As my work schedule has become less hectic and I have more free time on my hands, my lovely better half Faith J. and I have been able to make the two hour trip to the family lake house in Lakeland, Georgia about twice a month. Being from an island (Hawaii), road trips are quite foreign to me, so for awhile I was apprehensive at the thought of being on the open road in unfamiliar territory. Luckily, Faith has travelled quite extensively by car over the course of her life, so having her there really takes the edge off, and I now look forward to getting out and exploring beyond the Jacksonville perimeters.
It was 8:30 p.m. Neither of us ate all day because I had to catch up on sleep and she was running errands and prepping for the trip. We were famished, on the road, and pressed for time, since we were out in the middle of nowhere and most eating establishments close around 9. It was remarkably dark out, so we were desperately scanning our surroundings for any signs of life when we both spotted Chen's and, with a sigh of relief, pulled into the lot. Walking in, I was surprised to see that there was a spacious sized dining room off to the left of the counter, which is somewhat of a rarity nowadays in Chinese food institutions. I visualized people actually gathering here and socializing amongst themselves while enjoying a meal, rather than, like us, picking up and dashing away into the night. The setting was very homey and clean and the wonderful fragrances emanating from the kitchen made my stomach growl with anticipation. When trying out a new place (and especially when ravenously hungry), we often get a few things to share and on this experience our choices were as follows:
Cream Cheese Wontons: We both ferociously devoured these, mostly because we were starving, but also because they were tasty. Thumbs up.
Boneless Ribs: Oooooh these were good. Very good. A wise selection if I do say so myself. Sweet meaty goodness, and even our pup Viggo had a couple of bites and agreed.
Sweet and Sour Pork: Batter dipped chunks of unseasoned pork served with a side of radioactive red sweet and sour sauce. This was neither dreadful nor mindblowing, and suited best for those who are either heavily intoxicated or, like us, famished beyond caring.
Sesame Chicken: Utterly indistinguishable from the Sesame Chicken that I've eaten at countless other "drunk or starving" take-out joints. Occasionally you get lucky and it's actually better the next day. Sadly this was not the case, as the chicken was so overly laden with sauce that the pieces might as well been super glued together. So unfortunate.
Fried Rice: *rolls eyes*.....When I describe this as "Uncle Bens" style fried rice I'm not talking about my Filipino Uncle Ben from Georgia. I'm talking about that laughable mockery of rice that can (unfortunately) be found in most grocery stores. Blech. Maybe it's the Asian in me, but I eagerly await the day when the Association of Chinese Takeout Chefs all come together for a "sit down" and unanimously decide that STICKY RICE (GASP!) would hereby take over as main component in all fried rice recipes. With fresh veggies! And soy sauce! And dare I do the unspeakable and ask for SEASONING? Yes I know it'll never happen...but one can dream...
The lady (owner?) at the front counter had a pleasant disposition and was considerate enough to bring our food outside to us as we tended to our pup, Viggo. Extra star for both service and atmosphere, as the restaurant was both spacious and impeccably spotless. Do I recommend that you go out of your way to seek this place out? Nah. Unless you're in....where were we?.....Oh yes...the town of Jasper, Florida, and you're craving some basic run-of-the-mill Chinese grub....and there's absolutely NOWHERE else. If that's the case, then by all means. Till next time my fellow Yeeps, support your local eats, and as always SYOY! read more