Orient Express (Business Lunch Review)

We had a huge problem with the food at Orient Express in Bentonville — we couldn’t eat it all. The Chinese and Vietnamese menus are so extensive, offering a combined 112 items, that trying to order lunch here is like sifting through a yard full of Autumn leaves for that one special hue.

But we knew from previous visits that everything here is authentic gold.

Forget the massive trough-style Asian buffets that have sprouted like kudzu around the area. Oriental Express offers just as much bang for the buck without making diners feel as though they’ve been punched in the belly.

For appetizers, we found the egg rolls ($3 for three) to be among the lightest and most delectable we’ve ever had. And the crab Rangoon ($3.75 for six) actually have crab in them, instead of just a blob of cream cheese and speck of pink that passes for crab at too many other places.

With the appetizers came the most incredible sauce that our party of two has ever sampled. The duck sauce, a house special creation by Chef Luke Nguyen, sent our tongues to swaying like a pair T’ai-Chi masters.

We vowed to steal the recipe and mass market it as a salad or sandwich dressing. The light and tasty concoction could literally be used to turn any ho-hum meal into a humdinger.

We’ll be surprised, however, if we’re not beaten to it by the retail vendors and Wal-Mart managers who pack the place on a daily basis. One group fretted about Christmas sales forecasts and several German executives discussed the Euro in broken English, causing us to laugh at the cultural confluence that has become Bentonville.

Right about then, both our table and sinuses were cleared with the arrival of one diner’s shredded pork with garlic sauce ($6.50). It comes with white rice and is spicy but not too hot for the timid.

Our retail guest for the day loved the beef Szechuan style ($5.25) entrée trimmed with hot and sour soup and fried rice. We both took turns dipping into the soup, which coated our throats like movie theater butter.

It was a nice complement to the iced teas ($1.50) we downed.

The only negative we found at Chinese Express was its parking. If you come after 11:45 a.m. or before 12:45 p.m., expect to park across Moberly Lane at EZ Mart or drive in circles for 30 minutes. Once inside, however, it’s obvious what all the traffic is about.