I briefly mentioned this a few weeks ago when writing about the Brick Oven Cafe. Arriving back in New Orleans from a trip to the west coast, the three of us picked a place to dine in Kenner after they picked me up from the airport. The choices were Fiery Crab, Brick Oven, and Little Chinatown, a place we hear a lot about from callers who live nearby. We settled on this place because we were the most curious about it, especially with its connection to the hotspot in the French Quarter Dian Xian. Turns out there is no connection because the owners of Dian Xian sold the Kenner restaurant to open Dian Xian. Regulars here assure us nothing has changed.
The place looks like a Chinese restaurant to be found in Kenner. Formerly something like a Bonanza Steakhouse, the footprint is unmistakeably chain redo. That’s not offputting but rather expected. The place was packed, as I suspect it always is. Service was attentive and caring, as we tried to navigate around the menu. Offerings are plentiful and can be overwhelming.
We had to get fried rice because if the Marys are around, we have to get fried rice. I got a crispy duck dish that was surprising because I never leave a crispy duck dish in a Chinese restaurant. Two bites of this were enough for me. The meat was very tough, and the whole thing unappealing. Tom had better luck with his clay pot of tofu and seafood, mainly oysters. These came in a pot with a flame that was a bit of a concern. The smallish elevated pot was loaded with seafood. The oysters were fried first then added to the sauce, which was a nondescript color. Brimming over with vegetables and cubes of tofu, this was not bad but not necessary to get again. The fried rice came in a gigantic pile, with the rice stickier than we are used to. This too was rather ordinary, though not stooping to the level of bad.
In fact, ordinary is the perfect word to describe everything about this meal, except the service. Maybe it registered that way with me because I had just been to two-Michelin Din Tai Fung in Los Angeles just days before, but Tom and ML had not, and they agreed that this is nothing special.
We will leave this one to its core base of very enthusiastic regulars.
Little Chinatown
3800 Williams Blvd Kenner
504-305-0580
11-10 seven days
littlechinatown.net
