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| - In my search to the ends of the Valley for hidden gems for great food I've found a pocket of Asian ethnicity in Mesa.
Mekong Plaza opened in October 2008 on the southwest corner of Dobson and Main. Formerly an empty Target store, it has been converted into an Asian mall with Mekong Market as the anchor. The plaza houses three Vietnamese restaurants, one Thai and the Taiwanese place, Taiwan Food Express.
If you're unfamiliar with Taiwanese food, that would make two of us.
While Taiwan Food Express does have a China-merican menu with typical offerings, I'd suggest ordering from the regular menu and the specials menu. This will give you food that seems authentic and interesting.
This was probably one of the most exciting dinners I've had in quite some time. Taiwanese cooking has many influences including regional, ethnic and cultural influences. So in order to taste the diversity, we ordered as many dishes as the table could hold and then some.
If you're not feeling too brave, feel free to ask for suggestions, the employees here know all the good stuff. Our server, Jessica, made some great suggestions as we pulled a feast together. And at these prices - nothing is more than $10 -- feast away!
The Spicy Wontons ($2.50) are filled with tender seasoned ground pork then laid to rest in spicy chili oil. They were so tasty we ended up ordering a second plate.
Not being able to resist any sort of food challenge, we tried the Simmered Pig Ear ($2.50). It was funny to watch the look on the faces of each of my dining companions as they raised the wiggly sliced ears to their mouths. These were more of a texture food than a taste food. The ear skin was super tender while the center cartilage was on the crunchy side. Challenge won.
Less challenging was the scrumptious Beef Roll ($3.95). A tender pancake rolled around tender sliced beef with a slathering of sweetened soy sauce was slightly oily, but nothing a napkin couldn't fix.
The Scallion Pancake ($2.25) had a decent crunch and made a great bread to go along with the upcoming entrees.
A less adventurous diner might order the familiar Orange Chicken ($6.50). It's good choice here. The tender batter covered fried chicken was accented by a thick and pungent sauce. The portion size was huge and dwarfs any I've seen elsewhere.
A favorite was the House Style Chicken with Fresh Basil ($6.50). This dish was made from pieces of bone-in chicken, then covered with fresh basil. It was plate licking good.
Pork Belly with Sour Vegetable ($6.50) sounded good, but the sourness of the vegetables was off-putting. Perhaps it's an acquired taste?
The boiled Hi-Nan Chicken Rice ($5.95) was tender, and when dipped into the garlic and ginger sauce it was out of this world.
Another textural delight was Stir-Fried Rice Cake with Salted Vegetables ($5.95). Each bite of rice cake resembled a large piece of rice and, while subtle in flavor, had an addictive chewiness.
There are so many dishes to try that it will take a few visits to get through the menu, but with prices this low and service this friendly, it's worth a few trips.
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