Cravin’ Asian

Jim and Nancy do not disclose the fact that they will review a restaurant before they attend, ensuring their reviews are unbiased and uninfluenced by their position with the Sun Day.

Jim and I have been “cravin’ Asian” food lately. As a matter of fact, we are total Asian food junkies. There are not many dine in Asian restaurants that we haven’t been to. After checking Facebook for the 4,322 time one day, a light bulb went off in our pea brains. We always said between the two of us we have one good brain. We thought, why not ask members of the Wildflower Lake Neighbors in Del Webb on Facebook for some recommendations. One recommendation was to TL’s Four Seasons in Bartlett.

When we arrived at our destination, we realized it was right across the railroad tracks from the world famous Two Toots Choo-Choo Restaurant. This is where, when our grandchildren come in from Florida, we take them to get their chicken nuggets delivered by a toy train.

TL’s is in downtown Bartlett with street parking. The restaurant is nicely decorated and quite large. In addition to all the tables, there was a cocktail bar upfront and a sushi bar in the rear. This confused us since we were expecting Chinese cuisine and to our delight, they also offer Japanese dishes. Best of both worlds!!!

Nancy and I always pig out on appetizers at Chinese restaurants. Sometimes we even order a takeout of just appetizers for our meal. Today we started off on the Chinese side of the menu with the BBQ Pork Egg Roll ($5.50) for two. We were leary about an egg roll made with bbq pork, but to our amazement, it was awesome. This egg roll made it to the coveted #1 spot on our Egg Roll Top 10 List. This dethroned Chen’s King Egg Roll bringing them down to #2.

Now we are going to the Japanese side of the menu and ordering the Gyoza ($6.95) for 5. We like these better than the Chinese pot stickers because they have a lighter dough. These delicate little dumplings were absolutely delicious.

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Back to the Chinese side and the Lunch Menu for our entrees. Nancy wanted to try something from the Classic Dishes category, namely the Orange Peel Shrimp ($9.95). This was to be lightly battered and stir fried shrimp with fresh orange juice and candied orange peel, carrots, green pepper, and bamboo. It is served with your choice of soup and she chose the Egg Drop Soup and ordered fried rice for no upcharge. To our surprise, the meal came with a Spring Roll on the side which was tasty and not oily like most spring rolls are. Lightly battered must be a relative term. Nancy’s shrimp had a thick coating on it, much like a corn dog. This dish did not satisfy her Asian craving.

Staying on the Chinese side of the menu, Jim tried one of their Signature Dishes, the Honey Sesame Crispy Beef ($9.50). This was lightly battered beef that was wok crisped, tossed in a carmelized light spicy soy sauce, and topped with toasted sesame seeds. He chose the Hot & Sour Soup and fried rice for his sides. The entree was exactly as the menu stated, the beef was lightly battered. It seems the chef used a little too much rice wine vinegar for Jim’s taste. The hot & sour soup was really good.

In conclusion, we will be going back when we want to meake a meal on appetizers. Thank you Wildflower Lake Neighbors for the recommendation.

The cost for “Cravin’ Asian” was $37.04, Sayonara and Zaijian!!!

Jim’s take: My meal had great potential but I couldn’t get over the rice wine vinegar taste.

Nancy’s take: The appetizers were awesome, but I had to take the coating off my shrimp, it was way too much.

Have comments or restaurant suggestions for the Dining Duo? Send them an email at thediningduo@gmail.com.

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