Mandarin House, in a large strip mall on Page Boulevard west of I-170, has been serving Chinese food to St. Louisans for more than 40 years. It’s one of the roomiest spaces in the area, with a large picture of The Great Wall still dominant, though the sharpness of its colors has faded a little, and clips of reviews by Joe – one 39 years old – still hang in the entry and behind the cash register. We hadn’t visited in years, but we intend to change that. Things are pretty darn tasty at Mandarin House these days and not just the Same Old Same Old. Yes, the standards are there, including chow mein and chop suey, but the menu also has “Chinese Dishes,” listed below the “American” ones. For example, sweet and sour pork is in black ink, and in the same column, toward the bottom, in dark green ink, is ma la chitterlings. There really is something for everyone, the Chinese-eating conservatives and the intrepid explorers, a group we proudly join. We began with a few familiar things to see how the kitchen prepared them. Jellyfish salad was tasty and pleasant but unremarkable; a quarter of roast duck garnered the same response. Hot and sour soup was first-rate and would have put paid to any head cold lurking nearby and left the diner smiling, its deep and mysterious flavors working their magic. And then there were the pot stickers. Sturdier than some we’ve seen, although the slightly thicker dough wasn’t tough, the larger-than-expected filling stayed coarse and the ginger-garlic flavor came through properly. The dipping sauce wasn’t as heavy with vinegar as many around town and allowed the diner room to appreciate the nuances of the porky filling. Main courses led us mostly away from the beaten path, although our Apprentice Eater happily dug into the Tofu with Three Delicacies, shown above. Tofu is something that many of us have been slow to appreciate, its blandness and silky texture sometimes rather startling. The fact is, it’s amazingly compatible with many things, and in this dish, the squares are crispy and ready to soak up the savory juices from the scallops and shrimp and calamari, along with plenty of sliced garlic. Szechuan twice-cooked pork was described on the menu as being made with chitterlings. Spicy and bold, with plenty of onions and mushrooms, it was delicious, but did not include chitterlings, as far as we could see or taste. A large number of live (although dried) chiles kept things hopping and brought memories of “Beware the peppers!” which Joe wrote eons ago about another Szechuan restaurant. Sizzling beef short ribs were indeed sizzling, complemented with green onions and plenty more of that garlic, the whole thing redolent of black and Szechuan peppercorns, although not fiery. The only problem with cooking even thinly sliced short ribs quickly is that they’re usually left tough, and that was the case here, despite a pounding in the kitchen. Still, if chewiness isn’t a concern, this is a tasty dish. The legendary Old China Hand murmured to the waiter about one The menu also contains several dishes that are described as Korean style, like Happy Eight Seafood Delicacies and an Hors d’oeuvre Plate, and a lot of other things we haven’t seen, like ma la chitterlings, flash fried kidneys, shredded potatoes with vinegar, three cup chicken hot pot. Yes, we were recognized, but the rest of the dining room showed every sign of being equally well treated, and we’ll be back to explore more of this intriguing menu. Mandarin House 9150 Overland Plaza (Page Blvd. at Woodson Rd.) 314-427-8070 Lunch and Dinner daily Credit cards: Yes Wheelchair access: Good Smoking: Yes Entrees: $8-$27
of the seafood dishes. The waiter (who, like most Chinese waiters hereabouts, had dealt with him on previous occasions) returned the murmur, pointing to another option. OCH nodded and smiled as though he were indeed deep in the mysterious East. We never did figure out the menu name of what arrived, but it contained a good variety of seafood, the expected shrimp, scallops and calamari, plus thin slices of unidentified bits of a tasty white fish, quickly fried and still crisp in the heavily gingered sauce. Quite excellent.
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fair enough review. BUT the picture of the great wall ISNT a photo! it is hand done yarn work! yeah, from a distance it looks like a picture but take a few steps closer and realize it is simply yarn and it blows the mind. a trip to the restaurant is justified just for that mural. when the restaurtant remodels that yarn work merits an art gallery slot. stunning just to contemplate making it.