Fortune Chinese Restaurant

Fortune is a small family run restaurant in far northwest Oklahoma City that from the outside looks like most of its competitors. All the standard dishes are served, and the menu is pretty typical for Chinese restaurants. A good portion of the restaurant’s business is take-out, and if you dine in it will be easy on the budget. While Fortune may be everything that is expected in a suburban Chinese restaurant, close examination reveals quite a few features that are not normally found.

Upon entering the building one may notice the ample space that makes it possible to hold large family gatherings, and there are even large round Chinese style banquet tables. The new chairs, green plants, and clean environment invite a leisurely meal, or food can be served quickly enough for those who have a time constraint.

Fortune’s interior is comfortable and inviting

There is not a special Chinese menu such as would be found in the Asian District (Fung’s Kitchen, Grand House, etc.) although the chefs here certainly know how to prepare authentic Cantonese dishes. It is a matter of the customer base in the suburbs versus the central city, and the fact that the Americanized Chinese food and the traditional food take different ingredients, a different kitchen setup, and of course the expectation that if they prepared the authentic food there would be a certain number of customers who would order it.

I am sure that Fortune will not change the menu they have had since the restaurant opened in 1987 (under previous owners) and there is really no reason for it to do so. When I started going to Fortune around 2006 I got to know the manager Suni and her brother Wei Min who is one of the chefs and who was largely responsible for preparing the “Seasonal Specials”  they had listed on a special menu board at the time. These were the same type of traditional dishes I had found in Seattle, and the ones at Fortune had a similar flavor. The Seasonal Specials lasted several years, but never caught on with customers enough that the restaurant wanted to continue it.

A few of the special dishes made their way to the menu and others can still be prepared by special request. The trick of looking at the menu is that you have to look at both menus (for some reason some of these dishes are on the take home menu but not the regular one). For any special requests you can always ask whether they are available or not.

I have included items in this review that I believe the restaurant can likely prepare for people, and for those who are interested it is worth exploring “beyond the menu.”

Soup
Several soups are listed on the menu, and lunch specials come with either a bowl of egg drop or hot and sour soup (the one I prefer is egg drop).

Egg drop soup

I like the fact that the Egg Drop Soup has a lot of flavor, and it seems to be better than at a lot of other restaurants.

Corn soup

Corn Soup is one of the ones you can order from the menu, and I think the one here is excellent.

Chicken soup with dumplings by special order

They can also make special soups that would serve as a complete meal, such as the Chicken Soup with Rice Noodles, Shrimp, Dumplings, and Bok Choy shown in the photo. I think the bok choy is seasonal so this soup may vary in its ingredients. I was informed that this is one of the dishes customers can request as a special order because of the fact that it does not take a long time to prepare.

Dinners Ordered from the Menu

Lettuce wrap

Although the Lettuce Wrap Chicken is listed as an appetizer, it is really a full meal. I think this is one of the better ones in OKC (I have tried some in other restaurants that did not live up to the ones here).

Crispy tofu Guangzhou style

Crispy Tofu was originally served as a Seasonal Special and then was added to the menu under the “House Specialties” section (I think it is only on the take-out menu, though). This is a delicious dish in which the sauce is really the key that makes it so flavorful. I am not sure if the sauce is vegetarian, though (it has been some time since I have tried it).

I have asked the restaurant which menu items they consider to be authentic and they have given me this list:

• Crispy Tofu
• House Special Noodle Soup (in the “Noodle Special” section of the menu)
• Shredded Pork with Garlic Sauce
• Tofu Clay Pot (this is vegetarian)
• Lettuce Wrap Chicken

One menu item I have tried several times has been General Tso’s Chicken (mostly it has been from sampling it rather than getting a full order). I think this has a very good flavor and is not overly sweet, but fried and battered chicken in a sweet sauce is not traditional Chinese food.

Another item I have particularly enjoyed has been the Tomato Beef.

Not on the Menu but Available to Order

Eggs with tomato are simple yet delicious, and can be served any time

Tomato beef is one of the “House Specialties,” but they can make what I think is an even better dish and which is totally traditional in China, the Tomato and Egg (scrambled egg). Both the traditional version and the menu version have the same delicious sauce, which I think is probably the key to either of these dishes.

