Jade Tiki Express

I was also a fan of the original Jade Tiki in Bloomfield, I tried the new location, and I am happy to say I was not disappointed. Egg dropp soup was very tasty, egg rolls were nice and crispy, vegetables in my stir fry were very fresh. I'll definitely be back!

I was referred to this place by another Yelper who spotted my review of Golden Bowl.  I've found a good thing in Golden Bowl and didn't want to stray, but I thought I would give Jade Tiki a try because it's always nice to have a second on hand when your #1 is on vacation (Golden Bowl left me in a lurch once!  How dare they get out of town!).  

Usually we stick to the familiar when trying a new Chinese restaurant.  Who can go wrong with ABC right?  We ordered the ABC, Sesame Chicken, Fried Rice and Egg Rolls.  1 out of 4 were good.  The rest we threw out and I received a stern talking to about daring to venture from our beloved Golden Bowl.

The ABC was your traditional crusted chicken breast on a bed of lettuce (I really wish the restaurants would stop doing that!  Warm wilted lettuce gives me the heebie jeebies!).  It was tasty, moist and...standard.  The sauce that it came with was good enough.  

The Sesame Chicken that you get at Golden Bowl are good chunks of white meat chicken breast slathered in a tangy reddish sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds.  This was a glob of portions of the chicken that I'm unaware existed, smothered in a brown sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds.  The sauce can be described as odd, I guess.  It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good.  The cut of meat was chewy and strangely shaped...similar to the cut you'll find at the restaurant in the food court at Lakeside Mall.  One bite was enough for me.

The egg fried rice was mushy and forgettable, but not objectionable.

Finally, the egg rolls.  I'm not a huge fan of Chinese egg rolls to begin with.  I'm spoiled because my mom makes the best egg rolls I've ever tried, so I have a chip on my shoulder about what a good egg roll is.  I think the one thing that is better about this egg roll than others at area Chinese restaurants is the egg roll wrapper.  Because of my mom, I know what a good wrapper looks and tastes like.  They get bonus points on that, but the insides need improving - it tastes like every other Chinese eggroll.  If that's your thing, you might like the upgraded wrapper.

All in all, I am glad that the other Yelper referred me to this place.  After all, that's why I come to Yelp - to get other people's take on area restaurants in the hopes of finding a treasure.  However, I won't be returning here.  

I'm still on the lookout for a #2 to Golden Bowl...Let me know if you have one.

I was a fan of the original Jade Tiki in Bloomfield and was excited to see this restaurant on this side of town.

This is definitely a step above most Chinese take-out places.  The ingredients from the proteins to vegetables are fresh.  Their Chicken and pork are not overcooked or tough.  The vegetables are crisp.  The sauces are much lighter (without losing flavor).

If you don't try their egg rolls, you are missing out on something special.

Overall good food at a good value!