We have read lots of great reviews about Tasty China and had been wanting to try it for a loooong time. We finally went for lunch the other day, and prior to going, we did lots of research and had a long list of recommended dishes that we wanted to try. We couldn't narrow down which dishes we wanted, so we ended up ordering five dishes (oink oink), knowing we'd have plenty left over for dinner.
So, Tasty China is a Szechuan restaurant, which means it serves lots of spicy food with lots and lots of chili peppers. It just so happened that four of the five dishes we ordered were VERY spicy, each full of red hot chili peppers. The nose, she was a'running... and the tongue, she was a'burning. I was tasting that spice all day.
On future visits, I would order only one spicy dish and try to make sure everything else was a bit milder, just to spare my tastebuds from some of the fire. That being said, however, each of those spicy dishes was delicious! Here is what we had:
- Fish and cilantro rolls - these were the one non-spicy thing we had. They are gorgeous little fried rolls with a great flavor. This is considered an appetizer and comes with six rolls per order.
- Chinese salad - this is something that is not on the menu, but definitely worth asking about. It's sort of like a spicy Asian cole slaw, with shredded cabbage, some very skinny almost see-through noodles, little chunks of pork, and chili peppers. It came in an oil-based dressing that I think may have also had chili peppers in it. Delicious - and spicy!
- Dry Fried Eggplant - I'd describe these as sort of like Eggplant french fries. The eggplant is cut into french fry shape and lightly fried, and then garnished with the perfect amount of salt and other spices - and the ubiquitous chili pepper, of course. Again, delicious - and spicy!
- Fish and Soft Tofu - An almost soup-like mixture of big chunks of some white fish and homemade tofu, served in a very spicy red broth. This was good, but it was probably my least favorite dish. However, we liked it much better reheated for dinner later that night.
- Shan City Chicken - small chunks of perfectly fried chicken, served with (surprise) chili peppers. Again, very spicy, but this may have been our favorite dish. Aside from the spice, these were SO flavorful and delicious.
Overall rating: Well, my mouth and my stomach weren't that thrilled with me after all of that spicy food, but I do have to say that each dish was very very good! I don't know much about Szechuan food, but most things on the menu here at Tasty China seemed very authentic. As mentioned above, I would not order so many spicy dishes at once, but I would have a hard time choosing which spicy dish to get.
Located in a strip mall near the intersection of I-75 and the South 120 Loop in Marietta.
Tasty China
585 Franklin Road SE #215, Marietta
(770) 419-9849
Showing posts with label Marietta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marietta. Show all posts
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Tassa Roti Shop
Tassa Roti Shop is a small restaurant in Marietta that specializes in food from Trinidad and Tobago and the rest of the Caribbean. They have a decent-looking menu (although honestly I just glanced at it), but we were enticed by the buffet. What better way to try a bunch of different foods than doing the buffet? For lunch on a weekday, it cost $6.99 a person. I think it may be slightly more on the weekends.
The buffet included several veggie dishes: beans, potatoes, rice, slaw, and a delicious coconut-flavored cornmeal dish, to name but a few. The meats included three kinds of chicken: a jerk chicken, a barbecue-like chicken, and a curried chicken. Everything was really really great! My only complaint is that the jerk chicken was simply too spicy for me. Pretty much everything on the buffet had a bite to it, which was great - but that jerk chicken was like a five-alarm fire. I couldn't handle it, but Ryan said it was his favorite dish.
If you order the buffet, don't miss the homemade salsas that are on top of the buffet bar. And also, help yourself to the roti (a tortilla-like bread, much like Indian chapati) located in a small cooler right next to the buffet. After eating here, I was struck by just how similar the food was to Indian cuisine - lots of curries, Indian spices, etc. Most Caribbean food that I've had before is more like full of plantains, mangoes, etc. This restaurant wasn't quite like that (although who knows - maybe they have those types of dishes on the menu), so I really enjoyed having a different kind of Caribbean food.
If you'd like a drink (and your mouth will likely need one!), they are located in a refridgerator case behind the register - just ask someone working there to get you one. We each had a Caribbean soda, and I believe they were $1 each.
Overall rating: Yum! If you like Caribbean food or Indian flavors, I can't see how you'd be disappointed.
Located in a small house right near the intersection of Powers Ferry and the South 120 Loop, just off of I-75.
Tassa Roti Shop
224 Powers Ferry Road, Marietta
(770) 977-3163
The buffet included several veggie dishes: beans, potatoes, rice, slaw, and a delicious coconut-flavored cornmeal dish, to name but a few. The meats included three kinds of chicken: a jerk chicken, a barbecue-like chicken, and a curried chicken. Everything was really really great! My only complaint is that the jerk chicken was simply too spicy for me. Pretty much everything on the buffet had a bite to it, which was great - but that jerk chicken was like a five-alarm fire. I couldn't handle it, but Ryan said it was his favorite dish.
If you order the buffet, don't miss the homemade salsas that are on top of the buffet bar. And also, help yourself to the roti (a tortilla-like bread, much like Indian chapati) located in a small cooler right next to the buffet. After eating here, I was struck by just how similar the food was to Indian cuisine - lots of curries, Indian spices, etc. Most Caribbean food that I've had before is more like full of plantains, mangoes, etc. This restaurant wasn't quite like that (although who knows - maybe they have those types of dishes on the menu), so I really enjoyed having a different kind of Caribbean food.
