A Chinese restaurant goes viral for its brutally honest descriptions of the dishes on its menu.
Ordering a new dish at a restaurant can be a stressful experience.
While many of us like trying new things, nobody wants to get stuck with an item they don't enjoy for their meal.
Luckily, one Chinese restaurant in Canada is keeping it 100 by offering extremely honest descriptions of every item on their menu.
The restaurant Aunt Dai is now enjoying a spike in popularity after a patron shared photos showcasing its very detailed menu descriptions.
Twitter user Kim Belair wrote that Aunt Dai is her 'favorite' Chinese restaurant in the city and then shared screenshots of its detailed menu.
Belair first heard about Aunt Dai through a friend who loved the place.
She told Bored Panda:
"I meant to go, but before I could, the original location burned to the ground. It was only when it opened the new location that I finally got a chance to order."
"It was really during the pandemic that it became a near-weekly staple for my partner and me."
"We usually have at least one dedicated 'order-in night,' but Aunt Dai is good enough that we sometimes find ourselves thinking about making dinner and going '…How about Aunt Dai, though?'"
Belair now loves the food at Ant Dai, and she believes every dish at the restaurant is really strong.
Belair explained:
"Each one feels like it sets out to do something different and nails it."
"My partner's a chef, and he often says that what sets AuntDai apart is this feeling of subtlety that many restaurants don't get."
"They hit little details that don't stand out on their own. But comparing with other places, they consistently nail flavors, textures, and quality of their ingredients."
Belair also recommended Ant Dai's hot pepper beef on some rice with dry-fried green beans and cabbage.
She remarked:
"It's out of control delicious."
After Belair Twitter post went viral, the restaurant owner, Feigang Fei, created a Twitter account just to thank her.
Belair explained that she and Fei first met after she approached him to talk about his restaurant business. Afterward, they became good friends.
She said:
"He's such an interesting guy, and his story is so compelling that I genuinely feel really lucky to have met him in this unusual way."
"Like, for all the times I've had his food and loved it. And for all the comfort it's offered me during this past year, it took this for us to finally talk."
"I'm eager to remain friends."
Belair also explained she and Fei have some commonalities, both in building their careers and having a critical eye on everything they make themselves.
She said:
"No matter what you do, you're always your toughest critic, and it's reassuring to surface that with other people."
"I think it's probably why the menu went viral: people see something of themselves in it, and they appreciate not only that honesty but the relatability of it."
"Everyone wants to be that candid or to have someone be that candid with them. And I think it's just incredibly refreshing."
In an interview, Fei revealed that he started writing the descriptions after realizing some patrons were unaware of the ingredients in a dish.
He explained:
"We had a lot of traditional items on the menu, and customers would order something totally not what they wanted."
"Something would be really greasy, or really spicy, or have bones, and customers would not touch it all, so I asked them why…"
"I saw a lot of frustration, so after that, I started writing the comments."
At first, only a few of the menu items had the detailed descriptions. But after noticing patrons appreciated them, he decided to include descriptions of all items.
Fei said:
"The whole idea is just to let people know what they're ordering."
"A lot of people found it very funny (and) very helpful. I was so encouraged by them."
"I didn't think I needed to write comments for each item. But customers encouraged me to, through their comments and their feedback, so I finished all of them."
Since the viral tweet, Fei said the restaurant had seen an increase in orders. He, however, hopes the new customers keep their hopes in check.
He said:
"We just want to be very honest, very true to ourselves and our customers."
"We don't want them to come with high expectations and then feel disappointed."
"We're not always the best food restaurant, but we try to do our best every day and to satisfy our customers and not oversell anything."
How People Reacted To the Brutally Honest Menu
