The shiny gold dishes at every table should be a clue: Little Palace, open since January, serves American Chinese cuisine in a formal atmosphere you may not be accustomed to. Like the ancient custom of dressing for a flight, the idea of Chinese Americans enjoying an elegant dinner atmosphere seems scarce these days – certainly rarer than grabbing General Tso’s chicken from a white takeout box.
That’s not to say that when you leave this quaint recent restaurant, you won’t have leftovers neatly packed in plain white oyster buckets. You will, and not just because the portions are generous (though they are), but also because Little Palace sticks firmly to the traditions of American Chinese cuisine.
These traditions date back to the behind schedule 1950s, when pioneering American Chinese restaurants emerged, including Joyce Chen in Boston and later Leeann Chin in Minnesota, alongside the heavily furnished watering holes Trader Vic’s and Don the Beachcomber – an interpretive blend of Polynesian and Pan-Asian influences.
I’m not ancient enough to drink piña coladas in the heyday of Trader Vic’s, and I didn’t eat much Chinese food until my early adulthood. (If anything, the biggest influences on my childhood home were sambal oelek, krupuk udang, and satay with peanut sauce from Indonesia, my father’s birthplace). However, as a history expert and food lover, I will always be fascinated by the American marriage of Chinese food and Polynesian tiki drinks.
I also really like crab rangoon. We ordered them during each visit to the Little Palace. Familiar, sweet/zingy and crunchy, but also a moment for personal discovery. Little Palace will add a dash of scorching mustard to your sweet and sour sauce – a sinus-flashing delight that I can’t believe I’ve never tried before. They join Lao Laan-Xang’s as my favorite rangoon in Madison.
If you can’t find your favorite dish on the Little Palace menu, you probably aren’t trying. Kung Pao chicken provides a nice hit of spice thanks to the richness of peanuts. The Little Palace fry is firm and crispy, coating the General Tso without making the interior strenuous or arid. In keeping with the tiki vibe, General Tso’s also includes pineapple chunks, which is a fun twist beyond the usual broccoli.
Smaller dishes allow you to fill the table to the brim, such as crispy pork spring rolls or a refreshing and optionally zingy cucumber salad. A plate of shriveled green beans glistens enticingly, and the charred surfaces smoke pleasantly. (Pro tip: Save the liquid from the cucumber salad to drizzle over the beans.) The egg soup is a little more complicated than takeout versions often are, with vegetables and fried wonton strips for textural contrast.
Moo Shu Pork combines slender and springy pancakes with sweet hoisin sauce and lovely red-ringed sliced pork, although as with most main courses, the proteins can often be swapped for vegetables, tofu or other meats. Tender Mongolian beef is served with minimal accompaniment over a tangle of fried rice noodles. If eating was a little awkward, it was at least fun to watch.
Fried rice is an optional upgrade to white rice, and there’s nothing wrong with being a little tedious. However, the fried rice that can be ordered as a main course is stunning. Dark, with soy sauce and the depth of the wok, it is an obvious combination with the above-mentioned grilled pork.
Singapore noodles have a subtle hint of curry (a natural combination with gently cooked shrimp). The cashew chicken, a rarity, lacked bold flavor; a little more salt or garlic would do the trick.
Small disappointments quickly disappear, and there are so many reasons to be elated. There’s the absurd delight that is tiki cocktails that are shareable and optionally flaming (although the non-alcoholic drinks menu is also robust and fun), a specialty drink served in a miniature ceramic panda, and an ice cream sandwich that brilliantly combines Little Palace’s cultural identity with a scoop of ice cream Blue Moon sandwiched between crunchy almond cookies.
The service was amiable on all my visits, from the host to the server to the bartender. The date night atmosphere that continues here at 225 King St. since its premiere as Cocoliquot, it is alive and well under the amorous red paper lanterns of Little Palace.
If you’re one of the crowds that filled the seats, you know what’s going on. You can still have fried rice in takeout boxes, but the real joy is getting a table, sipping on something tropical, and enjoying American Chinese classics for the hundredth – or first time – straight from the kitchen.
Little Palace
225 Saint King
608-229-6790
Littlepalacemadison.com
16:00-21:00 Wednesday-Thursday, 16:00-22:00 Friday-Saturday, 16:00-21:00 Sunday.
$3-17
