This used to be one of my favorite places before I moved from the area about 6 years ago, and I was very excited to visit while I was here this week. When I came by to order this week, I was surprised to see that the ownership had changed. One of the previous owners was there cooking. The previous owners were husband and wife, and the wife was in the kitchen, but I was told by the very nice new owner that her husband was at home and that she had bought the restaurant about 6 years ago.
I was initially disappointed to see that all beef dishes have been removed from the menu. My favorite dish in the past has always been their beef and broccoli which was delicious, tender beef that tasted like it had cooked all day in a slightly sweet, slightly spicy sauce with tender crisp broccoli and onions served with white rice. The new owner explained that the price of beef had forced them to remove beef dishes from the menu. The rest of my favorites were still there, including the pad Thai and chicken fried rice. I began to order an egg roll, but was informed that they no longer roll their egg rolls in house, but that they do have a beef and cheese roll which consists of ground beef, onions, bell peppers and cheese rolled in house in an egg roll wrapper. I decided to try this instead. We also ordered the bread pudding which was recommended by the owner.
The pad Thai was very good and tasted almost exactly like it used to except for the chicken. The chicken was pre cooked/precut chicken breast and was somewhat gummy and unappetizing. I picked around the chicken and still very much enjoyed the dish.
The fried rice was also similar to how it used to taste, but seemed slightly mushy/overcooked. The flavor was great... but again, the precooked chicken threw it off. I also was surprised to be offered yum yum sauce which I know is popular in Asian restaurants in the US, but is not my thing. I'm sure a lot of people are glad to have that option though.
The beef and cheese roll stole the show. It was hot, crispy, cheesy, well seasoned, just the right amount of greasy and was perfect with the side of sweet and sour sauce. I'm glad we ordered those and I'll definitely be looking forward to returning for this.
I was pleasantly surprised by the bread pudding. Since moving to the coast and being so close to New Orleans, I've become a bit of a bread pudding snob, so I was skeptical. It was delicious, moist, and thankfully had adequate sauce which can sometimes be an issue when ordering bread pudding. I was very impressed.
I am thankful to see the restaurant under new ownership as the original owners were getting older (and ornery), and the restaurant was rarely open anymore. I enjoyed my experience and was glad to get to have an old favorite... I would like to see them change the chicken to a higher quality meat that is prepared in house, and would love to see them reincorporate the original egg rolls made in house. The lack of beef dishes was disappointing but not a deal breaker. The beef and cheese rolls are an awesome new addition. All in all, I'm glad we stopped by, the new owners were very friendly, and I wish them many years of success. read more
