By TIM WILCOX
Special to the Alpine Mountaineer
As a general rule, restaurants aren’t known for their longevity. It’s a challenging and often unpredictable business. Profitable lifespan is typically measured in single-digit years. So when not only one, but two family-owned and -operated eateries prosper for decades, that’s remarkable.
Mandarin Garden in Crestline closed its doors recently after more than 30 years, with owners James and Cindy Tien deciding it was time to retire from full-time restaurant operations. But the sibling establishment in Blue Jay keeps going strong. That Mandarin Garden will celebrate its 40th anniversary next year.
Its owner/operators are the Wang family – originally from Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. Five brothers have taken turns playing various roles for the restaurant, such as in-house principal and managing owner. Their Americanized names, from oldest to youngest, are Charlie, Michael, Barry, Larry and Jason. All but Jason, who after caring for his aging and now deceased parents is pursuing other opportunities down the hill, are still involved with Mandarin Garden. Proudly and confidently, they carry on the family’s business and hospitality legacy. (Sister Cindy owned the Crestline restaurant with her husband, James.)
Larry Wang is currently the in-house principal, overseeing day-to-day operations and serving as head chef. According to Larry, brother-in-law James Tien has agreed to bring his considerable culinary expertise to that role, though Larry will continue to do some cooking while focusing even more on upgrades to the enterprise. Larry is also a computer expert who’s run his own repair business for many years in the same building that houses the restaurant.
Cliff Vogel and Sherry Navarro, from Running Springs, enjoy a generous tableful of offerings from the kitchen of Mandarin Garden. Cliff has been a patron here since 1986, a year after the restaurant opened.
He followed his older brothers to the U.S. in 1984. “Charlie was first to move here,” Larry says. “It was during the Nixon era, in the late 1960s.” He learned how to cook “American-style Chinese food” and worked in several restaurants. Ultimately, the family opened Blue Jay’s Mandarin Garden in April 1985.
“I’m very proud that we’ve been able to serve the mountain communities for all of these years,” says Larry. “We’re fortunate to have such loyal customers who support us. That’s the key.” He adds that because of all the short-term rentals now available in the mountains, “We do have quite a few customers on weekends in particular who probably don’t live here full-time or own a vacation home.”
Another significant source of family pride is the bill of fare itself, which presents dishes from many parts of China with an emphasis on Amerian preferences and palates. Larry describes it as “a mixture of Mandarin, Cantonese, chow mein, chop suey and more, which you never see in any Chinatown restaurant. It’s our own interpretation of the best of Chinese food.”
On the Menu
Chinese dumplings and sashimi present an unusual and enticing taste-and-texture combination.
Chinese bills of fare are celebrated for their extensive variety and sheer number of selections. Mardarin Garden’s menu is exemplary in that regard. Hence, “Let’s Dine Out” must be content with a mere sampling.
The appetizer lineup offers the likes of paper-wrapped chicken, barbecue spareribs, skewered shrimp and crab Rangoon (averge tag, $11). Top pick is the assorted appetizers for two ($19.95), featuring a number of items from the starter slate. Best-bet soups are seafood mushroom, shrimp with sizzling rice, classic hot and sour, corn with crab meat and pork with pickled vegetables. Served in portions for two or four diners, they range from $11.95 to $21.95.
Mandarin Garden seafood selections are perennial standouts. Here are seven fail-safe orders: shrimp in lobster sauce, spicy imperial shrimp, Szechuan-sauced shrimp, Kung Pao scallops, scallops with black-bean sauce, sautéed lobster tail and spicy brown-sauced fish fillet. The entire surf slate comprises 26 items ranging from $16.95 to $36.95.
Plump Mexican gulf shrimp showcase the chef’s flavorful and healthful Chinese rendition.
Among the less-expensive fowl options are sliced chicken with Szechuan garlic sauce, ginger-sparked sliced chicken and Kung Pao chicken sprinkled with peanuts.
Fifteen house specialities – chef’s signature dishes – average about $21. Our preferences, for what they’re worth, are pineapple duck, sizzling scallops with beef, orange-peel chicken and Szechuan-sauced seafood delight (shrimp, scallops and fish fillet.) Simply FYI, beef and pork dishes are also well-represented.
FYI, too, family-style meals (for at least two people) are a big deal here, which is typical for Chinese restaurants. Per diner, they range from $21.95 to $33.95. The premium pick stars five appetizers, three-flavor sizzling-rice soup and entrée choice from honey-walnut shrimp, orange-peel chicken, spicy squid in black-bean sauce, moo-shu pork wraps, subgum mixed vegetables, Kung Pao seafood delight and beef rice noodles. Is cultivating a robust appetite helpful and maybe even essential? Yes.
There’s no room at this point to detail the daily lunch specials, served until 3 p.m. Most of the 24 selections are priced at $14.95 or $15.95. The complements are egg flower soup, egg roll, fried shrimp and egg fried rice.Then only just enough room to drop these familiar names: tofu dishes, soft and pan-fried noodles, traditional chow mein, chop suey and egg foo young.
If you visit and happen to encounter Larry Wang, you’ll be struck by his effervescent personality and winsome laugh. While those qualities may or may not run in the family, they’re definitely an asset for someone who meets and greets and treats his customers.
Mandarin Garden: 26868 Hwy. 189 in Blue Jay; (909) 337-4095; reservations accepted, especially for larger parties; major cards; $8.95-$36.95; 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sun.-Thurs., 12 to 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat.
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