Fast & Fresh

With the burst of fast-casual restaurants, it's no surprise that this concept is being embraced by Asian restaurants. Fast-casual blends the efficiency of fast food with the personal service of a casual restaurant. Dishes are cooked to each customer's preference with fresh ingredients and delivered to the table by a server.

Mandarin Bistro Chinese & Thai Restaurant in Springdale adds the convenience of call-ahead ordering and drive-thru pick-up.

The attention to detail and fresh preparation does not create a slow dining experience.

"We serve it fresh, quick and hot. Within 5-10 minutes, you will get your order," owner Nathalie Tan said.

As much as possible, including the soups and sauces, is made from scratch. Appetizers such as the spring rolls are rolled by hand. The cheese stars, which are Mandarin Bistro's version of crab rangoon sans crab, are individually formed wontons pillowed with cream cheese and fried crispy.

Along with in-house preparation of fresh produce, Mandarin Bistro is focused on serving quality meat. The chicken served is white meat only, the beef is free range, the pork is a lean cut and the shrimp are jumbo size.

A popular lunch stop along Thompson Street in Springdale, lunch specials start at $5.99 and include a spring roll, cheese star and fried rice. Customers who dine in the restaurant also have a choice of egg drop or hot-and-sour soup.

There are about a dozen of the most popular dishes served as lunch specials, including chicken-fried rice, honey sesame chicken, shrimp with broccoli, Mongolian beef and General Tso's chicken.

Lunch specials are served 11 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays. The lunch specials can be purchased any other time for an extra $1.49.

The menu at Mandarin Bistro offers both Chinese and Thai cuisine, which is uncommon among many Asian restaurants that tend to specialize in one or the other.

The Thai portion of the menu includes a variety of Thai soups, including coconut curry noodle, chicken dumpling and spicy lemongrass seafood (Poh Taek). The soups are prepared to order, allowing the customer a choice of meat, tofu or seafood. The Thai soups are a hearty portion and are served in a large bowl.

Thai dishes also include salads, noodles, rice dishes, curry plates and special entrees.

The curry and special entrees are served with steamed rice and include Masaman or Panang curry, spicy basil and vegetables, crispy broccoli or garlic-pepper and citrus.

The Chinese portion of the menu features standard selections and offers chicken, beef, pork, tofu or shrimp. Specialties include peanut butter chicken, orange chicken, spicy tomato chicken, jalapeno steak, honey sesame pork, coconut curry shrimp or Dynamite shrimp.

Familiar varieties of fried rice are served, as well as Thai and pineapple fried rice. Coconut sticky rice, plain or with ice cream or mango, is also offered.

Noodle varieties include Hong Kong Chow Fan, which are flat rice noodles cooked with garlic, peppers and spices. The Singapore Street Noodles are stir-fried, angel hair noodles tossed with light curry flavors.

The kitchen accommodates allergy requests and has vegan and gluten-free options. There is a drive-thru window and a children's menu, and reservations are welcome.

Delivery to area businesses is available 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Limited residential delivery is also offered with a minimum purchase of $28. The limitation for delivery is because Mandarin Bistro is a small operation with limited staff.

Catering for parties of all sizes is also available.

The restaurant opens at 11 a.m. daily and serves a full menu until 8:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

The full menu can be viewed at mandarin-bistro.com. More information is available by calling (479) 756-8369.

NAN Dining Guide Cover on 12/05/2014