We Miss You, Mandarin Chicken

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I got a craving for Mandarin Chicken the other day and asked Shaun to order us some while I was on my way home. When he started looking at all our take out menus he couldn’t find it. It turns out none of the Chinese places here make it. After a little more research he found out that the Mandarin Chicken that we’re used to is indigenous to the New Orleans area. Can you believe it? I can understand muffalettas, king cake, beignets and the like, but Mandarin Chicken? Seriously? So now I know what I want next time we come to visit.

4 Comments to “We Miss You, Mandarin Chicken”

  1. Mom 23 January 2008 at 6:28 am #

    And the band played “Whodathunkit”.

  2. Tamika 5 August 2008 at 3:03 pm #

    Whenever I travel home to New Orleans, I don’t go to seafood restaurants, I have to find my favorite Chinese restaurants to get me a hot order of Mandarin Chicken! I miss it so much!

  3. Milton 28 December 2008 at 12:11 pm #

    Tell me about it! I moved from NOLA to Austin, expecting that “Mandarin Chicken” is a staple Chinese dish… oh not so! They’ve never heard of it, here! And a few places actually gave me funny looks when I described it!

    So now, the rare occasions that find me “home” find me in Young’s Garden in Kenner, too.

  4. Velvet 15 October 2009 at 3:40 pm #

    I had the same problem, but have, after several years, finally found out how to find that good ol’ New Orleans Mandarin Chicken. It’s actually a Cantonese dish, called Warr-Shu-Gai. If you look for Cantonese restaurants in specific, and look for that (or for cantonese fried chicken breast in almond gravy, if they’ve Americanized their menu), you should get something close.

    But lord, do I EVER miss Five Happiness!

    Good luck,

    Vel