Foodie Friday: Lucky Star
FRUITLAND, Md. – This edition of Foodie Friday brings us to Lucky Star in Fruitland, so get your chopsticks ready! Lovers of Asian cuisine can thank their “lucky stars” for this eatery, because they’re in the business of serving up delicious Chinese-American classics, like pork fried rice.
Pork Fried Perfection
Egg, onions, peas, and pork get a sizzling start in the wok over some high intensity heat; it’s the perfect amount to lock in the veggies’ freshness, and provide a satisfying sizzle to the pork. Then, comes the rice and the seasonings.
“It was fast. I usually ask people to cook as slow as they can, but you can’t really cook slower when it comes to the wok, especially when they have I like to call the jet engine burners under there,” said Foodie Photog Mike before his first bite.
Pork fried rice is a comfort food for Mike, and he fully enjoyed this serving.
“Fried rice just has a bit of everything I love; you’ve got a little bit of egg, some pork, a couple of veggies,” said Mike. “This is a pretty healthy portion. I could have a couple of meals here and I’ll feel satisfied.”
Crunchy Egg Roll
Staying with the savory start, what’s a meal of this kind without an egg roll?
“Nice and crunchy,” said Foodie Friday host Hannah Cechini. “The cabbage on the inside of the egg roll is really tender and really well-cooked, and well-seasoned. It has a nice flavor to it.”
Hannah was also a big fan of the sauce. It’s kind of got some sweet notes, some sour notes, and it just adds a really nice, bright contrast overtop of the egg roll.”
Keeping it Fresh
However, owner Jack Chen and his talented sushi chefs are also in the business of keeping things fresh. Go for their three roll combo, and you’ll get to try a world of tasty combinations.
The Foodie Friday team opted for salmon avocado, crunchy tuna, and shrimp tempura. Each roll starts with a sheet of nori, or dried seaweed. After a layer of sushi rice, the rolls get done up.
“There are times on Foodie Friday where I feel bad for eating the food that they’ve given us, because it’s so beautiful,” Hannah said with a laugh. “This is definitely one of those times.”
Righteous Rolls
The avocado in the salmon roll was at the perfect stage of ripeness. “It is so creamy and smooth, which texturally pairs perfectly with the salmon, which is also just very tender,” said Hannah.
And, trying the crunchy tuna roll, “The freshness is there. The fish tastes awesome,” Hannah said. “The cucumber adds that really nice fresh snap when you bite into it. But also, there’s little crunchy crumbles on the inside, too. I would liken it to a tempura.”
And finally, the shrimp tempura roll. “In addition to the fried shrimp, there’s this really wonderful, almost teriyaki-like sauce. So, the combination of those heavier textures and flavors with the cucumber is really, really nice,” Hannah said.
Lucky Star
Lucky Star is located at 208 North Fruitland Boulevard, Fruitland, Md. You can call them at 410-548-7177. If you go to check it out, tell the team that you saw them on Foodie Friday.
