Upscale Asian dining is now on the menu at a new restaurant in Davenport Village. Jade, located on the second floor of the shopping center, offers an elevated take on many favorites, such as sweet and sour chicken, Szechuan beef and lo mein.
“We wanted to deliver an upper-scale dining experience to customers and make a community establishment where the people who come in here know everyone,” said Michael De La Rosa, food and beverage director.
In the six months Jade has been open, De La Rosa said he has seen that vision become reality with regular customers coming back for their favorite dishes, quality service and weekend specials.
“We came in wanting to give people an experience,” he said. That includes inviting decor to the custom black-and-gold chopsticks and the carefully curated menu.
The Vietnamese Shaken Beef became a quick favorite, he said. The simple but flavorful dish is cubed flank steak lightly marinated and cooked in a wok with fresh garlic, Thai basil and black pepper.
The Shanghai Dumplings are a favorite appetizer and keep the kitchen staff on their toes. These steamed satchels filled with ground pork are so delicate that cooking them one minute too long can dry them out.
While the weekday menu is enough to keep a steady flow of customers, the weekend specials offer many choices. During brunch customers can choose from about 30 traditional fresh-to-order dim sum options.
Live lobster is flown in from Maine every Friday, and De La Rosa said people begin calling in the afternoon to see if it has arrived—not wanting to show up before the fresh catch. The most popular lobster menu item calls for the tails to be lightly battered and fried and served over a bed of fried rice.
Jade is the sister restaurant to New Fortune, located at 10901 N. Lamar Blvd., Ste. 501, Austin, and known for its weekend dim sum service.
