We find our way to good eats at Joy Luck

[Robin Garr]

We find our way to good eats at Joy Luck

Joy Luck's kung pao tofu is a simple mix of tofu and veggies in a fiery brown-bean sauce.


It doesn’t seem reasonable to say that it’s hard to find good eats on Bardstown Road on a Sunday afternoon, but I was sure feeling that way the other day.

Trekking through this usually busy restaurant row on a sizzling afternoon, I struck out at three places before we got to Joy Luck. Success! Heck, I really wanted Chinese food anyway, or so I told my easily convinced self.

Owner and chef Alvin Lin brings his Taiwanese heritage to Joy Luck’s bill of fare, which is described as “Asian Fusion Chinese Taiwanese.” The food is good, with some noteworthy Taiwanese touches such as traditional soup dumplings, and the menu is carefully laid out in English and Chinese..

Fifteen entrees include six hot-and-spicy dishes, one gluten-free entree and one that’s vegetarian. Prices range from $12 (for mapo tofu) to $28 (for a Beijing-style half-duck). You won’t find a separate “authentic” Chinese menu here, but some of the specialties, like braised pork-belly stew ($13) or spicy farmer’s beef ($15) might appear on such a list; several dishes represent the Taiwanese tradition.

There’s also an extensive build-your-own entree section that invites you to select one base ingredient from a list of eight, from $12 for vegetables or tofu to $17 for lamb; then choose a sauce flavor from a list of 11, including variations like garlic sauce, General Tso, orange, Thai curry, and so on. Four rice and noodle dishes work similarly: Choose among four noodle or rice dishes ($11-$15), or create your own with choice from six proteins ($11-$12) plus four kinds of noodles or rice.)

About 15 starters range in price from $6 (for salad with ginger dressing) to $11 (for lettuce wraps with choice of vegetables, tofu, or chicken). The full bar – perhaps surprisingly for a Chinese restaurant but not for a Louisville eatery these days – offers an extensive spirits list including almost 70 bourbons. ...

Read the complete article on LouisvilleHotBytes,
http://www.louisvillehotbytes.com/good-eats-joy-luck

You'll also find this review in LEO Weekly's Food & Drink section today.
http://www.leoweekly.com/category/food-drink/

Joy Luck
1285 Bardstown Road
238-3070
http://thejoyluck.com
https://facebook.com/thejoyluck
https://instagram.com/joylucklouisville

I really like a lot of things at Joy Luck, but like Robin, I seem to miss a lot of the spice elements that are promised. I thought maybe it was just me.

My brother and I had lunch there fairly regularly pre-pandemic. We liked the food (we kept returning) but found the heat level lacking in most dishes.

[Robin Garr]

Interesting comments, guys. Our hot and sour soup was tasty but just showed a gentle heat, but I think that's appropriate for my dish. I didn't inquire about the mapo tofu, but it was marked with a pepper icon and was definitely on the warm side, with evidence of both pepper flakes and pepper oil. (Or probably a Chinese pepper-in-chile-oil condiment). So based on our one-time experience, we didn't have a problem with that.

I'm admittedly biased because it's the only walkable Chinese place for us, but the wife and I are big Joy Luck fans. I'm particularly fond of their starters, such as the soup dumplings, Taiwanese sausage roll and spicy wontons. In terms of entrees, I think their Kung Pao and five flavored chicken are quite good. I've never noticed a lack of spice in either. And as Robin mentioned, their bar (including bourbon list) is certainly a step up from other Chinese, or even Asian restaurants in general.
I also have to tip my hat to whomever once wrote on their sidewalk sandwich board: "Worst Pad Thai I've ever had"--some guy on Yelp. That alone prompted me to order it that day. While not quite traditional, I really enjoyed it.

I'm a fan of the place, but I agree with the comments. I often get Farmer's or Cumin Beef, both with pepper icons, but rarely have any real heat level. Tastes good, but a place like Simply Thai (heat level 4 for me) never fails to deliver the spice.