Hong Kong tofu

If the Hong Kong Tofu is on the menu I cannot find it, and I do not know if this is its correct name (but I think this was the name used on the Seasonal Specials menu). It is called stuffed tofu in many restaurants, and the one pictured is stuffed with shrimp (Suni told me it is traditionally stuffed with pork, so possibly you could order it that way). This one came with oyster sauce (you can also order it with white sauce, or just leave it up to the chef to decide). The tofu is steamed for ten minutes, so this dish ends up taking a little bit longer to prepare than most of the menu items. This is one of my favorite dishes that I have tried here.

Chicken and potatoes with curry

Curry Chicken with Potatoes is a dish that is not on the menu, but I got it when I asked Wei Min to make a take-out dish that was traditional Chinese that he thought would be good. Since then it has been one of my top choices for take-out orders (this curry is less spicy than Thai or Indian curry, or it can be ordered with brown sauce which is not spicy).

Chicken and tofu

Chicken and Tofu is another non-menu take-out dinner I had when I asked for something that was authentic. This has soft tofu and a white sauce. This version did not have any vegetables other than green onions because it was meant to be kept in the refrigerator for a couple of days so I could wait out one of Oklahoma’s famous ice storms.

Chicken and tofu with vegetables

The Chicken and Tofu with Vegetables is the same dish with vegetables added. The peas and carrots also keep pretty well in this version, and I thought the flavor of this dish was quite good.

I have collected this list of other items customers can special order with no advanced notice, and there are probably others. Of course customers would have to check with the restaurant about any of these:

• Chicken and Potatoes (like the chicken and curry but with brown sauce instead)
• Napa Beef (No. 211 on the menu) with bok choy instead of napa (when the bok choy is in season)
• Combination Tofu with Beef, Shrimp, and Chicken
• Chicken Soup with Dumplings (see the heading for “soups” in this article)
• Ginger Beef (although the ginger they can get here is not the “young ginger” that is available in China)
• Mi Fun, or Hong Kong style rice noodles. These are soft noodles lightly soaked in sauce so that they are more like the “dry” style served at Grand House and other restaurants. The typical version includes shrimp and chicken, although the meat can be prepared to order.
• Bean Curd and Vegetable Hot Pot is a dish I requested. This was much like the seafood hot pot on the menu but with the ingredients modified (and I found it to be very good).
• Citrus Chicken was offered as a Seasonal Special during summer 2006. This dish had a sauce made with orange juice and lemon, and while flavorful, was breaded and heavy on the meat with virtually no vegetables included. This was not quite what I would classify as traditional Chinese cooking, but it neverthess reflected Fortune’s effort to introduce the public to more “gourmet” Chinese cooking. It was also one of the dishes that convinced me to return to the restaurant to try other dishes (they have not specifically said that they can still prepare this dish but I thought I would put it on the list just in case).

Some Additional Details
I did not want to give this restaurant a rating because I normally do not order the regular menu items, and the ones I order are usually modified somewhat to suit my taste. One focus of my blog is on authentic Asian food, and I have been able to find it here.

For those who do order the regular menu items, though, they will find that the food is fresh and prepared when they are ordered. It is made with vegetable oil (which is not only healthy, but a lot of people find that it tastes better than the oils that many Chinese restaurants use).

This restaurant opened in 1987, and the current owners wanted to keep the menu items the restaurant had been serving since the beginning. Customers are happy about this, and there are a large number of people who have continued to come over the years. I am not a fan of American style Chinese food, but I at least know that the food available on the menu at Fortune is fresh and healthier than might be assumed. I do think some of the dishes contain MSG, though, unless you ask them to omit it (the special request items I have tried have also been made with no added MSG).

Fortune offers free delivery with an order of $12 or more for customers within a five mile radius. The restaurant is open every day of the year except Christmas, New Year, and July 4th. They serve beer, and the hot jasmine tea is very good. The service is very friendly, and I think they go out of their way (more than at most restaurants) to serve your meal the way you want it.

Prices change very infrequently, and when they do it has always stayed in the least expensive price category I have (which has been adjusted for inflation a couple of times since I did my first reviews in about 2005).

RATING: N/R

Asian Food Details

Tea:	Jasmine (bags)
MSG:	Yes
Buffet:	No

 

Special Ratings

	Crispy Tofu
	Chicken Soup with Dumplings
	Tomato Beef
	Ma Po Tofu
	Lettuce Wrap
	Tomato and Egg
	Egg Drop Soup
	Hot and Sour Soup

 

Menu (Nov. 2017):

 

 

ND Foods
2632 W. Britton Rd.
Oklahoma City, OK

(405) 840-9364

ND Foods in The Village

ND Foods seems to thrive on its take-out business, but it does have several tables for those who want to eat in (you place your order and pick up the food at the counter). I have found food taken home to be just as good as when it is served in the restaurant. The common denominator I have seen with reviews and my own experience is that all the food is very good. A couple of dishes did not hit the spot as much for me in terms of flavor, but the quality, freshness, and preparation of the food has been uniformly excellent.

