And now I\u2019m happy to report that they\u2019re celebrating their thirty-fifth anniversary this month!!! OMG! Do you know how\u00a0rare<\/em>\u00a0that is in this town??? It\u2019s practically a miracle. What a tribute to them.<\/p>\n Photo by Karen Salkin, as is the one at the top of this page.<\/p><\/div>\n So, when my friend Noelle was recently visiting from Montreal, and yearned for quality Chinese food, Mandarette is the only place I thought of for our lunch.<\/p>\n And it was an absolutely lovely experience from start to finish. We were greeted by owner Ken Yang, whose history I knew a little about, but was fascinated to learn much more when I grilled him. It turns-out that his father was the co-owner and head chef of the Mandarin in Beverly Hills back in the day, and, in turn, created Mandarette as a much more casual offshoot of that uber-classy place. (Good move since Mandarette has thrived for so long after the Mandarin closed their doors about a dozen years ago!)<\/p>\n Noelle and I loved socializing a bit with Ken and also a friend I bumped into there who was picking-up her to-go order. But then Noelle and I got down to the business of eating Mandarette\u2019s delicious fare. It was\u00a0so<\/em>\u00a0good, in fact, that we decided to tell you all about it.<\/p>\n We shared two appetizers, two entrees, and two desserts, and had food left over for dinner. And there was not a weak dish in the\u00a0sextet.<\/p>\n Shanghai-Style Lettuce Cups. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n To celebrate their anniversary, Mandarette is also serving-up a few new<\/em> menu items, which signs on the tables announce. But I was having a craving for some of their already-famous dishes I had recently read about, so we just went with those. However, I will definitely try the new ones on my next visit, (if they can tear me away from the one dish I absolutely want to marry\u2014the Crispy Strawberry Shrimp! OMG! I\u2019ll get to that one in a bit because you know that my linear mind has to go in order.)<\/p>\n We began our meal with\u00a0the Shanghai-Style Lettuce Cups, which are filled with minced chicken, and are perfect. Noelle loved that the chicken itself is very savory. Since we were both exhausted from our crazy night before, we were thrilled that they came to the table already-assembled, which made it extremely easy on us. Usually Asian eateries make us do the work ourselves, which I am not a fan of.<\/p>\n They presented the Mu Shu Crepes the same way, so all we<\/em> had to do was…dig in! You get a choice of meats or just veggies, but we chose chicken again, (which was kind of a theme for us that day,) and we loved the crepes. Noelle was very impressed with not just the quality of the chicken in them, but also with the inclusion of spinach, which neither one of us had ever seen before. And we both took notice of just how thick<\/em> the crepes were\u2014they were chockfull of ingredients. (Mandarette was kind enough to offer to nix the e-words in the crepes for me since I had mentioned that I\u2019m not a fan, but I said to leave them in, and I just gave mine to Noelle, who adored them! She said those chunks were better than ones at other Chinese places she\u2019s eaten. But I sooo admire that they cater to different tastes and food issues. More on that in a bit.)<\/p>\n Mu Shu Crepes. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n Here\u2019s an interesting sidebar: I have not seen anything for $2.25 on an otherwise-normal-range menu like this one in probably three decades! But Mandarette serves a scallion pancake appetizer for just that price! I was in shock when I saw it! (There\u2019s a horrible-but-hip place in Brooklyn called Purple Yam who once absolutely scammed me on the very same dish, charging me $12! And it\u2019s just an ugly hole-in-the-wall, to boot!)<\/p>\n So now, back to the fabulous food of Mandarette.<\/p>\n As for the main dishes, I am now engaged to the Crispy Strawberry Shrimp. (It\u2019s the one I told you I plan to marry.) Ken told us that it\u2019s their signature dish, and I can understand why. Honestly, neither one of us had ever seen or tasted anything like it.\u00a0\u00a0When it arrived at the table, and I noticed the reddish-pink sauce on it, I assumed it would be too sweet. But it\u2019s not at all.