Mountain Palace

Had a lovely family dinner here. Food was delicious and healthy. Cute place with a pretty garden and beautiful view. And what made it truly memorable were the people. The owners, a couple, were so friendly and interesting to talk to. She showed me some acupressure moves for my allergies and told us about her fascinating plans for having seminars about health. Not sure exactly, but sounded like healthy cooking, Chinese holistic self-​care and such. If I lived close to my hometown, I’d be there often!

After hearing about this place I was interested to see how the food was. We were greeted by a very nice fellow at the door, then seated promptly. The menu was small but everything we had was delicious! The only reason I am not giving this restaraunt a higher review is that the staff could have managed the serving of the food better. A couple came in after my wife and I, and ordered this special like I had. My wife was eating her food and I was still waiting on mine, when the dinner special was brought out not once, but twice to the other couple. I waited half an hour for my food. Then I had to wait another forty minutes for anyone to come with my bill, even though there were only 6 tables in the whole building. The food we had was great, but the service ended up souring my experience. I will eat here again only if I get take-​out!

If there was an option to give this restaurant ten stars, I would give it eleven! I had been building up my anticipation of Mountain Palace for quite some time. Being a small town girl, I enjoy looking for little hidden gems around my hometown. I had read a review on Mountain Palace about three weeks ago, and immediately knew that I needed to go!
They label themselves «an authentic Northern Chinese eatery». Authentic could not explain it any better. If I had not entered the address into my GPS, I would have driven right past the restaurant; just like I have at least fifty times before. It is a normal home. Very rustic, with a dark brown exterior and lots of picture windows. As you walk up the ramp and through the entrance, you come through what would have been the fourier, but is now crammed with two booth tables and a four tiered shelf of beautiful exquisite Chinese vases. Ahead is a doorway to the main section of the restaurant… By this I mean three booth tables, and one dining room table which will comfortable seat six. It is fantastic! If it weren’t for the booths, you would just be in grandmas living room, with all of the pretty things you are not to touch. All throughout the dining area there are vases, sculptures, intricate painted ceramics… Just beauty everywhere.
As you enter the dining area you smell the sweet and tangy aroma of legit, Chinese cooking. My mouth was watering instantly. I already had a pretty good idea of what I was going to order. The two most hyped things on the menu… The miracle dumplings, and a hot pot. I chose the beef with celery, onion, and ginger dumplings. There were also pork, shrimp, and vegetarian options, which I will be trying in the near future! For my hot pot, I got the mild chicken with potato, Chinese radish, Chinese cabbage, mushrooms, dancing noodles, and wood ears. You can also choose beef, pork, tofu, or seafood. After you place your order, I suggest walking around and taking the time to look at each piece displayed throughout the room. Because each and every dish is made fresh to order, by hand… You will wait for your food, but it is well worth it. We waited about 45 minutes for all of our food and it felt like fifteen. With so much to look at, and the kind owner/​waiter checking in every few minutes, the time passes quickly! Just before your food comes, the waiter will set up a small fold out table for your hot pot, and give you porcelain hand painted chopsticks (they also kindly offered a fork… I sometimes feel awkward asking for one). They will then bring out your hot pot, but it is not yet cooked. They cook it at your table. After the chef, a lovely Chinese woman who bustles in and out of the curtain door of the kitchen smiling and handing out food, cuts all of the ingredients by hand; she puts them in the hot pot, and sends it out to cook table side. In about five minutes, the amazing smell of the food is floating right under your nose. It’s the greatest torture I have ever experienced! As your pot is cooking, they bring your dumplings and house soy dipping sauce. The dumplings alone are to die for. The outside is a perfectly crafted thick yet light dough cooked to melt in your mouth goodness! The filling was a mixture of beef, celery, onion, and ginger. Everything worked together so well, and my taste buds were dancing with every bite. The dipping sauce adds a salty sweet bite that just takes the flavor to another level. Absolutely magnificent! And at only $ 8.95 for 13, it’s a deal you will not find anywhere else. As I finished the last bite, my waiter was back to stir my hot pot and serve me a bowl of piping hot perfection. You get a little of everything in every bite. Every component is portioned to a T, and it just works. The walking noodles were especially good, and the owner told me that they are made out of potatoes, which is surprising because they are clear! They melt in your mouth and add a great texture to the dish. The broth is the best part, just bringing the entire dish together. Again, one hot pot could easily feed three people, and it was under $ 13.00! Another winner.
And so, if you are looking for a popular five star restaurant where you will sit quietly and eat your 40 $ steak, do not come here. If you crave a comfortable, social, down home and authentic place to spend time with close ones… This is the place to be. I spent almost two hours here, and did not want to leave. The experience alone would bring me back again and again. I will now be a frequent visitor to this restaurant. Mountain Palace, keep up the phenomenal work!

