Mulan Asian Kitchen — Restaurant in Forest Hill

12:12 p.m. I stepped out of work into the Texas heat, headphones on, and walked a block to Mulan Asian Kitchen, a place now wearing the body of a former Denny’s. The bones of the old diner were still there if you looked, booth shapes and tile patterns, but now draped in Asian décor, the ghosts of Grand Slam breakfasts quietly replaced by teriyaki and miso.

The staff was fast and polite, seating me in a corner booth. At first it was empty, but as the minutes passed, people began to pour in. My teriyaki chicken bento box arrived quickly, and I attacked it without hesitation. I took a photo halfway through, not at the start, because this was no Instagram beauty shot. It was the aftermath. The scene looked like a predator in the Serengeti after a successful hunt, scraps of lettuce and the remains of edamame pods strewn across the red tray like bones in the dust.

And then came the machine.

Around the corner rolled a white, three-shelved robot cart, its glowing eyes locked forward. It clanked toward the tables, every small gap in the tile sending a shiver through the plates it carried. The dishes rocked and clicked like they were trying to signal distress. I imagined this was one of our AI overlords, dutifully delivering orders in exchange for learning our eating habits, one shaky trip at a time. We all just watched it, a little amused, a little uneasy, as it served our food without needing to smile.

I paid. I left happy. And somewhere behind me, the robot kept working, clanking over the same tiles, biding its time.

Praise the...

Visited on 6/4/25 for dinner after seeing lots of great reviews. Sushi is one of our favorites and the pictures looked fantastic so we were excited to stop in.

Nicely decorated and clean upon entering. Quickly greeted by Carman and seated immediately. Not very busy which was great.

Drink orders taken and quickly returned with them as we reviewed the menu. Water and sweet tea. The tea was disgusting - tasted sour and very old. We asked for a soda instead and Carman obliged.

We ordered only sushi - 4 rolls

Hair Mex, Las Vegas, Green Forest, and On the Border.

Order took about 30 mins to arrive which was quite long given there were only 3 other tables seated. To our disappointment, one of the rolls was completely wrong. She took the entire plate back and we had to wait about 10 mins to return with 1 roll and had to wait about 20 mins for the wrong roll to be made.

Rolls were good, the tempura fried were okay, def had an oily/greasy flavor. The others tasted pretty fresh. Presentation was really cute and appealing.

Overall service was okay - nothing spectacular. Food was good, nothing to rave about. May give a different part of the menu a try but not sushi. I will give a kudos for having pics of the rolls - always helps when...

I gave this place two tries. The first time was a month ago and it was fairly lackluster, and I felt that the ingredients they used in their ramen were frozen or prepackaged you would find in a supermarket for 2 dollars.

Well, I learned my lesson on the second try. The picture below: on the left is the caterpillar($12.50), and the right is the Mega shrimp roll($15). Compared to the other pictures you will see on their sushi, my takeour order had a total of 6 pieces each, not great.

As you can see, there is not much difference, though. The "Mega" roll was smaller. I expected more, especially when I was almost paying 30 dollars for two items. Flavor was basic as well. If you're charging a semi premium price and only giving me six pieces, I figure you must know what you're doing instead of nickel and diming me.

Do be careful. They are asking people in the restaurant for 5 star reviews for free drinks. So think twice before eating here. But I'm done and not spending my money...