Metro Pulse/Restaruant Rover/Lotus Garden

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Lotus Garden Chinese Restaurant
460 North Cedar Bluff Road
690-5788

by Connie Seuer

A friend tipped me off about a newish place located roundabout Cedar Bluff Crossing, a locale known more for its knitting shop than for intriguing restaurants. I was game to seek it out, and drove past strip malls, banks, and Weigels, before my eye was snatched by an appetite-inducing word—Thai. It was a black and red sign, reading "Thai House," pinned to the entrance, that enticed me through the doors of Lotus Garden Chinese Restaurant. A larger sign, positioned above the door, read "Lotus Garden" but I figured the new Thai House owners hadn't the time to replace the previous restaurant's shingle. Marlena and Ullrich, my dining companions for the evening, followed my reasoning and were ready patrons for a little tom yum and phad Thai. But once inside, things became a bit more confusing, as a lovely Polish waitress issued us four menus...apiece.

Lotus Garden is alive and well, with a full menu of your average Chinese specialties. That was menu number one. Menu number two was the card for Thai House—all Thai, all the time. The third menu, emblazoned with "Wasabi, a Japanese Restaurant," offered up Japanese dishes. Menu number four, a single laminated sheet, presented a taster's plate with pre-selected items from each of the other three menus ($12.95). My thoughts on the situation? You'd have to have an Emperor's army stashed in the kitchen to pull off all of these complex dishes with finesse. Marlena and Ullrich, seemingly nonplused, flipped through the multitudinous options with fervor.

After much review, the Thai House menu talked to us the most. In fact, we struggled to narrow our entrée selections down to three and bought some time by ordering a plentiful supply of appetizers. Por pia tod, aka spring roll ($1.55), delivered the anticipated flaky crisp exterior and shredded interior of cabbage, pork, and shrimp. Ullrich was licking his lips after dabbing each bite with hot mustard and sweet sauce. A request for a vegetarian egg roll revealed that diners are free to mix menus—the waitress deftly substituted what wasn't available from Thai House with a Lotus Garden vegetable roll ($1.35). Filled with peppered cabbage and carrots, its tough, ultra-fried wrapper made for a less than fulfilling egg roll experience. Stick with the por pia tod and all will be well.

Tom yum goong($2.95), an inspiring, broth-based soup of lemongrass, shrimp, and mushrooms was light, moderately spicy, and an appreciated wake-up call for our taste buds. If you haven't enjoyed tom yum soup before, this is an admirable version worth your spoon. If you're already a tom yum fan, you'll find this one milder with a distinct flair of citrus.

And although the rolls and soup were plenty, we couldn't resist also sampling the lettuce wraps ($6.95). With a choice of chicken or beef, we opted for the bird, and received a steaming entrée-sized platter of stir-fried chicken, basil leaves, and sweet bell peppers. Thanks to a stroke of brilliance on Marlena's part, we requested a most complementary side of peanut dressing as a dipping sauce. We three were set and ready to wrap, but the fresh, crisp iceberg lettuce wasn't—it was too crisp to roll. What began as a messy dish quickly became impossible to eat without a bib. Not to be defeated, we chose instead to graze on the filling and left the lettuce as palate cleanser for meal's end.

Three steaming, sizable entrees appeared above the table and we scrambled to make room for the new dishes—kai phad met ma muang—stir-fried spicy chicken with cashews ($7.95), neua krathiam phril Thai—stir-fried beef with garlic and black pepper ($7.95), and the dependable phad Thai—a traditional Thai noodle dish with tofu, ground peanuts, egg, and bean sprouts ($7.95).

Marlena enjoyed the kai phad met ma muang, finding it just-right spicy and filled with tasty chicken, but the cashews were overdone for her taste. Ullrich and I were happy to snitch them from the plate. As for the phad Thai, the dish we'd all been looking forward to, it wasn't the traditional make. Missing were bean sprouts and the usual ample bites of stir-fried egg, as well as the light, white rice noodles. Instead, this version held baby corn, water chestnuts, and snow pea pods (which resembled something that might come off the Lotus Garden menu) and its noodles were overcooked, drenched in a sweet, light brown, stir-fry sauce.

Neua krathiam phril Thai was the jackpot entrée, with hearty strips of highly seasoned beef and perfectly steamed broccoli. Heavy doses of garlic and black pepper gave the dish a memorable punch that Ullrich took on with equal gusto.

After reading our fortune cookies (none too thrilling, even with the "in bed" suffix) I couldn't help but wonder what Lotus Garden would be like if it allowed itself to focus. What if they picked just one menu (preferably the Thai one) and worked at making it the best it could be? I suspect a little bit of concentration could transform this wobbly beginning into something singularly delicious.