A refreshing take on suburban Chinese
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New Englanders like to think we know everything about chowders, much as I thought I knew all about lobsters until Jasper White wrote "Lobster at Home." Now after visiting Mandarin Danvers we find that the Chinese, who have been at this cooking business a long time, have something to show us about chowders, too.
The restaurant has moved since it was reviewed here in 1993, staying in the same mall but expanding and adding a small bar. While expansion sometimes ruins a restaurant, the food remains of high quality, the service fast and friendly.
Mandarin Danvers continues to turn out an excellent luncheon buffet Monday through Saturday ($6.99 for adults, $3.99 for 10 and under, $1.99 for 5 and under) and a dinner buffet on Sunday ($10.99, $6.99, $3.99).
So much of Chinese cuisine is about textures, and you'll find that right away in the appetizer department with scallion pancakes ($4.25) that have a crisp exterior and a soft, chewy interior, the combination making us think of them as Chinese pizza.
Crab rangoon ($4.45) had substantial crab flavor, far more than average, and was tightly wrapped and fried until crisp and dry with no grease.
Egg rolls ($3.45) were equally well fried, with a fresh-tasting interior of crispy greens and bits of shrimp and pork. Delicate Shanghai spring rolls ($3.45) featured fresh vegetables encased in a crepe-like wrapper.
Peking ravioli ($5.25) was firm on the outside with nice body and a chewy, slightly spongy inside; it was a bit sweet and spiced with what reminded us of poultry seasoning, not an ingredient we associate with Chinese food.
Even the duck sauce gave a hint of good things come. It was thin as opposed to the usual glop, and we found Mandarin Danvers sauces refreshingly light.
Now about the chowder: It's called hot and sour Chinese style seafood chowder ($7.55 for two persons) and it was as much of a mouthful as its name. The intensely "seafoody" tasting and richly spiced broth was loaded with scallops, shrimp, and squid, along with slices of tofu and crunchy vegetables that included scallions, wood ears, and savory black mushrooms. The small serving was enough for a main course for two, and we found that most of the restaurant's entrees served two easily.
Sizzling Mongolian beef ($9.75) was intensely beefy - as if beef had been marinated in beef flavoring - sliced thin and cooked just enough to remain tender and juicy. The dish included an international classic combo for beef dishes: peppers and onions.
Southern fried rice ($6.55) was not the sodden variety you often encounter in the suburbs but a light mixture studded with roast pork, egg, chicken, shrimp, and peas.
Lemon and chicken is another combination found in several cuisines, but the Mandarin Danvers lemon chicken ($8.55) is the most lemony we've found. Part of the secret is that the chicken is fried very lightly so there's no heaviness to mask the lemon flavor. It also got our vote for most attractive dish, garnished with two cherries, lots of lemon slices, and a butterflied tomato wedge.
Hunan crispy fish fillet ($9.75) was wafer-thin, slightly chewy slices of fish in a sweet and mildly spicy sauce.
If its sauces are not light enough for you, Mandarin Danvers offers low-cal specials with no corn starch, soybean oil, or sugar. Shrimp, sea scallops, and sliced chicken mixed with vegetables ($10.55) was cooked just enough for each ingredient to retain its individual flavor. It was bland but palatable because of the freshness of its ingredients.
Hunan pork ($7.95) illustrated the theme of texture and contrast again. Tender, bite-sized slices of meat swam in a sweet sauce with a slow-acting spiciness. Each vegetable brought something different to the dish and an alternating crunchiness and softness: red bell peppers, straw mushrooms, water chestnuts, black mushrooms, broccoli, and baby corn.
Chicken with garlic sauce ($8.55) contained enough garlic to flavor but not overwhelm the meat, which had been sliced into spaetzle-shaped pieces that matched the cut of red and green bell peppers, bean sprouts, and scallions. Well-soaked tender wood ears rounded out the dish.
Stir-fried asparagus ($8.95) was peeled to reveal a brilliant, slightly translucent green, then sliced diagonally and cooked with ginger slices and an occasional scallion bulb.
Like many Chinese restaurants, Mandarin Danvers serves fortune cookies and pineapple chunks as dessert. Only the pineapple here stays extra cold because it's served on ice.
