The Mandarin

Went to Mandarins for lunch today. The customer service as well as the food were both lacking. I normally have a pretty good experience here but that wasn’t the case today.

This location honestly has a beautiful interior. The carpet, the ceilings, the paintings all look beautiful. However, the food was pretty bad. For one I like herbal teas. Not your cheap gimmick chai tea that people get at Starbucks. I enjoy the real stuff; oolong, green, black teas all from Asian markets or nice dealers online. I have my own cast iron teapots for God sake. So when I ask for some hot tea at an oriental restaurant I expect at least a green tea. Nope, they literally gave me Lipton iced tea boiled and steaming in a pot. I even tasted my girlfriend’s sweet tea. They were identical.
When it got to the food the spring roll spelled spoiled or at least old. I ordered simple Teriyaki chicken. The chicken was slightly rubbery and the vegetables were a little bland. Overall the experience was rather disappointing.

Great food, ate in for dinner, complimentary salad with ginger dressing, had egg drop soup le gf had hot and sour soup, we split general tsu and sesame, and lo mein and fried rice, we got full and had enough to fill 2 togo boxes to the brim like what you would get for a meal to go. When we finished, they gave us each a piece of complimentary coffee cake and the check. This is the only chinese restaurant in Macon worth eating at, and it’s inexpensive.

Not the same place it use to be. New owners have let the food go down. Yesterday (Saturday) at 1:00 only 6 tables of people. All of us were sick after eating there. Wait staff were so bored they were over attentive. You could not even enjoy lunch. Not that the food was enjoyable. This was my last trip there.

They recently changed owners. The food is ok, but just a bit off. Still the better chinese restaurant in the area.
Ask for the authentic chinese menu if you are looking for something out of the ordinary. The Kan Pong chicken off that menu is great.

I absolutely love this restaurant! It has far and away the best Chinese food in all of Middle Georgia and I should know because I’m a bit of an Asianophile and I try pretty much every Asian restaurant I see. The General Tso’s Pork is absolute Heaven. The Princess Prawns are to die for. And the soup? Hands down, the absolute best hot and sour soup I’ve ever had. Great food and very good lunch prices. Also be sure to ask for the Asian menu if you’re feeling like having something a little different. Highly recommended.

Our first time visiting this restaurant and we will definitely go back. Décor is attractive, our waiter kept a close eye on us and was quick to respond to requests. The food was excellent. I had shredded chicken with garlic sauce and the chicken was absolutely melt in your mouth. They brought a simple lettuce salad with a light flavorful dressing first, then our entrees. The surprise ending was a small slice of tirasamu flavor dessert and of course a fortune cookie.
This is a new favorite place to go!

I enjoy the food here, and the décor is incredible. Possibly the most beautiful restaurant I’ve been to in Macon. The Peking duck is disappointing, I wouldn’t get it again. But I love the house fried rice.

Very pleasant, spacious, comfortable and clean. Wasn’t too busy so would have liked the servers a little more attentive. Food was very good. Creature of habit, I always order orange chicken wherever I go. I was surprised to get Mandarin’s take. Most placed toss the chicken in the sauce. This time it was poured over the chicken. I’ve had lemon chicken like this and am usually not a fan because it is usually over sauced and too sweet. Not the case here. It was a very tasty sauce and just the right amount. The rice was perfectly cooked as well. Only downer was the table next to me. Don’t understand how parents of toddlers can completely ignore their screaming children and are insensitive to those around. Otherwise, definitely visit next time I’m in town.

Feb 20 2015 alright in town visiting parents moms wants to go here. Waiter seats gives us our beverages we order all maeals come with white fried rice which was excelle i ordered happy family which had shrimp, pork, chicken with veggies. moms has shrimp veggies. Waiter very attentive keep our glasses filled. Decent spot.

My husband and I stopped by to pick up dinner for our family. We expected to wait, even 30 or 40 minutes because we didn’t call but ordered take-​out at the front desk, when we arrived. After ordering, we were told 15 – 20 minutes. An hour later and after three other people came in and ordered and left with their food, we asked what was taking so long. The lady apologized but CORRECTED us, saying it hadn’t been that long. I said no, it has. I know exactly when we arrived because I had called my sister to tell her how long we thought it would be. It’s now been over an hour. 10 more minutes later, out food comes out, leaking. It’s getting on us, the staff, and the counter. They take it back again. Another customer comes up and says he’s beeen waiting on his food for over an hour. At no point do these people try to correct the problem or credit us for what we ordered. An hour and half later, we finally leave. My husband and I have both worked in the food industry, everyone has off days but you never tell you’re customers they’re wrong and you never treat people the way we were treated.

