Mandarin Chef

My beloved late aunt recommended this place a couple of years ago advising me to try the dumplings, warning me that the restaurant is slated to close once the row of restaurants along this strip of University Way are moved in order to a) breathe new life into the block or b) erect more filing cabinets for people to meet Seattle's ever-growing need for more space to hold them all. She told me I could either enjoy them so I could remember them fondly or avoid this place so I had no regrets.

A closed sign thwarted my last attempts to eat here despite the fact I visited during posted "Open" hours. This time, the door creaked open when pushed. There are perhaps a half dozen tables plus some window seats in an under-dressed, unpretentious but clean dining room. They post the menu on a cafeteria sign above the cash register. The older lady of the couple mentioned in the many reviews for this place greeted and seated Mom and I to the soundtrack of noodles being created behind the curtain. After a few minutes, she took our order for 26 jao-zi (meat), chicken chow mein and two cups of won ton soup.

Everything is definitely on-point, with the jao-zi on about the same level as the ones they serve at Judy Fu's or Fu Man Dumpling House. They are good, but nothing extraordinary. Won ton soup contains a mild but tasty broth and solid won ton, but again, you can get a good bowl at many locations in WA. What sets Mandarin Chef apart is their chow mein. The sauce is not for the flavor hungry. It's subtle with thin and wide homemade noodles that are luxurious on the tongue and something truly wonderful. For those noodles alone, which I plead with anyone to find elsewhere just like them, they command a minimum of 4 stars!

This place is worth a revisit, I will say that right off the bat.

Ordering over the phone was fast and easy, and the food was ready quickly. They told me 15-20, which ended up more toward 20. There was a bit of a snafu with the order, but that is kind of my fault for changing my mind three times on the line.

We ended up with Tsao's chicken and garlic chicken, both at 4 stars. I am never sure how to order heat at Chinese food places, and I always end up disappointed. This was no where near where I would put a 4 star. I had to add a bunch of Sriracha to mine. The flavor was great, though, and there was a generous percentage of chicken to veggies.

Yummy spring rolls and wonton soup, too. Going to go with those house-made noodles next time!

- Good
- Chinese food in the University District

Pick one.

Or at least I thought I had to before coming to Mandarin Chef. Could it be that decent Chinese food actually exists on the Ave; it's just that it's too far up north for many people to notice? That seems to be the case. It's also unusual in that it reminds me a bit of International District food. It appears to genuinely reflect what Chinese cuisine is really like, and it still keeps the prices low. I'm impressed, and how can I not call myself a fan?

I didn't have such a wonderful impression of the place at first. It's somewhat small and lifeless. The waitress seemed to be more interested in figuring out whether I could speak Mandarin than clearing the tables or refilling my water. Even something as simple as the hot and sour soup took a long time getting to my table. I honestly wonder what it was that kept them so busy, as there weren't that many customers beside me.

On the plus side, they didn't screw up on the food. The hot and sour soup was actually appropriately described by its two adjectives, and I'm surprised that happened for once. The homemade noodles that I ordered from the lunch menu arrived at the table in twelve minutes, and it was just about everything wrong with the Chinese food I've had on the Ave... but the opposite. Let's see, the noodles were just shaved noodles and really good. They tasted a bit like the outer skin of wontons, and they occupied half the plate while the other half was filled with fried rice.

Doesn't sound like much, but I could tell by tasting this food that the chef really put his heart into making it, or at least had some appreciable amount of talent. If this were just some average person trying to sell plain and uninspired food to make money, it wouldn't taste like this. The fried rice obviously wasn't a bland filler; it could pass as its own dish, yet the noodles also had such an eclectic mix of meat and vegetables that I'm surprised the whole dish only came to $7.25 on the menu.

I guess sometimes really great things are where you would least expect them to be. But is this restaurant worth visiting from the UW campus? I'd hate to say probably not. It's too far out of the way, and the service does seem a little slow. Now if you order to go on the phone, that might reduce the problem a bit, but I never do that, so I wouldn't know. If you're on a quest to find good Chinese food on the Ave, definitely look here and breathe a sigh of relief when you get it.

Better than all the other Chinese food places on the Ave, save for Jack's Tapas cafe.

Mandarin's curly homemade noodles parallel Jack's hefty shaved noodles, and each place offers heaping platters that are fresh and full of shrimp/tofu and veggies. The Hot & Sour soup doesn't mess around on the first half of its namesake, and the savory tofu dish we had benefited from the side of rice we used to soak it up, which DOES NOT come with the meal.

Mandarin Chef seems to have a more standard menu than stranger all-around Jack's, with fewer specials, so unless you are feeling experimental try Mandarin Chef first.

I'm fortunate that these two shops came to coexist in such close proximity to each other, and me.

This is the best american-style chinese I've found in Seattle. I love the kung pao chicken here and my wife loves the chicken fried rice. That being said, I've yet to have any bad food here. The homemade noodles are tasty, the dumplings are tasty, the scallion pancakes are way tasty.

To top it all off the know my name, recognize my cell phone number when I call and have my order memorized despite the fact that I only order every few weeks. It's not uncommon for me to call and have them answer "Hello Colin, kung pao chicken, 5 stars, brown rice?" and then I respond "Yup." and they say "10 minutes." That's the whole interaction. I love neighborhood restaurants.

Ordered the Mandarin Pork and 15 jiao-zi. The Mandarin pork was fried with just enough breading and coated in a sweet sauce loaded with garlic and vinegar. It was not too heavy or greasy like similar types of dishes often are. The dumplings were juicy and satisfying. The little old lady who took my order was very nice and asked me how my day was. I would like to come by to try their hand-shaved noodles.

This is one of my staples in Seattle. The dear old lady who serves almost everybody in the restaurant is very helpful and sweet. The food is awesome and the ambience is very relaxing.

I would trying the singapore noodles with the house-made noodles - it is spot on in terms of spiceness (medium) and taste.

Really I didnt want this to be my first review.

A friend or ex, however you wanna call it, recommended it. I checked it out here then put on my hiking boots and went for a walk.

Get there and grab a table. I knew what I wanted. Wonton soup and some twice cooked pork. The broth was hip but the rest was just noodle. No flavor and one quarter inch piece of scallion. Honestly, that scallion was the bomb.

The pork blew. The oil was separating from that salty brown crap they used to flavor it . Veggies a had a fresh shape.

I want to like this place. I am going back. They might have had an off day. Maybe I picked the wrong thing.

I'm giving them 2 stars because I didn't die.

The food was okay... My dish and everyone else's dishes were a lot spicer than expected. I ordered twice cooked pork with spicy level 3 out of 5 and it definitely felt more like a 4. Not bad per say but would not recommend to a friend. Would give a yelp score of 2.5 if possible.

Lang!
Andy needs the Mongolian Chicken Recipe!!!!!
We can't believe you're closed!
No!!!!!