Have you ever had one of those moments when you were in Caprice and you thought: man, I could really go for some Chinese food? Not to worry! Now you don’t have to choose between your techno top 40 and delicious Shanghai noodles. Terracotta Modern Chinese Restaurant has both waiting for you in Gastown.

The place is gorgeous. Dark woods with nice accents, a sunken lounge on the lowest level, and plenty of seats in a relatively small space complete a look that is comfortable and high-end. And then, there was the atmosphere.

When some unreasonably loud, drunk dude beside me is laying claim to a “white guy trio”, it’s a little worrisome. It gets worse when said individual is clearly interrupting the first date of his buddy. It gets painful when the friend entertains such notions, and the poor girl is left to wonder what she got herself into.

Obviously these kinds of patrons are not the fault of the establishment, but the soundtrack is completely within their hands. As soon as I entered the restaurant my friend and I exchanged a confused glance. Had we gotten lost in our own city and ended up on the Granville strip? Geographic impossibilities aside, this is what it felt like. Techno music was blaring, and the crowd was dressed to impress. It was bizarre.

The food was totally delicious. The portions are smaller than normal Chinese, family style dishes, but that was a plus for my table. The Shanghai noodles, a drunken favourite of mine, were saucy and delicious with perfectly cooked shrimp and bbq pork that wasn’t sketchy. The red chili tofu was also good, with a nice hit from the dried chili and sesame seed mixture served alongside.

All in all we had fun. People were friendly and the food was good, even if the music and bros were not to my taste. Maybe next time I’ll get into my Jersey Shore state of mind and roll with it.

By Meghan Roberts