Reds Chinese — Restaurant in New Orleans

Wonderfully Surprised! "Wow...just wow!" Completely and surprisingly lives up to every bit of it's great reputation for delicious, creative, inspired food.

The restaurant itself is very unassuming and not obvious from the street...save the small square red sign out front. Its located on the lower floor of a two story building with "Tacqueria" clearly emblazoned on the front.

Entering the small, dimly lit space, you notice first the bar...and then the open kitchen directly across from the bar. As you venture further into Red's, finally a few small candle-lit tables become visible.

That said, we were quickly greeted by very friendly/warm staff and ushered to a table-for-two of our choice. Then the atmosphere begins to set in...simple yet inviting if not a little NOLA cool and funky. We immediately felt comfortable and looked forward to the menu so many rave about.

Then came the simple two-sided, thick paper menu. You may notice the drink side is more extensive than the food side...wine, beer, etc as well as some very interesting and inventive cocktails

The dining menu is significantly shorter than those of most restaurants, but what it lacks in scale is quickly recognizable as a fascinating mix of creative, inspired dishes. I felt immediately like having one of each item on that little menu. Note: Do heed the wait staff's warning...dishes are served family style...ie the portions are larger than you might expect. Regardless, especially if you likely won't return to the area for a while, I definitely recommend trying a few things. We shared the following:

Thai iced tea daiquiri Crawgoons - local inspired version of the crab rangoon...crawfish and and a habanero honey sauce! Pork Belly Buns were awesome! The Kimchee is some of best, most flavorful and intense I've had General Chicken - local take on this popular dish using whole fried chicken drums, wings, breast, etc...gain, best I've had ever My wife had the ginger noodles ramen bowl and loved it! I finished w a Far East inspired Permanent Vacation cocktail...if I'd eaten any more I might have remained there, comatose, indeed on a more or less permanent vacation But wait...we weren't done yet. The donuts embellished w a green tree glaze had been fried to perfection. Delightful finish to our amazing meal!

Overall, it was absolutely obvious the food was prepared with soul and love. You could taste it in every bite of every dish, as well as in the funky down home atmosphere, pleasant service, and thoughtful presentation.

As we departed, amazed and already recalling our experience...probably because we didn't want it to end, the staff and cooks all smiled, waived, and said "thank you" from open kitchen.

This experience we'll not soon forget...don't pass up the...

OMGOSH I have found my food heaven. Red Chinese has put it's own twist on Chinese food. In fact I think some is actually more authentic Chinese then most are used to. With use of lots of spices and eggplant and vegetables and fruit with amazing sauces. Mmmmmmm.....but, no doubt they have absolutely made this cuisine their own. I've only had take out but, I plan to go there and taste every thing on the menu. The Ginger Scallion noodle was....en point. The flavor of the ramen was addictive. I couldn't stop eating it and their ability to balance the curry and other spices so that my nose was running but, I wasn't having to guzzle water was a dream come true. The Hawaiian fried rice e was another mother of my taste buds weeping with joy. It's unique, it makes perfect sense really. It's magnificent. I've lived here for 5 months and am actually taken aback by the lack of choices and diversity of food in the area. Every menu is the same. If I do find anything that's not, "Cajun". It still just feels generic. You want a true dining "experience" try red Chinese....

Pretty interesting food. It's not any recognizable region of Chinese food, but it's Chinese food nonetheless.

The storefront is incredibly easy to miss. In fact, I parked my car, and walked past looking for it. I decided it wasn't there and was walking back to my car when I realized that I had walked right by it. From the outside you'd think it was some sort of a bodega convenience store, and the sign is just a red background with no foreground at all.

Kung pao pastrami ($17): Smoked pastrami diced and stir-fried with black bean sauce. If it is also kung pao, it is pretty subtle, they really go a bit nuts with the black bean sauce. It's a bit on the salty side, a lot on the could be spicier side, and not my favorite overall, but I have to give them points for innovation. Reminded me of Hunan food.

Yaka mein ($15 for large size): Never had this before, but it's a fairly Chinese tasting dish, despite the fact that it's apparently a New Orleans Chinese dish. I thought it was...