 AUGUST 20 • 2020 | 53

This Chinese vegetarian 
restaurant, now closed, 
was ahead of its time.

the best of everything
Raskin

A Look Back 
at Mei Ling

I

t was many years back that I 
recall eating food that today 
might be classified somewhat 
like the Impossible Burger … 
but a whole lot 
different.
The menu 
read “Vegetarian 
Cashew Chicken” 
… and although 
not a vegetarian 
by any means, I 
had to find out 
what so many people were rav-
ing about.
The taste was hard to believe 
… at Mei Ling Vegetarian 
Chinese Restaurant … 
Vegetarian “meat” there was 
made from soy protein, then fla-

vored accordingly with spices … 
It was owned by a body builder 
wife and husband …the latter 
also a second-degree black belt 
in Tae Kwon Do.
Favorite dishes were a honey 
sesame vegetarian chicken and a 
spicy eggplant in a special ginger 
garlic sauce with red peppers, 
scallions and bamboo shoots, 
and a Pineapple Passion of string 
beans … pineapple bean curd 
and onions. Even Peking duck 
could be ordered ahead of time 
and gotten with little notice.
Mei Ling was not a large 
restaurant … Seating was only 
85 … The wife was a vegetarian 
and hubby loved Chinese cook-
ing, too … When in training, 
high-protein food is called for 
… For those who desired, there 
was also fresh fish dishes, but 
the emphasis was very much on 
vegetarian Chinese … over 99 
percent.
Repeat customers were many 
at Mei Ling … The vegetarian 
hot soup made with vegetables 

and tofu was excellent … And 
Mei Ling’
s homemade spring 
rolls, called Autumn Rolls, were 
made with a tofu skin and pan-
fried after being broiled.
No. 1 sellers were vegetarian 
chicken dishes with their amaz-
ing soybean and wheat consis-
tency and taste … Second big-
gest were the various stir-fries.
If folks wanted a steak burger 
made with tofu … They could 
have had this and more …Many 
of the numerous menu items 
were seen only on restaurants of 
much notable esteem.
Mei Ling, although closed 
many years ago, was certainly a 
most wonderful experience. 
THE SPRING WAS too short 
for many to enjoy the hardly 
believable spring menu that Matt 
Prentis presented at the Three 
Cats restaurant … It was very 
much outstanding and included 
items not seen before on any 
bill of fare … Some of the items 
will no doubt appear on a latter 
menu, if not already so … Matt, 

by the way, may be looking at a 
site in Farmington Hills.
OLDIE BUT GOODIE … 
One night a burglar broke into 
the house and heard a voice say, 
“Jesus is watching you!” while 
the burglar rummaged through 
the desk.
The burglar looked up and 
replied, “Who said that?”
Once again, he heard the same 
thing, “Jesus is watching you!” 
The robber looked around 
the room only to see a parrot 
… He asked the parrot what its 
name was … The parrot replied, 
“Cornelius.
” 
“What kind of name is that?” 
asked the burglar. “Who names 
a parrot that?”
 The parrot replied, “The 
same person who named that 
German Shepherd behind you 
Jesus!” 
CONGRATS TO … Gail and 
Lonnie Zimmerman on their 
anniversary. 

Email dannyraskin2132@gmail.com.

Danny Raskin
Senior Columnist

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