Lotus Root Salad
Mandala Kitchen

Mandala Kitchen

1100 S Lamar Blvd, Austin I-78704-0119, United States, 78704-0049

Full • Lunch • Kitchen • Catering


"CALL BEFORE to make sure they are still open and in business! I wanted so bad to try out Mandala 's today, but it seems that they may be shutting down. I recently moved within <1 mile, so I decided to walk there so that I could have lunch at 11 am (when their website and sign on the door say that they open) before my appointment at Finley 's at noon. When I arrived at 11 am, the door was locked. I stood there for 10 minutes, knocking on the door every 2-3 minutes. Finally, at about 11:10, a guy came out and told me that they were closed. I asked him if he meant that they were closed for the day or permanently. He said that he didn 't know and that no one was here, including the manager, and that he was just a worker. I ended up having sushi next door. When I went to Finley 's, I asked what 's the deal with Mandala 's? Their exact response was it 's so sad, because their food is great, but it is almost ALWAYS empty and they suspect that it is closing down. I hate to say it, but the attitude of the guy who finally opened the door confirms my suspicion. He couldn 't even confirm whether they would be open at all today. In addition, not only was there no manager, but there were no servers, bartenders, or other staff present. I honestly feel bad for them and would love to give them another chance. Some simple things like posting something on their door and website saying we will be closed today or opening at a specific time would have sufficed. Making someone knock on the door for 10 minutes before someone finally came out to say they are closed just isn 't cool."

Jai Yun

Jai Yun

606 Broadway San Francisco, CA 94133, 94133-3998, San Andreas, United States

Cheese • Chinese • Chicken • Barbecue


"This was our fourth experience with this chef over the past decade or so, our third in this location. The chef 's experience comes from cooking for large banquets in China for wealthy businessmen and politicians. This is not Chinese food you are likely to experience anywhere else unless you travel to China and know people. It 's certainly more interesting than anything I 've been able to find in Hong Kong over a few visits. There is no menu and often the server speaks very little English. You point to one of 3 prices on the card placed in front of you. We have always been satisfied with the middle price $128 per person for couples, it goes down for larger groups). Pricey and in a very ordinary room with plastic flowers. So clean it feels a bit sterile but this is a vast improvement over his original location. The meal begins with 16 appetizers on small dishes various pickled vegetables and thinly sliced meats, some intensely spicy. There is terrific variety in the flavors. His signature dish is bland but delicious: velvet abalone which consists of very thin ribbons of abalone mixed with cooked egg. Small plates of perfectly cooked shrimp and beef will also appear in course after course. The past few visits we 've had him stop after about 2 hours of continuous nibbling when we couldn 't eat any more. It 's really a place for foodies who are relatively insensitive to price and setting."