Ming Court is a Chinese restaurant on International Drive in Orlando. They have been there as long as I can remember and I finally gave them a try. Walking into the huge restaurant kind of reminded me of the China Pavilion at Epcot. There was a courtyard with koi ponds. They had giant dragons hanging from the ceiling inside. There were musicians playing traditional Chinese instruments. The whole setup made a great environment for a Chinese restaurant.
I started the meal with some Scallion Pancakes. When I saw these on the menu, I had to order them since scallion pancakes are a rare find in Central Florida. Up north, just about every Chinese restaurant has the pancakes on the menu but nobody seems to serve them here in Orlando. Tasty Wok BBQ on Colonial Drive is the only other restaurant I know of that serves scallion pancakes. These were thinner than other scallion pancakes that I've had, but otherwise were good.
For my main course, I had the Chinese Eggplant Stuffed with Shrimp. I didn't know what exactly to expect with this dish and I was initially surprised when the food was served. The presentation was very unique, with fried shrimp sandwiched between slices of eggplant. The arrangement almost made the shrimp/eggplant sandwiches look like mussels. The orchid on the plate was a nice touch as well.
The eggplant's skin was a bit tough in spots, but otherwise my Chinese Eggplant Stuffed with Shrimp was really good!
I also tried some of the Mu Shu Pork. It had lots of pork, cabbage, and mushrooms with several pancakes. I personally preferred my eggplant.
I really liked the food and atmosphere of Ming Court, but unfortunately the service was really bad. After a bit of a wait, our waitress took our order and was never seen again for the rest of our meal. Another nearby table ordered the Mu Shu Pork as well. When their food was brought out, the server assembled everyone's pancake with hoisin and pork. At our table, the food was plopped down and that was it. After we were done, we waited far too long to get the check. Another diner at a nearby table with a similar problem eventually was able to pay by standing up with money in her hand. Eventually, we did pay and were able to leave. The service wouldn't stop me from returning to Ming Court (hopefully I caught them on a bad night), but there's definitely room for improvement in that department. As far as the rest of the dining experience, I have no complaints!
