The cuisine here is amazing!! Friendly service and all dishes are on point! Definitely worth trying, after many disappointing visits to other Chinese restaurants in the nearby area this is by far the best!!! Highly recommend!!! read more

Food downhill from visit 9 yrs ago. Food: 1.5/5 Service: 5/5 did takeout, they were fast. Ambience: 5/5 cute inside, decorated romantically for night. Some seclusion, not chairs tightly in. Value: 1.5/5 The 4 items below were $35!!! I would rate this a 3 star expensive restaurant, generating higher expectations. Order Details: hot & sour soup: this tasted like a watered down chix noodle but with water chestnuts instead of noodles. Threw it out. Zero spicy, which isnt hot/sour soup. eggroll: it tasted like the oil and vat hasnt been changed in a long while. Szechuan shrimp with veggies. OMG a severe disappointment from a place that has authentic Chinese people working there. Fried rice: it was really white rice with some broth added. Thats not fried rice. I threw most of it out for squirrels and despite it being winter and cold- they didnt eat in 2 days. Shrimp: 1 size bigger than salad shrimp. Sauce: NOT Szechuan, it was a thick duck sauce and they threw in a couple peppers. Spice level: zero, despite the dish definition itself + me telling them I like spicy. Veggies: what a joke. There were 2 broccolis about .5" each and severely overcooked. My advice: call these dishes something dif, it is very misleading. read more

Great food, good prices. I can't speak to the ambience because I walked in grab my food and went. What I can say is my food was ready fast! It was very hot and you could tell it was fresh. I like that they have weekly/daily specials and I was surprised to see that they serve alcohol. It's not fancy, it's decent Americanized Chinese food. The portions are very generous . read more

Forbidden City - Daily specials - Chinese Near Me - Saginaw, Michigan

Really good old school Chinese restaurant. From what I understand, I didn't get the full effect of the sizzling ruce soup, based on the large party I was with. Really enjoyed it. Different than anything I've had. The crab and cheese wontons were standard. They were good- not mind blowing. No complaints. I had the mandarin chicken with fried rice. Similar to a General Tzo's. Once again good. No complaints. The fried rice seemed like an old school Chinese take out fried rice. Really enjoyed it. I had a taste of the shrimp and soap peas and the sweet and sour shrimp. Both were great. Really enjoyed my visit here. read more

Forbidden City - Sizzling rice soup - Chinese Near Me - Saginaw, Michigan

We hadn't been to Forbidden City in years and decided to give it another try tonight- so glad we did! My family used to come here when I was a little girl. I'm 37 now and the restaurant is still the same. I love the decor: the dark red leather booths, the Chinese zodiac calendars, and even the dishes bring back great memories. My son and I both ordered the sizzling rice soup. We took our first bites and we're so happy- it was delicious. The flavors were amazing and we loved all the veggies and crunchy rice. I ordered the moo goo gi pan and my son got the general Tso chicken. Both dishes were great and exactly what we wanted. Veggies were fresh and perfectly cooked and sauces were flavorful. Our waitress was friendly and fast and brought us to go containers for our leftovers. We paid at the front desk and they were friendly too. Definitely plan on coming back more often! read more

Forbidden City - Moo goo gi pan and general tso - Chinese Near Me - Saginaw, Michigan

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The food is way over priced. Ended up paying $60 between two people. And we barely ordered anything. Insane.

We've gone to Forbidden City restaurant in Saginaw, MI regularly for over 40 years. The service is always friendly, the food is fantastic (the sizzling rice soup is to die for) and the portions for dinner are enormous. Best Chinese restaurant ever! read more

The food and service here is always too notch. The sizzling rice soup is off the charts and paired with their homemade egg rolls, it's tough to beat. The ambiance is old school and appreciated as it matches their service. Sizzling rice soup Egg rolls Ginger beef Orange chicken (hot) Beef with broccoli All good dishes read more

Love the food and service! Favorite restaurant of all the local Chinese restaurants. They were very patient with our group of old friends as we shared a meal and news of our families. THANKS TO ALL! read more

I was looking for a Chinese restaurant that had noodle dishes. The first place I stopped at looked like it was out of business. The second didn't answer its phone. On a Saturday night! So, I ended up at Forbidden City. The people were nice enough. The told me that they were an old restaurant chain that's been around for 50 years. I really wanted lo mein, but they didn't have any on the menu. They tried to convince me that their chow mein with soft noodles was the same thing. I was tired of trying to find what I wanted, so I said ok. I took it back to the hotel. It most definitely was NOT the same as lo mein. It was adequate at best -- not much flavor and just kind of mushy, with too much liquid, which is exactly why I don't like chow mein in the first place. I guess that, being from the Detroit area, I'm used to a different kind/quality of Chinese food. read more

Forbidden City - Chicken chow mein and steamed rice - Chinese Near Me - Saginaw, Michigan

Great food and excellent service from friendly staff. Comfortable and cozy place to relax while dining.

