Formerly great, now just average
This used to be one of my favorite places to eat Chinese food. However, the last two times we tried it have brought us to conclude that the Mandeville restaurant Trey Yuen is spiraling down. This past visit, we ordered a fairly complete meal of Hot and Sour soup, Wonton soup, Pot Stickers, and Spring Rolls. For the entrees we had Moo Goo Gai Pan and the Tong Cho Platter. The soups were presented nicely but lacked distinction. The Hot and Sour soup was thick and looked like it was old and and had been sitting in the pot all day thickening up. It was edible, but lacked the "wow" factor that I have come to expect from Trey Yuen. The Moo Goo Gai Pan looked OK but had a brown sauce instead of the white sauce usually characteristic of the dish. It was short on mushrooms and the chicken tasted like it was old. The Tong Cho Platter really disappointed me. I really love the Tong Cho Pork. I have come to expect a light batter then the dish is covered in that succulent sauce. This platter was supposed to have assorted meats, shrimp, crawfish and catfish. When I dug into the platter, I could not identify any of the pieces because of the heavy batter surrounding the meat. The batter virtually covered up the taste of the meat because it was so heavy. It was very disappointing to see this because I have ordered this before and was delighted at excellent taste of the meat surrounded by a light batter topped off with the Tong Cho, a sweet and spicy honey sauce.

This meal was average at best. This is not what I have come to expect from this establishment.

My verdict, skip the Mandeville Trey Yuen location, try the Hammond Trey Yuen.    [12 Jun 2004 01:14:48]

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     ­Anonymous   

Still amazing, as of 3/11/07
Last night, I had the Tong Cho pork and only reinforced my attitude toward the various Tong Cho selections; they have pushed nearly every other Chinese dish -- anywhere -- down to the next tier.

My wife had the Tong Cho chicken. Contrary to a recent review on this website, these two meats were very distinct.

I'm surprised by the versatility of the Tong Cho Sauce. On a prior visit, I ordered the platter just to bounce between the different meats and compare the tastes. Each offered a distinct and pleasing flavor.

Generally, this restaurant more than holds its own in a region that really knows how to prepare food. Indeed, if you can make it at lunchtime, the pricing might leave you feeling almost guilty.    [12 Mar 2007 13:13:43]

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Recommended Dishes: Tong Cho

     ­Mark in Mandeville