The far East end has a new contender! Three weeks ago, Jasmine Chinese Cuisine moved down to the end of the strip mall that it has been its home for the last four or five years. Besides no longer being next to the nasty-smelling nail salon, it has at least doubled in size. An enclosed entrance foyer features a cascading fountain. The decor is awesome: stunning light fixtures, gorgeous art work, and sparkling art glass. There are now three large round tables with revolving trays, one of which is in a small private party room. The menu is bigger than ever with much of it given to authentic Chinese.
I started my meal with dan dan noodles. Then as usual, I requested that the lovely Lan, the owner, help me pick something authentic and new to me. She chose Pola fish, a spicy version of flounder. To die for! I will be hard pressed to continue my plan of choosing a new entree each time I eat there. Small pieces of the fish were cooked in a light sauce with dried red peppers, bean sprouts and crispy fried rice noodles. She knows me fairly well and requested it be cooked to a spice level of 3. I think I will ask them to heat it up a bit more next time but other than that it was flawless.
There are the regular Chinese restaurant offering such as Kao Pao Beef and Moo Goo Gai Pan, but there are also the exotics that include intestines, pork liver and maw. Additionally the wine and beer lists have been enlarged. Lan also said that she has moved all her meat and fish purchases up to the top most line. The food at Jasmine has always been excellent, but it is so much better when one doesn't have to overcome the stench of the nail salon. I am now one much happier East End foodie.