An egg roll can be a side dish, but at this casual South Des Moines restaurant it has the standing of a house specialty. These are hot, crisp, generously filled rolls with savory cabbage inside and enough substance to make ordering just one seem a little too cautious.
They work beside an entrée, of course, but they also make a perfectly reasonable reason to stop in on their own. Extra orders regularly wind up going home, which is not a bad plan when a craving for a crunchy egg roll can strike again later that evening.
The food arrives hot and is prepared to order, with the sort of unfussy neighborhood rhythm that suits both a quick pickup and a relaxed meal at one of the few indoor tables.
Start with the substantial stuff
The egg rolls have plenty of company on the appetizer side of the menu. Potstickers and crab rangoons are prominent choices, and the potstickers in particular have a reputation for being much larger than the usual appetizer-dish version.
Some arrive nearly fist-sized, with thick wrappers and hearty, generously packed fillings. A plate of them can shift the table's plans quickly: what began as a small starter starts looking more like a meal worth sharing.
Crab rangoons bring a different sort of crunch, with a generous filling and a slightly chewy quality beneath the crisp exterior. Put egg rolls, potstickers and rangoons together and a group could happily spend a visit sampling appetizers before ever getting to an entrée.
There is also fresh-made hot mustard for diners who like a sharper jolt than the little packet on a takeout counter usually provides. It is notably pungent and hot, so a modest dab is sensible before committing a whole egg roll to it.
A menu built for leftovers
The larger menu follows a familiar and welcome Chinese-American path, with orange chicken, General Tso's chicken, sesame chicken, Mongolian beef, garlic chicken, fried rice, lo mein and hot-and-sour soup among the options. Portions are generous enough that a lunch or dinner can easily become tomorrow's second meal.
General chicken comes with well-cooked vegetables and a sauce that can bring noticeable spice without turning syrupy sweet. Garlic chicken can be paired with mushrooms and water chestnuts, adding a little crunch and texture around tender pieces of chicken.
Beef eaters have room to roam. Mongolian beef is on the menu, while pepper beef and angry beef can turn up the heat considerably when ordered extra spicy. The restaurant has both spicy and non-spicy choices, but this is a useful place to be clear about your preferred heat level.
Fried rice is more than an automatic side here. Mongolian fried rice is one variation worth noticing, and the rice is known for flavor that does not simply rely on a heavy blanket of salty soy sauce. Add an egg roll and an entrée, and the table can become a pleasantly oversized spread in short order.
A few options beyond the usual rotation
The menu also includes Lao special dishes, giving repeat visitors something beyond the standard orange-chicken-and-lo-mein circuit to investigate. The restaurant should not be reduced to one category; the Chinese dishes are a major draw, while those Lao specials offer another direction for a future order.
Some vegetarian dishes are clearly labeled, which is helpful when a mixed group is sorting out an order. The broad menu also makes it easy for one person to stick with a familiar favorite while another tries a hotter beef dish or branches out from the usual routine.
There is a personal, flexible quality to the cooking as well. A customer looking for a preferred preparation was once sent out a triple delight entrée, a small indication that conversation can be useful when you have a particular dish in mind.
Small room, friendly pace
The dining room is simple, clean and cozy rather than formal, with limited indoor seating. One description puts the count at two tables, so this is best understood as a compact place for a casual meal, not a large sit-down gathering.
That small scale helps give the visit a personal tone. The owners and family members are known for warm greetings, conversation and a little joking around, and service remains attentive without making a quick meal feel like an occasion that needs dressing up.
It can suit a solo stop for egg rolls just as easily as a small group settling in over appetizers and shared entrées. The easygoing room also leaves space for conversation rather than competing with it.
Takeout fits naturally
Takeout is a major strength of the operation. Orders can be ready quickly for a simple pickup, while larger Friday-night orders may involve a short wait; the made-to-order food is still designed to travel well enough to make a satisfying dinner at home.
A practical takeout order might begin with an entrée, fried rice and at least one egg roll, then grow from there with potstickers or crab rangoons. Given the portions, it is easy to order for a couple of people and discover that lunch the next day has quietly taken care of itself.
Parking is plentiful, with a free lot, which keeps pickup pleasantly straightforward. Meal costs commonly land around $10 to $20 per person, depending on how many of those oversized appetizers find their way into the bag.