Food tastes really good, one of the best Chinese restaurants in the DMV area. There's both spicy and non spicy food and a variety of options. read more

Chef Yan - Chinese Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

Just had a lunch with family today. The restaurant offers good food, good service and specifically, the environment is quiet and clean.

I work around here, and the lunch combo at Chef Yan is a great deal. The portions are large, very satisfying with rice, and the price is affordable--under $12. It's perfect for a business lunch. read more

Chef Yan - Chinese Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

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We used to visit this place frequently before it changed names, but our recent experiences have been disappointing. Although we've only ordered takeout on both visits, we had no issues with that in the past. The service is notably slow unless you call in or order ahead. Previously, a lovely woman handled our orders, but now a gentleman seems overwhelmed and disorganized, struggling to manage hosting, takeout, and preparing orders. Our last order was particularly disappointing: there were no fortune cookies, the crispy beef tasted like over-fried sugar with what seemed to be no actual beef, and the ribs were dry. So for now, I think we are done unless there are more reviews about how good this place is again. read more

I unfortunately agree with the existing three star rating. Good, but not superior. I read up on all the best Szechuan Restaurants around DC and this was supposedly one of them going back to the early 2000's, so of course I had to try it. You can order in person at the small makeshift window at the entrance due to COVID. Note there are two menus and I think one may have some of the Szechuan items on it, but get the smaller white menu that looks like more of a specialized authentic menu to me, especially if they call out numbing on it. I ordered: Dan Dan noodle (7.95), spicy peppercorn Beef with cilantro (9.95) E3 Szechuan Chili Chicken (Add spicy numb) (13.95) H23 Spicy Capiscum Diced Chicken (Very Spicy) (13.95) Spicy Wontons (7.95) The dan dan noodles had the sweetest sauce I'd ever had with this dish. It wasn't bad, but no real mala. Make sure you look for your sauce in a cup in the bag. If you look under the noodles there is nothing there. The peppercorn beef was promising, and in reality, was nice tender pieces of beef coated in peppercorn, but not much flavor nor any mala. The E3 Chili Chicken dish was the only dish I really looked forward to finishing and was the closest thing to anything numbing, but barely had any of the sensation. It looks like their rendition of Chongqing chicken. Disappointing for what I know it should be. The H23 capsicum diced chicken reminds me a lot of the green and red pepper chicken at KF12S in Clarksville MD. It was the hottest dish I had and had some interesting flavor,but not as good as either KF12S or Great Wall in DC. The Spicy wontons weren't bad, but lacked any serious mala or even just heat. All in all, I came with high hopes, but left with an average feeling and most likely won't seek it out unless I'm in the area. read more

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Have to down star it after rename, I think the chef must have changed too. Our go to dishes taste different. More American and less authentic. Super bummed as this was one of our favorite Sichuan restaurant. read more

After three time visit, I decided not to go to that place anymore. I think they added too mush MSG. The food price was also high.

We'll order again! Flavors were good and food was not too oily or over fried. Delivered in promised time frame. We took the advice of ordering from the Traditional Menu (H31- Szechuan Chili Shrimp and H27- Fish with Eggplant), for the kids we ordered the N2-Beef Ho Fun. We had stopped by earlier to get their menu and the lady was very nice and provided me the recommendations based on our taste preference, great service and keeping COVID safe standards of mask and social distance (only take or delivery now) Food - 5 Stars Service - 5 Stars read more

I'm glad there's still the authentic Chinese. The menu seems to have expanded more to the authentic which is good. More things to try!

We come to this place frequently. Authentic Sichuan food! Highly recommended! Service is also good.

Great meal at China Star. I ordered hot tea, steamed dumplings, wonton soup, and moo shu chicken. The tea wasn't scalding which I appreciated, the steamed dumplings & wonton soup were absolutely fresh and tasty, and the moo shu chicken was exactly the way that I remembered it when I lived near a Chinese restaurant that didn't have it listed on its menu, but those in the know could still ask for and enjoy its secrets. The prices were reasonable, and the service was friendly but it took quite a while to get someone's attention when we wanted to pay our bill. Regardless, a pleasant experience overall. Thank you China Star at Fair City Mall (Fairfax)! read more

This place used to be really good. I'm not sure if it's been bought out or what. They've renovated the restaurant and it looks good, but the last time I ordered carry out- I paid extra for fried rice, I got home- they'd given me white rice, they were slow. I know there are some growing pains when things change hands but I've been a little disappointed lately. It used to be better. read more

Second review, still really good. I think some folks here need to chill, it's a it's a great local Chinese restaurant. Try the braised beef, we enjoyed it for Xmas dinner! read more

Chef Yan - Dumplings - Chinese Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

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Must try the garlic spareribs. The soup dumplings were ok, less greasy taste. Service is fine, typical Chinese restaurant service. Going back to try other dishes and discover more yummy food read more

