Red Lotus is located close to some of my most visited restaurants in Mississauga - Wonton Chai Noodle and Chilli Chicken House. I was in the neighbourhood looking for a late lunch and decided to try something new. If you like spicy food, this is right up your alley! Here are my thoughts:
THE BEST - Spicy Chicken Bamboo is delicious and I highly recommend it. It is really flavourful with a spicy kick. The dish includes red and green peppers, celery, peanuts, green beans and chillies. You might want to order a bowl of steamed rice to help temper the spiciness of the dish.
NOTEWORTHY - Beef Rolls is a good option but I prefer the Rolled Onion Pancake with Sliced Beef at Asian Legend. They are comparable but the flavours in the latter meld together much more beautifully.
THE WORST - Dumplings (of any kind). I was intrigued because it specified that they are house-made. They are steamed and to my dismay, it was flavourless. I was curious to know if pan-frying them at home would help the cause. I did bring them home but I should have left them at the restaurant - they were far from being salvageable.
As for the service, it is subpar in Chinese standards. Each table has a device with options to call the server, request the bill, etc. It was not working. It was hard to get the servers' attention even though it was not very busy. The inattentiveness was not a major issue. I got irritated when I asked the server for a take-out container for the dumplings. She nodded her head and immediately said, "How would you like to pay? Debit or Cash?" I incredulously asked her to repeat herself. It was discourteous to say the least.
All in all, I do find their Spicy Chicken Bamboo tasty and unlike anything I've ever tried. Red Lotus is better reserved for take-out than dine-in.