China Rose. Metairie: 3501 N Arnoult. 504-887-3295.

Written by Tom Fitzmorris April 23, 2013 16:13 in

3 Fleur
Average check per person $15-$25
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China Rose

Metairie 2: Orleans Line To Houma Blvd: 3501 N Arnoult. 504-887-3295. Map.
Casual.
AE DC DS MC V
Website

WHY IT'S NOTEWORTHY
The idea of asking for the "the Chinese menu" in a Chinese restaurant is a recent development. It was born of necessity, after the main menus in most Chinese restaurants evolved into more or less pure American food with a Chinese accent. The China Rose was the first New Orleans restaurant in modern times to employ a special menu if dishes with first-generation Chinese as its target. Before then, it was possible to get the food that the local Chinese people eat, but you had to a) know what you were talking about and 2) convince them to cook for you as they do for for themselves. The alternate menu makes a) a lot easier.

WHAT'S GOOD
You have come for the Chinese menu, so go for it. Although it's riddled with exotic items (intestines, duck feet, tripe, etc.), for the most part it's not all that far out. Nor will everything on it be new to you. It is written in Chinese, but with one-line English translations. The biggest challenge is in reading it all. Order a couple of appetizers while you explore it. The food on the regular menu is not bad, just very familiar. No reason not to have hot and sour soup or shrimp toast from the standard card.

Shredded pork with hot garlic sauce..

BACKSTORY
The China Rose came into being in the late 1980s, when it took over the stunning Imperial Palace next to the Robert E. Lee Theater in Lakeview. It went on happily under the management of a British guy and his Chinese wife, drawing a strong regular clientele. Katrina wiped out everything. After a few years, the China Rose, with new owners, reopened in the former Ming Palace in Metairie. At first it blended the menus of the two restaurants, but it wasn't long before the Chinese menu took over and brought in a new clientele, with many more young and Asian customers.

DINING ROOM
The smallish, L-shaped dining room is neither grand nor shabby enough to attract your attention. The service is provided by a mix of employees and the owners' family, all in good moods and happy to explain the more unusual offerings.

Chicken with mild and hot peppers..

ESSENTIAL DISHES
The following is the "authentic Chinese" menu. Also available is a Chinese-American menu, with all the dishes you've eaten in Chinese restaurants forever.
Starters
»Scallion pancakes
Steamed dumplings
»Pan-fried dumplings
Small steamed pork buns
Cucumber in minced garlic
»Cold black fungi
Thousand-year-old eggs and bean curd
Suzhou dry bean curd
»Spicy dry bean curd
Special bean curd skin
»Beef and tripe, spicy sauce
Chinese tong cu ribs
Nanjing salty duck
Soups
»Shredded pork & pickle soup
Vegetable soup
Chicken and corn soup
»Beef in West Lake soup
Three delights soup
»China Rose special soup
Seafood & bean curd soup
»Sliced fish & pickles soup
Fish-maw soup
Entrees
Kung pao diced pork
»Shredded pork, tofu, bamboo shoots
Shredded pork, snow peas & vegetables
Shredded pork, green pepper
»Shredded pork, hot garlic sauce
Double cooked pork
»Pork tripe, green pepper
»Pork tripe & pickles
»Shredded pork, Beijing style
Sliced pork, black fungus
Deep-fried pork intestines
Braised pork, dry vegetables
Dong-po pork
»Hu-pi braised pork
Mao's braised pork
Soft tofu, pork intestines
Pork intestines, pickles, tofu
Sugar-coated pig's knuckle
Shredded beef & green pepper
Beef & rice noodle pot
Beef & scallions
Sizzling beef platter
Beef in mild and hot peppers
Beef tender in brown sauce
»Stir-fried shredded beef
»Beef & orange peel
Kung pao diced chicken
»Shredded chicken, hot garlic sauce
Sliced chicken & scallions
Sliced chicken & egg whites
»Shredded chicken, mild & hot peppers
»China Rose special duck
»Duck and bamboo hot pot
Bullfrog in mild and hot peppers
Duck feet, mixed vegetables
»Sliced fish & pickles
Shrimp & green soybean
Shrimp & bean curd
»Shredded squid, snow vegetables
»Shredded fish, hot garlic sauce
»Sliced fish & minced hot pepper
»Salt and pepper squid
Sliced fish in vinegar
Sliced fish, mild & hot peppers
Seafood & tofu pot
Jumbo lucky shrimp
Colorful shrimp
Crispy fish filet
Colorful scallops
Crispy scallops
Vegetables and tofu
Lettuce in oyster sauce
Stir fried string beans
Bean curd & spicy minced pork
Green soybean & snow vegetables
Mushroom and baby bok choy
Eggplant in hot garlic sauce
»Tofu home style
Corn & pine nuts
Pi-pa tofu
Fried crispy mushroom
Bean curd & combination veggies
Seasonal vegetables
Noodles
Spicy dan-dan noodles
Special sauce noodles
Vegetables & noodles
»Kung pao diced chicken noodle
Chicken & scallion noodle
»Shredded pork & pickles noodle
Shredded pork & snow vegetables
Tomato & egg noodle
Three shreds noodles
Minced pork rice noodle
»Shredded fish & pickles noodle
Shredded pork noodle
Shrimp noodle
Seafood noodle
Shrimp wonton noodle
»Braised beef noodle
»Shredded duck noodle
Combination lo mein
Combination panfried noodle

FOR BEST RESULTS
Be brave and try the dishes on the Chinese menu. This is not the kind of place to order the same fried rice and Mandarin chicken you've limited yourself to in Chinese restaurants all your life. There is much more and vastly better here.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT
As good as the food is, the China Rose operates under the widespread idea that Chinese food must be cheap and served in titanic portions. Some delicacy would be welcome. I'd pay half again as much for what they serve here.

FACTORS OTHER THAN FOOD
Up to three points, positive or negative, for these characteristics. Absence of points denotes average performance in the matter.

  • Dining Environment +1
  • Consistency +2
  • Service+1
  • Value +2
  • Attitude +2
  • Wine & Bar
  • Hipness +2
  • Local Color -1

 

SPECIAL ATTRIBUTES
  • Open Sunday lunch and dinner
  • Open Monday lunch and dinner
  • Open most holidays
  • Open all afternoon
  • Unusually large servings
  • Quick, good meal
  • Good for children
  • Easy, nearby parking
  • No reservations

ANECDOTES AND ANALYSIS
As is always the case when there is a whiff of authenticity in a restaurant's air, the China Rose is full of smug customers--few of them Asian--who are very proud to profess preference for the Chinese menu's contents. For many of them, the pleasure is not so much in eating it as in being able to say that they have eaten it. The actual Asians here don't make a big deal about it. The unspoken truth is that some of the Americanized dishes here are actually better than some of the Chinese dishes.