Mandarette Chinese Café’s Special 35th Anniversary Menu

(Gerry Furth-Sides) Mandarette Chinese Café in West Hollywood celebrates its 35th anniversary with a special menu this winter. The original goal of founder, Philip Chiang, was “offering clean, fresh, delicious traditional Chinese Cuisine with a modern twist.”  Current proprietor Ken Yang’s dad was the original chef.  He  told us that this commitment still translates into success, but not necessarily by pulling in customers since business is now 60% delivery with week-ends the time for regulars and new customers to dine-in.  And so the Chiang legacy that began with the iconic Mandarin Restaurants and Ken’s family lives on (see story below).

A special menu for the celebration starts with Three Cup Chicken, Beef, Or Squid, a classic Taiwanese dish made up of only three ingredients: sesame oil, soy sauce and rice wine. The secret is cooking the chicken, beef or squid long enough in the sauce until it is tender.  Then the sauce is reduced to a glaze that coats the meat. ($14.95)

Braised Beef Noodle Soup served at lunch and at dinner still symbolizes Chinese comfort food throughout China and Taiwan. Beef is slow-cooked until the broth is rich with Chinese herbs and spices. ($11.95)

Sichuan Poached Fish Fillet is a spicier dish than found in Mandarin cuisine.  A fresh sole fish fillet is prepared with Sichuan “numbing” pepper, chilly pod, vegetable oil, minced garlic and other spices.  The idea is to offer a combination of textures with the tender white meat fish, crispness of the bean sprouts, hot spicy flavor of chili pepper, and a touch of “numbing sensation” of Sichuan pepper.

Aromatic Fiery Shrimp is a traditional Sichuan style spicy shrimp sparked with Sichuan pepper and spices.  Shrimp are stir-fried with a chili pod, Sichuan pepper, minced garlic, sliced ginger and scallion over sesame oil.  ($18.95). It is “tingly” rather than fiery or spiky hot, with what proprietor Ken calls “a distinct after taste that makes you want more.”

Ken Yang has long experience to know the food and customers well.  He has been a mainstay in this Beverly Grove neighborhood on and off for 35 years, having left to go to engineering school and pursue a career in that field.   “When I retired, my family said I was too young not to be busy,” he laughs.  “So I took over again. And I’ve seen the third generation of regular customers become regulars.”

“My new customers are locals and tourists in the area,” with the appealing corner restaurant only a few blocks from the the Beverly Center.  Of Mandarette Chinese Café regulars, it seems that “everyone has their favorites, which they often order time after time,” he laughs.  “That’s why items like Signature Strawberry Shrimp, which is a mix of traditional and modern Chinese, have been mainstays on the menu for decades.”  We also have our favorites from the early days which are Walnut Shrimp and the Green Beans.

Yang tells about his family’s culinary journey that started from a little town, just north of Taipei,  “where my father started his traditional training in the kitchen at a young age of 13 from a master.  Upon completion, he gained experience working in several Taipei restaurants.  At the age of 25, a Japanese Chinese restaurant discovered him and was so impressed, he invited him to go to Japan as the head chef of his kitchen.

“And when Phillip Chiang first opened Mandarette Chinese Cafe in September 1984, he chose my father to create a menu,” continues Yang.  “He was then head chef and partner already at the famous Mandarin in Beverly Hills.   The restaurant was later sold to the Yang family in early 1990, who remained owners since then.

We loved the  Mandarette’s Chinese Cafe  ginger ale made in house, full of fresh ginger.  A fresh rose is the featured spirit, and there are Chinese beers on the menu as well.

The  Mandarettte Chinese Café kitchen staff is happy to accommodate dietary restrictions along with regular menu items already vegetarian, vegan, omnivore and  gluten free choices.

The history: Philip Chiang, son of Cecilia Chiang of the historic Mandarin restaurants in Beverly Hills and San Francisco, always wanted a place of his own–a cafe that he would conceive and design.  He wanted to introduce Californians to a new form of Chinese food, different from the usual egg rolls and sweet-and-sour pork. “I wanted to serve something light in a casual style.”

The beautiful small plates of food, dim sum, which had greatly impressed him during a visit to Taiwan, seemed perfectly suited to Mandarette Cafe.  After some trials and tribulations, such as the closure of Piero Selvaggio’s extraordinary  Primi restaurant in west LA, small plates are commonplace these days.

Chinese flavors mingle with Japanese, an influence, according to Chiang, that stemmed from the 14 years he spent in Japan after his family fled Shanghai at the close of World War II. “My taste and visual senses were definitely influenced by my stay in Japan,”  notes Chiang, who later studied architectural design and architecture at Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, and worked as a graphic designer for the record industry for seven years before joining the restaurant business.

The Mandarette Cafe is understated and simple–almost Japanese in their starkness and design.   This is probably why it has always felt to me so much like San Francisco in the evening, with its high ceiling, minimalist decor and soft lighting.  Asian garments in plexiglass cases complete this look.

Finally, if the name Chaing seems so familiar, it may be PF Changs, named to honor the Chaing concept by owner-founder Paul Fleming, also owner of the Fleming Steakhouse empire and the entrepreneur who introduced Ruth’s Chris Steakhouses to the country.  He is a long-time friend and great admirer of the Chaing family that includes Chef Yang.

Mandarette Chinese Café, 8386 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048, (323) 655-6115.  For details, please see mandarettecafe.com

Hours: Mon.-Thur. 11:00 AM – 10:30 PM; Fri.   11:00 AM – 11:30 PM; Sat   12:00 PM – 11:30 PM; Sun  12:00 PM – 10:00 PM