A caramel-lacquered short rib was chewy and a touch cloying. Shrimp "lollipops" ($8.85) featured a leaden breading that sloughed off after a couple of bites. Tender lobster nubbins ($11.95) enrobed in silky dumpling wrappers glistened with jade butter, a bracing fresh lime and herb-spiked sauce. You'd think fried chicken stuffed bao ($9.95) would be a carb-tastic wonderland, but the chicken had a fishy taste from the fry oil and texturally ate more like a boxed chicken tender than a Harold's wing fresh from the fryer. Maybe it's because I was raised on the artificial fragrances and flavors created by New Jersey Turnpike chemists, but I keep a bottle of truffle oil at the ready for perking up my own dishes like waffle-ironed tater tots clad in Parmigiano-Reggiano snow or simple scrambled eggs. Anthony Bourdain recently said truffle oil is about as edible as Astroglide. The soup also had some truffle oil, which lately has come under fire. A clarified chicken consommé infused with shaved black winter truffle, sherry, kombu, fermented mushroom and gossamer threads of egg yolk was so tasty that after the first sip, I discarded the spoon and threw my head back and took the whole thing like a shot of Fireball. That being said, there is no doubting the elegance and refinement of chef Stephen Gillanders' black truffle egg drop soup. At Intro, the mash-up of elegant artifacts from former architects of the space and cheap Chinese bric-a-brac reminds me of the cheesy spectacle that might ensue if a Gold Coast socialite sent her assistant down to Chinatown to pick up some things to decorate the penthouse for an impromptu Chinese New Year's party. Won Fun uses red lanterns, but 280 of them to create an arresting repeating visual that compliments their general punk rock bordello vibe. The dining room of Intro is filled with cliche red lanterns, hanging bamboo steamers and other Chinese tchotchkes.
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