Mountain Palace - NORTH RICHMOND

My wife and I ordered takeout Sweet and Sour Pork, Stir Fry Beef in Black Bean Sauce, and Fried Rice. We were impressed with the delicious flavors and quality of the dishes.

We as a group go there once a month for a board meeting. Food is very good and the staff give us good customer service. There is parking available.

The restaurant offers average dishes with nothing particularly outstanding. Parking is convenient and the service is good, making it a popular choice among locals. However, there aren't many other options in the area.

We walked into this restaurant without a reservation and waited just a couple of minutes to be seated. We had an entree of deep-fried soft-shell crab (listed under main dishes, but had the option to be converted to an entree ; for our main, a combination chow mein with soft (as opposed to deep-fried, crispy noodles for my husband and mixed vegetables with tofu for myself. There was supposed to be a 20-minute waiting time for the crab, but it came rather quickly, after 10 or so minutes. The crab was good, crispy and tender; and although deep-fried, not oily. When we finished our entree, a waiter came to us with fortune cookies and proceeded to clear our table. It was only when we told him that we had not had our main meals that he apologetically put everything back on our table. Our mains took a while in coming and when they finally did, left much to be desired. For starters, instead of the soft noodles we specified, my husband's order came with crispy noodles. (We did not send it back as we were hungry and feared it would take a lot longer to be replaced. My order arrived soon after. Both our dishes tasted rather bland and lacked that distinct flavor peculiar of Chinese cuisine. We pretty much got bored with the food, the servers and the place, in general. We left as soon as we could.

While passing through Orange and nearing lunchtime, I found myself at North Richmond, where I stumbled upon a hidden gem within the North Richmond Shopping Centre. The restaurant had a sign outside advertising lunch for $8, including a drink, which caught my attention with its unbeatable value. I opted for the classic sweet and sour pork with fried rice, accompanied by a refreshing iced water to keep things light. The friendly wait staff seated me at a spotlessly clean table, making me appreciate the restaurant's commitment to cleanliness. The food arrived promptly and looked and tasted delicious. I was pleasantly surprised by this find and will definitely be returning on my future trips to Orange. I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone in the area.