ND Foods is primarily a lunch spot, but does have quite a few items that go equally well for dinner. It has a large selection of sandwiches, with Boar’s Head meat and other deli ingredients that promise to be a very good quality sandwich (I haven’t tried the sandwiches but I took home some of their Boar’s Head turkey).

In addition to regular sandwiches ND Foods serves hot sandwiches, soups, salads, wraps, quesadillas, and there is a daily menu which may include some other items as well.

Some of the items I would consider to me more for dinner include chicken pot pie and stuffed bell peppers (the menu changes every day, and they are likely to run out of some of the “dinner” items as well as lunch ones if demand is particularly high).

Making a meal out of the food here can be a little tricky because some of main dishes are quite large (and may be more suitable for two people), some of the side dishes are a little pricey, and some of the side dishes themselves are better shared. My suggestion is that you will also want to save room for one of their many excellent desserts.  Side dishes include appetizers such as hummus, chips and salsa, and dip. However, they also have an excellent mac & cheese (which really could be a main dish) and other similar choices.

The history of ND Foods is that it was originally located near N.W. 50th and Western, and around 2010 moved to Britton Road in The Village (in the same strip center as Johnnie’s Charcoal Broiler). The Britton Road location was originally not open evenings, but now stays open until 7:30. They purposely only prepare a portion of the menu every day (rotating items frequently), but I think they are adding new items and specials as time goes on.

Stuffed Bell Peppers
Dinner entrees change daily, but on my first visit they had more than half of the items available that were listed on the menu. When I say these are “dinners” this mainly refers to the amount of food served, since I think some of them could easily be enough for lunch with an equal portion left over for the next day. Everything I tried was excellent, and tasted freshly prepared.

Stuffed bell peppers

One of favorites was the Stuffed Bell Peppers with a very flavorful tomato sauce on top. The meat had just the right blend of seasonings and ingredients to make it stand out from many similar dishes I have had elsewhere. I am also not usually a fan of bell peppers, but these were cooked just right to give them an appealing texture.

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken pot pie

The Chicken Pot Pie was also excellent, and is a good choice if you want to be quite full or have leftovers. I do not know who else even serves pot pies other than cafeterias (and I am not sure if they do), but the one at ND Foods was much better than average. The gravy was light (but not thin), the chicken was excellent (I think it was all white meat), and the dinner did not taste salty. I do not think this is a low calorie meal, but it seemed to have the type of ingredients that would make it more healthy than the typical pot pie.

Chicken Wild Rice Casserole

Chicken and wild rice casserole

I am not much of a cheese lover, so I was surprised to find out that this was one of the main ingredients of the Chicken Wild Rice Casserole (which was listed as “Chicken Wild Rice” on the changeable menu board). The cheese was much better than average, though, and I thought it melted just right to give a good flavor and texture. The dish was also very peppery, and between this and the cheese it was not my favorite dish at ND Food, but at the same time I could not say there was anything really unappealing about it (just that the menu did not give me a good description of it).

Mac & Cheese

Mac & cheese

The Mac and Cheese might be considered either a main dish or a side dish (although a side dish that would probably feed two people).  I thought it was exceptionally good, especially since I first tried it after a visit to the dentist when I wanted to eat something soft and easy to chew.  The cheese had a perfect balance of having body yet being runny enough to cover all of the noodles equally.

Sandwiches

Soup and sandwich with clam chowder and chicken salad sandwich

The Chicken Salad Sandwich is also among my favorite items, but part of the reason is that you can get a half sandwich and soup for a reasonable price. I generally do not order chicken salad because most of them are made with mayonnaise, but this one with sour cream was a step up from the others.

Tuna sandwich and lobster bisque

The Tuna Sandwich is not my favorite item here in terms of flavor, but it is a treat because it is made in house and offers a fresh alternative to some of the other sandwiches served in the city. One thing that prevents me from ordering a whole sandwich it is its size (a half sandwich, shown in the photo next to the soup, is more than enough if you get soup or a side order with it). I give this sandwich five stars, but it is just that most of the time I would go with chicken rather than tuna.

