**A newer review of Khan’s Mongolian was published on 1/7/12 and can be found here**

Cuisine: Asian, Mongolian, On-Site Parking
Restaurant Features: Bar, Lunch Buffet, Dinner Buffet, On-Site Parking

Locations: Coon Rapids,  Richfield, Roseville
Addresses and Maps:

Coon Rapids- 2085 Northdale Blvd NW Coon Rapids, MN 55433 (763) 767-3018
Richfield- 500 E 78th St Richfield, MN 55423 (612) 861-7991

Roseville- 2720 Snelling Ave N. Roseville, MN 55113 (651) 631-3398

Atmosphere: There are several small dining areas situated around the restaurant, made a little more private with the creative use of live plants.  The dining areas all surround the centrally-located meat and vegetable buffets.  All seating is limited to tables, but there is at least one dining space that allows for tables to be pushed together for larger parties.

Within the restaurant there is a small bar area to accommodate patrons who may have to wait for a table on a busy night, or for those who would like to try one of the specialty tropical drinks or wines.

Menu: The concept of Khan’s is one that allows diners to customize their own stir-fry dishes.  Patrons choose from a buffet containing a variety of sliced frozen meats (beef, chicken, pork, lamb, shrimp and imitation crab).  You take a bowl, fill it with the meats and noodles of your choosing, and then move down to the vegetable line where you can choose from a large selection of fresh vegetables to be used in your custom stir-fry.

After filling your bowl with your preferred meats and vegetables, you then add sauces to flavor your stir-fry, such as Garlic Sauce, Cooking Wine, House Sauce, Dragon Sauce, Teriyaki, Curry, Lobster Sauce.  There is a sign over the sauce bar that suggests which sauces and flavorings you should choose, depending on how spicy you would like it.  After you have your bowl filled with meats, noodle, vegetables and sauces, you take it to the Barbeque Area, where  your stir-fry is cooked right in front of you.

Price guide: $15 All-You-Can-Eat Buffet or $10 for a single plate
What I ordered: Everyone receives an appetizer as part of the cost of the buffet.  There is Hot and Sour Soup, a Fried Wonton, and a tender BBQ Marinated Chicken Wing.

My first plate consisted of beef, thin noodles, peppers, zucchini, broccoli, onion, carrot, and pineapple.  I love spicy and flavorful food, so I used a ton of the garlic sauce, fresh cilantro, several scoops of the dragon Sauce, cooking wine, house sauce and teriyaki.  It was delicious!! I have been to Khan’s several times and have finally figured out the amount and combination of sauces that I like the best.  One thing i have noticed is that it seems safe to go a little overboard with the sauces, because a lot of the moisture is cooked out and the noodles also absorb a lot of sauce.  Despite how much spicy Dragon Sauce I added, it wasn’t as hot as I like it.  The best part is that if you don’t care for your stir-fry, you can always go back to the Buffet line and start over with a new combination!

Sticky Buns are also served with dinner, a dough-like pastry filled with a buttery cinnamon/sugar sauce.  I did not try this because I was already too full from the other good stuff!

Service: Our server was very friendly and prompt, kept drinks refilled and removed dirty plates in a very timely fashion.  It can get extremely busy on weekend evenings, so it is a good idea to call-ahead for a reservation, especially if you plan to have a party larger than four.
Overall Impression: If you enjoy stir-fry, Khan’s is your place! The endless trips to the buffet for only $15 is a great deal.

Cuisine: Asian Fusion
Restaurant Features: Bar, Sunday Brunch

Location: Minneapolis
Address: Walker Art Center - 1750 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN 55403  612-253-3410
Links: * Wolfgang Puck Website * Google Map

Atmosphere: 20.21 can be accessed directly from the parking ramp below the Walker Art Center.  Located on the 2nd floor, 20.21 has a very contemporary feel, inspired by the 20th and 21st Century Art of the Walker. The space is quite long, but angles into a wide V-shape with open-window views of the City.  Opposite the windows is the open kitchen (as seen in this photo) where the Chef and culinary experts work their magic.  There is also a long bar on the same side as the kitchen, close to the entrance (not visible from this photo).  Tables were the only seating option throughout the restaurant and were placed very close together, making privacy hard to come by.

