The wait is finally over. More than a year after officially announcing the opening of a new West Little Rock location, Three Fold is opening its doors to the public tomorrow at 8 a.m (for breakfast!) at its new location in the former Panera space located in the Pleasant Ridge Shopping Center at 11525 Cantrell Road.
The new 4,500-square-foot location features a patio out front with tables shaded by large white umbrellas and bar seating facing the parking lot.
The north side of the building has an outdoor pick-up window for to go orders. The interior design has all the minimalist modern charm of the downtown location, but it’s laid out a little differently. The ordering station is separate from the kitchen area. The kitchen is still open so you can see the food being prepared, but it’s located in the very back of the restaurant. At the front of the restaurant is a long, wrap-around bar that features the ordering station, an espresso machine where baristas were whipping up a variety of coffees with Asian specific flavor profiles, a shaved ice station, various teas served from a keg system and bar seating on the opposite side.
The move to do breakfast has a lot to do with the location itself, chef and owner Lisa Zhang said. There was a demand for breakfast from customers who used to frequent the Panera, and it was also encouraged by the landlord. People who don’t want to wait in line at Chick-fil-A can pop over to Three Fold and get an on-the-go breakfast burrito in the morning before work. When Zhang and I spoke a few weeks ago, she put it perfectly and said, if she didn’t serve breakfast, the only option would be Chick-fil-A to warm up the shopping center in the morning.
Zhang said incorporating Chinese culture and tradition with the American breakfast tradition was a difficult challenge.
“During my development I tore down my menu at least three or four times,” she said. “I made a menu, I’m happy with it, and then I see a lack of the link with the cultures, so I have to kill the menu and start over again.”
Zhang wanted to create a menu for people on the go in the morning that worked just as well visually on plates for those dining in.
The Milk-Bread Toast is a unique spin on avocado toast featuring house-made bread. “It’s more Chinese/Japanese bread and is popular right now on the East and West coasts,” Zhang said. “It’s very soft, milk-flavored, sweet but not real sweet.”
It’s a large thick slice of bread that’s soft and fluffy. It’s topped with a carrot spread and served with delicious non-battered fried shrimp, mushrooms and a tea-scented egg. It’s unique and flavorful, and when it’s placed in front of you it has visual wow factor. Cue the food selifes.
The Three Fold Bing Wrap is Zhang’s take on the breakfast burrito. It’s a scallion pancake that’s more flaky and crispy than traditional breakfast burritos. It’s filled with scrambled egg, potatoes, crispy crunchies, green onions and cilantro. The two-piece pocket to-go packaging Three Fold’s using for this wrap makes it an easy dish for morning commuters on the go. I ate one in my car a few weeks ago to avoid going into the office for another 15 minutes. The crispy crunchies are thin, flaky chips of some kind that add a nice textural addition to the wrap.
The Multigrain Congee Bowl is Three Fold’s take on oatmeal. It’s made up of whole grain porridge, crispy crunchies, house pickles, green onions and a tea-scented egg. A long piece of youtiao sits atop of the bowl and extends the width of the bowl on both sides. Like a bridge uniting the East and the West, youtiao is what Zhang ate for breakfast growing up. It’s like a non-glazed cruller or churro without all the sugar.
“It’s a deep fried dough, like a churro but savory, not sweet,” Zhang said. “When I grew up in high school, middle school, I go to youtiao shop and they have only two items: youtiao deep fry and soy milk from the pot, fresh brewed. That’s the only two foods they serve and we can have it every day,” Zhang said.
If you want something sweet, fried sweet buns are also on the menu, and they’re filled with traditional Chinese sweet pastes and drizzled with brown sugar syrup and sweetened condensed milk.
Zhang also made the decision to purchase an espresso machine rather than serve drip coffee. Three Fold will be serving Fidel & Co’s roasted coffee. Though the main beverage focus is the tea program featuring jasmine and bubble teas brewed at Three Fold’s production facility, “We cannot ignore the fact that maybe eight out of ten people walking in are gonna want coffee with breakfast,” Three Fold general manager Rebecca Yan said. Three Fold is incorporating regional Chinese spices to its coffee program with beverages like the Mala Latte with Sichuan spices and the Black Sesame Latte served with black sesame spices. Also on the menu is Yuanyang, which is a combination of espresso and black tea. Three Fold will also offer a traditional Americano and espresso shots.
Three Fold’s traditional menu will be served for lunch and dinner at its Pleasant Ridge location. It will be open from 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon.-Fri. and 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Sat. It will serve breakfast until 11 a.m.
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