BEST OF EVERYTHING
Restaurant
6066 W. MAPLE RD.
North of Orchard Lake Rd.
851-6577
CARRY-OUT DEPT.
NEXT DOOR TO OUR FULL-SERVICE RESTAURANT
Featuring
• Pizza • Ribs • Greek Salads • Lasagna
• Chicken • Sandwiches • Etc.
OUTDOOR & INDOOR CATERING FOR ALL OCCASIONS
r
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COUPON I
$2 OFF DINNER
1
BUY 1 PIZZA
GET SECOND SAME
PIZZA FREE
SLAB OF RIBS
INCLUDES GREEK SALAD & BAG
OF BREAD STICKS
CARRY-OUT LOCATION ONLY I
1 1. 1 Coupon Per Purchase • Expires 4-16-89 JN
L CARRY-OUT LOCATION ONLY • Expires 4-16-89
Custom Catering
For All
Occasions
PASSOVER
ORDERS
NOW
ACCEPTED
Full Service
Carry-Out . . . .
Hors D'oeuvres, Soups,
Salads, Desserts and
Complete Meals
ALL PREPARED ON PREMISES!
DELI VERY AvA/LA L E
'YOU'VE TRIED THE REST-NOW TRY THE BEST!
• MEAT TRAYS • SALAD ASSORTMENT
ALL PASTRIES
• VEGETAGLE TRAYS • CHEESE TRAYS
MADE ON
• FRESH FRUIT TRAYS
• MINIATURE PASTRY TRAYS
PREMISES
BY OUR OWN PASTRY CHEF!
OFF 1,
ANY TRAY j
LPickup Only • Minimm 8 Persons JN
• Apple Streudel • Sour Cream Coffee Cake
• Cheesecake • French Chocolate Cake
• Miniature Pastries • Black Forest Cake
• Etc., Etc., Etc., Etc.,
Formerly Bread Basket II Location
32839 Northwestern Hwy.
Tiffany Plaza, Bet. 14 & Middlebelt
Farmington Hills
,
737•5190
THE BRASS POINTE
SPECIALS
BAR-B-Q SLAB FOR 2.. $ 11 45
OR
BAR-B-Q CHICKEN FOR 2 $ 7 95
DINE-IN OR CARRY-OUT
We Serve Beer, Wine and Cocktails
Expires 3-24-89
JN
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK FROM 11 a.m.
24234 Orchard Lake Rd. at 10 Mile
476-1377
AlATA JEC- 71
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RESERVED SUNDAY FOR PRIVATE PARTIES
RESTAURANT
31196 HAGGERTY RD., Just S. of 14 in The Country Ridge Commons
Mon.-Thurs. 11 a.m.-11 p.m., Fri. 11 a.m.-12 Mid., Sat. 5 p.m.-12 Mid. • 788-0505
! BUY ONE DINNER—GET 2nd DINNER Af!
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L
64
HALF PRICE
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Applies To Dinner of Equal or Lesser Value. Menu Items Only.
With This Coupon
• Expires 3-23-89
J1 .11
FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 1989
DANNY RASKIN
Local Columnist
FOR 2
I $7 50
A New Chinese Restaurant
Will Not Be A Secret For Long
M
any times a restau-
rant will quietly go
about its business of
pleasing customers without
any fanfare . . . Some people
love it this way . . . keeping a
secret all to themselves .. .
Others deem it as an injustice
to them . . . not being inform-
ed of such places.
This is the case with the
Panda restaurant on Drake
Road, just south of Walnut
Lake Road in West
Bloomfield.
It is the same location as
Dimitri's Wildflower, The
Drake and Oliverio's . . . but
immensely different . . . both
in the decor and style of din-
ing offered.
This had always been a
beautiful restaurant . . . but
never like it is now . . . as the
Panda serves gourmet Orien-
tal cuisine which has been
drawing nothing but raves
from those who know about it
and have been there.
It is now split into three
rooms . . . main dining room,
banquet room and club room
. . . all utilized when crowded
conditions necessitate their
use.
The Panda does not have
the box-like barn look
anymore . . . It is very warm
. . . Even the tiled floors have
been carpeted to promote this
feeling of warmth.
In 1975, owner Paul Leung
opened the Dragon Inn in
Rochester . . . and a short
while later closed it to open
the highly successful Oceania
Inn which he still has in
Rochester . . . Owner of the
Panda with Paul is per-
sonable Wil Aragones.
