Critic's Review
Rainbow Palace is one of the leftover restaurants from yesteryear, run by people still operating like its 1992. The restaurant always looks closed, and it often is. Rumor has it that they only serve lunch on Thursday and Friday; there's no hours for their restaurant anywhere in the universe. They put up a website in 2008 that still has "Coming Soon" in the About Us section. Surprisingly the menu on the site is fairly current.
I always think of the place on Monday or Tuesday, and as I mentioned they don't serve lunch on those days according to lore. So on a Thursday morning I got the idea of checking it out. I called to make sure they didn't close at 1:30; and got to the place at 1:45pm.
Some ranting about the parking. There is no parking for the restaurant. The lot in the back requires a parking permit and it's only for employees in the strip. The strip that it's in has one of those lots with free parking on one side and meters on the left. But the restaurant is on the end. So by the time you get close to the restaurant, if there are no spots, you have to exit, drive all the way back to the next cross street, and navigate through the narrow lot again. Now during the day the restaurant next door is closed, and it was still a pain. At night this must be an absolute disaster. On my 3rd pass I parked about 100 yards away.
Finally I got to see a menu; on the front of the restaurant the way they used to do it in 1985.
The first door I tried was locked; even getting into the place is problematic. There was no sign of humans.
They have awards from the 90's on the wall, back in a time when the local competition was Bobby Rubino's and Quarterdeck and people drove 1/2 hour to dine at The Ark.
I waited a few minutes without seeing any activity. A woman came in to get a takeout who seemed to know them pretty well, as she was comfortable yelling for someone to come out.
They have a fancy room just off the entrance, but they serve lunch in a more brightly lit dining room.
He sat me away from the other diners; something that happens when you don't have brain-dead teenager hostesses. The place had representative clientele, a couple, a table of Ladies who Lunch, and a couple of dudes.
Elegance is the keyword here. Plates like the ones your mom had in the breakfront that were for decoration only. Of course they don't serve food on these plates either.
They sat me down without a menu; I had to wait a few minutes to get one. Lunch specials are in the back; it's a good thing they have them. Dinner prices here are steep. I'd long decided by the time a server came over. The lunch selection is pretty weak; 3 variations of the same thing basically. I went with the chicken in a garlic and lemon sauce and fried rice (who choses plain rice when given a choice?).
Iced tea came out with sugar; it was freshly brewed.
The food was brought out 12 minutes later. Note that it's on a white plate rather then the ones adorning empty tables.
This is Moo Goo Gai Pan at a regular Chinese Restaurant. The fried rice wasn't really fried, or if it was, it was fried at a low temperature. The sauce had a hint of garlic and no hints of lemon; it needed seasoning. I started looking for someone; there was no salt or pepper on any table. My server didn't check on me once; to make sure I had everything I needed. What happened to the great service I read about in Zagat?
I was half done with the food before I flagged down the guy who seated me, who I suspect is the owner. I asked for salt and lemon, which he brought out shortly.
A bit of salt and a squeeze of lemon and the chicken was much more palatable.
As I was finishing I'd yet to hear a word from my server . As he was passing with some plates I made the "check please" sign, at which point he realized that he'd been neglecting me as he offered me an iced tea refill for my empty glass. Too late now, Pal.
Conclusion
Only $2 for iced tea, so it was $14 for lunch. Of course if I wanted soup it would have cost another $5 and the dumplings are a cool $19. Potstickers, called Szechuan Wontons here, are $12.
What's interesting about Rainbow Palace is that it's not really Chinese food. Fancied up Chinese food misses the point; the high smoke point oil in a really hot wok; the garlic, the greasiness, and most of all, the bold flavors resulting from the caramelization. While the food was good; the flavoring is very subdued; perhaps dining in a fancy room with underspiced food is considered fine dining, but it's not what I'm looking for when I'm craving Chinese. Not at these prices, for sure.