Just wanna give a shout out to panda house,forbidden city was my go to for good Chinese food until the time I could barely find the chicken under "ALL " that breading,and at a higher premium price,that was it!!! Even some of my friends and family have said the same thing, panda is good and always have enough for two meals,even their luncheons. read more

This place hasn't changed much in 30 years, that being said, the food is just as delicious as it was then. The sizzle rice soup is my favorite! Great service and amazing food! read more

Ordered bobo platter for 2, first off it was different from what was listed on the menu. One appetizer that I have no clue what it is was stuck to aluminum foil. So I decided on to eggroll which had sour rotten hamburger in it. I've been sick since we ate there. Spent $56 to eat nasty food. Go to Hunans on Bay rd . Way better. read more

I didn't even think this place was open for the longest time but one day I noticed some people walking out of the building. Lucky for me; the food is good! On the menu there are some Korean-Chinese fusion classics, which makes sense since the owners are a Korean-Chinese couple. Usually I get black bean noodles with no meat or seafood and they oblige my silly vegetarian requests with ease. My husband loves the pork fried rice and crab cheese wontons. I'm looking forward to trying other vegetarian options on the menu but it's hard to stray from the noodles since they are so delicious. read more

The food came out as described and had a good temperature. The waitress was prompt and pleasant. The decor is kitschy and feels like a 70's time warp. Unfortunately the food was rather bland, cafeteria like and was hideously expensive for what it is. There are too many choices in town to be this basic. read more

Very tasty, and with good service. The price of the meal didn't match what I expected, but overall it was a good experience.

Excellent Chinese restaurant! They have a huge menu with all of the classics you expect to find, plus many dishes that I haven't seen before, and a section at the back of the menu with what I'm guessing are authentic Chinese dishes. Our portions were huge. We started with the fried dumplings, which were so tasty that we burned our mouths because we couldn't wait to bite in to them. I had the shrimp curry, and the shrimp were big and juicy and perfectly cooked. Mongolian beef was tasty as well, the beef was very tender. Everything was clean and the service was very good. read more

Forbidden City - a plate of fried food with dipping sauce - Chinese Near Me - Saginaw, Michigan

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Excellent selection of you have a sweet tooth for oriental food of all sorts, me being a big Korean fan & not having many options when it comes to eating Korean in the area, normally would drive to Ann Arbor or Detroit for authentic Korean, thankfully forbidden city serves some of my favorite Korean dishes that other restaurants just cannot compete with, don't be scared go in and enjoy! read more

With the extensive menu and great lunch specials, I tend to binge on this place. They have an extensive menu, some of which is only in Chinese. You get the normal rice with every entrée and the portions are exactly what you hope for. The BoBo Platter is great and kids love cooking the little skewers that come with it. If you don't want to stay in and sit, they are great about takeout as well. read more

Forbidden City - Mongolian Chicken - Chinese Near Me - Saginaw, Michigan

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Have been loving this place for over 40 years. From the scrumptious sizzling rice soup, followed by delightful pork egg rolls and finally to the always delicious almond chicken entree with sticky rice. I've never been disappointed. Just fabulous!!! read more

Tbh it is difficult to find a good Chinese place in Saginaw. But the service was good, the food came out fast, and everything was pretty tasty! I didn't get to taste any of the authentic Chinese food because it was Sunday and they don't cook the authentic Chinese menu on Sundays. But everything else was pretty classic Chinese takeout food. read more

Didn't look like much when walking in but the food was hot, fast, and tasty. I enjoyed the garlic chicken and it was tender and gently flavored. My mom thought the Mongolian beef was pretty salty. Others got the sesame chicken and palace beef and both though they were great. Server was friendly and portions were huge (picture was after we started eating). Ove a solid experience! read more

