Margaret Kuo's Dragon's Lair

My original title for this posting was “Selosse and Szechuan.” It may sound like a tantalizing if odd fantasy match-up. It very nearly came true during a recent visit to Margaret Kuo’s Dragon’s Lair in Wayne. Jacques Selosse Blanc de Blancs was listed on the “holiday selections” drink list placed on our table. How Selosse Champagne came to be on a wine list in a suburban Chinese restaurant in the archaic wine state of Pennsylvania I don’t know. How it might have paired with Ms. Kuo's food I can only try to imagine. The fact that I took a pass on it still irks me. But as my dining companions were sticking with tea, I settled for a Tsingtao as thoughts of the Selosse that could have been nagged at my inner wine guy throughout lunch.

The availability of the Selosse turned out to be a fitting presage of the overall dining experience at Margaret Kuo’s. A typical, casual Chinese-American joint it’s not. The carryout menu gives a practically minded nod or two to some of the popular standards of American-Chinese fare. When dining in, however, Kuo’s menu is a touch more elevated, specialized and unafraid of eschewing many clichéd dishes. It’s also a touch more expensive, with most entrées priced in the $20s. Based largely on the cuisine of China’s Sichuan province, with a particular specialization in Chengdu regional fare, there are options for the adventurous of palate as well as for tamer tastes.


In keeping with the menu and pricing, the atmosphere is also more rarified than the norm. White tablecloths, highly attentive service, ornate decorative flair and serene background music combine to make the Dragon’s Lair one of the more formal – if slightly sterile – destinations for Chinese cuisine in the Philadelphia area. This might be just your thing if you’re looking for a quiet, intimate spot for Sunday lunch. We shared the dining room with only a few other guests during our visit. The pace, I’m sure, gets a bit more hopping during evening hours, yet ample elbow room and table spacing should still make for a relaxed experience.


We started with one of the best hot and sour soups I’ve ever had, a vegetarian version that focuses on fresh ingredients and bright flavors while avoiding the gelatinous, murky nature of many lesser renditions. Amply spiked with freshly ground black pepper, it was chock full of fresh, snappy, woodsy tasting shiitake mushrooms. Sold as soup for two, we found it ample for sharing among three. Pan-fried fish and chive dumplings were zesty if not ethereal; I preferred them without their overly salty side of dipping sauce.


An order of Imperial Shrimp delivered an ample plate of jumbo shrimp dressed with a sweet and sour mandarin glaze. The relative absence of vegetarian main courses was circumvented by the veggie among us by ordering two vegetable sides in place of a main. Chinese Eggplant with Garlic Sauce was a well executed, vibrantly purple version of a Chinatown staple. Stir-fried Lotus Root and Lily Bulbs were mildly sweet, crunchy and attractively aromatic. A well cooked but basic filet of pan-sautéed sea bass was brought to life by its crumbled topping of hauntingly tangy, smoky cured pork.

And that wine list. Aside from the Selosse anomaly, there is a well-chosen if small core of complementary wines available, including Savennières from Domaine des Baumard, a modest selection of German and Alsace Rieslings, and a fair range of lighter, aromatic reds from Beaujolais and Oregon among other regions. Then there’s the intentionally impressive side of the list: Châteaux Margaux and Latour, dozens of trophy California Cabernets, and fairly big hitter White Burgundies. Two-thirds of the list would be more at home – and more appropriately matched – with the food in an expense account steak house. Of course, given the numerous preparations of beef filet – another slight anomaly on the menu – that may just be the target audience Ms. Kuo is seeking.

I’ll be back nonetheless. If the food we enjoyed on our visit was any indication, the Dragon’s Lair is too good not to demand a return visit. Next time, it’ll be for the Peking duck. And, keeping my fingers crossed, a bottle of Selosse Blanc de Blancs.

