Mandalay Asian Fusion Cuisine

 

Located at 3793 Samet Drive in High Point, Mandalay offers Chinese-influenced Asian fusion cuisine for lunch (every day except Sunday) and dinner (daily). Online ordering and catering are available.

George Takei brought me here…sort of. I was playing Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and a character voiced by the Star Trek alum described the joys of eating Peking Duck. This inspired a craving for a dish I hadn’t eaten in years, and Mandalay is one of the few area restaurants to offer it.

I had previously tried the restaurant under its former names Tasty 100 and Full Kee, and each time, I had decidedly mixed feelings On the one hand, it’s a well-appointed space and the food is, generally, several cuts above takeout-grade Chinese (credit chef/owner George Yu’s many years of experience). On the other hand, some offerings were (and still are) decidedly overpriced.

Peking Duck is listed as a signature dish and crispy Hunan fish is a specialty as well. We opted to try them both along with crab rangoons and pork buns. This was not a cheap endeavor, but it’s a lot easier to justify north of $20 for duck than it is $12 for basic fried rice or lo mein.

I ordered online for pickup, and everything was ready upon my arrival. The food was hot, plentiful, and mostly satisfying. There was plenty of meat in the Peking Duck, and it was nicely crisped without being dried out. It paired well with the accompanying plum sauce, but the generic tortillas were a bit of a letdown. The fish came with a brown sauce that delivered a welcome bit of spice, and the pork buns (pulled pork + hoisin) were excellent. On the other hand, the crab rangoons were more like overly chewy ravioli.

The rule of thumb for Mandalay, as with its previous incarnations, is to choose your dishes wisely (hint: avoid the dumplings) and be prepared to pay. The things that this place does right make it worthwhile, but it may take some trial-and-error to find what those things are.

 

NOTE: If they decide to do cold sesame noodles and pull them off well, all will be forgiven.