Food is always delicious and fast. Friendly service. Mongolian beef and princess prawns are addictive. Some Chinese places serve a lot of chewy «mystery meat» but I find they have good quality white meat chicken dishes and better quality beef than most all others. Lunch specials are a great price for a ton of food.

It was menu only which I liked. Food was freshly prepared as far as I could tell. It’s not a buffet so the server is bringing the food from the kitchen vice fixing a plate at buffet which I see a lot around here. I had Mandarin Pork which they said was hot and spicy but spicy it was not. However, it was a generous portion and it was very tasty. On the whole I did enjoy the meal.

Please start delivery.

This is the best sit down Chinese I have found in middle GA. The menu is HUGE, so it’s a great choice if you have a lot of picky eaters, including vegetarians. I have been here on a date and with a group of over 12, and with other groups in between. The layout is really good for handling groups of all sizes. It’s definitely a little pricier at night, but on par with most Chinese restaurants. So if you want to try it and save some money I recommend you start with lunch. The standout dish for me is the bbq pork ribs. They are seriously the best ribs I have found in Macon. I also recommend their wonton soup; it is better than average.

Update: We have been here several times, now, and the food is great every time. I’m keeping this a 4-​star review for inconsistency in quality on the same dish, as well as the fact that every once in a while — rarely, but it happens — there will be something that is less-​than-​perfect. Once, we ordered steamed dumplings and got them fried instead. Another time, I ordered the homestyle tofu (which is supposed to be in a spicy sauce), and it came out in a sweet soy-​based sauce. Occasionally a server will forget to ask me which rice I want, and I will forget to specify brown rice. But such is life.
I will say that I always order the same thing here, though — the homestyle tofu (or is it called family style? I forget). I’ve tried other dishes and not found them to be as much to my taste, but there’s nothing inherently wrong with having a favorite and sticking to it. Still, I can’t come here — personally — for variety.
In any case, this is an all-​around solid choice for reliably enjoyable American-​style Chinese food. This is NOT a dim sum restaurant, and you will NOT find tripe or chicken feet (etc) on the menu. If you’re coming in from the San Francisco Bay Area, you will be disappointed by the South in general. But if you’re looking for standard American-​Chinese fare, you can satisfy your craving here any time.
Also — the desserts come out every time! Flavors rotate; we’ve had chocolate, coffee, and strawberry thus far. Plus, I don’t know where they source them, but sometimes they have particularly great fortune cookies — crisp and not overly sweet, just what they’re supposed to be.

We ordered take-​out. The order was correct and ready at the time they said it would be. We got the General Tso’s chicken, Sesame Chicken, and Beef with broccoli. Everything was pretty good — better than your typical Chinese restaurant in America. The chicken was a little dry, but other than that, A-​OK. Fortune cookies were good.

Stopped by here on our way back to Atlanta through Macon. it was a rainy scary night and we were attempting to escape the scare of the highway for some hit-​the-​spot chinese food. We got there at 930 nervous that they were going to be closed. We walked in and it was empty, but the family who owns it was super nice and stayed open just for us! Also, of course we had to order a complicated order, but the owner was super nice to accomodate our asks. They even brought extra white rice for my cousin because she ordered to split.

I ordered the General Tso’s Chicken. It came out in a blackish sauce that was soupy… not at all thickened up with cornstarch or xanthan gum, the way it’s supposed to be. The flavor was way, way off from any General Tso’s I’d ever previously had before as well. Or, at least I thought it was the sauce that tasted so weird. What I realized, however, after several bites was that the funkiness I was tasting was RANCID CHICKEN!!!
I spent the rest of the evening in my hotel room shaking, having cold sweats, and being nauseous.
Eat at your own risk.

This restaurant has been around for many years, and nothing has changed. The sesame chicken and moo goo gai pan are delicious. Servings are generous, and the employees are kind and courteous. Those who are only accustomed to «to go» Chinese restaurants will not appreciate this restaurant, nor will those who are looking for a modern «PF Chang» experience.