Back to China for Lunch

Friday was a lovely day and

after spending an hour and a half

at the eye doctor's office,

I decided I needed a treat.

You know, there's that whole:

is one better or two?

is three clearer or the same?

tell me when the images line up,

which image is brighter/sharper?

And then there is that icky

yellow gunk they put in your eyes

to check for glaucoma.

Yep, I needed a treat.

I had originally intended to head over

to my favorite Chinese restaurant in town,

Sunny Palace,

but I knew that if I did,

I would just order my favorite dish again.

Now, don't get me wrong,

I love the Boneless Pork Ribs there,

so much so that I can't ever seem

bring myself to order anything else.

But this time I wanted something different.

As I was walking out of the Target store,

I looked across the parking lot and saw

Mark Pi's China Gate restaurant

and made the decision to go there instead.

Now, this does break one of my self-imposed rules,

as Mark Pi's is a chain restaurant,

but I decided that I would give it a try anyway.

There were a few diners present,

but I was able to be seated immediately.

I like the decorations on the doors.

Interesting ceiling treatment in the dining area
in which I was seated.




Luckily, I had this area to myself.

All the better to snap pictures for my blog.





The restaurant was largely empty at this time of day,
but my understanding is that they are busier in the evenings.

I perused the menu and opted for the
Sweet and Sour Shrimp, a la carte,
meaning it was served with either
steamed or fried rice and a fortune cookie.

I chose to have fried rice with my meal.



After a very short wait,
my lunch arrived.

The tempura-battered shrimp were mixed
with pineapple, green bell pepper, carrot and onion.

I was impressed that there were more shrimp
than veggies and pineapple in the dish.

The shrimp were not overcooked
and were my favorite part of the meal.

I did think that the sauce was more sour than sweet,
but this was a nice departure from the norm.