The little shotgun house across from the Mid-City Mall has seen many restaurants come and go, most recently Kashmir Indian, which has moved a few doors down. Now the site at 1285 Bardstown Rd. is The Joy Luck.
The owner, ALvin Lin, has transformed the little building into a sharp, crisp modern interior, where he is serving a menu that plays with venerable, familiar Chinese dishes (vegetable spring roll, crab Rangoon, egg-drop soup, lo-mein, fried rice and General Tso’s chicken), some classic Chinese fare, such as roast duck, in Beijing and Cantonese style, and some interesting fusion ideas, like kimchi quesadilla, Kentucyaki chicken satay, and Thai seafood casserole.
The “Kid’s menu” is the cleverest I have ever seen. The little ones get the Bandit Plate—“Your own plate and cutlery—Steal from your parent’s plates!”
