Now Eat This!

Where it is: Suite 115 Malibu Heights Plaza 2358 Nicholasville Rd (859) 299-9798 Map

Website

When: Sun-Thurs: 11 a.m.-10 p.m.  Fri-Sat: 11 a.m.-11 p.m.

What it will cost: $8-15 for entrees

Panda Cuisine

I’ve heard that Panda Cuisine was an excellent place to have traditional, and traditionally very spicy Sichuan food. I found out that it indeed is such a place and have become a fan. I must admit, they toned things down a little for me in my main course as they were worried I couldn’t handle the traditional spiciness, but I’m going to insist next time that they take it up a notch…even if it kills me. Having never had Sichuan cuisine before, I was overwhelmed by the menu choices. Can’t I just have one of each? Unfortunately, the size of my stomach and contents of my wallet necessitated that I keep it to only a few items. Panda was gracious enough to let me sample a couple of things which they thought I should try, and I am grateful to them for the experience.

Beginning 开始

I felt I couldn’t properly size-up or appreciate a Chinese restaurant without trying their Hot and Sour soup and Sichuan dumplings. The soup was quite spicy, which I very much enjoyed, and was simple. I didn’t feel that it was overloaded with too much stuff. I’d never had Sichuan dumplings before, so I was in for a real treat. The dumplings are made with pork, and are covered in Panda Sauce, red Sichuan peppers and hot oil. They are so spicy and yet so sweet. The sweetness and hotness of the flavors seems to combine into a unified and wonderful flavor that I suppose is the essence of Sichuan cuisine. Tsing Tao seems to be the perfect beer to go along with this meal, though their menu mentions tea as being part of the balanced chinese meal. Perhaps next time I’ll try that, but the Tsing Tao was the perfect compliment to the Sichuan flavor.

Middle 中间

The next thing to come before me were vegetable egg rolls. These egg rolls remind me of the ones I used to get at Oriental Inn on Richmond Road when I was a kid in the early 80s. Does anyone remember that place? I loved it. They’re served with the sweet duck sauce and the hot and spicy mustard, which is totally classic. Next came the main course which was Panda’s Fish delight. This dish was a wonderful new eating experience, spicy to the max (for my feeble taste buds) but the flavor of the fish came through. Somehow the brown sauce numbed my tongue without taking away the ability to taste the complex flavors, a bold mix of spicy and sweet. I ended up sweating but I was unable to stop myself from eating more and more. Needless to say, I couldn’t finish all of this dish, it is quite a lot of food and I recommend sharing it with someone. I enjoyed the leftovers for a couple of meals to follow.

End 末端

Panda Cuisine has recently started serving sushi, and to be honest, this is the best, freshest sushi that I’ve had since I moved back from Oregon. I don’t say that lightly, because I’ve had some excellent sushi in Lexington, but this really is the freshest and best that I’ve had. I ended the meal with an orange that had been cut up into bite-sized pieces and a fortune cookie. I really can’t say enough good things about my experience at Panda Cuisine. I really do recommend that you go soon.