I stopped at these two Chinese restaurants on 436 just south of the mall yesterday afternoon. The first is in a strip mall behind a BK. The other is in a diagonally adjacent strip mall next to the hospital with a Duffy's and a Too Jays. It was a yin and yang experience.
Yummy House - They took over the Pearl or Eastern Pearl of whatever it was called six months ago. They seem to be the shit on the Gulf Coast if you believe the pub they cite. I found it to be very good. In line with that pub. And if it means anything, I used to really like the old place and I think they may be a smidgen better. I had salt and pepper shrimp for $10 and a lunch special of basil scallops and shrimp in black bean sauce for $9. The first dish was on the appetizer list. I can only guess because it didn't come with a side. You can see it cost more than an entree, but, it deserved to. Fifteen shrimp of good quality. I didn't love that they came deep fried in batter, but, it was tasty. I've usually had them stir fried in the shell (often butterflied) so you can see the coarse sea salt and black pepper. Their way is ok. They piled fried garlic and scallions and a few slivers of jalapeno on top. The batter on some of the shrimp was not cooked through. The entree was less generous. Three shrimp (same quality) and three scallops (fresh). They made up for the lack of stars with a large supporting cast of mushrooms, asparagus and sauce plus two piles of rice. They also refilled the soda that came with the entree. The menu is huge. No dim sum or dumplings though. They have clay pot dishes. I almost tried a fried chicken with walnuts and a cream sauce. My gag reflex won out over my curiosity. Plus I just watched an Owen Wilson movie set in Thailand and it put me in the mood for something that sounded Thai-ish. Prices are all over the place and some don't make sense ($7 for a grouper lunch special and more for most soups?), but, it's isn't unfair. You can really make out if you order correctly. I don't think they did a thing to the inside. It's clean inside and had a respectable crowd. Service was pleasant and efficient. I was apprehensive when I saw that the signage (really hard to see) had changed. I also realized how long I had neglected that place. I didn't need to worry. It is in even better hands. Even if they won't do shrimp dumplings. I hope to make my return before another ownership change.
Lin Garden - I may even have reviewed this place before. I thought it was ok as far as take out Chinese place go. The Szechuan Chicken I had made me rethink that good opinion. It took way too long. The chicken was that pounded out crap that looks like thick chicken skin. It might as well have been chicken with broccoli for all the taste the sauce had. And no heat. The fried rice was ok. Plentiful. It came with soup or soda at $6. I had the wonton soup. It was ok. It looks like every other take out place and has the same exact menu.
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