Mulan Bistro might be called old-fashioned or B.B. -- "Before Buffets" became the ubiquitous way of serving up Asian food.

Not that I'm knocking all buffets. I've enjoyed some of the better ones and know they are just the ticket for families with children antsy to eat right away from items they can see before they choose.

Photos by Justin Shaw/The Commercial Appeal

General Tso's chicken at Mulan features chunks of chicken lightly fried in a hot and spicy sauce.

Mulan Bistro, listed in the top 100 Chinese restaurants in the United States, has been serving the Collierville area for five years.

Mulan Bistro offers a relaxed but tasteful atmosphere with waiters actually bringing food to the table rather than customers lining up at a buffet.

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But having dishes prepared just for you and brought to the table by a competent server is certainly a more relaxing experience.

That's what you get at Mulan's as well as tasty versions of traditional selections and specialties of the house.

Everyone's dining experience begins with a Chinese version of a Louisiana lagniappe or a French amuse bouche -- small portions of salt and peppered peanuts and shredded carrots tossed in a vinegar-flavored marinade.

It's amazing how a sprinkle of pepper lifts peanuts from mundane to memorable and how crunchy pickled

carrots cleanse the palate, priming it for the courses to come.

Instead of egg rolls, our family likes to start Chinese meals with an order of potstickers. Mulan's are evenly browned and plump with a meaty melange seasoned in the expected way.

And when our daughter saw sushi on the menu, she had to have an order of crisp shrimp rolls and promptly devoured them.

Because it was an unusually warm evening, we skipped the soups and went for entrees.

Chicken lo mein at Mulan is a traditional combination featuring tender pieces of white meat, straw mushrooms and steamed broccoli and zucchini bathed in a complex sauce with fettuccine-size noodles.

Another must-have food for my daughter is the sweet and spicy General Tso's chicken.

The crunchy battered and deep-fried chicken bits contrasted nicely with a smooth sauce flavored with ginger, garlic, sesame oil and hot peppers.

My favorite selection that evening was Mulan shrimp, a gorgeous plate of shrimp prepared in two ways separated by a soft hedge of emerald green steamed spinach. The food is pretty enough to tantalize, but my eyes were further delighted by a light orange rose or chrysanthemum whittled from a crisp vegetable that I tasted but could not identify.

The shrimp dishes had a ying-yang appeal. In one, tender, succulent shrimp were sautéed with snow peas in a mild but not bland sauce.

In the other, the shrimp married bits of crisp water chestnuts and onions in a pleasantly hot sauce.

I found myself dipping forkfuls of the spinach, which was bland as unadorned spinach should be, into the spicy sauce before bringing to my mouth.

I like the way some Chinese restaurants, including Mulan, bring wedges of oranges to the table along with the fortune cookies. The fresh flavor of the fruit and its juices jolts our mouths back to BDM, Before Dinner at Mulan's, leaving the memories in our minds.

Mulan Bistro

Address: 2195 Houston Levee (at Wolf River) in Collierville

Telephone: 850-5288

Hours: 10:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Price: $

Handicapped access: Yes

Alcoholic beverages: Beer and wine

Don't miss: Mulan shrimp, General Tso's chicken, fried dumplings