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    Mandarin Cafe

    3.8 (18 reviews)
    ModerateChinese
    Closed 11:00 am - 2:00 pm, 4:30 PM - 9:00 PM

    Mandarin Cafe Photos

    Business Info

    MANDARIN CAFE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Quiet
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Lots of greenery. Very bright.
    Michael W.

    I was very impressed. I had the beef and scallops. It was in a spicy brown sauce that was very different than anything I have had at a Chinese restaurant. Deep and rich flavor, with just enough spice. The beef was tender, but was a little short on the scallop part. For the price you can't complain too much. The service was great, very friendly and very attentive. I can't wait to come back through Perry and give it another try. Next time I hope they have the Pho back on the menu. It was on the menu, but not available when I ate there.

    Mongolian Beef
    Shana B.

    Exceptional food and service. The Mongolian Beef is the best I've had and I've tried many. The Empress Chicken is served with just the right balance of sweet and tangy glaze. The egg rolls and crabmeat Rangoon are always good. I look forward to coming here every time I'm in Des Moines area.

    Pad Thai was surprisingly good and a huge portion. Next time I would ask for a little more than medium spicy.
    Shelley P.

    The folks at the antique shop next door said this place has been in Perry over 20 years. I know why. The food was fabulous. Huge plates for small prices. I can understand why people come back. Not many choices in Perry, Iowa. But if you find yourself in this little town and need a good lunch stop by the Mandarin. Some meals seem like a fusion of Chinese and Thai - everything we had was yummy.

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    6 months ago

    Excellent place to eat. The food is always great and the staff is always friendly. Nice quiet Chinese restaurant.

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    4 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Small box of rice for 13$ is ridiculous and something tatsed off about the crab ragoons.

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    2 years ago

    Great authentic Chinese menu offered with classic dishes offered. The classic dishes are offered on a separate menu.

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    3 years ago

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    4 years ago

    Very friendly and great service!! Clean restaurant and loved the decor! The food was delicious!

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    4 years ago

    Standard Chinese Restaurant fare, friendly staff, clean. Nothing spectacular to rave about and nothing awful either. Middle of the road.

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    8 years ago

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    12 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    11 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    Shanghai Chinese Restaurant - Yu shiang shrimp and fried rice.

    Shanghai Chinese Restaurant

    (137 reviews)

    $$

    Fantastic! My wife and I were passing through town, on our way to Wisconsin. We read the great…read moreyelp reviews and gave Shanghai a try. We were welcomed to a nice atmosphere, great service and nice people. The food was very good and offered in large portions. If we lived in the area, Shanghai would be one of our regular stops.

    Shanghai has been a favorite of mine for years. They went through an ownership change here a while…read moreback... It's had an impact but it's still at the top of my list when I'm craving Chinese food. This weekend was my 54th birthday. My daughter is at camp, but I wanted to do something with my son. The place I wanted to try was China Chef however I didn't realize they had closed their dining room area. After driving from Clive to the South side we changed plans in the China Cheft parking lot and headed to Waukee. We were greeted and seated right away as we walked on and were seated at a booth. The place is starting to show it's age. The carpet...it needs replaced. But overall it's clean and if nothing else it's familiar. We were presented with menus and glasses of water. Staff checked on us regularly throughou the meal Since it was between 1100 AM and 200 PM we were eligible for the lunch special options. It's a smaller menu, but comes with an egg roll, crab rangoon, your choice of soup (egg drop or hot and sour), and the entree. My son ordered the orange chicken with egg drop soup with a soda. I ordered the Yu Shiang shrimp with hot and sour soup and stuck with only water. I LOVE Shanghai's crab rangoons. They're definitely more on the sweet side. I ordered another order of those. Love them! The house hot mustard. Be careful! It's easy to overdo and it will clear your sinuses like tear gas. But it's SO good...! The orange chicken was excellent as usual. The Yu Shiang shrimp... It's the first time I've ordered it there. The deep red of the sauce was a little off putting. I'm used to a spicy brown sauce. The sauce on the Yu Shiang shrimp... This is just a visual thing though. The sauce is spicy and it tastes good. But like they say...first you eat with your eyes and then with your mouth. I'd love to see this changed to a more traditional look. It just looks "off" as is. Great service and good food. And enjoyable birthday lunch...and we got to sit eating down in the restaurant. Lol Always a great option in my regular rotation! https://shanghaiwk.com/

    Flaming Wok - Kung Pao chicken

    Flaming Wok

    (24 reviews)

    This place is amazing!!! The food was soooo delicious, soup and egg roll with your meal and the…read moreportions very generous! The service was excellent as well! Will most definitely be coming back!

