Mandarin Palace

Mandarin Palace was recently sold to new owners and is now called Tian Tian Fang. You will not find this listed on Unilocal.Different menu. I’m afraid many of the MP lovers will be disappointed but we can all hope that the new restaurant will gear up in the coming months and begin to deliver the quality of Chinese food we had grown accustomed to in it’s previous incarnation. They are very nice people and I am cheering for them to succeed.

I have mixed feelings about this place. I like the fact that this has a great location, and some nice lunch specials. I really do like the egg rolls and the kung pao chicken. Stay away from the won ton soup. Hot and Sour soup is a much better choice for their lunch specials. I like the fact that this is a family run Chinese restaurant, and most dishes are good. If you are looking for fast service, this is not the place as they usually only have one server. The décor is okay, but they could use some new tables, and a general makeover. I really do wish this restaurant would go the extra mile and invest in becoming a really great Chinese restaurant as it is around the corner from where my grandmother use to babysit me. However, if you are looking for a good lunch special, where the food is not cooked in a wok in 30 seconds this is usually a good choice if you stay with the basic dishes. I would recommend this place for small informal groups but not larger groups as they are just not staffed for it.

I have passed this place by a thousand times, and I have always thought — too empty, too decrepit, too old. Then I thought, wait a minute, empty, decrepit and old could be the new young, gifted and black. There could be a genius laboring in the kitchen.
So, the kids being fans of Chinese food and not being able to face the rush hour gauntlet that is Friendship Heights and the much more upscale Mei Wah — we came here.
Service was blah, food was blah. Kids did not really like their beef chow mein, and you have to really screw up for my kids not to like your food. I had shrimp szechuan, which was pretty tasteless. The hot and sour soup was also pretty bland. But the rice was nice.
Also ridiculously expensive for what you get. Places like this do Chinese food a massive disservice.

Walking into the Mandarin Palace, I didn’t know what to expect. The restaurant looked like a takeout only shop. I ordered the hot & sour soup and the Kang Pao Shrimp and Scallops. I was pleasantly surprised by both soup and main course. I’m used to my Chinese being very oily, but I didn’t notice and grease at all. The sauce was hot, but adding flavor hot, not burning your mouth hot. I wish the Chinese restaurants in Reston were this good.

I grew up a block away from this place and it pretty much spoiled me…
When I went away to college and tried to order Kung Pao chicken, I was sooo horribly disappointed. I still have yet to find any Kung Pao to compare, perhaps because it is different than most. Not too much sauce, no celery (thank goodness!), and lots of green onions and chili peppers… mmm.
My sister was hooked on their Crispy Chicken. At least twice a week after work or school she would walk to the MP and order this tasty dish. So crispy and sweet. We also loved to order the Pu Pu Platter which used to be served with a little flame in the middle with great shrimp toast. My mom always ordered the Shrimp with Black Bean Sauce… slightly spicy, lots of green peppers, massive shrimp. Another favorite is the Hunan Chicken. My dad’s girlf makes a trek here from around Frederick just to have it.
So, it is a little dive-​y and some of the servers might be a bit surly. There is occasionally a language barrier, but mostly everyone is extremely nice. The same family has been running it since I was a kid. My dad tells me that the regular chef is not in on Mondays so the food can be a bit hit or miss then, but I have never been disappointed.
…Unless I try to order Kung Pao anywhere else.

I love Mandarin Palace. They have the best crispy chicken. It is so hard to find anything comparable anywhere else. They are also very friendly and polite, especially on the phone. The one drawback is that they are a bit expensive, but I order from them anyway whenever I am in town because of that awesome crispy chicken.

I know it sounds crazy but this might just be my favorite Chinese restaurant anywhere. The food is clean and not at all greasy. Order exactly what I tell you and you will not be dissappointed.
1. Crispy Szechuan Beef: dry and sweet. amazing and addictive.
2. Salt and Pepper Shrimp
3. Green Beans with minced Pork
4. Bamboo shoots with shredded fried greens
5. Crispy or Peking duck
its all excellent but those are my favorites.

I have one thing to say about this place:
Kung Pao Shrimp and Scallops.
Is it good?
Could Lionel Hampton play the vibes?

My feeling is that Mandarin Palace is another neighborhood Chinese/​sushi place. I wouldn’t travel to visit, but I also would consider it an acceptable stopover for a quick dinner before a book talk at Politics & Prose across the street. I’ve tried the standard veg fare, avocado rolls, tofu with mixed veggies, sauteed green beans – all solid but unremarkable. Perhaps the carnivore selections are more exciting?

How can you review your standby Chinese carryout? It’s the place you go when you’re too tired or hungry to think of something else. You don’t have to worry about what you’re wearing or if you’ll get a table or if you have enough cash.
Mandarin Palace is our standby and we rely on it so heavily that it seems cruel to say anything unkind. The food is standard DC Chinese — gloppy, sweet, and salty — still, we have our favorites. Crisp chicken is deep-​fried shreds with carrots and caramelized sugar — very sweet and very chewy. We also like the mu shu pork Chinese style with its omelette topping and plentiful spinach and bean thread noodles. best of all, the hot and sour soup is just as it should be, full of silken treasures and both hot and sour.
Mandarin Palace is our safe haven in a world of stressful restaurants.