Formosa Zen: China Road returns to Omaha
When my family moved to the 132nd and Dodge area, from Philadelphia in 2000, the first restaurant we went to was China Road in the Shops at Linden Place. We were greeted by the owner, Jenny, as if we were at her home.
Many years later, and many visits later, Jenny decided to close the restaurant on 132nd and Dodge for family reasons, and left the West Omaha market completely. Since then though the restaurant market in Omaha has changed drastically, and palates have become more refined.
Cue 2015. A new restaurant, Formosa Zen, enters the Omaha market, in the small strip mall on Pacific Street and 180th Street. A familiar face greeted us. Where most people would have just said, “I remember you”, Jenny remembered my mom, my wife, and myself. She remembers everyone, and although the location has changed, she still welcomes guests, like it is her house.
Formosa Zen’s interior is much darker than its predecessor. China Road had huge windows bathing the entire dining area in sun/moonlight, but Zen’s walls are a dark black and red, with no windows. It isn’t so dim that you can’t see your food, but the atmosphere is very dark but still rich. There is a bar in the corner, and two televisions that blend in with the dark walls.
Décor aside, the food was fine. Coming into it though, one must be aware that this isn’t traditional Chinese food, this is Chinese food made for American tastes, and also includes other asian influenced dishes on the menu. I had the Formosa Pan-Fried Noodles, a crispy version of a lo-mein, with chicken, shrimp and vegetables. It was good, I thought the shrimp was of good size, and the noodles were very crispy, but the sauce was mild.
My wife had the Firecracker Shrimp, deep fried shrimp in brown sauce with vegetables. She thought the name would imply it was to be spicy, but… it turned out sweeter than I thought it should.
My mom had the Salt and Pepper Shrimp, which was fried shrimp with a dry vegetable salsa like product over shrimp chips. From what I saw, there were many more shrimp chips than shrimp that overwhelmed both the plate, and the shrimp. I love shrimp chips… but it was a mound of chips.
In the end, I was hoping for a traditional Chinese meal, but this was a better version of the quick takeout restaurants, with nicer plates and décor. It’s a good place for Americanized Chinese food, but if you're looking for something a little more tradtional, I'd reccomend trying somewhere else.
