Address: | 1635 Mission Dr, Solvang, CA 93463, USA |
Phone: | +1 805-686-0222 |
Site: | mandarintouch.net |
Rating: | 3.8 |
Working: | 11AM–12AM 11AM–12AM 11AM–12AM 11AM–12AM 11AM–12AM 11AM–12AM 11AM–12AM |
TO
Tom Wagner
The people who have given this place a good review must be either insane or in dire need of a taste infusion. Or maybe the night we ate at this restaurant the chef was sick and they had trained chimpanzees making the food, because this was bar non the worst Chinese food (if you can call it that) that I have ever had. First of all, the service was terrible. The appetizer we ordered came last, they completely forgot one of the dishes (but charged us) and we had to genuflect and bow to the floor to get a waitress to come to our table because they were apparently all too busy inspecting the ceiling to be bothered by customers. Now to the food. In all honesty, I cant say what we ordered other than the paper wrapped chicken (the very late appetizer) and the fried rice, because I actually swallowed a bite of each of those. The paper wrapped chicken was seasoned properly, but was left in the oven far too long; or perhaps the chef enjoys eating chicken that is so dry that it evaporates into dust when you bite into it; Ive never had "bad" fried rice, so I cant complain--but both my wife and I can both do much better even though neither of us is Chinese; hell, Im so white LAX created a law to keep me from taking off my shirt anywhere near the airport so my skin wont blind the incoming pilots. I tried all of the four entrees we ordered, and the best of them was bland; the worst of them made me worry about food poisoning. I am prone to exaggeration (obviously), but in all seriousness, I could only swallow two bites of that horrendous meal, then went back to the hotel and ate cold leftover mac & cheese, which was as ambrosia compared to the worst Chinese food in the world. What really surprised me was that the place had plenty of customers who were actually eating the food, and either enjoying it or putting on a very good act. We even saw a couple Chinese people in there, and I wanted to shout at them, "What the hell is wrong with you???" for gagging down that less than fair fare. I suppose this place stays in business because its the only Chinese restaurant in Solvang, and apparently the locals really need their Chinese food and dont care if it has the remotest trace of flavor. Another thing that surprised me was the prices. Evidently, many reviewers have only eaten at very expensive Chinese eateries if they think these are good prices. In LA, I can get incomparably better Chinese food for a third less. I didnt know about the unspoken 18% service charge because I didnt pay the bill; but now Im glad I insisted our group not leave a tip of any kind. Perhaps the restaurant adds the service charge because otherwise no one leaves a tip; or maybe its their way of paying for an excessively large, lazy staff so half of them can stand around yacking while their customers loudly clear their throats. If you love good Chinese food, DO NOT GO TO SOLVANG! Why on earth would anyone want to eat Chinese food in a Danish village anyway, with all of those terrific sausages right next door? While visiting Solvang, eat absolutely anywhere other than Mandarin Touch. (China Panda and other Chinese fast food restaurants are missing out on a good opportunity: if any of these mediocre establishments set up shop in Solvang, they would put Mandarin Touch out of business in a week.) And just a quick P.S. to Yelp!, though I seriously doubt anyone there will read this (or care). I just noticed that you removed my "Elite" status, which was richly deserved but never appreciated. I guess my ignoring all of your invitations to hang with other pretentious Elites at trendy eateries finally had the desired effect. Thank you!
SU
Sukhraj Beasla
The 2 Star Best Western we stayed at gave us a 10% coupon upon check-in and we were hungry at 10PM one night and remembered our coupon and ventured out into the streets of Solvang in search of this place. Folks, dont forget to walk the streets of Solvang at night. The lights in the trees are a great treat. Moving on... And try to find this place in the daylight before you decide to have dinner here. It wasnt easy to find and not well-lit. Everything else, including the Copenhagen Liquor on the 246 were well-lit and this place was hidden away on 1st St behind the park and we confused it for a gift shop and lo and behold, we heard some loud noises from a bar area and knew we had found The Touch. At first I thought this was a bar but the restaurant entrance was actually further back and wow, The Touch is actually the Mandarin Touch? A Mandarin restaurant in Solvang? Haha! Thats a first. I guess if youre tired of all things Danish, had your fill of Aebelskivers, and need a good stiff drink and some late night munchies, this is the place to go and the only place open late. It was a chilly night so we started off with 2 green teas and quickly followed those up with a Zombie (blend of 3 rums, orange and pineapple juices) and a Pina Colada. The Zombie came in a cool blue mermaid glass and the Pina Colada came in a coconut glass topped with whipped cream. Very cute. And wow, those were some stiff strong drinks. We think they forgot the juice and gave us straight rum with crushed ice. We had a nice buzz going by the time our orders arrived. We had the Chicken Chow Mein and Chicken Curry. The food was great and The Touch was pleasantly packed for a week night. Solvang is not feeling the recession and thats great to see. The service was fast and the waitress was friendly and sarcastic. Our check came with Almond Cookies and 2 fortune cookies. Mine read: Someone is speaking well of you and my partner in crime got: There is excitement to be found everywhere you go.
BR
Brian Bergström
Freaking Awesome. Ok so we were feeling something different than the Danish Sausages again and were going to do Kabuki, but we were less than impressed, so we came here. What a surprise, AMAZING. So after perusing them menu we had our selections, Beef with Orange Peel and Pineapple Chicken... and the waiter said no. We said Yes, and he said NO... Uhm OK. So he tells us that the Beef is the best selection, but doesnt go with Pineapple Chicken we need Cashew Chicken. He said if we didnt like the Cashew Chicken with the beef we would not have to pay for the meal... Strong words...we gave in and got the Cashew Chicken. OMFG the 2 meals totally complimented each other and made for probably the best Chinese meal I have ever had in my life. The Beef with Orange Peel was simply beyond amazing. The chili peppers were infused with orangey goodness. They were not dried out and crunchy like many places but instead moist and delicious. And oh so beautifully hot and spicy. Definitely worth a stop whenever passing by Solvang on the way to NorCal, since I dont see myself spending a whole lot of time in Solvang again real soon. We have eaten at Mandarin Touch a few times after this and still amazing every time.
RO
rong zhang
如果你有幸看到我的点评,强烈建议你不要去,菜品一般般,真的还不如吃麦当劳呢,老板真的是看人下菜,中国人上来就一点,老外同样的菜满满一盘,最让人受不了的是,小费收的很贵按百分之十八收,而且是直接打在菜单上,你不给不行,我们也是走了很多地方,这么黑心的老板也是第一次遇到,反而是真正的外国人,对我们很客气,真是应了那句,在国外,只有中国人欺负中国人
MA
Matt Payne
The guy at the counter that poured us hot tea while we waited for our to-go order is the ONLY reason its not a 1 star rating. I dont know where all these 4 and 5 star reviewers think they ate, but it wasnt Mandarin Touch. I had the pork chow mein ...average, at best. Very greasy, and the meat was ...weird. My wife had the sesame chicken, which was actually just sesame chicken *skin*, which was bland and SUPER soggy, to boot. (Not to mention $17 for the privilege.) The guy was very nice, but thats about it. Its open later than most places in town, so that probably entices people -- but youd be much better off driving to Santa Barbara for dinner.