To fill up, we ordered a bowl of Alaskan King crab pad Thai ($19.99). Nah. There’s a reason that this dish is traditionally served with finely chopped peanuts and sweetened rice vinegar on the side: to allow you to separate flavors. Here they all homogenize — the peanuts too coarse to stick to the noodles, the amount of cilantro the kitchen’s choice rather than ours. We agreed: plenty of crab but, nah.
To complement the exotic theme and decor, the arrival of Chinese Laundry was spiced up with calculated controversy. A full-page magazine ad promoting the early March opening showed a nude female torso sporting the words “see what you are missing” in lieu of pasties.
The desired effect was accomplished: free publicity for restaurateur and chef John Elkay, extra buzz that his XO, Citron, and 10 Steak & Sushi never got right out of the box. Side effects included howls, of course, over the objectification of women.
The offending black-and-white nude photograph, uncensored, is in the unisex restroom. The edgy effort reminds us that sexuality and culinary sensuality are kissing cousins. Fortunately, my dining companion was a pal from college days, a Dorchester boy not prone to blush.
We closed our meal with lychee tea ($5), which like our earlier carafe of hot sake ($9) was excellent.
A high-concept place like Chinese Laundry, which is offering the idea of cuisine as much as the actual food, needs to entertain us with such touches. For me, knowing whether the latter can sustain the former will require more than one visit.
