Hunan Taste

Hunan Taste (Denville NJ)

From the highway this looks so bizarre and out of place it can only a lure to draw in people to a lame all you can eat buffet where quantity is king for the price. However, My initial thoughts were dead wrong.  This is not only one of the better Chinese restaurants I have been to in a long time, its very very tiki (and for those of you into retro pop culture, this is a must visit for all things tiki).  And of course, what authentic Chinese restaurant would be complete without a goldfish pond?

Once inside you will be amazed at the decor. Its every bit intricate inside as it is inside, even more so. Hanging lanterns, and just look at those red and gold ceilings.

There are saltwater fish tanks all around and in the dining rooms.  Saltwater fish are very hard to maintain, they must be the perfect temperature, the perfect salinity in the water, and the fish are not cheap, they are around $100 each, so just to decorate a place this size could cost thousands in fish alone… and you best know how to keep them alive at that price.

You can see that this is one dining room where we were seated, and there was another if you can see through those 50-gallon fishtanks on the other side.

So the first thing that makes a place like this are the Tiki cocktails that have been around since the 1940s and 1950s.  Tiki drinks all (or should) have one thing in common, they all contain rum, and it is in fact National Rum Day (only I would know that thanks to my cocktail loving friends on Twitter).  The Navy Grog should have all three types of rum: Silver or white, gold and dark, combine with fruit juices.  What I loved about this place is, they float the dark rum on the top of the crushed ice.  Delicious and it packs a punch.  I ordered a Planter’s Punch but he brought back another Navy Grog.  No problem, I know once a drink is poured there is no recovering that expense on the restaurant’s end, it either gets tossed or someone in the kitchen drinks it.  Still, there is no profit and all loss, so the first one was so good, I insisted I would have another.  Also on the cocktail menu of exotic drinks was a Volcano for Two, and this thing was huge, literally the diameter, or so it seemed, of a soccer ball.  And, at $17 per drink, that had better be enough for 3 people.  Maybe next time.

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