Lunchtime With Tillie: Kum Kau

Hey everyone, it’s Van and Tillie again, and making her first appearance of the new year, it’s Tillie’s mom, too! This time, we went out for a little family dining at Chinese restaurant Kum Kau on Myrtle Avenue.

Tillie and I were a little hard-pressed to make it out somewhere during the week as I picked up some freelance work out in the city for a few days. (LWT doesn’t pay all the bills!) Waiting for the weekend was good, though, as TM was able to come along. We all went out last Sunday afternoon, and as it was raining, we decided to find a place close to the homestead. That was really a necessity because we couldn’t find Tillie’s stroller cover to go traipsing around the neighborhood, so Kum Kau was duly elected!

Tillie’s mom packed up some blueberries and milk for the little one, whom we had to carry around in her backpack, and we were off. Kum Kau seemed to be a good choice as far as Tillie was concerned because greeting us in the entranceway was a huge tank of fish, just like at neighboring Sapolo. With that there we knew our entertainment options were in good hands – or fins, as the case may be!

Anyway, we were shown to the spacious dining room and were told we could sit anywhere as the waiter grabbed a high chair for Tillie.

The menu had more than enough to offer, but Tillie’s mom and I just ordered a few items that weren’t too out of the ordinary: She got the chicken with broccoli with brown rice and I ordered Singapore chow mai fun – rice noodles with curry, shrimp, chicken and pork – and fried chicken wings.

As we were waiting for the food to come out, we took turns walking Tillie around the place, especially as we couldn’t keep her pinned down in her high chair. I’m sure they weren’t made for standing in them! TM had her captivated by the walls with the water running down into what looked like a coin trough, while I took her back to her finny friends.

Shortly after we sat (or stood) back in our seats, our food arrived. I had a heaping helping of noodles I was almost anxious to dive into as I wanted to taste Kum Kau’s take on what has become my favorite Chinese dish. TM’s chicken and broccoli – which used to be my old fave – looked to be standard issue, as did the chicken wings. I didn’t try the chicken and broccoli, but I was quite pleased with my noodles: There were plenty of shrimp in it, plus it had a nice kick to it. The “kick” prevented me from giving Tillie much of it, but she did sample a noodle or two. Tillie’s mom always says I never share my food with T when we’re all out, but I couldn’t really this time: The noodles were too spicy. I promise I didn’t want it all for myself! (Pizza, on the other hand … )

Mainly, T was eating broccoli and brown rice with tiny pieces of chicken thrown in for good measure. Tillie’s mom was doing most of the feeding, but I did give Tillie some pilfered florets from mom’s plate every now and then.

After we finished eating, we got our leftovers wrapped up and asked for the check. We let Tillie walk around a little bit more and she made friends with some of the customers at other tables. The staff there was really nice to us – especially with chatting up Tillie and even bringing her her own fortune cookie! I recommend going by, especially if you have a hankering to get you and your baby some Chinese food.

Our bill was $27, which wasn’t bad for the two entrees, appetizer and a can of Diet Coke for Tillie’s mom, who didn’t get her morning fix and really needed it by lunchtime! Plenty of space, pretty decent food and good service earned it some good marks with the fam. Having built-in Tillie distractions doesn’t hurt the cause, either!