Soups
Soups change daily and are not listed on the restaurant’s menu. They are all fresh and made in house, and I do not know how a person could go wrong with any of them.

The Clam Chowder (shown on the photo with the chicken salad sandwich) had a good flavor and a minor imperfection of the broth being a little congealed (at least this is what was in my notes). My overall recommendation is to order it because it is quite good.

The Lobster Bisque (shown in the photo of the tuna sandwich) had a good flavor, and led me to believe that any tomato based soup at ND would be worthwhile.

Side Dishes
Some side dishes such as the Green Beans and Corn had a rather bland flavor, but they were fresh.

German potato salad

The German Potato Salad, though, tasted like it had too much vinegar or something else was off so that it had little resemblance to the same dish served at Ingrid’s.

I thought the mac and cheese was a much better side dish than the others I tried, but several others are available that I have not yet samples.

Desserts

Three berry pie

There are so many desserts available it is hard to choose, but the Three Berry Pie was about as good as it gets when it comes to dessert. A single piece of pie or cake costs over five dollars, but it comes in a large size and is worth it because of its home made quality. I thought the pie was just sweet enough to be good but not overly sweet, and the berries tasted fresh. The crust was excellent, and was on the flaky side (but it did not fall apart). The crust and the filling were both top notch.

Strawberry cupcake

The Strawberry Cupcake was also very good, but I cannot describe very many qualities about it other than “sweet” (but I think that is the point of eating a cupcake).

Key lime pie

ND has a very good version of Key Lime Pie that I think compares very favorably to the ones served in other restaurants.  There was a good balance between the lime and the other flavors.  You also get a generous portion at a good price.

Chocolate chip sandwich

The Chocolate Chip Sandwich was as delicious as the other desserts I have tried here. It was very rich, and a little goes a long way. I am getting to the point that if I have sweets I really want to make them count in terms of flavor, and the cookies here meet this test.

RATING: 23

Cuisine: American
Cost: $$
Hours: Closed Sun.
Accessible: Yes
Smoking: No smoking

Most Recent Visit: Aug. 16, 2018
Number of Visits: 6
Best Items: Stuffed Bell Peppers, Chicken Pot Pie, Mac & Cheese, Chicken Salad Sandwich, Lobster Bisque, Three Berry Pie

Special Ratings

	Stuffed Bell Peppers
	Chicken Pot Pie
	Mac & Cheese
	Chicken Salad Sandwich
	Tuna Sandwich
	Chicken Wild Rice
	Green Beans
	German Potato Salad
	Clam Chowder
	Lobster Bisque
	Three Berry Pie
	Strawberry Cupcake
	Key Lime Pie
	Chocolate Chip Sandwich

Menu (Nov. 2017):

 

Sushi Neko

My review for Sushi Neko is in two parts due to making visits around 2005-2006, and again in 2017. In that time the menu changed, prices increased, and I felt that it had become more upscale (I think they just dropped some of the less expensive items from the menu). This is a fairly common trend with restaurants, and it seems to fit the neighborhood along North Western Avenue which is known for having some of the city’s most popular upscale restaurants.

Sushi Neko offers both sushi and grilled items, and in this respect has not changed since its early days. Musashi’s across the street (owned by the same people) has a different concept by putting on a knife show and cooking the food on a grill in front of your table, so there is a choice if you are looking for a Japanese-themed restaurant.

Rear entrance to the restaurant

A change in the menu items was really the biggest difference I noticed between the early and later visits to Sushi Neko. Earlier I saw quite a bit of similarity between Sushi Neko and Tokyo Restaurant, offering a wide variety of cooked items that made them similar to West Coast Izakaya style restaurants. However, there now seems to be a distinct difference between these restaurants with Tokyo keeping its emphasis on both cooked items and sushi, while Sushi Neko has now streamlined its menu of cooked items and seems to have added more sushi items, particularly the popular “rolls” (such as California rolls).

I have not tried the standard sushi (nigiri, sashimi, etc.) recently, but on previous trips it was one of Oklahoma City’s best. The cooked food I tried was good on all of my trips.

Tea

Green tea

The Green Tea was expensive and did not seem to have a corresponding special quality that elevated it above other green teas. It was very good, though, and they gave me a to-go drink in a very nice paper cup that I ended up using for the rest of the day (so I really got my money’s worth).

