| Food | * * * 1/2 |
| Service | * * * 1/2 |
| Ambience | * * * |
| Value | 7.0 |
| Cost | $ $ |
| Dish | Price | Value | Rating | |
| Chicken Satay | $6.50 |
* * * 1/2 | * * * | |
| Peking Duck Special | 9.95 |
* * * | * * * | |
| Peking Duck | * * * 1/2 | |||
| Duck Bone Soup | * * * | |||
| Stir Fried Duck in Lettuce Cups | * * * | |||
| All You Can Eat Brunch | 8.00 |
* * * * | * * * |
Eastern Empire is located off of Fair Oaks & Howe, in University Village, and is a welcome addition. The restaurant consists of one large room, with a bar off to the side. The chairs and tables are modern, yet comfortable. On the wall is a rather free-form painting of perhaps an ocean landscape.
I expected the cuisine to be inherently Chinese, but surprise! the menu consists of dishes from Indonesia, China, India, Viet Nam, etc. We opted for their April Peking Duck Special, as well as an order of chicken satay. As for drinks, we decided on tea (no charge). Our server came first with the peanut sauce for the satay and the complimentary spicy salad. The spicy salad consisted of ornately cut cucumbers, carrots, and lettuce, pickled in a sweet vinegar, with lots of fresh small red hot peppers. The satay itself came about 3 minutes later, with another small serving of the delicious spicy salad. The combination of the peanut sauce and satay made for a delightful combination. The sauce was a little chunky, and was the ideal consistency for dipping. It was all we could do to keep from spooning the sauce directly into our mouths! There was a small delay for the Peking Duck as they had only one cart to wheel it out on, but our server was very conscientious and checked back every few minutes to apprise us of the situation.
The Peking Duck came out on a cart bedecked with green onions, hoisin sauce, and wrapping pancakes, along with several cleavers. The designated cutter came out and delicately sliced off the choicest parts of the duck onto a platter and then wrapped the first two pancakes for us (perhaps so that later we would realize how futile our own efforts were). I was a bit disappointed that the green onions were cut up so small. Often, restaurants serving Peking Duck will cut the onions into little brushes so that you can spread the hoisin sauce on with them, thus mixing a little flavor into everything. I also would have appreciated more skin to go with the meat (as this part is the delicacy). However, I was enchanted that they decided to make their own pancakes, rather than using small tortillas, as is the practice in many restaurants.
Almost as soon as we finished the duck, they removed it, and brought out our Duck Bone Soup. The server made a nice presentation of the soup, carefully removing the duck bones, and ladling every last drop into our bowls.
The final dish was Stir Fried Duck in Lettuce Cups, which was basically the leftover duck, cut up, stir fried with a few vegetables and hoisin, and then wrapped in lettuce leaves like pancakes.
Everything was done very efficiently. There was no wait to get in, no long wait for service, little delay between the courses, and every dish was well-presented. Yet it was possible to feel comfortable in informal dress - there were people dressed in suit and tie, but also T-Shirt and shorts; and they were all being served with the same panache and decorum. An excellent meal!
***
Eastern Empire also provides an All-You-Can-Eat brunch on Sundays (starting at 11:30am) with Peking Duck wraps, Chinese Chicken Salad, Asian Sesame shrimp noodle salad, satay with peanut sauce, potstickers, Happy Family, Imperial Rolls, Twice Cooked Pork, and Singapore Style Noodles to mention just a few. The buffet also comes with a bowl of soup, tea, and fruit-ade. It contains all the best of their dinner and appetizers, is pleasantly prepared, and more than you could ever eat!