The reviews here were interesting and quite mixed, so I didn't know what to expect. Some in the party said not to be too hopeful, and others said, maybe it'll be fine. Arriving here for a private party of 13, we were going to have a lot of food, and, well, they delivered.
I have no disappointments from their food, at all. It was legitimate and authentic Chinese cuisine. While I often like to order a special rice cake dish at Chinese restaurants, it's traditionally from a certain part of China, so I was fine not having that.
Still, we did as most do, and ordered lots of yumminess. We tried traditional American-Chinese food like pork dumplings, scallion pancake (ordered a second order after the first), lo mein (very heavy on the soy sauce), General Tso's chicken (looked decent, people were happy) and Chicken with Black Bean Sauce (looked good, people were happy). We had ample rice of both the white and brown variety to suit people's palates.
We also had a traditional Chinese appetizer spread with items that I honestly am not sure what they were - ranging from cold sliced beef to jellyfish (you'd know the array if you'd seen it before). Other dishes that can be praised were double-cooked bacon and an incredibly spicy fish dish that was so spicy, only 2 people were able to tolerate it for more than 3 bites without breaking out into a serious sweat. We also had some pork bao, but the bao part seemed a little too thin for my standards. For celebration, there was also lobster, complete with the head and the eyes staring at you.
In addition, there was some veggie Mei fun, some beef pan fried noodles, some ma po tofu that was perfectly seasoned, baby boy choy (we ordered a second dish of this, it was so well cooked and fresh), watercress (we should have ordered a second dish of this, it was also perfectly cooked), and a Chinese veggie dish that was some vegetable in between asparagus and cucumber- delightful and refreshing, and also, perfectly cooked.
To me, the goal is to have food that is cooked just right in the simmering pot or fire hot wok. The simmering pot will bring out depth of flavors, like the ma po tofu, and the fire hot wok will perfectly cook greens without making them soggy. My mouth is watering thinking about how good the food was.
To wrap it up, they had oranges and fortune cookies, gratis for all to enjoy.
I might have missed a dish or two, as we easily ordered over 15 dishes. The staff were quick to help make room for more dishes and to clear out dishes that were finished.
The reviews paint a somewhat sad picture, but I would definitely go back here when in the area. Loved the food!
Service was on point, helpful, efficient and somewhat amusing. The waiter in charge of our large party pointed out at least twice that there was too much food and questioned our choices to order more... Heh heh heh. When you eat out at a Chinese restaurant with a Lazy Susan, you must fill it past capacity. That is good luck!
Parking is easy. The dining area is a good size for plenty of tables. They have an online menu, very avant garde for old school Chinese restaurants. There's a nice fish tank for decoration, but it is missing decorations and things inside other than fish and water...
A good authentic restaurant for Chinese food, you just have to know what to order, I guess? Loved it! And yes, we had leftovers.... read more