The General Tso Chicken at the New Mitzi’s in Vancouver was a very westernized version and rather mediocre. It earned a 3 out of 5 Rating.
When I reviewed the General Tso’s Chicken at the Oriental House in Ottawa, I gave a brief introduction to the origins and composition of the dish. I also noted that the Oriental House version was one of the better ones I have had. I later contrasted this with the really awful General Tso’s at Sushi Village which, it can only be said, was little better than Chicken McNuggets in Tomato Ketchup.
The version you see pictured above was served to me at the New Mitzi’s Restaurant on Pender Street in Vancouver’s Chinatown (which, I have just learned is now permanently closed). In terms of quality, it fell between the two extremes mention above, and was pretty much the same as the mediocre renditions available most everywhere.
New Mitzi’s Restaurant one of many I visited during a visit to Vancouver. It was a bit of a ‘Diner-style’ establishment, and the menu was half Western, with Burgers, Steaks, and the like, with the Chinese section featuring dishes that themselves were quite Westernized.
Before ordering the General Tso’s Chicken (appearing under the variant name General Tao on the New Mitzi’s menu), I had an Eggroll (unremarkable), and the Egg Flower Soup shown above. The quality of this dish alone should probably have been an indicator of what was to follow, as it was disappointing. It was a very generous serving, but the whole thing had a ‘canned’ taste to it, and almost any homemade version would be better.
As for the General Tso at New Mitzi, it featured battered chicken in a sweet-sour-spicy brown sauce with onion, green pepper, carrot and large pieces of dried chili. There was a pretty high batter to chicken ratio but they did get the batter to remain nicely crispy despite being bathed in the sauce. The sauce had quite a nice smoky note from dried Chili, but it was a bit oversweet and without nuance. It was tasty enough, but especially interesting, and Only gave it a Rating of 3 out of 5.