy marinade soaked beautifully into my rice. The chicken was on par with what Rose usually serves but paired with other sides, it contributed to the dinner’s high quality. Finally, the soba noodle salad was good, but I won’t be thinking about it when its gone.
Most impressive of this house dinner was its variety of protein offerings from tofu to chicken to fish, and its execution of an Asian-inspired menu that involved flawless risk-taking. While these items may not read as extremely appetizing on the menu to those unfamiliar with Japanese cuisine beyond sushi, the execution was admirable. Rose showed dedication to less commonly known dishes without sacrificing quality or flavor, which is something that all other dining halls should strive for.
Eirian Huang is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences. They can be reached at [email protected].