When is the last time you heard the words ‘hip’ and ‘Chinese restaurant’ in the same sentence? Well, this place upends the usual stereotypes: no red satin seats or fortune cats here. It is clean and uncluttered, except for Chinese language ninja movies on a flat-screen TV. The brainchild of two millennials, Cate Zone even serves cool food (that is often hot); no greasy, sticky-sauced dishes here.
There’s an entire ‘skewers’ menu that features things like chicken gizzards and ‘fish tofu’ delivered on thin wooden skewers. Another menu has a full range of Dongbei dishes, from the northeast area of China where most of these recipes originate. Because of its geography, there are Korean and Japanese influences. I advise sampling each. Be forewarned: some offerings may not appeal to Western palates (Crisp Pork Intestine Noodle Soup?), but most of it is tempting and well executed.
Also, some dishes are laden with dried red chile peppers. A ‘skewer’ of Korean Short Rib ($8) offered up small bones surrounded by highly seasoned, tender rib meat. Like this dish, many descriptions don’t jive with what they actually are. My ‘short rib’ was not the soft, slow-cooked meat of that name. And the several dishes listed as ‘with egg sauce’ are actually dipped in egg batter and deep-fried, not saucy or eggy at all.
Seasoning on the ‘short rib’ was very distinctive, with the hot and smoky flavor of Korean dried chili peppers called gochugaru. That spice also covered our Lamb Skewers ($7.99 for five), which were really good. Small chunks of fatty meat came roasted tender, fragrant and, unexpectedly, with a distinctive cumin flavor. The Fish Tofu skewer ($3) and Chicken Wing skewer ($4.95, which came as two large wings, not skewered) both had a gochugaru coating, clearly a staple of ‘skewer’ dishes.
On the entree menu, Crisp Shrimp with Egg Sauce ($12.99) was our introduction to the light, delicious style of frying here. Akin to tempura, the thin coatings are hot, crisp and have a melt-in-your-mouth lightness. The shrimp came head- and tail-on, meant to be eaten whole. The shells are quite thin, so pop them into your mouth and just enjoy the ever-so-slightly oily and salty goodness. Adding to its appeal were similarly egg-dipped and fried peas and carrots scattered on top.
Eggplant on Sizzling Plate ($9.99) is impressive even before you taste it. It comes on a hot platter, and the tantalizing brown sauce underneath the eggplant fingers is sizzling. The vegetable itself is ever so lightly fried, crisp on the outside and soft inside. And delicious bits of stir-fried pork are scattered in it. The sauce is slightly sweet and hot.
The China Northeast Sweet & Sour Pork ($12.99) here is amazing, with a shiny, candied coating over thin pork cutlets rather than chunks. The ‘sauce,’ which is really just a sticky film, is sweet and delicious. Dry Fried Calamari ($11.99) contains dried rather than fresh squid, making it hard and chewy—unlike the typical tender ringlets.
Do not miss dessert, which here means only one thing: Honey Crisp Sweet Potatoes ($11.99). The presentation is astounding as you gaze at the steaming platter of sticky-coated potato wedges topped with a volcano of spun sugar. In flavor, it’s a cross between ‘deep-fried bananas’ and cotton candy.
amuse bouche
the scene | Hip, young Asian spot
the prices | $3-$8 skewers, $7-$9 street food, $8.50-$14 entrees
the chef | Yuming Han
the favorites | Crisp Shrimp with Egg Sauce, Eggplant on Sizzling Plate, Sweet & Sour Pork, Lamb Skewer, Honey Crisp Sweet Potatoes
chef chat » yuming han
culinary pedigree | Twenty-plus years in China
favorite ingredient | Sichuan peppercorn
favorite cookbook | Some old Chinese cookbooks; I no longer have time to read!
favorite st. louis restaurant | Kim Son Vietnamese Bistro
most memorable dining experience | In my hometown of Fushun at a local restaurant that made the best spicy crab.
8148 olive blvd. | 314.738.9923
Photos: Bill Barrett
