Last night I visited Sino with a few friends for a party of 5. It was a rainy night so we actually managed to get a "coveted" reservation for 6PM. Even if the restaurant is not totally packed, it's always a burden to get a decent reservation time that isn't for either a senior citizen early bird or a night owl. After being seated at a booth, we got to pore over the new single-sheet red menu. The selection had changed from the previous times I had been there. We ordered a few drinks and appetizers and they arrived promptly about 20 minutes later, typical for Sino. While we slowly nibbled on some creamy soft fried calamari and caramelized short-ribs and waited for our main entrees, our water glasses were constantly filled and our drinks quickly refreshed.
Our entrees showed up about 20 minutes later. The filet mignon and new york steak were well received. I would guess that they were about 8-10 ounces each. The filet mignon was too well-done but was heavily sauced. Our waiter never bother to ask how we'd like it. The coup was the seared scallops. For $20, we were stunned to receive only four mid-sized and over-cooked scallops on an over-sized plate with a dab of wasabe. Definitely skip this one, if it's still on the menu. The prawn dishes were well-executed, crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. Sadly, there were only 5 or 6 prawns in each dish. The fried rice was nice and probably the only filling part of the meal. We ordered up two.
Since one of my good friend's father is the head chef at Sino, I am quite pleased that he had taken my suggestion to reduce the saltiness. The flavors were quite full without the excessive salt. The portions were tiny, but the taste was very good. Oddly enough, the menu has really deviated from its original new age Chinese to more straight up American-Chinese. We finished dinner in only three hours, not bad for Sino. So, aside from the slow service and small portions, it's a nice place for some good food at a posh location.
Pros: Hip bar, good food, plush hangout, plenty of little dudes
Cons: Slow service, tiny portions
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