Takeout Chinese food seems to have its staples, and mostly distinct flavors that we’ve all come to know and love. Asian Paradise, a small Chinese restaurant offering take-out, delivery and dine-in service in the Damonte Ranch neighborhood, stays true to the menu but changes up the style.
You’ll recognize the food, like salt & pepper chicken, kung-pao beef, egg drop soup and basil shrimp. But even the staples seem to be made with their own flair – one that lacks the grease that comes with many of the popular spots – for a surprisingly less heavy and more refreshing meal of Chinese takeout.
It’s best to order family style when you visit Asian Paradise, that way you can try several of the menu’s most appetizing offerings. And there are a LOT of options. The pineapple fried rice comes with juicy chunks of warm pineapple, raisins and cashews. There are options to get it with vegetables or add chicken, pork, beef or shrimp.
The Paradise chow mein is another standout, using a thin noodle as its base before piling on the vegetables and any protein of your choice.
The orange chicken uses a flavorful glaze over plump and juicy chunks of chicken, fried crispy while the walnut shrimp is doused in a creamy sauce with thick pieces of shrimp and warmed walnuts on top.
The soups are more costly than most similar eateries but come in good portions. There’s everything from the classics such as hot & sour soup and miso soup to other filling combinations, including chicken corn soup and tom yum gai (a Thai-style hot and sour soup with chicken) and the similar tom yum goong featuring Thai-style shrimp.
Take home orders come with fortune cookies, utensils and sauces by request. When you dine in, however, you can take advantage of the bar. In addition to a collection of hot and cold sakes, there are beers, wines and cocktails to choose from.
Asian Paradise also recently started serving boba tea, for those who can’t get enough of the Taiwanese tea-based drink, with flavors like mango green tea, strawberry milk tea and pomegranate black tea (but those are just the tip of the iceberg).
If you’ve never been in before and you’re able, a good way to try Asian Paradise for the first time is during lunch when discounted prices are available on select items and diners can get more bang for their buck.