This is one of my favorite Sichuan restaurants in this area. You cannot go wrong with ordering their signature dishes. Their Sichuan dishes are great, great Dan Dan noodles, Sichuan lamb, Sichuan crispy chicken, the flounder with pine nuts is my wife's favorite dish. The restaurant staff is very friendly as well. They always remember my family and our daughters and they periodically will serve us new dishes that they think we will like. After going their a few times we have some of our favorite dishes and keep trying new dishes there. Lots of good food to pick from Here. read more

The best Sichuan in the area, recommend anything fried, spicy chicken, egg fried rice, braised fish. Also strangely good American Chinese food. read more

Spicy grill fish is very authentic and yummy. Service is very friendly as well. Highly recommended this place!

The beef noodle are awesome, great prices, nice looking stunning room. Great addition.

Executive Summary: fast and affordable Chinese take out. Full Review: This establishment goes way back. This was Richard Chang's first restaurant in the DMV, whom now has established himself as celebrity chef in the region. Back in the 80's, China Star introduced Sichuan cuisine to Virginia. Since then the restaurant has gone through several owners. The current owners still keeps part of the original menu. Under Covid-19, China Star is offering take out and delivery only. The owners have taken extra precaution to make it a safe and healthy process. The door has a lazy Susan as a counter and a plexy glass at eye level. Ordering was quick and easy. I ordered 3 dishes and food was ready in 10 minutes. Under $40 including taxes. Food was great. Mind you this is a take out place, not fancy like Mama Chang's. You can't go wrong with classics like general tso's chicken, sweat and sour pork, fried rice and beef Chow fun . Price: 5 stars Service: Fast Food: 4 stars. read more

Chef Yan - Beef Chow Ho Fun General Two chicken Sweet sour beef Egg Fried Rice - Chinese Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

We came here for lunch on Columbus Day holiday. Ordered dumplings, spicy roasted fish, garlic ribs, etc. all the dishes were delicious. The service was awesome and the atmosphere was friendly and relaxed. We had good lunch here and will def come back. read more

Super authentic Chinese food and nice service and environment. I'll definitely come again!

Outstanding (had delivery). Egg foo yong was fluffy and cooked perfectly, generous portion loaded with fresh and tasty shrimp. OK, gravy was a bit lumpy. Egg rolls as good as I've had anywhere. Twice cooked pork is amazing. Love this place. read more

Beef noodle soup was amazing. Haven't had this good in awhile. Broth flavorful, braised beef very tender yet had slight bounce, piping hot. Noodles similar to ramen noodles, not sure whats considered authentic beef noodle soup noodles, but whatever it was, it was good. Presented in modern deep bowl, looked nice. Will be back to try other dishes! read more

This is our fourth time come here. Highly recommend. This time ordered fish and crabs. Both great. Food is great, service is great.

Very nice! The dish is really great and the service is also very nice! And the environment is nice

Food was authentic and tasted good. Service was also efficient. Would recommend to any spicy food enjoyers

nice environment , good food and service. :) ample parking space :) . Very friendly staff! We've been to multiple cities and the Chinese food here is top tier. read more

I might have put five because it's close to my heart. I've been going here since I was like two. I love the snow pea shoots; they were my favorite dish. The dumplings are really good. The service was okay when I was little, because I usually get takeout. I don't really remember the Ambiance well. I just remember usually sitting at a table in the middle of the restaurant. I remember they have fake plants and cool window covers. But the food is really good, in my opinion. read more

Solid restaurant, good food and service. They have a MASSIVE menu and brought out my food quickly. I had the spicy beef noodle soup; it was good and I liked that they didn't go overboard with the spiceness, but if that's your thing you'll have to request it. read more

This is by far the best Szechuan style restaurant in the Northern Virginia area. Like another reviewer said, there are two menus. One "Americanized one" which I have never tried, and probably never will because their "Chinese" menu is amazing! I've been here many times and can personally attest to the following dishes: Crystal Shrimp - a very mild gelatinous dish of de-veined shrimp. It has a very delicate flavour and blends very well with the other spicier dishes one gets. Scallion Fried Fish - my favourite dish at this restaurant. It's very hot and uses a spice that actually makes your mouth tingle after eating it. I won't ask. So I hope they don't tell. Lamb in sizzling Pot - Also extremely spicy and very fresh tasting. Surprisingly, not at all "gamey" Mapo Tofu is really one of the best I've had, but again, it's really spicy! THe Flounder with diced pepper is also really flavourful and again... you geussed it, spicey, but in a totally different way... The only dish I would skip is the Ma La Diced rabbit. It was very boney and was the only dish that tasted a little "gamey." The service is also spectacular. I wanted to move to a larger table once because even though we had a small party, we wanted to eat... a lot, and they happily obliged. Like I said, a lot of the dishes are spicy... but strangely, all spicy in different ways of "hot."! read more