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s actually absolutely perfect. Noelle said it\u2019s \u201cto die for,\u201d while all I could mutter was, \u201cOh..ma…ga!\u201d I can’t even describe it more than that\u2014you just have to taste it for yourself.<\/p>\n Crispy Strawberry Shrimp. Photo by Noelle Hannibal.<\/p><\/div>\n Making it even better is that it comes with a hearty helping of broccoli on the side. Noelle pointed-out that it has \u201cthe perfect crunch,\u201d which she loves<\/em>; she said it\u2019s the opposite of that horrible wimpy broccoli that is served at many other restaurants.<\/p>\n Our other entr\u00e9e was Noelle\u2019s favorite Chinese dish–General Tsao\u2019s Chicken. And she told me that Mandarette\u2019s is the best she\u2019s ever had, bar none! In her entire life of ordering it everywhere!\u00a0I<\/em> loved it, as well. And we both appreciated that the actual chicken was all nice white meat. We liked the presentation of it, too; it comes served on a high stand. (Maybe we liked that so much because it made the food closer to our mouths!)<\/p>\n General’s Tsao’s Chicken. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n But the most interesting aspect of the whole repast to us was the desserts. I loved the Lychee Nuts. (Yes, I do<\/em> know you can get that treat at other Chinese restaurants, but it\u2019s especially lovely at Mandarette.) Here it\u2019s served on ice in a tall cocktail glass; that coldness makes it especially refreshing.<\/p>\n But the \u00a0pi\u00e8ce de r\u00e9sistance is the Chocolate Wontons. I asked Noelle Hannibal what she thought of them, and all she could get out was \u201cYu-um!\u201d It\u2019s served on a plate as a quintet of flat, very crispy wontons; each has a little pocket of chocolate in the middle, and then they\u2019re drizzled with chocolate syrup. The dollops of whipped cream in-between them add just the right touch.<\/p>\n Chocolate Wontons. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n On top of all that deliciousness, here are some ways that Mandarette helps out in the area of their customers\u2019 health concerns. One is that they have only one<\/em> dish with peanuts<\/em>! It\u2019s called the Cold Summer Noodles. Ken explained to us that they keep the noodles quarantined so that there\u2019s no cross-contamination over to any of the dishes. That is not only brilliant, it\u2019s very thoughtful of them.<\/p>\n Another is that everything on the menu is gluten-free except for the soy sauce, which you can request to be gluten-free, as well! That\u2019s pretty amazing.<\/p>\n And they use potato starch instead of breading, including on the General Tsao\u2019s chicken. That might be one of the reasons we loved it so much!<\/p>\n Lychee Nuts. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n Okay, I have to stop discussing the food because I\u2019m craving it all again right now, days later.<\/p>\n So let me finish-up by saying that the atmosphere is really pleasant. The seating arrangement is conducive to being both totally private and<\/em> speaking with other tables, if that\u2019s your thing. And there\u2019s very light jazz playing in the background, the volume of which is just perfect\u2014it adds to the overall enjoyment of Mandarette without being overwhelming.<\/p>\n And Mandarette also excelled in an area that\u2019s of paramount importance to me\u2014the service. Our server Kenny was right on top of everything. He even knew just when to bring us extra forks and napkins, without even being asked.<\/p>\n A better Chinese restaurant experience is not to be had in all of LA!<\/p>\n 8386 Beverly Blvd.\u00a0\u00a0323-655-6115\u00a0\u00a0www.mandarettecafe.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" MANDARETTE CHINESE CAFE Years ago, when I had a TV gig on a national shopping show, (as a correspondent on\u00a0every\u00a0subject\u2014don\u2019t ask,) the head writer took me to his favorite Chinese restaurant in Los Angeles\u2014Mandarette Chinese Cafe on Beverly Blvd. It was delish. Sadly though, since restaurant reviewing was my main gig at the time, I<\/p>\n![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/IMG_5316.jpg\")
<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>