Menu: All Menus and prices are subject to change! The tasting menus posted online are slightly different than what was offered on my visit. There are suggested optional wine-pairings to go with most dishes/menus.
View Lunch Menu
View Dinner Menu
View Tasting Menu
Sunday Brunch Menu
Dessert Menu

Price guide: Tasting Menus $ 66-81/person
What We Ordered: It was highly suggested that our party of seven collectively decide on one of the four Tasting Menu options, as it is much easier for the chefs to prepare one dish in quantity. After looking over each of the gourmet options, our group decided to go with the 20.21 Menu.

Each dish was presented to the table and then each individuals was served their portion.  It all happened so fast that I was not able to take photos of the first dish at all, which was the Tandoori Salmon with Marinated Cucumbers, Mint Raita and Scallions.  Wow! I loved the combination of the salmon with the Thai cucumbers, the textures worked well together.

The next thing that was served was the Pan-Toasted Pork Pot Stickers.  Pictured here is my individual serving.  It was fried to a nice crispy texture and then served with Scallions and Sizzling Chili Oil and then topped with Tangy Black Vinegar Dipping Sauce.

Next was the Chicken & Pine Nuts in Lettuce Cups.  The chicken was Stir-Fried with Orange, Thai Basil, Chili and Rice Noodles.  The chicken was slightly spicy yet with a touch of sweetness from the orange.  I love the concept of a lettuce wrap because the lettuce stays so crisp (there is nothing I hate more than soggy lettuce).  These were very good.

Then we had the Tempura Fried Shrimp  garnished with a Bell Pepper and Cabbage Salad and served with a Pickled Ginger Vinaigrette and Black Beans.  Another hit! I enjoy shrimp tempura but to serve it with a spicy sauce and the pepper/cabbage salad, they caught my attention!

The main course included this thinly-sliced beef called Steak “Au Poivre” served in a Shallot Sauce and then served atop rice.  The beef was extremely tender and had nice flavor.  I had never had beef served over rice before, but the tenderness and texture of the beef paired with the rice was not too different than sashimi.

Our next feature of the main course was the Pan Roasted Organic Chicken.  It was served atop Vegetables, Budding Chives and with a Black Bean-Thai Basil Sauce.  The chicken was incredibly tender and moist and served with the skin.  The flavor on this one seemed a little salty and didn’t do it for me as much as the other dishes had, although it was very good.

The last dish of our main course was hands-down my favorite.  It is the Green Thai Seafood Curry with Scallops, Prawns, Lobster, Shiitake Mushroom, with Thai Basil and Ginger.  I am always a big fan of a good green curry and this was one of the best yet! I loved the spicy-sweet creaminess of the coconut/curry sauce and the tender pieces of lobster and scallops could almost melt in my mouth.

The dessert on the 20.21 Tasting Menu included the Chocolate Cube with Spoon and Cherry-  The cube structure was made of dark chocolate and filled with Dark Chocolate Cream, German Chocolate Cake Crumbles and Sour Cherry Sauce.  It was extremely rich as you would imagine, but the filling was very creamy and had the texture of mousse.  If you are familiar with the Walker Sculpture Garden, you will recognize this dessert as a miniature of the Spoonbridge and Cherry sculpture.

In addition to the dessert above, we were also served two trays of these gourmet cookies.  Everything I tried was very good!

Service: I thought the service was top-notch.  Our server, was knowledgable about the menu and helped us make our selection without being too pushy.   Besides our server there were several others who were constantly bringing us each new dish and removing dishes from previous course, etc.
Overall Impression: I thought that 20.21 was pretty cool.  The food was outstanding and I highly suggest ordering off one of the Tasting Menus so that you can try several of the signature dishes.  The prices were on the high-end, but worth every penny for everything you get to try.  My only complaint about 20.21 was the bathrooms.  Each stall was completely closed-in from floor to ceiling with a boring white plastic, including the door, and made me feel like I was in an upscale-porta-potty :(

Cuisine: Vietnamese, Thai, and Chinese
Restaurant Features: Bar, Happy Hour, On-Site Parking

Location: Maplewood
Address: 1715-A Beam Avenue  Maplewood, MN 55109   651-747-1000  ***Located at the end of a large strip mall (next to Marshall’s)
Links: Bambu Website * Bambu Facebook Page * Google Map

Atmosphere: Very romantic with dim lighting, candles atop white table-cloths, and richly colored walls.  There are both circular and square tables, which can easily be combined for larger parties.

