E&O Trading Co.

2231 Larkspur Landing Circle, Larkspur

Back to E&O for dinner this time. My friends are duly impressed with the pan-Asian decor. We got there at 6 pm, fairly early for dinner. We had a table by the window, so we can observe the sun light dimming.
For appetizers, we had Panir ($6.95), a small, very small piece of naan cut into very small wedges. Chutney and sambal came with it but they didn't taste authentic. We also tried Indonesian Corn Fritters ($7.95). It was fried dough with corn, which my friends enjoyed. I thought the corn was too dry and it lacked the characteristic sweet taste of the vegi. Chinese Stir-Fried Greens ($5.95) were ok. I think they were bak choy stir fried with garlic and oyster sauce.
For entree, I had Indonesian Fried Rice ($15.95). I know, it is expensive for fried rice, but I remembered Nasi Goreng I used to have in Stanley, a fishing village, in Hong Kong, and wanted to try that. It was a biggest mistake. It didn't have enough rice in it to call itself fried rice, and had too much other stuff, like shrimp, chunky Chinese BBQed pork, eggs, vegitables, etc. One of my friends ordered the same item and she and I were looking at each other and wondered if this should be called fried rice. It was strangely spicy as well. I mean I love spicy food, but spice was quite unexpected. Fried rice from Panda Express would have been a lot better.
Tandoori Style Chicken ($16.95) was also unauthentic, I was told later. Other three had Ahi Tartar ($12.95), and they were happy with what they got. But there isn't a lot of room to go wrong when you are dealing with raw fish.
For dessert, we shared Fried Banana and Ice Cream speciality of the house, and Tapioca Pudding. I liked Tapioca Pudding; it was smooth and silky in texture, had sweetened azuki (Japanese red beans) at the bottom and was decorated with a strawberry and a mint leaf. The sweetness of azuki was accented by tartness of strawberry, and the red colour of the berry and green mint looked pretty on top of white smoothness in a martini glass.
The total bill for six people was $250. It was a bit much for food that lacked in autenticity by any standards. But at the same time, we stayed till 10 pm, and they provided us comfortable space. The waiting staff never rushed us, and they were courteous. The restaurant has wonderful ambiance, yet the food was not real. Would I go back? It depends. But not for food for sure.