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| - Whoa dang! That was good!
Orient House has gone through a few ownership changes and remodels over the last decade. We haven't visited for awhile since their traditional and American-Chinese menu items seemed to have fallen off. But a strong lunch yesterday encouraged me to come back tonight for dinner. So glad we did.
Dinner for three of us was:
1. Chicken and Corn Soup--think egg drop soup with pieces of minced chicken and corn. Nice. Menu says it serves two but there was plenty for the three of us. Do it.
2. Pan Fried Scallion Pancake--Scallions encased in a light fried pancake (approx. 10"). It is has a delicate flavor, is crunchy, dense and yet still somewhat light. Pretty good. Do it.
3. Shredded Pork In Sweet Barbecue Sauce-- slices of braised pork in a lightly sweet sauce on a bed of fresh julienned scallions. Fresh and tasty. Little too sweet for my tastes. For fans of sweet and sour sauces, do it.
4. Stir Fried Eggplant With Garlic and Ground Pork--Perfectly sautéed eggplant and minced pork in a garlicky spicy, sweet and tangy sauce. Definitely do it!
5. Tofu with Chili and Spicy Salt--the highlight for me. Cubes of fresh tofu and pieces of onion and bell pepper flash fried and then sprinkled with some kind of spicy salt. The tofu has a light outside crunch with a tender pillowy inside. The different textures of the fried tofu coupled with the spicy salt and a light trace of the frying oil makes this a sublime treat. Complex in its simplicity, it evidences just how unique, diverse and special Chinese cuisine can be if we would only order it!. Although I love me some American-Chinese as much as the next guy--General Tso's chicken anyone!--those dishes can sometimes too easily distract us from going outside our comfort zones and trying more traditional-styled dishes. This one is a good place to start. Double do it!
Orient House has a good variety of American and traditional dishes which should satisfy everyone. There is also a good selection of noodle dishes, appetizers and dim sum, too! Also--and I appreciate the particular attention to this detail--our pot of hot tea was served FULL and HOT (love it)...not half-full and tepid (hate it).
We had plenty of food for leftovers. Including rice and tea (always fun fortune cookies, too) and before tax and tip, our feast for three was just south of $50.
Pro tip: Lunch seems a particular value. They have a nice lunch menu for $7.95! Yesterday, I had the shredded pork with preserved Szechuan picked vegetables off of the traditional lunch portion of their menu. It was great! Dining pal had a good old fashioned massive plate of chicken broccoli, fried rice, crab rangoons and an egg roll. Both entrees, yup, $7.95. See, something for everyone. Fun for the whole family!
The space is clean, well-lit, and inviting. There is a single step to enter so those in a wheelchair may need some assistance up. But once in, there is good room to move about for our mobility challenged friends. The space is pretty good sized and can accommodate larger groups. They have at least three large round tables with lazy susans for traditional family style dining. We saw a couple groups of 8 - 10 at these tables having a great time!
There is on-street parking and on the side of the building.
When there tonight--6:30 on Friday--it was pretty busy with diners and take out orders being filled. Still, we were noticed, seated and given menus promptly. Water and tea were slow to arrive and we had to ask a few times. But this was understandable given the crowd and that there were only two servers. But the servers were working hard and moving non-stop between large and small groups and always doing so politely and with a smile. All said, pretty admirable! So no worries.
Definitely worth a stop if you are in the area. I am so glad to have revisited Orient House and so happy to have them again amongst my fave Chinese places in Mad-Town. Looking forward to returning.
4-solid Yelp stars. See you there. Yelp on!
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