Appetizers

Edamame

The Edamame was better than most I have had, but to me it was hard to justify paying extra for this when some restaurants (such as Tsubaki Sushi) give it to you free with the meal.

Miso

Miso

Miso comes free with the meal, and I wrote in my notes that it had a “thick and flavorful broth” (a rare enough occurrence at restaurants that it is noteworthy when I find it).

Sushi

Philadelphia roll

The Philadelphia Roll I was able to sample was really quite good, and I won’t make any comments other than this was one of the better ones I have encountered.

Grilled Salmon

Grilled salmon

I came here expecting the salmon teriyaki I had ordered on a previous visit, but found that it is no longer on the menu. Instead I was able to order Grilled Salmon from the lunch menu which was somewhat comparable because it came with a glaze that was a good substitute for the teriyaki sauce. I thought the salmon here was probably more impressive than at Tokyo (where I usually like to get salmon teriyaki) and the presentation was very nice (I especially liked the bok choy). This was quite a good lunch although a little expensive compared to places that serve teriyaki salmon (such as Tokyo).

Overall Assessment
The salmon was really so much better than at most other restaurants I thought it was well worth paying a higher price for it. At the same time, though, I cannot afford this often so I treat this restaurant as a “special occasion” place (there was really not very much on the menu that would be any less expensive).

The thing I missed, though, was the “box lunch” concept they have at restaurants such as Tokyo where the lunch comes with side items such as a salad, tempura, or gyoza.

The service was good here, and I was glad I was able to experience the “new” Sushi Neko.

RATING: 23

Asian Food Details

Tea:	Green (brewed)
MSG:	No
Buffet:	No

 

Special Ratings

	Grilled Salmon
	Miso
	Philadelphia Roll

 

Das Boot Camp
229 E. Main St.
Norman, OK
(405) 701-3748

Das Boot Camp

The official name of this restaurant is Das Boot Camp Restaurant & Bar, and I think the key part of it is the “Bar.” When I visited late at night on the way back from Dallas it was one of the few restaurants in town that was even open, and they were running a special on large servings of beer in a boot shaped glass (they could not have been making a huge profit from the prices charged for the beer but it seemed to also get people in to try the food).

For most people (in Oklahoma, at least) it does not take much persuasion to get them to order some good German food, and of course it is a natural to go with beer. Das Boot Camp happens to be an outgrowth of Royal Bavaria, a standard dinner style restaurant in Moore, and the German food at these restaurants is well known as being the real deal. The menu at Das Boot Camp is scaled down from the larger restaurant, and is more of a bar menu, but there are still enough choices for a full meal.

When I went to Das Boot Camp I did not have a huge appetite and I was not looking for the type of full meal that is served at Royal Bavaria, so for me Das Boot Camp was perfect.

Schnitzel

Wiener Schnitzel

Wiener Schnitzel was one of the six or so items that are served as dinner items (the rest are sandwiches, soup, appetizers, etc., although they also have bratwurst plates). I thought that this was as good as any schnitzel I have had in Oklahoma, with good meat and a good breading.

The more disappointing part of the meal was the spätzle (I have had others with a better flavor). I ended up ordering fries, the side that normally comes with the schnitzel (they substituted the spatzle for me), which I thought went better with the dish. Overall this was a very satisfying meal and still at a good price.

Other Comments
If you go to Royal Bavaria instead of here you will have other dinner choices such as Hähnchenbrust and cordon bleu. Das Boot Camp advertises that all of their items are under $10, so you just get basic German food here (although it is the same as Royal Bavaria in terms of being authentic).

I think one of the biggest advantages of going to Royal Bavaria is in the side dishes. Royal Bavaria has items such as Bavarian potato salad which I thought was excellent (and may be the same as the potato salad served at Das Boot Camp), but the large menu at Royal Bavaria makes me fairly certain that whatever you want you would be able to get there.

I need to try more items at both restaurants to make a fuller comparison, but it seems that the main difference between the two restaurants is that Royal Bavaria Restaurant has a larger menu with more expensive and fancier items.

Das Boot Camp definitely serves my basic needs for German food, though.

RATING: 23

Cuisine: German
Cost: $$
Hours: Open Daily (food served until 11 PM)
Accessible: Yes
Smoking: No smoking
Alcohol: Beer

Most Recent Visit: Nov. 28, 2017

Number of Visits: 1

Best Item: Wiener Schnitzel

 

Special Ratings

	Wiener Schnitzel
	Spätzle