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Russell's Seafood Palace

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stvchin
stvchin
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3 out of 5
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Russell's Seafood Palace

  • June 30, 2006
  • Rated 3 of 5 by stvchin from Tustin, California
Russell's Seafood Palace

Russell's Seafood Palace was a nice surprise. It's a Chinese restaurant located near John Wayne Airport (SNA) at the corner of Main and MacArthur. It sits behind the Mcdonalds and Agorra restaurant, so doesn't get much street visibility.

A friend and I visited Russell's for lunch. Upon entering the restaurant, it's apparent from the decor that the former tenant was probably a fine steak or seafood restaurant. I've come to learn that good Chinese restaurants don't give a damn about decor. Either way, the decor was nice, but unusual.

We were seated quickly and given a pot of hot tea. We saw lots of Asians already seated and eating. They say that if you go to an Asian restaurant, and there aren't Asians eating there, you'd best leave.

There were three dim sum carts making their way around the dining room. Two were "hot" carts carrying steamed buns and Chinese porridge. There was a "cold" cart carrying dishes of baked goods and desserts. For those that do not know what Dim Sum is, it translates into "heart's delights" in Chinese. Dim Sum is a type of brunch consisting of a variety of little dishes, including meats, veggies, pastries, and desserts.

We chose a steamed pork buns during one pass of the carts, and pork potstickers and shrimp balls (on a stick?) on the next pass. The pork buns and potstickers were great. The shrimp balls were a bit interesting, as I've never had them before, but they were good nonetheless. The shrimp balls are best described as ground up shrimp molded into a ball, breaded and deep fried. A sliver of sugar cane is stuck into it as a "handle."

Customers can also order from the kitchen, and we placed an order of beef chow mein and the house fried chicken with the waiter. The waiter gave us each a bowl of hot and sour soup. I've never liked hot and sour soup, so I'm not the best judge. My friend said his was quite good. It has bits of veggies and strips of tofu in it. Obviously hot and sour soup is quite hot, yet tangy.

Our dishes came out a few moments after we were done with the soup. My beef chow mein was quite good. Beef chow mein consists of pan fried noodles topped off with stir fried beef and veggies in sauce. The sauce on top of the fried noodles makes them soft. I like my noodles soggier than they were served, but that's my personal preference. My friend's house fried chicken resembled large bits of popcorn chicken tossed in chives and jalapeno cross slices. The chicken was surprisingly good, with a hint of sweetness.

Our bill with 3 Dim Sum dishes and 2 kitchen dishes was $32.33 before tip. Russell's is a pretty good Chinese restaurant, and the Dim Sum service was a nice surprise. There isn't much Dim Sum in Orange County! It's not the best Chinese restaurant, but it's definitely good and worth going back!

From journal Dining Around Orange County

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