Bakersfield.com

 “Tenoch” is by far the most unusual Chinese Restaurant I have ever come across. It is located in Lamont, California, which is about forty-five minutes from Cal State Bakersfield. Tenoch is left to a gas station, and right to Billiards, where the people can be entertained afterwards. It stands in front of Lamont Elementary School, so kids can be dropped off before you enjoy a nice meal, and nearby a Kern Credit bank, whenever anyone is in need of cash. Being surrounded by these businesses and school, Tenoch is just the place where any “Lamont-ster” can delight themselves with Chinese cuisine.

  The service rates about average; grading on a scale of one to five, five being the best, I would rate it a three, for the workers were patient and generous; but they were still holding their notepads instead of seating the guests first. Maybe this is a new type of restaurant etiquette. The menu and side dishes were all pictured on the counter at the customer’s ease. Even though I am vegetarian, I noticed that the restaurant did not serve any meals that had pork. Some Chinese restaurants serve hot dogs with any type of food, such as spaghetti, but this one just had the standard Asian dishes. Tenoch is similar to In-N-Out restaurants because the menu was short and simple. Customers have a choice of a number one, two, or three. Of course, three having the most grub, it is more expensive.

My boyfriend, Ernesto, and I started ordering our meals: he ordered meal number three, which includes chow mein, a side of teriyaki beef, and orange chicken; and I ordered a medium bowl of chow mein with vegetables on top (there was no vegetarian meals at all so that was my only alternative). The waiters offered a menudo special, which was ironic for a Chinese restaurant to serve. Ernesto commented that the owner would not be Chinese if he listed menudo in his menu. In addition, most Chinese restaurants would serve egg noodle soup as an appetizer, but this restaurant certainly did not. It did not serve hot ginseng tea either. There was no egg noodle soup, no hot dogs, no ginseng tea, but there was menudo? What a modern and creative Chinese restaurant!

Ernesto and I began searching for a table to sit in and all were empty, so we decided to sit in the very middle of the restaurant at the very back. There were no windows to view the people and traffic moving outside, but I suppose it was to add shading in the dining area. The decorations were somewhat oriental: a few palm trees here and there; they took place of the bamboo trees. The walls were brown stucco that gave it a western feeling and pretty tiles were entrapped in the floor with exotic floral designs. I placed some of my homework on the table to take note of the surroundings but I found myself smudging my papers from what I believe is grease. Unfortunately, there were hardly any napkins in the napkin dispenser.

When the food had finally arrived, the waiters (dressed up with jeans, baseball caps, and aprons instead of starched, white collared shirts, and ironed black pants) carried the dishes on their bare palms. My bowl of chow mein was exothermically cold while my boyfriend’s plate was steaming hot. Despite that I ordered vegetables with chow mein, all the vegetables I received were just cabbage, which obscured the rest of my meal. We ate with plastic forks and spoons, and our drinks were bought in glass bottles; compared to Super King Buffet, we had refillable drinks! My food tasted a little bland, and I felt I needed to add Kikkoman soy sauce, the most amazing soy sauce in the world! Ernesto’s food had a mixture of spicy red and green chili in it, and needed his drink to cool down. Plus, while we ate, there was Spanish music playing in the background.

When we finished, there was no fortune cookie to finish off the meal, and we did think that the sound of the door flying open and shutting close was distracting. But that did not affect our enjoyment of the restaurant. The lunch was at a good price; it was neither too cheap nor expensive, but enough to have a taste of an integrated Spanish-Chinese restaurant. Even if all the appetizers weren’t missing and the decorations were in theme, I would still return to have another try at the delicious chow mein (soy sauce will be included).