Mandarin Restaurant
20130104:
I previously thought (on 20130106) that I had already eaten at Mandarin Restaurant. My friend, however, helped me determine (on 20130114) that I had not eaten here prior to this day (20130104). It turns out I had mistaken this restaurant for a restaurant named Fortune Cookies.
In any case, Mandarin Restaurant was a nice restaurant and I liked most of the food that we ordered.
I wrote: "The soup was alright." 1:27PM PT
I wrote: "The green-onion pancake was good. I ate it plain and would have liked it more with sweet and sour sauce."
While on the topic of the pancake, I have the following story:
I liked the salt and pepper pork chops best. They have just the right amount of saltiness and also have a nice crunchiness to them.
The pork chops were better than the walnut shrimp, which were better than the chicken fried rice, which were better than the sliced chicken with hot garlic sauce, which were better than the Mongolian beef. 1:40PM PT
While there may be many factors at hand, the fact of the matter is the pork chop dish was (of the five entree dishes) completely consumed first and the walnut shrimp dish was completely consumed second. The other three were practically tied for third, with me finishing the chicken friend rice, Ryan finishing the sliced chicken with hot garlic sauce, and Josh finishing the Mongolian beef. 2:00PM PT
As we shared everything, we each put in $10 plus one or two dollars for tip. Of course, a special thanks to anyone who might have been considering kung pao chicken/beef/shrimp, but changed their choice of entree to something that didn't contain peanuts (see Note: Food Allergies).
[20130114][20150815 Edit]
20150717:
Today I came to Mandarin Restaurant for the second time, but this time it was just the three of us (Josh, Ryan, and me).
While Josh asked if we wanted to order an appetizer, Ryan and I were satisfied with the egg noodle chips. They were, in fact, a perfect snack before the entrees arrived.
Speaking of entrees, we were each picking one, but there was a slight misunderstanding.
Somehow Ryan and I thought we, as a group, already came to a conclusion and went ahead and ordered. So when Josh lifted his head out of the menu, he was thoroughly confused and felt left out. We insisted he could order something else if he wanted, or just claim any one of the three dishes as having been ordered by him. Oops.
In any case, I found the honey walnut shrimp was nicely crunchy, the steak with black pepper was a bit soft and chewy, and both the chicken with hot garlic sauce and green onion pan cakes were tasty. 8:13PM PT
Of the four dishes, I liked the honey walnut shrimp best, the green onion pan cakes second best, and the chicken with hot garlic sauce came in at an easy third place, because soft and chewy steak is disgusting.
After we had finished, Josh and Ryan ordered a second helping of one of the dishes (I don't remember which).
While I might have been able to eat more, I've been practicing moderation and politely declined.
[20150815]
Mandarin Restaurant
Relevant Links:
Mandarin Restaurant Website
Mandarin Restaurant - Fountain Valley, CA (Yelp.com)
I previously thought (on 20130106) that I had already eaten at Mandarin Restaurant. My friend, however, helped me determine (on 20130114) that I had not eaten here prior to this day (20130104). It turns out I had mistaken this restaurant for a restaurant named Fortune Cookies.
 |
| Sweet and sour soup. |
In any case, Mandarin Restaurant was a nice restaurant and I liked most of the food that we ordered.
I wrote: "The soup was alright." 1:27PM PT
I wrote: "The green-onion pancake was good. I ate it plain and would have liked it more with sweet and sour sauce."
 |
| Honey-glazed walnut shrimp. (Tim) |
While on the topic of the pancake, I have the following story:
Five of us were sitting at the table: Chris, Kevin, Ryan, myself, and Josh. Chris grabbed a slice of the green-onion pancake, and then I took a slice. With one slice left, Josh asked how many slices were originally available and there was no real answer. Eventually Chris proposes that everyone is on their second, so Josh says good and takes the last slice, because he only had one.
Green onion pancake.
But if everybody had two, then each green-onion pancake was cut into five pieces. Of course, with no memory of how the pancake arrived, there was some joking about the pancake having been cut into five pieces and nothing more was said. However, in my head, I know two things. First, I only had two slices. Second, it's highly unlikely that each pancake was cut into five slices, because it is much quicker to cut a circular object into four, six, or eight pieces.
Salt and pepper pork chop. (Kevin)
Speculating on the size of the slices, I deduced that each pancake was cut into six slices (later confirmed by a photo I took) and thus either one person had four slices or two people had three slices. However, whoever did eat three or more slices didn't say a word. Of course, neither did I point out my observations. Why not? I don't remember. Perhaps the conversation had already moved on or perhaps I figured everybody seemed happy with having at least two.
 |
| Chicken fried rice. (Chris) |
I liked the salt and pepper pork chops best. They have just the right amount of saltiness and also have a nice crunchiness to them.
The pork chops were better than the walnut shrimp, which were better than the chicken fried rice, which were better than the sliced chicken with hot garlic sauce, which were better than the Mongolian beef. 1:40PM PT
 |
| Sliced chicken with hot garlic sauce. (Ryan) |
While there may be many factors at hand, the fact of the matter is the pork chop dish was (of the five entree dishes) completely consumed first and the walnut shrimp dish was completely consumed second. The other three were practically tied for third, with me finishing the chicken friend rice, Ryan finishing the sliced chicken with hot garlic sauce, and Josh finishing the Mongolian beef. 2:00PM PT
 |
| Mongolian beef. (Josh) |
As we shared everything, we each put in $10 plus one or two dollars for tip. Of course, a special thanks to anyone who might have been considering kung pao chicken/beef/shrimp, but changed their choice of entree to something that didn't contain peanuts (see Note: Food Allergies).
[20130114][20150815 Edit]
20150717:
Today I came to Mandarin Restaurant for the second time, but this time it was just the three of us (Josh, Ryan, and me).
 |
| Tasty crispy egg noodle chips. |
While Josh asked if we wanted to order an appetizer, Ryan and I were satisfied with the egg noodle chips. They were, in fact, a perfect snack before the entrees arrived.
Speaking of entrees, we were each picking one, but there was a slight misunderstanding.
 |
| Honey Glazed Walnut Shrimp (Tim) |
Somehow Ryan and I thought we, as a group, already came to a conclusion and went ahead and ordered. So when Josh lifted his head out of the menu, he was thoroughly confused and felt left out. We insisted he could order something else if he wanted, or just claim any one of the three dishes as having been ordered by him. Oops.
 |
| Steak with Black Pepper (Josh) |
In any case, I found the honey walnut shrimp was nicely crunchy, the steak with black pepper was a bit soft and chewy, and both the chicken with hot garlic sauce and green onion pan cakes were tasty. 8:13PM PT
 |
| Sliced Chicken w/ Hot Garlic Sauce (Ryan) |
Of the four dishes, I liked the honey walnut shrimp best, the green onion pan cakes second best, and the chicken with hot garlic sauce came in at an easy third place, because soft and chewy steak is disgusting.
After we had finished, Josh and Ryan ordered a second helping of one of the dishes (I don't remember which).
 |
| Green Onion Pan Cakes |
While I might have been able to eat more, I've been practicing moderation and politely declined.
[20150815]
Mandarin Restaurant
 |
| Front of restaurant. |
Relevant Links:
Mandarin Restaurant Website
Mandarin Restaurant - Fountain Valley, CA (Yelp.com)
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