Mandarin Taste
23391 Golden Springs
Diamond Bar
909-861-1819
Mandarin Taste has been in Diamond Bar since 1984. In 1984 Diamond Bar was had a low Asian population. But as the Diamond Bar Asian population grew and more Chinese restaurants opened in surrounding areas like Rowland Heights, Mandarin Taste has stayed in business. They cater to a mostly white crowd. Go into Mandarin Taste and the only Chinese people there are the owners, cooks and wait staff. They serve Americanized Chinese food but they do it right.
Pictured is the shrimp in lobster sauce, ($12.55) and shrimp lo-mein ($8.55) The shrimp in lobster sauce is basically shrimp in egg flower soup. They may use some kind of lobster base but there are no pieces of lobster in this dish. They do have some peas, tofu, and of course shrimp. The shrimp are tender and are good sized. The soup base isn't too bad and works well over white rice, though a bit on the bland side. Adding pepper is a good idea.
The shrimp lo-mein is soft noodles and some beans sprouts, lettuce, green onions, and cabbage. The noodles are soft but are on greasy side. They could use less oil when cooking this dish. But shrimp are tender but there aren't enough of them, you get much more noodles than shrimp.
Service is good. They speak English well and the noise level is very low. They also aren't too pushy and allow you to enjoy your dinner without feeling rushed.
Overall Mandarin Taste is a nice neighborhood restaurant. It's not for food snob idiots, like those on Chowhounds, but it's serves good quality food, though I think prices are on the high side.