Hands down my favorite place in the world to eat. If you are looking for a totally different dining experience and want to try different foods, go here. Yes, getting your food can take a bit of time, but you need to understand that Chef Lacy makes every single dish when you order it. She slices, dices and cooks everything to order. We eat here multiple times a month, and Clay & Lacy treat us like family. We always enjoy our food and conversation. The prices are reasonable, the food delicious.

Totally agree with Alex R. s review. Read his review to prepare yourself for the wonderful food and getting to work on your patience.
We showed up 6 kids. Do NOT do this, unless your kids have better control of their bodies than the ones we were with. There are $ 800 vases ON THE FLOOR surrounding the big table where we sat. If a kid would have pushed their chair back fast, we would have been buying a vase.
Ordered 26 dumplings upon arrival, to start getting the kids fed. They came out in a reasonable time and I thought we were off to a good start. Several minutes after the dumplings were delivered on platters, we ask if we could get plates for the dumplings. Several minutes after that, the plates are delivered, but no soy sauce. We asked if we could get some soy sauce, which we eventually got 2 types several minutes after that.
The owners/​people working there were warm, but I totally agree have no idea of delivering everything necessary at the same time to enjoy the wonderful food.
That said, I would go back, just without the kids and not when I am too hungry, because I would get grumpy from the service.
To get 4 stars with the service they provide says quite a bit about the food.
The hot pots are wonderful and provide quite a bit of tasty food. The twice cooked pork was delicious, with spices applied before the first cooking and a different set for the second cooking, although I thought the portions a little small. Dumplings went fast.
They will celebrate 1 year of being opened July 11, 2012.

Mountain Palace is pretty off-​kilter.
Off of 711 in between New Florence and Ligonier, the first thing one notices is the limited parking (I think only five spaces total) and a pretty epic ramp leading to the front door. Inside of the front door stands a man, slightly graying, signalling to come in. I began to realize this is more or less a double wide with about six booths (so about seating for 24 total.)
That’s great. Food this quality shouldn’t be served to anymore people than this at once.
The first thing you’re probably going to notice upon entry is the porcelain and the silk ‘paintings’ (actually embroideries): there’s an extensive amount of them on display, and its just claustrophobic and downright strange enough of a setting to ensure a (at the very least) unique dining experience. You can kind of tell that the people who are doing this have never really ran-​or probably worked-​in an American restaurant before. And they haven’t. The man that greets you (his name escapes me now) is American and works in the medical field, as does the chef, who is from the Jingdezhen (I don’t know, that’s how it was anglicized on the sign) Province of China. There’s another woman there who I’m guessing is central to the whole thing; an old chinese lady whom, I’m guessing here, is chef Lacy’s mother. They’re out of sight hard at work in the small kitchen which is barely hidden from view by a hanging veil.
The whole place smells of the proper amount of spices and sweat. We went around six on a sunday; that’s their closing time usually, but they were more than happy to accommodate us and another older couple that came in. The man had a more folksy approach; I don’t think he was used to foodies coming in. We took a look at the menu and realized that it was very small, which was fine by us: we had just about one of everything.
The Health soups are incredible: we had the beef potato and the chicken mushroom dancing noodle soup. Though the chicken mushroom was better, both broths were downright replenishing and delicious. Oh, and one of those totally would constitute a meal and is only $ 5.
Then there are the dumplings: oh man, the dumplings. For one thing, you get thirteen of them (THIRTEEN) for 6.95. Thirteen handmade dumplings for 6.95, you heard it here first yuppies. Considering I paid $ 9 at robokyo for five gyoza the other day, that was a pleasant surprise. They have an awesome variety of fillings, ranging from beef to pork and sauerkraut (pandering to the locals much) and just ginger onion and tofu. We told them just to throw a bunch on a plate and we’d be happy; accompanied with the sauce they made out of soy, sesame oil, garlic and red wine vinegar (stop giving your recipes out, dude), I straight QUAFFED these things.
The real star though? The Hot Pot. We split the chicken hot pot and though, by the time we got it we were pleasantly full, we still ate quite a bit of it. The ingredients were delicious, the broth was amazing, and the noodles were especially good.
The food is great, but it’s nothing without the experience. Don’t come here if you’ve got a busy day ahead of you; you will have to wait for your food but it’s far worth it. If you and a couple friends want to sit and have a dining experience, if you’re into that whole slow food thing, Mountain Palace is going to be awesome for you.