Forbidden City is aptly named. The place is so huge - complete with indoor koi pond, various private rooms, majestic marble pillars and bar after bar of all-you-can-eat Asian, American and Asian-American cuisine - it should have its own ZIP code.
Indeed, no matter what you crave, I bet you can find something to whet your appetite. For instance, you could decide to go traditional Korean with kimchi or authentic Chinese with an egg-custard bun. You could keep it American with pasta salad or macaroni and cheese. Or, you could sample the best of both worlds with dishes like stewed steak. "Stewed steak is American but we make it more Chinese, so it is both," said owner Jason Lin.
Whatever you choose, I bet Forbidden City has a refreshing cocktail to complement it. There is a number of specialty cocktails. Cocktails can be a great accompaniment to meals (in addition to the obvious reasons) because liquors help cleanse the palate. This can be particularly beneficial when sampling richer dishes. General Tso's chicken, coconut chicken or sweet and sour chicken might be more flavorful when paired with a Manhattan, made with bourbon and sweet vermouth, or a Long Island tea, made with gin, tequila, triple sec, rum, vodka, sour mix and a splash of cola.
Citrusy cocktails go well with seafood dishes. For instance, Forbidden City's shortnecked clams, stuffed crab or new Italian breading fish would be complemented by the hurricane cocktail, made with rum, grenadine, lime juice and sour mix. Or, you could try the seasoned whole mackerel with the Kamikaze cocktail, which is made with vodka, lime juice and triple sec.
Each week, Forbidden City features a different drink. Last week it was the Bahama Mama, made with pineapple and orange juices, grenadine and rum, for $3.99. This week it is the popular margarita. Whatever you choose to pair - oysters with a Cosmo, fruit salad with the Bay Breeze - I bet it's tasty.
"We just got a new chef," Jason said, hinting that perhaps in the near future there will be new recipes to pair with drinks. "We now have two head chefs." Of course they do. It takes a village, after all.
FORBIDDEN CITY
LOCATION: 2273 Gunbarrel Road
PHONE: 305-1087
HOURS: Sunday-Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Friday from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.