Pagoda - Minneapolis, MN

Pagoda is a relatively new pan-Asian new establishment with a modern minimalist yet warm decor. If the decor wasn't enough of a clue, you soon realize scanning the menu this is not your father's Chinese restaurant of traditional entrees. Indeed, the menu lists a mind numbing 269 plus offerings, many innovative following a Hong Kong trend. If you're a first timer with an adventurous palate, count on adding 15 minutes to just read through the menu before making your choices.

The Thai Style Meats & Eggplant Bamboo Rice ($7.95), a spicy dish, is pictured above. The beef, onion, and eggplant came served on a bed of rice with little bits of egg hidden by the side section of bamboo platter. The beef and eggplant had soaked in the just-right-for-us spicy and slightly sweet sauce. The eggplant was cooked to the proper doneness, neither mushy yet without any rawness remaining. We enjoyed this dish but its presentation was more innovative than the food itself.

Scrooge Rating Thai Meat and Eggplant: Pull out the wallet, no ouch.


The Fujianese Style Drunken Pork Ribs ($8.95) consist of pork fried in a batter and then cooked in what tasted like a ketchup based sauce that was sweet and mildly sour-spicy. Little chopped pieces of taro were thrown in to give the dish some visual offset. The pork was meaty and tender without being fatty and came coated in a perfect batter, neither greasy heavy or fluffy light. This was our favorite dish and the one that I hogged.

Scrooge Rating Fujianese Drunken Ribs: Whip out the wallet without reservation.


The Plain Congee ($2.95) and Fried Chinese Bread Congee ($1.95) was first order entered to fill our stomaches while we still worked our way through the menu. The Congee was as its name suggest plain without a hint of salt, the way it is often but not always served in Hong Kong restaurants. The Bread arrived hot from the fryer, perfectly crunchy on the outside and airy soft on the inside. The Congee and Bread are eaten together and if I had one nit, it would be that the Bread should have been a bit more savory to offset the blandness of the Congee.

Tea House and Little Szechuan have been regarded as the top Chinese restaurants in the Twin Cities and for the regional cooking type they do, they may be. For my tastes, I regard Little Szechuan as the better of the two. However IF the dishes we had at Pagoda today are representative of all their offerings, Pagoda would be in my opinion the best as well as our favorite Chinese Restaurant we have tried to date in the Twin Cities.

Pagoda
1417 4th St, SE
Dinkytown
Minneapolis, MN
612.378.4710