FuLoon Chowdown

A group of 12 Chowhounds met at FuLoon, a somewhat nondescript Chinese place in Malden, and had a delicious meal. The highlights:

• Ma po tofu, “excellent citrusy szechuan peppercorns and not overly sauced, permitting the tofu, ground pork and peppercorns to each stand out with texture, flavor and spice,” says gourmaniac.

• Dong po pork, which BarmyFotheringayPhipps says was served in one-inch cubes with fat that dissolved in the mouth: “Seriously, I never fully understood the import of the term ‘melt in your mouth’ before this: the effect was oddly like eating a soup dumpling without the wrapper. And when the fat was gone, the remaining belly was so intensely, richly flavored that it was rather like eating six pieces of perfectly-cooked bacon in one bite.”

• Custard scallop, fried milk custard, and fried scallop, which was silky, sweet, and rather bland.

• Szechuan whole fish, served in a brown sauce with whole peppers.

Other dishes, like Peking duck and spicy cabbage, were less successful, but several hounds liked the homestyle braised pork shoulder. The price was right, at $30 a head for a table full of dishes.

FuLoon [Malden]
375 Main Street, Malden
781-388-3338

Board Link: Fuloon chowdown 1/24/08