O Mandarin in Hartsdale NY

Getting closer:

https://lautanjobs.com/restaurant-associate-jobs-o-mandarin-restaurant.131706767a082e80

I think there’s some more info on the openings/closings thread if I’m not mistaken.

When I saw the article and did a HO search for O Mandarin, this was the 2nd thread to come up (the first being unrelated). I would suggest that the contents of this thread be merged with the “openings/closings” thread to cut down on confusion.

Ok I’ll look into a way to cut down on the confusion whether it’s merging or linking. Good idea

1 Like

It’s been open for almost 2 weeks. The other day I posted about my first visit for takeout (see other thread - Openings and Closings 2017).
Today I was there for lunch. We all raved about the food. But be prepared to be served nothing but water until your food arrives. No noodles, mustard, duck sauce. Lunch consists of soup and entree. The hot and sour soup was just spicy enough for me. My friend said the wonton soup was too salty but then she always complains about food being too salty. The wontons looked really good with thin wrappers and loaded with pork. For entrees we had General Tso’s Chicken which was really good. Not swimming in the overly sweet sauce accompanying this dish at other places. You could actually taste the garlic in the sauce. Also had Mongolian Beef, sliced beef with vegetables, which was good. And Yu Xiang Pork, shredded pork with vegetables in a slightly sweet spicy sauce which was also good. All came with white rice. At first sight the portions seemed on the small side but by the time the 3 of us finished the three entrees we were full.
I will definitely be back to try their other dishes. I am attaching the menu since it is still not posted on their website.

2 Likes

I must have missed your review. I had an opportunity to go to lunch locally today and Googled O Mandarin to see if it had opened. The search results were almost unanimously articles from January saying the restaurant would be open in February. The job listing I linked was the most current info, having been posted 4 days ago.

Thank you for the menu photos. I’m looking forward to trying the duck and some of their less-Americanized dishes.

1 Like

Hey FG,
Did You happen to see a well dressed gentleman,using a blue walker (that would be me - and not so well dressed). I thought the wonton soup was excellent- loads of chicken flavor and just enough chicken fat,loads of thin sliced scallions and the wonton wrappers were thin and soft,the pork well seaoned.My main course was the shredded pork in sweet bean- also very good,not sure how it compares to the duck you liked however.

1 Like

That article didn’t mention it, but the long awaited opening of O Mandarin in Hartsdale is imminent. They are currently hiring staff for the opening. They will probably open late March/Early April.

O Mandarin should be opening next week. I met the owner and had a look inside. Nice, mellow atmosphere, lots of wood in a Chinese motif. Sounds like the food wll be excellent. I will report back after I visit. They don’t plan to have hard liquor at first, just a great wine/beer/sake list.

No Rich, didn’t see a man with a blue walker. We were there from about 1:30. Now I know to look out for a gentleman with a blue walker. You describe the wonton soup perfectly. I will get it next time. The menu description of the shredded pork in sweet bean sauce is exactly the same as the duck entree with the same name, except for duck vs. pork.

1 Like

That’s about the time I finished and left,no wonder the sign at gyro/gyro was further along when you passed by. I was surprised that Omandarin was as busy as it was after such a short time open ,also that a fair number of tables were orientals - always a good sign

I am curious about the Sichuan dishes as well as the duck. It would be nice to have some kind of passable Sichuan closer than Flushing.

2 Likes

FWIW there are already some wonderful pictures …Yelp
Prawns with Sweet Peas. Lots of jumbo shrimp, very flavorful.

2 Likes

Yikes!!!
We ordered

Dan Dan Noodles:
I had one bite and spit it out … so very bitter, then I tasted 5 spice, the heat level was great though
Spring Rolls: didn’t try
Spare Ribs: $12:00 :sob: for 6, 2 inch long ribs
stuck my finger in the oily sauce, ew, all I tasted was 5 spice and sugar, no desire to try one I was afraid I’d gag
Mapo Tofu:
The worst dish of the lot, a complete oil slick, I took the pictures after I poured off
as much oil as I could. Tasteless, leaning towards the bitter, one dimensional flavor at best. Spicy but not lip numbing like it should have been, just awful. I hope I ordered wrong … I will cut them some slack because they are very new, but it is not my kind of place, them menu is too limited. Lastly I think I ordered wrong.

ps: this is how I like my mapo tofu to look, made with Sichuan peppercorns, this one was from Fantasy Cuisine

Sounds awful. Looks awful too!!!

1 Like

It was, I couldn’t eat any of it.

We ate in the restaurant with another couple last Sunday evening. By 7 pm, the place was completely packed.

We shared the Peking duck for 2-4 (5 pancakes), pan-fried vegetable dumplings, brisket clay pot, tofu clay pot, shredded pork with smoked tofu, and a pot of yuzu tea.

Everything was prepared properly and no one had a bad word to say about the food. We found the shredded pork dish to be a better version than what we’ve had before from the old Pagoda. The duck meat was juicy and the skin was crispy. There was enough duck to fill 10 pancakes.

We sat in one of the elevated booths and found it very private and cozy. The table was too small to hold all of the plates without quite a bit of rearranging, so the tea had to be held at the hostess station.

There were a few things we didn’t like about the experience. The pacing of the dishes was off. We were told there would be a 20-minute wait for the duck, so we ordered the dumplings to tide us over. 5 minutes later, the dumplings came out. Immediately after that, the duck showed up. Within 10-15 minutes after ordering, everything was in front of us.

I wasn’t thrilled about having to order rice a la carte. I also wasn’t happy that we weren’t​ given working chopsticks for several plates. We also noticed that non-Asian families had non-Asian servers and vice versa.

Some of the dishes ordered by other tables looked intriguing, such as the puffy scallion pancakes and the Szechuan hot pot. We’ll be back to try those.

We also ate in the restaurant and while there were some notable new restaurant service hiccups (mainly that our shredded pork dish never arrived -they did not attempt to charge us for it at least), our food looked and tasted much better than Chowdom’s unfortunate experience as well. Our order was highly influenced by the presence of our kids - so wehad soup dumplings, lettuce wraps, tofu clay pot and fried rice (kids also had some noodles - I did not try). It was all above average - with the tofu clay pot being the highlight. The decor is really very nice and it makes for a more festive evening out than the other local Chinese. I think the food (esp the spicing) at Fantasy Cuisine down the road is better so we will likely not make this a regular, but I suspect we will be returning - esp with my FIL who loves Peking Dick (and i do want to try that shredded pork).

2 Likes

Thanks for posting. Based on all these different reports, it sounds like they have some kinks to work out.

I have been visit the restaurant for a few times since it opened. “Best Chinese food in town”. I normally go to Flushing Queens for authentic Chinese food. But now, I don’t have to pay toll and drive for 45 minutes and still enjoy one of the best Chinese food in the entire New York Metro area. I saw some of the reviews and compare with other Chinese restaurant in the area. This is just another level for their food, service, and ambiance. As Chinese myself, this is as authentic as in China. Funny thing is how can people judge their food by a TOGO order? This is not another CHEAP Chinese restaurant!!! I Love it!

2 Likes