Bambu also has a lovely bar area and boasts wonderful drink specials.

Menu: Appetizers include Chicken Wings, Egg Rolls, Pot Stickers, Fried Tofu, Calamari, Spring Rolls, Wontons, Shrimp, Fresh Mussels, and Pan-Seared Scallops.  Salad/soups include Bambu Asian Salad, Thai pineapple Chicken Salad, Spicy Thai Beef Salad, Vietnamese Noodle Salad, Egg Drop Soup, Hot & Sour Soup, Wonton Soup, Vietnamese Chicken Noodle.

Chinese Entrees include General Tso’s Chicken, Sweet & Sour Chicken, Sesame Chicken, Beef or Shrimp, Kung Pao Chicken, Orange Chicken, Mandarin Chicken, Lemon Chicken, Cashew Chicken.  The following entrees can be served with either chicken, pork, tofu, mock duck, beef, shrimp or scallops: Broccoli Stir-Fry, Hunan Chicken, Sizzling Duck, Tiger Pork, Sizling Black Bean Sauce, Coconut Curry, Ginger or Oyster Stir-fry, Garlic Baby Bok Choy, Egg Fu Young, Chinese Chow Mein, Vietnamese Chow Mein, Singapore Noodles, Pineapple Stir fry, Hong Kong Wontons, Lomein, Fried Rice, Mu Shu Wrap and Chicken Almond Ding.

Thai Entrees include Thai Hot Curry Fried Rice, Pineapple Fried Rice, Yellow Chicken Curry, Pad Thai, Penang Red, Thair Stir-Fried Rice Noodles, Red Salmon Pineapple Curry, Green Mahi-Mahi Curry, Spicy & Sweet Blast Curry, Massaman Chicken Stir-Fry, Spicy Chicken, Basil Stir-Fry and Spicy Thai Basil Fried Rice.

Vietnamese Entrees include Salted Shrimp, Fried Rice, Garlic Catfish, Vietnamese Rice Platter, Fried Potato with Beef, Lemon Frog legs, Tamarind Shrimp, Grilled Beef and Shrimp & Beef.

Bambu also serves a large variety of Pho, an authentic Vietnamese beef broth served over rice noodles and Asian vegetables.

Seafood Entrees include Waleye, Seafood in Black Bean Sauce, Sea Bass, Triple Delight, Thai Seafood Linguine Curry.

Price guide: Appetizers $4.50-8  Salads/soups $3-11  Seafood $12-17  Chinese Entrees $9-13  Thai Entrees $9-17  Vietnamese Entrees $ 8-17  Pho $7-9
What we ordered: To start, we tried the calamari.  It was lightly breaded and served with stir-fried green and white onions.  I had never had calamari prepared this way, but I really enjoyed the blend of flavors.  I thought the serving was quite generous.

We ordered the Masaman Chicken Stir-Fry, a sweet green curry with chicken, onions, avocado and cashews.  I have never had a curry like this before, but I loved the flavor and texture of the dish.  This was also a very large portion of food.

We also ordered the Fried Potatoes with Beef.  The potatoes were crispy and the beef was tender and plentiful.

Fried Rice.  I cannot remember which fried rice we ordered, but it was pretty good.

My companion also ordered  lemonade and it was not only homemade, but hand-squeezed to order; both sugary and tart at the same time!

Service: Our service was exceptional! The server was very friendly and offered several suggestions from the menu.  Food was prepared in a timely manner and after compliments to the chef, the chef came out to talk with us.  By chance the owner was visiting the restaurant and also stopped to talk with me and my companion.  Everyone was really nice and talkative.
Overall Impression: Bambu is the total package and is my new favorite restaurant in the Northeast suburbs! The food, atmosphere and service were all superior.  A must-try!

***Formerly known as Wild Ginger under the same ownership***

Cuisine: Thai, Chinese, Asian Variety,
Restaurant Features:Lunch Buffet, On-Site Parking

Location: White Bear Lake, MN
Address: 4440 Highway 61 North  White Bear Lake, MN 55110  651-653-9781

Hours: Dine-In /Take out  Mon-Sat 11am-8pm Lunch Buffet M-F 11-2pm

Links: Sam Thai Cuisine Website Google Map
Atmosphere: Located within a strip mall, Wild Ginger has just 10-12 tables available in the dining room (seats 24).  It is decorated with a variety of Thai art and sculptures.

