Palais de Jade personalizes Chinese dining
by Jason Myers, Outpost staff
A few weeks ago I thought it would be fun to invite a few friends out to lunch. So at our Thursday night InterVarsity meeting, we got together and talked about where we wanted to eat. Neither Matt nor his girlfriend Mandy cared where they ate, so my best friend, Jasmine, decided that we would go to her favorite restaurant, Palais de Jade.
Hidden in the Lakeside
Crossing shopping center at the corner of Lakeside and
Moana, Palais de Jade is one of Reno's local secrets. It was
recently voted the best Chinese restaurant in town by both
the Reno Gazette-Journal and the Reno News &
Review.
Although the dinner menu is more expensive in comparison to
other area Chinese restaurants, the lunch menu offers large
portions at a reasonable price.
The lunch specials come with special side dishes.
Photo by Jason Myers
The first thing I noticed about Palais de Jade was the decor. Chinese silk paintings hang from the walls, small green plants line the backs of the booths and there is even a Chinese onionskin screen separating the dining area from the kitchen. Owned by a local Asian family, it has the atmosphere of a mom-and-pop joint while maintaining its unique Chinese flair.
Despite Palais de Jade's beautiful design and decoration, the main attraction is the food. Most items on the lunch menu are $5.50 and they all come with soup or salad, an egg roll, a fried chicken wing and a fortune cookie.
The lunch menu does offer some seafood entrees, but they cost a little more than the basic chicken, beef and pork meals. Hot Chinese tea comes free with the meal, but sodas or coffee cost extra.
Interestingly enough, we
each ordered a chicken entree. Matt ordered the Kung Pao
chicken, Mandy had sweet and sour chicken, Jasmine (as
usual) had the chicken chow mein and I went with the
Szechuan
chicken.
First, the server brought us our soup or salad. Both Matt
and Mandy had the salad, which consists of lettuce, green
cabbage, crisp oriental noodles and a soy vinaigrette.
Jasmine and I had the egg drop soup. However, for those who
don't like egg drop, they offer hot and sour soup as
well.
Service comes quickly and with a personal
touch.
Photo by Jason Myers
The lunch service is very fast at Palais de Jade. It took only ten minutes after we ordered to receive our meals. Each lunch contains a large portion of the main dish, a scoop of either steamed or fried rice and the aforementioned accoutrements. The speedy service makes Palais de Jade a favorite spot for people who want a hot meal but don't have a lot of time to sit and eat. One benefit of local ownership is more personal service.
The greeter is the owner's wife and many times one can see the owner himself helping out. And in the Asian culture, friendly service is very important, so the staff will never be rude or disruptive to the customers.
The final part of the afternoon was paying the tab. Between four entrees at $5.50 apiece, one soda, tax and tip, we spent just over $30 for lunch. When Jasmine and I ate there a few times over the summer, lunch for two usually came to $16 including tax and tip.
For a hot meal and wonderful service, Palais de Jade is a relatively inexpensive lunch option for college students and business people alike.
Posted Nov. 5,
1998
Copyright 1998 Nevada Outpost