Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 7, 1992 TAG: 9202070379
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOLORES KOSTELNI
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
FOOD AS PRETTY AS A PICTURE
It's always refreshing to see a new approach with old favorites. At Mai Tai, a Chinese restaurant with a Polynesian name, owners Jude Ying and Teddy Yang offer a menu combining the revered classics with some inviting islandy treatments.Volcano sizzling steak ($10.95) provides a foremost and delicious example of this culinary blend. Sauteed and lightly sauced sirloin steak is served with a variety of fresh, colorful Chinese vegetables. Even as you cut into the tender, gently sauced meat, the delectable ingredients sing a lively sizzle.
Like many of the dishes served at Mai Tai, volcano sizzling steak presents a pretty picture with aromas and flavors tantalizing to the last mouthful.
Only two dishes haven't pleased me. Cold noodles with sesame sauce ($4.25) were apparently made in careless haste: Most of the noodles were untouched by an unbalanced, unpleasant dressing. Crisp sesame beef ($9.50) did not contain "prime beef" as described on the menu. The beef I received was too tough to cut and chew.
Of the appetizers, soups are tops. Crabmeat corn soup for two ($5.25) is sensational. Creamy, light and filled with floating crab and corn, this is a soul-satisfying, elegant soup. Hot-and-sour seafood soup for two ($5.25) is attractive, nicely balanced and exceptionally well-made.
Several entrees are bright stars. Heading the list is General Tso's chicken ($9.50), a marvelous combination of fried dark-meat chicken chunks enrobed with that magical, tangy, yet sweet sauce. I have to say it's hard to find a better dish anywhere.
Orange flavored beef ($9.50) always delights me because of the fragrant orange peel zip. Tender chunks of beef are sauteed then braised in a pleasantly spicy sauce to produce an excellent dish.
Both of the dishes named "amazing" - with chicken or shrimp ($9.50) - offer an abundance of color, texture and flavor. The oval serving dishes are heaped with an assortment of food lightly cloaked in a distinctive, delicious reddish Hunan-Szechuan sauce.
Chilled orange slices, a house giveaway, make for a refreshing dessert along with the fun fortune cookies. Congenial service is generally excellent and helpful. Portions are always substantial, and plates are garnished with a delicate turnip flower.
I've been to Mai Tai several times since the owners opened their renovated Pizza Inn building in mid-October. Pleasant pale gold walls, new carpet, handsomely re-covered booths and striking Oriental chairs enhance the cheerful, clean dining room.
Every time I've been there, though, I've noticed increasing accumulations of litter outside in the parking lot and embedded in the grassy trim area around the building. Another non-food gripe has to do with the ladies' room, where only one of two stalls ever has been available for use. The handicapped stall is inconveniently high for a short person and without a secure lock on the door; the other stall is always locked.
The owners understand quality food that is attractive and delicious; they also know how to present excellent meals of good dollar value. This is their third Virginia restaurant: They operate two establishments called Hunan Gardens, in Lexington and Bedford.
Mai Tai's food usually is as good as you want it to be and always at just the right prices.
Dining Out's evaluations of restaurant accessibility to the handicapped are conducted by the Center for Independence for the Disabled, a non-profit organization.
Dolores Kostelni has extensive experience in the food industry, having worked as a restaurant consultant, manager and chef.
MAI TAI\ 3944 Brambleton Ave. 772-0888\ HOURS: Monday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sunday, 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m.\ BEVERAGES: Full-service but no bottled mineral water.\ CREDIT CARDS: MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover.\ PRICE RANGE: $4.99 (lunch buffet) - $18.50.\ RESERVATIONS? For large groups.\ NON-SMOKING SECTION? Yes.\ HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBLE? Yes.