Mandarin Palace in Bartlett: Chinese Food at Its Finest

It was a Wednesday evening, and my husband and I were in Bartlett running some errands with our three children. We realized that it was dinner time and knew that by the time we drove all the way home and cooked it would be almost the kids' bedtime, so we decided to grab a bite while we were out. We happened to be doing some shopping at a Tuesday Morning store on Bartlett Blvd. when we came to this conclusion. When we left the store we looked around and saw the Mandarin Palace restaurant next door. All five of us in our family love Chinese food so we felt like this would be a good choice for us to try. So we went in to give it a try.

The restaurant was not busy and we were seated right away at a table with plenty of room for the 5 of us to sit and eat and be comfortable. With a family of 5, this is not always something that is easily done. Many times we are put at a cramped table and really don't have the room to spread out and be comfortable. However, this was not a problem at all at Mandarin Palace.

The service was excellent. Someone was always there to make sure we had plenty to drink and bring us anything that we may need. My children requested chopsticks, and the server promptly brought a set out for each of the kids. Since the kids will not each eat a full entree on their own we asked if it would be ok for us to order a few things and split the meals between the five of us. We were told that was not an issue and they would be happy to accommodate that for us.

We ordered spring rolls and crab rangoon to start us off. The spring rolls must have been made fresh right when we ordered them. They were hot all the way to the center and absolutely delicious. The crab rangoon was not stale or tough to eat. These were the best appetizers I have eaten at a Chinese restaurant in years. My husband ordered the wonton soup, and I ordered the egg drop soup. According to my husband the wonton soup was good. The egg drop soup was wonderful and the kids tried it out and loved it too!

Then our entrees came out. We ordered the sweet and sour chicken and the happy family platters. These platters came with steamed white rice, plus we ordered a side of vegetable fried rice. All of which were phenomenal dishes. The sweet and sour chicken was perfectly done. The happy family meal had chicken, pork, shrimp, and vegetables all in the house sauce. The fried rice was ridiculously tasty as well.

The biggest thing that made Mandarin Palace good to me was the ingredients. All of the food was so fresh. Many times when I have eaten Chinese food the vegetables are over cooked, or the food has been sitting for a bit and is not hot all the way through. The exact opposite was true at Mandarin Palace. The vegetables were cooked just right so they were still crisp yet tender. I could tell that each item we ordered had to be made fresh right then as well. No reheating or food sitting under a heat lamp. Then add on to the amazing food and ingredients the service and it was just an amazing dinner experience.

We are not a family who goes out to eat often at all. Usually when we eat out it is going to be fast food. So when we go to a 'sit-down' restaurant we want it to be a good experience. I can assure you that after our evening at Mandarin Palace, we will definitely be going back. Plus, I will be telling friends all about it. Actually, I already have been telling my friends about it. The experience was so memorable that I felt I needed to tell even more people, which is why I am sharing this with all of you.

The next time you have a craving for some really good Chinese food, definitely check out Mandarin Palace. I bet you will not be disappointed.