O Mandarin — Restaurant in Town of Oyster Bay

The interior is slightly dark and serene, reminiscent of a temple. It's a perfect restaurant for family gatherings, and it's also a perfect space for anyone to enjoy a cozy meal and conversation. I was also deeply impressed by the kindness and attentiveness of the female server (Ms. Michi), who constantly assisted guests to ensure a comfortable dining experience.

The wonton soup was made with chicken. Unlike beef, it had a slightly stronger fishy flavor.

The peckling duck was well-cooked, resulting in a savory and tender meat. The well-cooked wheat bread was spread out, topped with the restaurant's signature sweet sauce, cucumber, and green onions, then the bread was folded into small pieces and placed in my mouth. It was a delicious combination of savory, salty, and savory flavors. To experience a variety of dishes, I ordered half a duck, and it was more than enough.

For your information, Beijing Duck is also known as Peking Duck. In the 1800s, the British Embassy referred to Beijing as "Pek," and that became the international designation. Therefore, the English name for Peking University is also "Pek University," and the international code for Beijing Airport is PEK.

We ordered Mapo Tofu, a spicy and numbing dish made with Sichuan-style mala sauce. It's a Sichuan dish made by cooking minced pork, soy sauce, chili oil, and mala sauce with tofu. The signature mala sauce of Sichuan cuisine infused the tofu with a rich flavor, and the spiciness and nutty notes combined to create a deep and complex taste. It started off numbing, then savory, and finally, a subtle flavor lingered in my mouth. The numbing and spiciness of the Mapo Tofu blended with the rice, acting as a buffer between the flavors, making the meal even more flavorful when eaten with rice.

For reference, Sichuan refers to the inland regions of China, including Sichuan Province, Chengdu, Chongqing, and nearby areas. Its most distinctive characteristic is its spiciness, represented by the numbing heat of ma (麻) from chili peppers and the pungent heat of la (辣) from chili peppers. These two are collectively known as mala (spicy). Sichuan locals also have a strong preference for spiciness. While Cantonese cuisine in southern China dominates the high-end culinary market, Sichuan cuisine enjoys widespread popularity in China. Mala Xiang Guo, a stir-fry of various vegetables and meats in mala sauce, is a common home-cooked dish enjoyed locally. Other dishes include mapo tofu, fish sauce, and hot pot, making it a popular choice for casual dining or as a side dish.

Yangzhou fried rice features well-cooked rice, shrimp, and green onions, perfectly sautéed in a wok, creating a harmonious blend of savory and smoky flavors. Roasting the green onions enhances their savory flavor and aroma, and the dish is carefully prepared to prevent them from burning or being undercooked. Yangzhou chao-fan, or Yangzhou fried rice, is a classic Chinese dish made with shrimp and green onions. It is said to have originated in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, during the Qing Dynasty. It later spread throughout China through immigrants. As Cantonese cuisine gained international popularity, Yangzhou chao-fan was also introduced as a Cantonese dish. In China, a chef's skill is often judged by the quality of his or her fried rice. This is because, while it employs the fundamental techniques of Chinese cuisine, from preparing the ingredients to stir-frying, the ingredients are often mixed and matched, leaving a limited range of leftovers. Furthermore, the flavor can vary greatly depending on the care and attention paid to the ingredients, which can vary from day to day. The skill with which one handles the fire can significantly impact the flavor, often referred to as a battle with fire. Therefore, skilled Chinese chefs prioritize high-heat, rapid stir-frying. This process, with its intense heat, ignites the oil, creating a delicate yet crispy rice.

Finally, We ordered the Soy Braised Short Ribs. This dish features short ribs in a savory soy sauce that comes with...

This review of O Mandarin is of my first visit to this restaurant, for dinner service. It is of the experience rather than the food, which BTW was very good. They specialize in Szechuan food so spice and heat is on the menu! Their Hicksville location is convenient, just east of the Wantagh State Parkway on the northern side of Old Country Road. The hostesses were very pleasant (when both entering and leaving the restaurant) which made for a nice encounter. We were seated at a booth. The seating was comfortable though the base of the table was solid all the way around, so you do not have much leg room. While not much of an issue overall this is something to keep in mind if you have long legs or need to stretch your legs out a bit (so ask for a table instead). Interior decor is quite nice and different from most other Asian restaurants. They incorporate a lot of wood details in a darker-lit setting which gives it an ancient Asian village tavern vibe. We were seated with the menu and had plenty of time to review it, over 15 minutes that is. Unfortunately our waiter was not around to flag down and water wasn't provided. The waiter was apologetic when he finally arrived, and things happen, so it was OK. We placed our order, an appetizer, entrees, and drinks. The drinks & water were served first then to my surprise all of the food came out at the same time shortly thereafter, delivered by a very pleasant runner. So we had the appetizer along with the entrees served at once, not in a phased-in approach as I was expecting. That was OK but the next surprise (a disappointed one) was that the food, coming out as quickly as it did, was not hot but rather warm instead. Given the speed of the food delivery to our table I presume the various dishes were precooked earlier in the day and then reheated before service, with our dishes not being reheated thoroughly enough since, as noted, all of them were warm but nowhere near hot (e.g. with any steam rising from the dishes). We were hungry and so didn't bother to ask for the dishes to be reheated. Some of the dishes were served in pots that had a place for a food warming candle though none were used . The food quality was good and taste was fine and apart from the food temperature made for an otherwise pleasant meal. Mid-meal I did request something from a waiter other than ours but he forgot about it so we had to wait another 5 min or so until our waiter appeared again (he stopped by a few times early on but wasn't to be seen later in the service, and I think think was because our booth was outside of his service area as there were 2 different waiters serving the booth and tables around us), so out of sight out of mind perhaps. Overall, my experience and impression of O Mandarin are: very nice atmosphere, welcoming hostesses, spotty but otherwise earnest service, with the biggest flaw being warm but...

Decent food, nice atmosphere, sub par service and awful management. My family and I were there for my mothers birthday last week and the waitress took it upon herself to split the checks randomly which we did not ask for so me, my wife and daughter were on a tab with my cousin and her wife (OK no problem) The original bill we were presented with was a completely different amount then what was charged, my mistake was noticing it after I had signed and added gratuity. I asked the waitress if gratuity was included because I know some restaurants do this for larger parties, she said no. She was clearly tipped twice (45%) total and when I requested the itemized receipt I was told that I couldn't have it and that they couldn't void out the bill and give us a new one so we can see everything we ordered and what we were paying for. The manager was rude and told me that it would take days to go through his system to find the correct receipt and refused to call me saying he would only call one of us (my cousin). The entire ordeal was ridiculous and the way the restaurant handled this was enough for me to never go back there again and make sure I let every single one of my friends and family know what type of establishment they are. They are clearly robbing people of their money and the funny thing is, when we started walking out he turned to his waitress who messed up and ripped her and yelled at her clearly. Obviously he knew they were wrong but instead of admitting a mistake he just doubled down. The charges were disputed and I have them on video admitting they gave us the wrong check. I understand the odds of this happening are slim and unlikely in a normal scenario but the way a business handles a customer service matter is very telling and this guy is a tyrant not only with his customers but staff as well. We no longer live in a world of the "customer is always right" (even when they clearly are) rather a world where people take advantage to get over on others regardless of the consequences. Karma has a funny way of finding you,...