Enough with the excuses and back to the restaurant info. You know, as a Celiac I usually don't mind giving up a lot of things but there are a few I do miss - deep dish pizza, croissants, eggrolls, and crab rangoon. A while back hubby decided he wanted to try Mulan - the asian restaurant in Cooper Young. I love trying new restaurants and love supporting restaurants in my neighborhood, but I have to confess that my heart fell a little when he mentioned Mulan. Eating Chinese food is fraught with peril for Celiacs. Between the soy sauce, the flour-based sauces, and the large amount of fried foods, it's hard to find something safe for us to eat. Plus there's the trauma of watching your friends and family eat all those good eggrolls, crab rangoon, and crunchy things that go in the soup (not sure if they have a name, I've always called them soup crunchies) in front of you. But I decided to give it a shot anyway.
We walked in and were quickly seated. Then my next challenge came. Our waiter didn't speak English as his first language. It's hard enough to explain gluten free to waiters who are native English speakers sometimes, much less someone who has a language barrier to overcome. I didn't need to worry because the waiter was fantastic. That was the good news. The bad news he told me is there was essentially one thing on the menu I could eat - chicken with vegetables in a garlic sauce (with a side of steamed rice). Atleast it wasn't hard to decide what to order!
The food was really good. The garlic sauce was very delicious. And the atmosphere it Mulan is nice too. They have a front area that they decorate for the holidays - right now there are about 50 stuffed easter bunnies hanging out there. If you visit, be sure to notice the koi pond on your way to the restroom. And if you have kids, ask your waiter/waitress to show them the table with the frog that changes color. I don't give you details on the frog because I don't want to ruin the surprise for you. Plus on some dishes they use this LED cube that changes color as part of the garnish. It was a hit with my son. Here he is playing with some:
A few weeks ago we went back to Mulan to eat again and had a different waiter. I ordered chicken in garlic sauce again and got a totally different dish this time - still gluten free, but this dish was spicy. I love spicy. My hubby is a wimp and can't deal with the heat, so he ordered the same dish but not spicy. And last night we took some family to Mulan and I got the same thing and it was spicy again. The spicy version is good too.
So my advice is to try Mulan if you like chicken in garlic sauce. It's very good. But know that is essentially the only thing on the menu that is gluten free. Be sure to remember to specify if you want your dish hot, medium or mild. And don't forget to visit the color changing frog!
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