Relationships can  have restaurants. And if the relationship is a marriage, it helps if it’s  a restaurant that’s easy to get to, easy to pay for, and easy to enjoy, a place that’s “Old Faithful.” But it should also be somewhat mysterious. You wouldn’t want to settle for something predictable and boring.

China Jade has been Dean and my special restaurant over the last 7 years. The entrance is small, in a strip mall across from an Office Max, but if you have the right address you can find it without too much trouble. Look for the Foo dogs standing on either side of the entrance.

Once inside you wind your way past a small fish pond and the sound of running water, and sit down in a dining room hung with large chinese lanterns.  Under glass, the placemats detail the Chinese zodiac, with the years of each animal’s patronage and the characteristics of those born in those years.  I have spent untold time studying these images and numbers. I was born in the year of the Snake. People born under this sign are known, it’s said, for “wisdom and charm, romantic and deep thinking,  and being stingy with money.”

Apparently the placemat isn’t aware of what would happen around here if someone wasn’t stingy about money. But China Jade is the best deal in sit-down dining I’ve ever seen, especially if you get the two for one entrees coupon from an Albertson’s receipt; then you can be out of here for $20.

I always have time to study the placemat while Dean decides what he’s ordering. My husband is a Horse, according to the Chinese Zodiac. This sign, it is said ”is very independent. They thrive when they are the center of attention. While intelligent and friendly horses have to  guard against being egotistical. ”

About the time I’m wondering if this describes him or not, Dean will break into my thoughts,  tell me to stop looking up people’s Chinese Zodiac signs and start thinking about dinner because he is hungry.

But I can afford to review zodiac signs, because I don’t really need to look at the menu. I almost always have the same meal: egg drop soup, appetizers, fried rice, cashew chicken, hot tea, and a fortune cookie. Dean gets the same thing, except he likes the wonton soup and changes entree’s.

The food is all good —  vegetables crunchy, meats well trimmed, soups seasoned just right.  The cashews in the cashew chicken are browned outside and crunchy inside.  The fried rice is delicious, speckled with bits of egg and peas. The egg rolls are crispy outside and fragrant inside. So I don’t worry about the food. It’s quite reliable. Dean, on the other hand, enjoys searching the menu for something different and adventurous.

It’s true, I didn’t like Chinese food as much before I met Dean. I’ve come to like it quite a bit, though I only really trust China Jade, not just any old Chinese restaurant, which though fancy or plain might not have the consistency of quality I expect. Although I can, I don’t eat with the chopsticks, which Dean insists on. He’s such a purist!

The service staff changes, but the owner is always there.  ”If it would have been an Italian restaurant, we would be on a first name basis with the owner long ago,”  Dean commented recently. I realize he is right. We know Luigi of Luigi’s in Denton, and have only been there 4 or 5 times. I met Vance Martin of Lilli’s the first time I showed up there. Not so forthcoming is the owner of China Jade.  But this is said to be typical of a Chinese restaurant.

Nevertheless, I can tell the owner knows us by the look of recognition we get when we come in.  That slight nod  is part of China Jade’s mystery, which is carried on by the wall hangings, my favorite of which is a wall sculpture of the Great Wall of China. It’s monumental — perhaps 5 feet high and a dozen feet long, and depicts  waves of water, castle walls, and tiny figures frozen in the landscape. The wall sculpture makes me feel like I’m in another world.

That’s a valuable sentiment, being away from it all while staying close by home. Perhaps that’s why I’ve come to love China Jade. It’s the perfect restaurant for a marriage, familiar, mysterious and consistently good.

China Jade

5274 S Hulen Street

Fort Worth TX 76132

Phone: 817-292-1611

Business Hours
Monday – Thursday: 10:30 am -10 pm
Friday & Saturday: 10:30 am—11 pm
Sunday: 11:30 am—10 pm