Chung chun rice dogs, Seattle: A review

 There's a small 'hole in the wall' takeout place right next to the Seattle Chinatown gate. You can locate it without referring to any sort of online, or offline maps or guides because you'll see a small (or not so small) crowd of people in front of the store. While the crowd is there certainly because of the popularity, no doubt, it's also because the store is strictly takeout only and has 10-15 minutes waiting time for ordering, and the same for getting your order fulfilled, so the people outside aren't just waiting to get in, they could be waiting to get there orders completed as well.

The second time I was in the area and saw the restaurant, my curiosity got the better of me, and I waited for 10 minutes to get my order in: a mozzarella and potato dog. Basically a mozz stick with bits of potatoes on the outside, with a skewer poked through the entire concoction. Then I waited outside like everybody else, for the order to complete.

The reason why it takes forever for them to service the customers seems to be the fact that they're severely understaffed. There might be only one worker in the kitchen, and one in the counter, and they have a few openings for all the positions available, according to a poster on their door. The seconds ticket by, and I had hoped the '15 minute waiting time' another poster on the door claimed would be an exaggeration in my case. Unfortunately it was not the case.

After what felt like hours, but in reality was 23 minutes, they called my number. The dude at the counter -- who was juggling between taking orders and handing out orders, asked me if I wanted a sprinkling of sugar on top. A concept wholly foreign and honestly quite despicable to me. Didn't take him up on the offer, instead I dumped six different sauces on my 'dog', each on a little strip, and a few powders. I got out of the store, proud of my colorful creation.

I checked around to see if there was a place where everybody else had gone to eat but there was no organized location that could be easily discovered. So I stood on the sidewalk, and gobbled up the delicacy, so good except it would have been quite bland without the sauces and condiments.

Two thumbs up, specially if you eat all sorts of meat. The experience would be a thousand times better if they allowed indoor seating (or standing, even), or hired more staff and made the experience less painful.