Chef Yan - Scallion Fish - Chinese Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

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People have a tendency to rate chinese take out places poorly. But you can't compare a Chinese take out place against some nice dine in restaurant. You need to compare against other Chinese take out places and review against similar places. That's why China star gets a 4 star from me. As good as it goes, when it comes to Chinese take out. Good sized portions and good flavors. Ordered: - house special lo mein - includes chicken, shrimp, and roast pork. Love the addition of the roast pork and it's not the tiny shrimp seasoning ones. They use real small shrimps - fish filet and bean curd - used soft tofu in this and it was great. My kids actually loved this dish - shredded pork in garlic sauce - we pretty much always order this dish to compare across other places. While other places have a tendency to add a lot of celery and onion to make it look like a larger portion, they use more bamboo here which I really appreciated - beef and broccoli - pretty standard. Nothing special but still solid dish. They said delivery would be 45 mins, but ending up being more like 30-35 mins. read more

I have been to China Star on three separate occasions. The first time I had an excellet chicken with dried chili and a steamed flounder. The chicken were morsels of dark meat lightly dusted with corn starch and fried until crispy, and stir fried with salt, plenty of chili peppers (seeds removed), garlic, and sichuan peppercorn. It was spicy, numbing, and very satisfying. The steamed fish was a simple preparation of tender flounder filet topped with fresh chopped red chili (dou jiao). The second time I orderd the salt and pepper eggplant and Kwan spicy beef. Both dishes were decent, but I didn't get the wow feeling like my first visit. The eggplant dish consisted of a thin layer of ground pork sandwiched between two eggplant slices, battered, and deep fried until cripsy. It is then sauteed with salt, chili, garlic, and cilantro. The eggplants were tasty, but after a few bits I felt overwhelmed by the amount of oil the eggplant absorbed. I recommend ordering this dish if you have a large party since you can't eat more than one piece. The Kwan spicy beef was tender, although not as spicy as I would like. This dish could have been improved with less starch since the sauce was too gloppy. I had fish with tofu and garlic chive chicken the third time. The garlic chive chicken was fine, although some of the garlic chives were very tough. Again, I prefer a dry stir fry style over the use of sauce here. The fish and tofu was a big disappointment. Authentic fish and tofu resembles water cooked fish in which filets of fish and chunks of tofu were cooked in chili broth. A handful of fried soy bean is added at the end for a contrasting texture. China Star's version consisted of fish and tofu cooked in a barely spicy tomato based sauce. China Star has a couple of star dishes among numerous duds. I don't think it is worth the visit if you do not live in the Fairfax area. read more

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"Triple delight" was awesome! Website ordering -- awful!!! Definitely will reorder this -- but by phone ( when it works). So sorry the administrivia was so weak. read more

This place really sucks. The Mapo tofu was super watery and didn't have Szechuan peppercorns. That's pretty much the recipe guys, ugh! The wonton soup was lukewarm and tasted like bland tap water. The fried dumplings were cold, gummy, and just lousy. If you live anywhere near this place, drive a couple of extra blocks. Save your money, because it's definitely a ripoff. read more

My Chinese friend told me about this place and told that this is authentic Chinese food. They didn't have orange chicken and other Chinese dishes on the menu. We ordered schezuan chicken which comes as fried crusted chicken with lots n lots of red chilli. I saw a lot of people were taking carry out. Seating and decor is simple. read more

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This is one of the best meals I've had this year. They are wonderful. get down there as soon as you can!! I am still thinking about the food I had there a few hours later. Update: It was so good that we just ate all the leftovers when we get home. Order off the Szechuan menu. read more

They are closed. Don't order on Uber or grubhub. They will take your money and not let you know it's closed. Then you wait and have to figure it all out on your own. read more

Last couple times I went service and the food was better. I'm so glad because I like their schezuan chili chicken.

just ordered takeout from here and as i was eating my soup i thought i was chewing down on a bone...it was actually very sharp and very large plastic. HOW DOES THIS EVEN HAPPEN????i just dont understand how something like this goes unnoticed before its sent. i will never spend my money here. im disgusted even giving one star honestly. i can understand service being slow but just being this careless in a kitchen is unbelievable. read more

Chef Yan - i was eating my soup i thought i was chewing down on a bone...it was actually very sharp and very large plastic. HOW DOES THIS EVEN HAPPEN? - Chinese Near Me - Fairfax, Virginia

God awful Chinese delivery. The worst Chinese I've had in a long time. Only thing that was good were the soups. Ordered the general Tao chicken and the meat was expired to the taste! Spit it out immediately so I wouldn't get sick. Very poor quality. read more