Ming's - Chinese, Palo Alto

1700 Embarcadero Rd, Palo Alto CA 94303
(650) 856-7700
Parking: in parking lot
http://www.mings.com/home/

Last Visited: May 22, 2004

Food: 3 to 4 stars
Service: 3 to 4 stars
Atmosphere: 4 stars
Price: unknown

Ming’s is well known in Palo Alto. It’s conveniently located near Highway 101. It has several dining areas – two large ones and one private room. My visit this time consisted of banquet food, so you may notice that regular dining is different. My past experiences have been average, not outstanding, but certainly passing. In the past, the food has seemed less authentic than average, and service has been good, but not outstanding.

This latest visit helped me appreciate the beautiful natural lighting coming from the large windows. There is also a dance floor for those who wish to reserve the room for a soiree and dance the night away.

These descriptions will be less detailed than other reviews since the focus of this banquet was the event and not the food. At the end of the dishes listed, you will find the overall critique.

Appetizer platter – Typical items of jellyfish, thinly sliced beef, marinated octopus, and the like are served on a large dish accompanied with respective sauces.

Soup – This soup contained seafood and tofu in a flavorful broth. Egg white stirred into the soup made it have a light white appearance.

Walnut prawns – Prawns are deep fried and lightly sautéed in a mayonnaise sauce. Black and regular sesame are sprinkled over the prawns and served with candied walnuts. Average.

Snow peas with squid and chicken – Snow peas are sautéed with pieces of squid and chicken. This dish was flavorful, but the snow peas had softened, more than likely due to the quantity being cooked together. It becomes harder to maintain the crispiness of the vegetable when large quantities are being cooked, plated, and served.

Chicken with Bean Curd Sauce – The whole chicken was cooked until the skin is a golden brown. A sauce made from red bean cured accompanied the dish. I found the sauce to be thinner than expected. With a thicker sauce, the flavor is slightly stronger making it more savory.

Steamed Fish – Two fish are steamed whole and topped with soy sauce and scallions. The fish was okay, but slightly overcooked.

Shrimp Fried Rice – Shrimp, carrots, and peas are combined with fried rice. Although I didn’t taste this dish, presentation was lighter in color than is typical of fried rice dishes.

Ginger Scallions Crab – Crab is braised with ginger and scallions to create a flavorful sauce that envelops crab pieces. Good.

Baby Bok Choy with Mushrooms - Whole green bok choy is cooked and topped with black shiitake mushrooms. Good.

The overall experience at Ming’s was quite good, but again, it was really about the event this evening and not so much the food. Based on combined past and present experiences, I would typically give the restaurant a three star rating, but service was attentive and food was above average in flavor, so tonight it earned a rating between three and four stars. The main attractions for me are the parking lot and location.