Mulan must-trys?

[ebone]

I have been there once and thoroughly enojyed it. I had:

crispy salted chicken
beef and leak pancake
house special fish
eggplant with spicy garlic sauce

I am looking to go again and all these items were great, but I wanted to know if there is anything else in particular that people love and think I should try. I am open to try most things, so not much for restrictions, but I would like to tie a vegetable item in there if anyone knows a good one.

Thanks

[veggiegirl]

I'm fortunate enough to work across the street, so my coworkers and I are regulars. I like the homestyle tofu (aka tofu in spicy sauce). I've turned a number of colleagues onto it. Others like the mixed fried rice.

I've tried the tofu with dry bean curd, and it seemed like there was some sort of crunchy fried topping on it - a bit sweet and very rich - too rich for my tastes! ;-)

They have brown rice, which is great, but they only make a bit of it and often run out after lunch. I've tried to convince them to make more, but doesn't seem to be an option.

I will be trying the Mulan tofu and peapod stems with garlic.

[Luther]

I feel the same way about the fish with dry bean curd- the topping is chopped/fried/crunchy soynuts with a dark, sugary glaze. It's kind of tasty if you eat a couple bites of it, but I find it distracting and overpowering with something delicate like white fish or tofu (and I'd probably find it distracting with just about anything).

[Stride]

I'm addicted to the eel with sticky rice. Every time I go, I swear I'm going to order something else, but that eel just calls my name. Succulent, savory eel on tasty rice studded with those tiny, slightly crunchy shrimp. Fantastic!

[cassis]

I really like this place--something homey and wholesome about it--thanks CH!
I go mid afternoon for take home, so no crowds.

The dumplings are substantial and stand up to re heating. I've enjoyed the Bean Curd Sheet w/ Bamboo and Mushroom, the Chinese Squash, and the Sauteed Squash w/Gluten.

Parking can be tricky if someone parks behind you.

[ebone]

Went with pork-shrimp dumplings, smoked pork w/ leek, and peapod stems with garlic. Nothing fancy here, but it was fresh and tasty. I am definitely going to work this place in regularly and I plan on attempting to get to all or most of your recos. Thanks for the advice.

Oh, and I definitely never would have found/gone to this place if I didn't hear about it here. So, thanks for that too.

[littlelady]

bean curd with brown sauce; sauteed fish fillet (simple, delicious); shrimp with chive and bean curd; peking style pancake; fish fillet in spicy bean sauce.

the only thing i've ever had at mulan that i didn't like was the chicken and mushroom hot pot.

[Luther]

...which, it should be noted, is actually chicken soup with lots of mushrooms. It tastes very homemade and would be good for a cold, but it's not really dinner material.

[beetlebug]

My favorites are the MuLan Tofu (not on the takeout menu, but the powers that be know what it is) and the shredded pork with dry bean curd (my fave rendition in town, better than Shangri La and Taiwan Cafe).

I also always order the pea pod stems as the healthy dish. Last time I ordered take out, I had a tasty fish fillets in spicy sauce. I think it's the spicy bean sauce but I don't remember. I've had excellent whole fish there as well as delicious lamb dishes (Hunan Lamb).

[SeaSide Tomato]

I was there Sat night. We had ginger scallion cuttlefish, whole fish in spicy bean sauce and garlic peapod stems. All tasted great with peaposds being #1, then whole fish (they said it was talpia), then cuttle fish. Neither of us had had cuttlefish before. We liked the flavor, but found the texture of the middle/insides odd. I wondered if we were supposed to eat the insides-which would leave just the tasty, tender outer layer which was delish. We ate it anyway, flovar was terrific.

I want to go back and try more.

BTW, this is another great place I would have entirely missed if not for CH and all of you fine folks!

[gini]

I like all that you and yumyum have listed.

Have you tried any of their dumplings yet? Not quite as great at Wang's due to the thick wrapper, but good nonetheless.

The smoked salted duck is really interesting.

I also like the lamb and pickled cabbage hot pot. I've wanted to try the hot and spicy fish fillet hot pot, but haven't quite gotten there yet.

The eggplant with basil has a wonderful smoky flavor that really plays with the sweetness of the dish.

I keep trying to order the squash and mountain yam dish, but it never comes. That makes me sad.

[yumyum]

"The eggplant with basil has a wonderful smoky flavor that really plays with the sweetness of the dish."

They do really well with the wok hay (sp?) I wonder if even I would like that eggplant dish? I find the Taiwan Cafe version too sweet for my taste.

[gini]

I don't know, yumyum. It's definitely much less sweet than Taiwan Cafe's, but still a little sweet due to the sauce and the eggplant. The basil is much more biting though - I think they use Thai basil in the dish.

For others, wok hay is fine I think. It refers to the "wok energy" or "wok breath" in Cantonese.

[kobuta]

My 2 cents - I like Mulan's version of the dish better than Taiwan Cafe's. More flavorful (but not on the sweet side).

[yumyum]

Thanks kobuta -- that helps. Next time I'll try it. Bottom line, I really love Mulan and even though I'm sometimes sad to find it as crowded for lunch as it is, I think it's great they are scratching the Taiwanese itch in that hood.

[ebone]

Have not tried the dumplings yet, but I am imagining that some form will make its way to my table soon.

squash never comes? Interesting, kind of like my leftovers the last time I was there, apparently misappropriated by another server, which was a bummer.

[gini]

I think they're hiding it from me.

Is the house special fish the one with cracked soy nuts on top? Wasn't all the flavorful the first time I had it, but on follow up visits it really shined.

[ebone]

I don't believe that house special fish had any cracked soy nuts on top. Frankly, I am not sure what was in it, but it was pretty spicy and I don't recall any nuts. Even with my lack of knowledge on the ingredients it was tasty and I would recommend it.

[yumyum]

I always seem to order the same thing there ... the crispy salted chicken, the beef and leek "burrito", and the braised pork shank/foot that always garners oohs and aahs when they bring it. Last time though a neighboring table was eating a delicious pile of ground pork from the lunch menu which he assured us "looks bad, tastes great" and I'm sure if you asked them they'd recommend a good vegetable. Usually when I'm eating all of the above, I like the simple pea pod stem with garlic so I can pretend I'm not going to die of a heart attack.