I ate at the Mandarin Kitchen before their remodel and I loved it. Taro cakes are my favorite, also the pork stuffed taro dumplings, oh and those egg tarts for desert! I will not claim to be an expert on Dim Sum as this is only the fourth Dim Sum I have tried (the others being in Detroit and in Windsor, Canada) BUT I will say that I consider myself to have a refined palate. I know when things are fresh, and that is half the problem I find with dining out, too many times you are served food that has seen a microwave. Yuck! That being said this place had hot food and a GREAT variety. I thought the cost was reasonable and I don't mind that they put the gratuity on the check. It is not the way most places handle gratuity for a two top but it saves me money in the end because I am always over tipping (I used to be a server). I am worried about the current reviews based on the quality and atmosphere after the renovation. I will visit soon and make an assessment for myself and I will report back if I find the same issues the other diners had. Hopefully the problems they were having were only temporary!\r
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I just went back to the Mandarin Kitchen today and I found the renovation to be nice. I especially liked the fish pond and seeing all the fresh seafood in the tanks. We had a wonderful meal and it was well worth the drive(we live about 45 minutes away). The main dining room was a little noisy, but no more so than any other open air dining room, and there are a few separate rooms that each seat about four tables. This is where we were sat and these rooms were nice and quiet. I can't wait to go back!
Pros: Food, Service, Price
Cons: I always eat too much because it is all so good!
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