Menu:
Thai appetizers include  Beef Jerky, Chicken wings, cream cheese wonton, dumplings, egg rolls, spring rolls, chicken satay.  Thai salads include Laab, Som Tum, Yum Nua, and Yum Woon Sen.  Thai curries are Gang Dang (red),  Gang Keow Wan (sweet green), Gang Pah (country curry),and Panang.  Thai noodles offered are Pad Thai, Rad Na, and Pad See Yew.  Thai entrees include Rama Long Srong, Pad Him Ma Pam, Pad Hoo Raa Pha, Pad Khing, Pad Priew Wan, Pad Prig, Pla Rad Prig.

Chinese dishes include fried rice, chow mein, egg fo young, lomein, chop suey.  Entrees include (chicken, beef, pork, or shrimp)  Sweet & sour, Almond ding, Cashew, Lemon grass, Broccoli, Kung pao, Szechuan, Mongolian

Price guide:
Lunch Buffet $7.50  Thai entrees $8-10
What we ordered:

Chicken satay I especially loved the peanut sauce and the cucumber garnish that came with the satay.

Thai Beef Jerky

Green Curry (Gang Keow Wan ) A combination of coconut milk, Thai green curry paste, herbs, bamboo shoots, vegetables, and chicken.  This is one of my favorite  Thai dishes! It has a ton of kick and the vegetables soak up the flavor of the coconut milk just perfectly. 

Rama Long Srong- Mixed of gold peanut curry sauce with coconut milk on the bed of steamed young spinach. I love the sweetness of this dish, the peanut sauce is wonderful.

Chicken Panang-  Chicken in a zesty blend of herbs, kaffir lime leave and coconut milk.

Sweet and Sour Chicken (Thai style)- Mix of pineapple, tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, scallions and onions stir fried in Thai sweet and sour sauce.

Service:
The owner of Wild Ginger, Sam, is a very nice man and provides 100% of the service at Wild Ginger.  Refills are do-it-yourself.
Overall Impression: Awesome Thai cuisine, decent Chinese. Excellent lunch buffet with a variety of both Thai and Chinese dishes, at a very reasonable price. The small space of the restaurant often is completely filled during lunch buffet hours (11-2pm).

*****A NEWER Review of Big Bowl Chinese & Thai dated 5/6/12 can be found here*****

Cuisine: Chinese and Thai

Restaurant Features: Bar

Locations: Roseville (site of this review), Edina, Wayzata

Addresses:

Roseville (Rosedale Center)  1705 Highway 36 West  Roseville, MN 55113 (651) 636-7173

Edina 3669 Galleria Edina, MN 55435 (952) 928-7888

Minnetonka (Ridgedale Center)  12649 Wayzata Blvd Minnetonka, MN 55305 (952) 797-9888

Links: Big Bowl Website * Big Bowl Facebook Page * Google Map

Atmosphere: Located inside Rosedale Mall, Big Bowl is a large restaurant with a trendy Asian flair.  There are several booths around the edges of the dining area and in the bar area, with many smaller tables within the middle.  At the back of the restaurant near the kitchen is an area for make-your-own stir-fry.

Menu: Appetizers include steamed Chinese dumplings, veggie or chicken pot stickers, hot buns filled with pork, chicken satay, egg rolls, Thai-beef lettuce wraps, shrimp summer roll, teriyaki spare ribs, calamari, and a few soups and salads.  Thai curry dishes include yellow curry with chicken or veggies, panang curry chicken, scallop and shrimp citrus curry, thai green vegetable curry.  Chicken dishes include kung pao, orange peel, lemon chicken, chicken with vegetables, and Thai hot pepper chicken.  Beef dishes include Mongolian, Kung pao, and beef with broccoli.  Seafood dishes include crunchy sichuan cashew shrimp, Thai hot pepper shrimp with basil and peanuts,  crunchy sichuan scallops, sweet ginger sea scallops and shrimp, and teriyaki glazed fresh salmon.  Pad Thai is Big Bowl’s signature dish, try it with vegetables/tofu, chicken, shrimp or salmon.  Big Bowl also has a make-it-yourself stirfry bar option.  You choose your vegetables, meat, sauce, and noodles and they will cook it for you.

