Frenzy Ballet

Stopped at PeiWei for a quick bite. I'm always confused at what to order there. "Some people" always order the same thing so it's no biggie. But I like to change it up. So we walk in and I'm ready to decipher the menu that I never can understand-which is a freestanding sign while you are in line. And lo and behold! We're behind a couple on a date who are standing close together, deep in conversation, and smack in front of the menu. They order:not much time to think: so I punt! Mongolian Beef. Spicy. The spicy part was a little disappointing until I realized there was chili oil and chili mash over by the tea station. So what if it looks like it's part of the wall decoration all pretty and tucked away in the bric-a-brac! Consider that a culinary revelation! Did you know that you could sit at the counter overlooking the open kitchen? No friendly conversation here! The six chefs have a carefully choreographed whirlwind going on back there. Four men sweating at woks. Two stir frying, one tempura, another making soup. The expo gets the order puts the rice and all the ingredients in a bowl and passes it on. #1 throws some oil in and wok and it bursts into high flame. Nobody is talking. Every station has a little dripping water faucet at the back for a quick rinse of pans or to add some steaming liquid to a steamer. Occasionally someone brings cold bottles of water to the chefs and they sneak a quick drink. It was amazing how quickly they got the orders out.And without lighting each other on fire! I found I was eating at a frantic pace just because they were moving so quickly.It's taking me three times as long to write this as they took to do it. It was like a short evening of dinner theater, watching them cook. If anyone has ever gone out to see STOMP, you'd know what I mean. Now I understand their logo. The dancing man is really their chefs performing their version of Dancing With The Stars!