If you'd like a drink (and your mouth will likely need one!), they are located in a refridgerator case behind the register - just ask someone working there to get you one. We each had a Caribbean soda, and I believe they were $1 each.
Overall rating: Yum! If you like Caribbean food or Indian flavors, I can't see how you'd be disappointed.
Located in a small house right near the intersection of Powers Ferry and the South 120 Loop, just off of I-75.
Tassa Roti Shop
224 Powers Ferry Road, Marietta
(770) 977-3163
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Vatica
This place is a long-time favorite of ours. For one thing, the owner is the cutest, friendliest little guy. He is known for telling corny jokes and laughing heartily at them, and he always recognizes us and asks us where we've been when we haven't been to his restaurant in a while. He is very welcoming and makes the dining experience a good one.
On to the food - deLICious Indian vegetarian cuisine! There is no menu - instead, they serve what's known as thali, a selection of different dishes served in small silver bowls. After you sit down at a table, someone will bring you your platter of food - it includes rice, naan, and five little dishes. One of the dishes is always a cool yogurty dip (great to cool down your mouth from all the spiciness), and another is always a red soup - and then the other three dishes change daily. Sometimes there's a potato dish, sometimes a bean dish, sometimes a zucchini dish... the assortment is always tasty and filling.
And the best part... free refills! Periodically someone comes through with a cart, and they'll refill all of your little bowls, as well as your rice and naan.
Total price for 2 for lunch is $20. I'm thinking dinner is a few bucks more, maybe $24 for 2.
Overall rating: We have always loved this restaurant! The food is just fantastic, the prices are great, you can eat all you want, and the owner is a hoot. Good stuff.
Located in a strip mall near the intersection of Terrell Mill and Powers Ferry.
Vatica Indian Vegetarian
1475 Terrell Mill Rd SE # 105, Marietta
(770) 955-3740
On to the food - deLICious Indian vegetarian cuisine! There is no menu - instead, they serve what's known as thali, a selection of different dishes served in small silver bowls. After you sit down at a table, someone will bring you your platter of food - it includes rice, naan, and five little dishes. One of the dishes is always a cool yogurty dip (great to cool down your mouth from all the spiciness), and another is always a red soup - and then the other three dishes change daily. Sometimes there's a potato dish, sometimes a bean dish, sometimes a zucchini dish... the assortment is always tasty and filling.
And the best part... free refills! Periodically someone comes through with a cart, and they'll refill all of your little bowls, as well as your rice and naan.
Total price for 2 for lunch is $20. I'm thinking dinner is a few bucks more, maybe $24 for 2.
Overall rating: We have always loved this restaurant! The food is just fantastic, the prices are great, you can eat all you want, and the owner is a hoot. Good stuff.
Located in a strip mall near the intersection of Terrell Mill and Powers Ferry.
Vatica Indian Vegetarian
1475 Terrell Mill Rd SE # 105, Marietta
(770) 955-3740
Tandoor Restaurant
Tandoor Restaurant is a small, spartan Indian restaurant in a small, spartan strip center. We had read a good review of this place and decided to give it a try. Alas, we were somewhat disappointed. We ordered two meat and veggie combo platters, one with beef nehari and cauliflower and potato curry, the other with chicken masala and a spinach dish. The combos also come with rice and a huge piece of naan.
Both meat dishes were tasty and very spicy, and the beef nehari was especially rich and tender. The cauliflower/potato curry was spicy and delicious, but the spinach dish was pretty bland. We've had much better versions of this dish elsewhere.
The food here was generally decent, but we both agreed that we would go to Vatica or Swapna for Indian food before returning here. Part of the problem for us was the atmosphere - the restaurant is very plain, almost like a cafeteria, and we were the only people in there. The owner wasn't particularly friendly, so the atmosphere was just a little off-putting.
Our two combo dishes plus one mango drink came to about $20.
Overall rating: Eh. Food was mostly tasty and very spicy (almost too spicy for me), but we've had better dining experiences at other Indian restaurants.
Located right near the intersection of Powers Ferry and the 120 Loop South, just off of I-75.
Tandoor Restaurant
279 Powers Ferry Road, Marietta
(678) 560-2038
Both meat dishes were tasty and very spicy, and the beef nehari was especially rich and tender. The cauliflower/potato curry was spicy and delicious, but the spinach dish was pretty bland. We've had much better versions of this dish elsewhere.
The food here was generally decent, but we both agreed that we would go to Vatica or Swapna for Indian food before returning here. Part of the problem for us was the atmosphere - the restaurant is very plain, almost like a cafeteria, and we were the only people in there. The owner wasn't particularly friendly, so the atmosphere was just a little off-putting.
Our two combo dishes plus one mango drink came to about $20.
Overall rating: Eh. Food was mostly tasty and very spicy (almost too spicy for me), but we've had better dining experiences at other Indian restaurants.
Located right near the intersection of Powers Ferry and the 120 Loop South, just off of I-75.
Tandoor Restaurant
279 Powers Ferry Road, Marietta
(678) 560-2038
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