Red Lantern - Restaurant & Bar (Formerly: Silver Star) — Restaurant in Jacksonville

It is really bad that this little, hole in the wall Chinese restaurant is only a 5 minute drive from my house. Bad for the waistline. LOL

Do not be fooled by the inside of Silver Star. Yes it may look outdated inside and they are in a dire need of an upgrade, but it does not affect the quality of their food. I've ordered take out and have dined in many times, and each time I've dined in they are always packed with people.

Silver star is not like the Americanized Chinese food places. They serve the authentic Chinese food how it is supposed to be and even have a dim sum menu. Most importantly, THEY. HAVE. SHRIMP. TOAST. OMG. SHRIMP TOAST!! DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS FOR THIS NEW ENGLAND TRANSPLANT TO FIND SHRIMP TOAST?!? LOL. 

Everything that I've had so far on the menu, I have enjoyed... except for the Mandarin pork. It was advertised as spicy but it is more of a sour dish. I wasn't made aware of that when I ordered it, but after that they do let you know it is sour. Just an FYI. 

If you dine in, you get some complimentary crispy noodles, duck sauce and homemade chili oil with your meal. I liked the chili oil a lot and would use it as an accompaniment to some of the dishes I order. 

Service is always excellent every time I go. The owner of the place is really nice and she will check up on everyone. I wish I got her name!

If you are looking for authentic Chinese and dim sum west of the St. John's river, you won't be disappointed with...

Unfortunately the Dynamics have changed in such a way that I have to post. It's best to avoid this place. I just recently went there earlier in the week thinking it would be a good idea. I was woefully and seriously disappointed. The pork fried rice that came with the shrimp lo mein barely had any pork in it and the lo mein had absolutely no vegetables except for one piece of onion. The noodles themselves were nothing more than typical pasta noodles covered in some kind of oyster sauce. I have put this in my system never to go there again.

An unbelievably quiet nook that was exactly what the spirit ordered. I had the seafood soup and fried shrimp appetizer too start. . . Well the soup was perfectly hot and soft in its flavors with the egg white dropped in just so. Adding a little chili oil was the perfect touch. The fried shrimp appetizer went very well with a touch of Chinese mustard and a touch of the chili oil. The main course was the house special and it definitely hit the spot for my spirit, not too salty with a nice mix of proteins, beef, pork, and seafood with the vegetables in a nice oyster sauce, very delightful. Finishing up with a nice poor of hot tea. The music in the background was a nice mix of modern and some time trips to another era. All in all I would definitely recommend this little nook. It is moderately pricey but worth...

This place!! This place is wonderful. I have never had better Dim Sum in.my.life.!!! I went for the first time last night and ordered the crispy shrimp dumpling (3 per order), pan fried leek dumpling (4 per order), and the soup dumpling (4 per order). I also had a small hot and sour soup. My very favorite of those was the crispy shrimp dumpling!! OM to G this is good!! There was other yummy goodness in there other than shrimp. I have no idea what it was and I don't really care. They were crispy, slightly sweet and DELICIOUS! The leek one also has shrimp in it and it's outstanding. The soup dumplings are little steamed pockets with pork (I believe) and a yummy broth in them. The hot and sour soup was not the best I've ever had but was still pretty good. On to the service. This young woman who took my order ( I wish I could remember her name) is very knowledgeable about the menu and what everything is. She is patient and very sweet. She answered all of my questions and helped me to order. She deserves a raise! The ambiance is definitely date night worthy. Lots of seating not to crammed together. This spot is for sure worth trying if you haven't already. As for me, I will be going again tonight to try more things on the...