The Foodworm: Ming Palace, China Bistro

Review Post:

Category: Restaurant

Restaurant: Ming Place, China Bistro

Our land has been invaded. An organism has buried itself into the heart of our culinary landscape. Most of the preliminary investigations indicate that this organism is benign, and the majority of seemingly sinister actions are the result of ignorance on its part rather than hostile intent but further investigation is required. We must heed the old adage: Constant Vigilance

The organism of which I am referring is simply known as...The Chinese Restaurant.

They may go by different names. They may be owned by different people, but if one takes a good look, they are all extensions of the same will and they are of the flesh of the great Red Dragon to the East.

Every Chinese restaurant is exactly the same.

A handful manage to break away and form their own identity, businesses such as P.F. Changs and Pei Wei. But even they are susceptible to the wiles of the organism that gave them birth.

It happened while I was out looking for a place for lunch. My original intent was to got to a restaurant called better Burger (review to follow). I had dined there before and I wanted to try it again. I have recently been on a bit of a burger binge the last couple of weeks. Want to fully experience the quintessential American meal I suppose.

However I have also made another proclamation. In an effort to expand my horizons and not let things pass me by, I will try new things mostly in regards to food. So If I am out and pass a new Taiwanese Restaurant I will go there instead of Taco Bell.

Anyway, right next door to better Burger is Ming’s Restaurant China Bistro. Having been a long time fan of Chinese I figured I would give this place a shot. I had never been.

Here is where the similarities to every other Chinese Restaurants. The place was decorated almost exactly the same as all others Chinese Places. It has a stereotypically designed with China in mind. Look, I know you are attempting to make a connection to the homeland of this food, but China is a diverse land. Try to mix things up a little bit! Even Tex-Mex restaurants, while recurring motifs occur, have more variety in regards to decor.

The decor of which I referring to is that the predominant color is usually red. I know red is a very special color in Chinese culture, but its not the only color in the world. Then, of course there is the generic Ming Dynasty artwork, depicting birds, people in elaborate costume, and the Yangzte River hills, of which I appreciate, but seeing it so many times it runs the risk of becoming of cliche. Next there are the little statues of the Lucky Cat, usually accompanied by a Buddha. I understand the religious significance of Buddha, but again it could be mistaken for just a cheap attempt of using decoration, and what chinese place would be without the chinese characters no one can read

What my point is...the decor is not bad...I just would like to see more variety.

Boring Decor I can forgive, the most important aspect of any restaurant whether it has crystal chandeliers or its in the back of a truck is the food.

Lets get this over with...

Going back to Pei Wei for a bit, my favorite dish is the Dan Dan noodle bowl. As luck would have it, Ming’s Bistro had the same thing so I decided to order it.

Service was very prompt with my order, a point in their favor. They also seemed pretty friendly.

As the for the food itself...First of all when it arrived it was really really hot. Now I’m not opposed to hot food, but waiting ten minutes for the food to cool down enough to eat is not necessarily the best strategy, especially for lunch.

When It finally cooled down I took my first bite. It was a bite I wish I could have back. It is hard to explain but the food just was not good at all. The noodles tasted undercooked, the sauce while spicy had a too sickly sweet flavor for me to truly enjoy. Nor was the flavor strong enough to cover up the lack luster taste of the noodles. I stomach three or four more bites before I pushed it away.

In retrospect, I now realize I was well within my rights to refuse to pay for my order but I did not want to appear rude so a simply had it boxed up and brought home with the hopes that my dad would eat it.

I think my favorite part of the whole meal was the fortune cookie at the end.

Needless to say, After storing the take-out in my ride...I went to straight to better Burger and had a much more satisfying meal...

Should have gone with the Cashew Chicken....

2 out of 5 Stars