Chinatown – Bee Caves

2712 Bee Cave Rd., Ste. #124 Austin, TX 78746 (512) 328-6588

Sun-Thu: 11am-10pm Fri-Sat: 11am-10:30pm

austinchinatown.com — REVIEW – Mopac location REVIEW – Downtown location

 

We’ve talked at great length about the 30th anniversary reopening of Chinatown on Bee Caves Road. And for good reason. Ronald Cheng’s labor of love has come to fruition at this beautifully redesigned and tastefully appointed restaurant just off Mopac in Rollingwood. I was there with my wife and former Ch. 36 (my first go-round on TV) sportscaster Vic Jacobs at the opening in the early 80’s. I was blown away. Never had experienced anything like it before.

Dined there several times already, and the menu as I imagined it would be is stellar. All the old favorites like the Jade Dumplings with minced shrimp (absolutely stunning quality and make sure to add some chili oil to the soy), the Salt and Pepper Shrimp, the Thai Pepper Basil Shrimp, the Honey Peppered Beef and a variety of Maki are still on hand along with so many other innovations that Ronald literally used to blow away the market 30 years ago like the Taiwanesse Hot and Sour Seafood Soup for Two.

New is a permanent section of Dim Sum choices that can be ordered at any time: the Leek Cake Shrimp Dumplings are hard to pass up. An almost perfect texture with light yet urgently good flavors. Likewise for the pan-fried Pork Dumplings. The Planta and Dips is very tasty. This is literally a variety of pancakes with curry sauce. And the Pork Belly Wrap Vietnamese style kicks culinary ass. Man is this delicious. First bite flavor rush is amazing! The Chinese Sausage Rice with Stone Pot is another savory and texturally perfect choice. Try this with the Tangy Spicy Green Beans. This is a lovely complement. And you must try the aptly named Volcano Shrimp in an exquisite kan shao sauce. Like everything at Chinatown, the preparation and presentation of this dish is flawless.

I’ve always thought that Chinatown had the best Lo Mein dishes in the city. I still do. The Shrimp Lo Mein is classic. Not the least bit oily which can occur in the hands of an unskilled chef. The veggie version is a blast as well.

And on the last visit we also tried the Thai Curry Salmon. A little bit of heat with a great amount of taste. Flavors that will stay with you, working their way deeply into your culinary memory bank. But isn’t that the case with so many items at Chinatown? They also have weekend Dim Sum which was just added and is much welcome in southwest Austin.

So glad to see this one back!

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