All told, you will find seven
fish tanks at the Panda. .. .
with exotic swimmers and in-
teresting underwater ar-
tifacts the joys of both
children and adults . . . Five
are in the banquet area, one
in the meeting room and a
large 150-gallon tank in the
Panda's main dining room.
As persons enter the Panda,
no longer is there the look of
open expanse . . . Large glass
block partitions make it
highly conducive for dining
intimacy.
The first thing that hits you
now is the Panda's immense
look of warmth and comfort
. . . Mauve-colored walls,
mauve-colored tablecloths
and napkins.
Also outstanding is its
simplicity in elegance . . . It is
a Chinese restaurant to be
sure, but in no way is there a
screaming decor of its Orien-
tal cuisine presentations with
lavish Far East ornaments.
Worldy, pleasant and
jocular Helen Wing, wife of
Henry Wing, very polite and
knowledgeable general
manager, worked with Paul
and Henry in planning of the
Panda's decor . . . In no small
terms can it be said that they
left anything unturned.
Henry, by the way, was the
waiter so many people en-
joyed at the former West End
Restaurant of Stan Frankel's
The Panda is the
successor to three
other
establishments at
Drake and Walnut
Lake roads.
Somerset Inn in Troy . . .
June Hom is the delightfully
pleasant assistant manager
at the Panda ..
Recessed lighting, very
discreet panda figures all over
. . . on fans against the walls
and on a wall picture .. .
hanging lamps are over
booths in the main dining
room . . . and etched glass on
wooded doors of the entrance.
No more looking at a bar
while dining . . . The bar and
a wall counter are now en-
closed . . . And when was the
last time you ever saw a
Chinese restaurant with wine
bins?
The Panda is casual, infor-
mal dining in a most serene
atmosphere . . . It has a com-
pletely different look . . .
somuch better than previous-
ly . . . Its banquet room
seating 70, where many peo-
ple enjoy dining in the
candlelight setting, is where
we sat for the Royal Gourmet
nine-course dinner which re-
quires a minimum of six per-
sons . . . Linda and Barry
Solomon, Dee and Dr. Mar-
shall Shapiro, Frieda and
myself. -
To say this was , an ex-
perience would be putting it
most mildly . . . Rather, it was
a highly enjoyable adventure.
Firstly, let me say that the
Panda is one of the very few
Chinese restaurants that
serves wine with its food .. .
and certainly among the
small minority that replaces
your coffee cups with each
serving.
The Royal Gourmet dinner,
at $17.50 per person, is
unbelieveable . . . Spring rolls
made with chicken and
bmaboo shoots; wor tip, minc-
ed meat ... "These are fan-
tastic,"said Marshall. "I could
make a meal on just these!"
. . . But he didn't know what
was to come in this bevy of
dining excellence .. .
Delicious shark fin soup
closely resembling egg drop
soup but much more tasty,
double-style shrimp, pan-fried
jumbo shrimp surrounding
stir fry Chinese vegetables
and more shrimp; Young
chow, a deluxe style of fried
rice; mushrooms stuffed with
crabmeat; Shitake mush-
rooms; Peking duck on a bed
of stir fry _vegetables; whole
fresh Maine lobster creation
topped with a heavenly black
bean garlic sauce; three types
of wine, chardonnay, Chenin
blanc and mild Fu Tim
Chiense; chicken breast slices
with cashews; stir fry
vegetables on a bed of crisp lo
mein noodles; fresh pineapple
boat filled with tender slices
of beef.
The presentation of each
dish was true excellence .. .
Our waiter, Brutus "Bruce"
Lo, with a warm, entertaining
personality was extremely ef-
ficient . . . and highly know-
ing of the dishes . . . The Pan-
da house tea has its very own
flavor, and the gourmet meal
was aptly capped with
refreshing sorbet and house-
baked almond cookies.
And here's more class .. .
Courvoisier brandy after din-
ner is so much better warm
. . . and Bruce knew this .. .
He brought it in a wide
snifter placed slantily atop
another class filled with
steaming hot water . . . This
I've yet to see at any place, yet
alone a Chinese restaurant.
The Panda uses very
minimal, if any, monosodium
glutamate (MSG) in its cook-
ing . . . trying wherever possi-
ble not to use it . . . preparing
food as natural as it can .. .
Everything is cooked in
vegetable oil.
And back to the decor,
there's even a deer's head in
the meeting room, not pic-
torial pagodas . . . This and
the banquet room are used
when necessary, but also have
privacy when needed . . . with
VCR controls and screens for
slide presentations.
Of course the window
drapes are mauve color s.
The bay-stle windows
overlook Drake Road in
elegant fashion.
Continued on Rage 66