Review: O Mandarin in Hicksville

When it opened in 2021, O Mandarin represented a giant leap forward for Long Island’s Chinese restaurant culture. The sprawling, sumptuously appointed dining rooms, refined yet authentic dishes and fine-dining prices were worlds away from the local takeout; no satay, sushi or pad Thai distinguished it from "Asian fusion" palaces. And the name, O Mandarin, declared independence from LI’s old school Chinese restaurants — most of which were opened by Cantonese speakers from the country’s South — and signaled a focus on the decidedly non-Cantonese traditions of China’s northern and western regions such as Beijing, Shanghai (where owner Peter Liu was raised), Sichuan, Xian, Shaanxi and Shandong (whence comes James Beard semifinalist chef Eric Gao).

There are plenty of spicy dishes here but, whether it’s Chongqing chili chicken, dandan noodles or jumbo "wild pepper" shrimp mingled with shards of crispy rice, the heat is deployed in a way that lets other flavors shine. Fresh whole fish can be ordered in half a dozen guises; other seafood selections include live lobster, Dungeness crab and even live scallops that are steamed with minced garlic and vermicelli.

Dumplings such as Peking pot stickers, rectangular and stacked like Lincoln logs, are uniformly excellent. All "chef’s signature" dishes are recommended, from the tremblingly tender pork shank cradled in a lotus leaf the size of a stop sign, to the succulent jasmine tea-smoked duck reposing on a bed of ruffled shrimp chips. And the most famous Mandarin dish, Peking duck (available whole or half), is cooked and carved to a turn. Vegetarians have plenty to choose from, with special commendation going to amethyst-hued garlic eggplant, pea leaves with shiitake mushrooms. 

When it comes to dessert, O Mandarin does not take the well-trodden route of green-tea ice cream and fortune cookies; the "Emperor’s Eight Treasures" comprises eight sweets whose recipes date back to the Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644) and are presented in a black-and-red lacquered box. This is also the rare Chinese restaurant with a serious craft-cocktail program and outdoor dining.

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