    This really is a hidden gem! I've driven past this place a few times before but never stopped. It's…read moreacross the street from the post office and visible from Hubbell, but you probably won't stop in by accident. This place really should be more popular. I went just before 8 pm on a Thursday night and was the only dine-in customer. There were some people standing outside talking, but other than a couple of carry-out customers there weren't many people there. The seating area was immaculate and they let me sit wherever I wanted. The server brought me a menu immediately. I ordered Mongolian beef. Meals come with rice, soup, and a spring roll. I ordered the egg drop soup and friend rice. The soup and spring roll came out almost immediately. I noticed that the soup wasn't just egg. There were actually pieces of carrots and celery in it, and it wasn't too salty like a lot of restaurant soups are. The spring roll had a crisp, flaky crust. I was so glad it wasn't soggy with oil. The main dish came out before I could finish my soup and before I could even touch the spring roll. The beef had a good flavor, and best of all it was not drowning in oil or some kind of sauce. I appreciated the food and the good service. I plan to come back soon and bring some more people with me.

    Asian Cuisine - Black pepper chicken

    Asian Cuisine

    (64 reviews)

    $

    The option to dine in has returned here at Asian Cuisine! It's actually been back a while now…read more.. I was just very happy to see it when it happened! The plexiglass wall that closed off the open kitchen during Covid has been removed. I've been here a couple of times since dine in reopened, but had still done take out anyway as my girlfriend lived not far away there in Grimes. She recently moved... We missed the food...and seeing Lily and Ken! So we decided to drive over and grab a table. When we walked in we were greeted right away. It had been a minute since we'd last been in. I was happy to see Lily working at the counter and Ken busy in the kitchen along with the rest of their staff! Seating is all low top tables and chairs. Mostly tables for four and two. Now instead of table service (like it was pre-Covid) it's more order and pay at the counter. Take a seat. The food is brought to you on disposable plates with plastic silverware. Drinks are cans or bottles. There are no napkins or condiments at the tables. Condiments like soy sauce and spicy mustard are served in packets. Sweet and sour still comes in a cup. Bus your own table into the trash receptacle when you are done. The food was as good as it ever was! We ordered an order of the crab rangoon. These seemed a little lighter on the filling than I remember them being in the past... They were served hot and fresh out of the fryer! I got the Yu Shang shrimp. Probably my favorite entree here and my go to. It was fantastic as always! I struggled eating it a little with my plastic fork... The tines kept bending on the firmer components of the dish. Heather ordered chicken fried rice and added shrimp (extra spicy). Another awesome dish! And I benefited from some leftovers she brought home... Lol I'll say that overall the food here is still top notch... Lily and Ken are two of my favorite owners in the metro! Couldn't ask for two better hosts... Take out business is still booming! While we dined in the stream of people picking up their orders, or coming in to place take out orders, was constant. But... The overall dine in experience has changed... We adapt to survive and we lost a lot of businesses during Covid... Some businesses that had been open for decades... Asian Cuisine adapted to a take out only model and made it through. Can I blame them for continuing to evolve while bringing the dine in option back? No I can't. In fact I want them to do WHATEVER it takes to keep their doors open...! I can even bring my own silverware... Lol I'm really not that picky and can grab something to eat anywhere. I see closure notices come through my feed almost weekly. Some are kind of a bummer, but they really don't impact me much even when it's a place I go to often. No real personal connection... It's different for me here. I'd probably cry like a little kid who just had one of their childhood beliefs shattered... I'm also not going to lie and say I don't miss things the way they were... I think as a rule a lot of us could say the same about many things today.

    Couldn't ask for better people. The couple who run this place are the best. Been eating here since…read moreI was a kid. They are always on time with your order and are warm kind people. The Mongolian beef is my absolute go to.

    Mandarin Cafe - chinese - Updated May 2026

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