Daito

***Update 3/29/2019***
Daie/Aeon mall is now closed!!
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Rating: Nasty
Meal:  Lunch
Price:  780 yen
Payment:  Credit cards accepted
Dishes: Pork and Cabbage Teishoku
English Menu: Yes

Smoking: No

Well it was bound to happen eventually.  For my first Nasty rating, I present Daito, a Chinese restaurant in Daie Mall.  It's location should make it a frequent stop on my rotation, but every time I've eaten here I've left unhappy.  It seems like it would take effort to make food this bad, but the supremely lazy attitude of the staff would betray some other force at work.  First of all, one is lured around the corner from Ootoya by the beautiful photos of delicious looking food.  Then the entrance appears and promises great things as well.  It's imposing and pretty, festooned with red lanterns.  Maybe part of my bad feeling about this place is due to false advertising.

I ordered what looked like a pork and cabbage teishoku.  I can say the little pickles were good, slightly spicy. But the main dish was gross...absolutely swimming in oil.  There were maybe 3 thin pieces of meat, otherwise just a mound of cabbage.   Now, I like my veggies, but when ordering a meat dish with veg, I'd prefer to have more than a few mouthfuls.  Above all, there was no flavor...just a penetrating blandness.  And after the oiliness had a while to do it's thing, the nausea set in.  I'm not saying food poisoning or anything, just a general yuck feeling from all that oil.

You might think that this was just a one off, but *every single time* I've gone to this place (and I keep getting lured back in) I've left with this bad impression.  At least they are consistent!