Margaret Kuo's Dragon’s Lair
175 E. Lancaster Avenue
Wayne, PA 19087
(610) 688-7200

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Sunday Brunch at Teresa's Next Door

Many years ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Teresa’s Café – a casual, Italian/American BYO located in the heart of the Main Line community of Wayne, PA – was among my semi-regular stops for casual business lunches. In the subsequent years, I’d more or less forgotten about the place, as my regular dining orbit now more naturally revolves around Philadelphia itself. However, the name had resurfaced of late in the context of its new sibling, Teresa’s Next Door (TND), a Belgian style bar and bistro. The original Teresa’s remains a BYO for wine but patrons now have the ability to stop in next door for a beer, cocktail or for alternate and late night meal options. With a friend in for a Sunday visit, we called TND to confirm that they’re open for lunch and then headed on over.

In concept, Teresa’s Next Door is clearly Wayne’s answer to Philadelphia’s Belgian stalwarts like Monk’s Café and Eulogy. The bottled beer list is biblical in proportion, focusing primarily on Belgians but with a good peppering of local and international brews. With over twenty choices, the on-tap offerings actually outnumber those available at most Philly spots. What’s lacking, though, is the warm, dark, cozy, slightly euro vibe of places like Monk’s. For TND is clearly an offspring of the tidy, blue-blood community in which it sits. The room is spacious if narrow, stark, bright, very clean and smoke free – not your typical gastropub environment. Eight booths, nine or ten two-top tables and a long bar provide seating options for about seventy guests. The dinner menu includes the stalwarts of the Belgian beer bar genre – mussels, burgers and charcuterie platters – but also dabbles in French bistro fare (steak frites). It loses its focus however, perhaps in answer to anticipated requests from the local crowd, with the inclusion of a smattering of Mexican-American dishes.

As it turned out, we had landed at TND for their inaugural Sunday brunch. Given that it was also our first visit, I’m going to limit my scope here to a one-dish review. I was initially drawn to both the omelet (Serrano ham, goat cheese and fresh herbs served with fruit) and the Pennsyltucky (scrapple, eggs over easy, fingerling home fries and toast). However, feeling the need for a caloric infusion after a decent bike ride earlier in the day, I settled on:

Teddy’s Eggs, 8 oz. sirloin, two poached eggs over brioche toast with spicy lemon hollandaise
A serious portion of heart-stoppers special, this consisted of two thinly sliced strips of griddle seared sirloin served open-face on a sliced brioche bun, each topped with a poached egg and a generous dollop of lemony, slightly salty hollandaise. Whole fingerling potatoes, cooked home fry style, were the only side. The selection of a good brioche bun and à la minute preparation of the hollandaise served to raise this dish above the level of just satisfactory. The eggs were tender, though I would have preferred a bit of run to the yolks which were cooked to firmness. The potatoes would have benefited from being sliced lengthwise, before their stint on the griddle, to encourage development of caramelization and crispness. And the plate could have used a visual lift from a sprig of something green. On the plus side, the steak was cooked a perfect medium (temperature preferences were not requested), a good choice by the chef for this cut and presentation. On the down side, the beef suffered from intermittent spots of livery flavor, most likely brought on by oxidation introduced via the thin slicing and preparation methods of the steak.

Lest I forget, beer is clearly the raison d’être of the place. I’m a sucker for hand-pumped suds and also have a soft spot for local brewers, so, starting the “Teddy” theme of the day, I opted for a pint of Victory Brewing Company’s Uncle Teddy’s Bitter. A classic English style bitter, this is a light to medium bodied ale with a smooth texture and, contrary to its name, only a gentle hint of bitterness. A new American hop monster it’s not. I think the body and texture of the beer might actually be improved by the more assertive textures delivered by a regular tap system. The gentle textures resulting from the low, natural carbonation in a hand-pulled cask left this otherwise good session beer feeling a bit flat on its feet. To accompany my steak and eggs, I selected a bottle of Atomium Premier Grand Cru, a Belgian strong ale I had yet to try but which has been popping up of late on beer lists all over town. Brewed with six different grains, it delivered a spicy, somewhat floral nose with a creamy, slightly off-dry palate which matched well to the contrast between the animal flavors of the steak and the citrusy, eggy zip of the hollandaise.

Most of my admittedly minor gripes should be easy fixes as the kitchen at TND becomes more practiced with the dishes on their brunch menu. For their first Sunday, it was not a bad effort. I’ll be headed back for an evening run at the mussels and, of course, more beer.

Teresa’s Next Door
126 N. Wayne Avenue
Wayne, PA 19087
610-293-0119

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