The egg drop soup that is served at many Chinese restaurants usually runs third in popularity amongst customers. I'm not the biggest fan of hot and sour soup, so my decision usually boils down to wonton or the drop. For health reasons, I usually go with the wonton. I love egg drop, but with all the eggs, it's tough on the old cholesterol. (Although some disagree on that point.)

But on this night, at the little Eastern Chinese Restaurant in the Oak Forest neighborhood, I was craving some. The waiter took my order--an iced tea and one dinner combination plate. His question followed, "Do you want hot and sour soup with that?" Not tonight my good man. I went with the Drop.

What he brought out two minutes later was spot-on. It had everything you look for - or don't look for -- in a great cup of egg drop soup: It wasn't gloppy, runny, underseasoned or too salty. Most cups of egg drop have me grabbing for the soy sauce within seconds. Not this one. It was so simple, but well executed. This seems to be a difficult venture for many restaurants.

I added some crunchy noodles, but that's only because they were on the table. The soup would have been fine without them. I do enjoy some nice chopped green onions, and Eastern's version lacked this ingredient. That's a minor detail in an otherwise perfect cup of soup.

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