Price guide: Appetizers $6-9  Entrees $8-15

What I ordered: My companion and I started with an order of the veggie pot stickers (Classic pan fried northern Chinese dumplings stuffed with cilantro, green onions, crushed peanuts)  It was also served with three dipping sauces, sweet and sour, plum and sesame mustard.  Excellent choice! These pot stickers had a ton of flavor and excellent texture.

I wanted to try a curry dish and decided to go with the Panang Curry Chicken
(chicken, light peanut-coconut curry, peas, snow peas served over jasmine rice).  This dish was packed with flavor! The sauce was indeed “light” if they mean “thin”.  It was delicious, but I think would prefer it with a little more peanut flavor and if it were a tad bit thicker.  The vegetables were very good, but the texture of the chicken was kind of slimy.  I enjoyed the first ten bites or so and then got kind of bored with it.

My companion ordered pad Thai with vegetables.  This seemed to be a hit! I tried a little bit of it and thought the noodles had good flavor.  As you can see, there were a lot of veggies in the dish.

Service: The host staff was very friendly, as was our server.  I think the server may have been new though, as he was not as knowledgeable about the menu as he could’ve been.

Overall Impression: Great ambiance and decent food.

Cuisine: Asian variety…mostly Vietnamese with French-influence, but also some Chinese and Thai dishes.

Restaurant Features: Bar, On-Site Parking

Location: White Bear Township

Address: White Bear Township Theater Shops 1190 County Road J White Bear Township, MN 55127 They also do take-out! 651-426-3558

Links: Google Map Orchid Website .

Atmosphere: Newly constructed at the end of a strip mall, Orchid has a main dining room that seats approximately 50 people (booths and tables). Just off the side of the main dining room is the bar area with an additional 6-7 booths and taller cocktail tables. Softly painted walls, dim lighting, fresh flower arrangements and Asian decor give the restaurant a very cozy feel.  The bar is  a great place to have a drink if a table is not immediately available.  The Mojito is an Orchid specialty.

Menu: Appetizers: chicken wings, calamari, spicy oyster wings, spring rolls, pot stickers, cream chesse wontons, pot stickers, cripy shrimp, shrimp dumplings and grilled sesame beef.

Entrees: Mixed vegetable, broccolli in oyster sauce, sweet n’ sour, spicy kung pao, toasted sesame, lemon grass chicken, ginger chicken, sauteed beef with fried potato, Mongolian beef, pineapple delight, curry chicken, spicy szechwan,Vietnamese crepe, and black pepper steak.

Specialties: Deep fried sea bass, imperial prawns, Lúc Lác Beef, Steamed Sea Bass with Ginger, Special Thai Basil, French Garlic Prawns, Seafood Combo

Noodles and Rice: Orchid fried rice, Lo Mein, Vietnamese Chow Mien, Crispy egg noodles and mixed vegetables, Hảo Nhi’s Chow Fun, Spicy Singapore Noodles, Saigon Rice Noodles – Bún Tḥit Nứơng, and Pad Thai.

Vegetarian: Spring Rolls, Vietnamese Chow Mien, Lo Mien, Spicy Tofu or Mock Duck, Saigon Rice Noodle Dish, Annie’s Favorite Stir Fry, Buddha Delight, Fried Rice.

View full menu here

Price Guide: Appetizers: $ 4-7 Entrees: $9.75-12.25 Specialties: $13.25-17.25

What I ordered: To start off, I tried the calamari. I have to say that this is some of the best calamari I have ever had! It is cooked just perfectly so the texture is delicate, not tough. The spicy sweet and sour sauce is delicious and has just the right amount of “kick”, a perfect compliment to the calamari.

The entree I ordered was the Lemon Grass chicken; marinated dark chicken meat stir fried with white and green onions, lemon grass, curry and chili pepper. This dish came highly recommended by our server, and once I tried it, I could see why it is so popular. The sauce was on the spicier side, probably a 3-4 on a scale of 1-10.  I recommend serving it atop white rice.

My companion ordered Orange Chicken.  Crispy, white-meat with a deliciously sweet orange sauce.

Service: Most of the time the service is very fast and pleasant. If you happen to come when the restaurant is not as busy, service sometimes takes longer.