Forbidden City - Mongolian Beef (top left), garlic chicken (bottom left), sesame chicken (top right), palace beef (bottom left) - Chinese Near Me - Saginaw, Michigan

This is the best Chinese food in Michigan. The sizzling rice soup and egg rolls are wonderfully delicious. Every main dish we've had has been great. The wait staff is good and reliable. The hot tea is always a nice tough as well. read more

We went here on a cooooold wintry evening, and the place was about 1/3 full, which was surprising given the gross weather. Ordered apps, which arrived at lightning speed (they even bring you a little charcoal grill to finish cooking your beef skewer- HIGHLY recommended!) and were very tasty. Good entrees, nice servers, and the room itself is pretty awesome- it's like every Chinese restaurant you went to when you were a kid, before they all became strip mall takeout places. I'll be back here next time I'm in Saginaw, for sure! read more

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I keep forgetting about this little gem. It's been here for 30-40 years...At least that's what our waitress said. Our waitress was great, cheerful, friendly and attentive. She even left a water pitcher at the table for us. I took a friend here for her first time and she really enjoyed it. She ordered crab rangoons, which were huge and fried rice. She had a heaping pile of it! I ordered sesame chicken, which was delicious. It was a little different from most chinese food restaurants because they serve it in a tasty clear sauce with sesame seeds and it's garnished with broccoli. My entree came on a big plate and then she gave me a huge bowl of fried rice. I need to remember to eat here more! The atmosphere was really cozy and quiet. read more

Forbidden City - Chinese Near Me - Saginaw, Michigan

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If this is the best Chinese in Saginaw I'm glad I don't live here. Came based on yelp reviews. Pretty disappointed with prices and portions. My Princess chicken, which was $1 extra for white meat (really!?), had exactly 4 water chestnuts in it. Lots of peanuts though (with skins on) that looked and tasted like they were dumped on top at the end, not cooked with. At least the sauce was tasty and had a good amount of heat. Would not stop again next time in town. read more

Forbidden City - Lunch Special Menu. Fairly pricy since everything is a la carte. - Chinese Near Me - Saginaw, Michigan

This has to be the worst Chinese I have ever tasted. You could here the microwave door close right before I got my entree and then again right before my husband got his. We ordered egg rolls and within 5 minutes we had them they were ok. Our entrees of Mongolian chicken and sweet and sour shrimp was disgusting. We both had ice tea and it was tasting more like water with a hint of lemon. Service was good because no one was there. read more

One of the areas BEST Chinese restaurants! We have been dining there for many years and have never been disappointed!

Love the private room. Service is excellent. Best egg rolls in town! Support your local family business!!!

I would say 4.5 stars if I had the option. I have had forbidden city a handful of times in the last few months. Usually we have really good service- only once did we have a problem with poor service. The food is good. We usually get the imperial dinner. Depending on the # of people ordering, you get different entrée options. The egg rolls are really good- and I'm very picky about egg rolls. The sizzling rice soup is so good. Worth ordering on its own. The hot and sour soup is also really good. The bowl of soup you order is large. The mandarin chicken is very flavorful. They were nice enough to make it for me without the beaded/fried chicken. My only "complaint" is the fried rice is a little plain. It's still good, just plain. read more

Forbidden City - Sizzling rice soup. - Chinese Near Me - Saginaw, Michigan

Ordered the Mandarin Chicken lunch special (medium spice level) with fried rice. Excellent flavored sweet and spicy dish. The deep fried chicken had more batter than I care for. The overly battered chicken was the only reason I dropped a star because it will deter me from getting similar deep fried dishes here in the future. On the positive side, it wasn't greasy. The chicken was tender. The carrot bits were crunchy. The fried rice was light in color and tasty. Darker fried rice means extra soy sauce (i.e. salt) so I was glad they weren't heavy on the soy sauce in the rice (steamed white rice is also an option). The lunch portion is sized to satisfy without being overly filling (no takeaway box needed). Nice dining room with both booths and chair as seating options. read more

The palace beef / Mongolian shrimp/ mandarin pork are all delicious... could stop eating the crab cheese! All yummy!

This was one of the few restaurants open on New Year's Day for dinner. No time to party. Actually had to work through 8 am that day. 5 aisles of food that you would typically expect to find at a Chinese restaurant (Colonel Cho's chicken, pork, orange chicken, asparagus, fried rice, chow mein, egg soup, etc.). Would be a decent place to eat except for two main problems. 1. The restaurant APPEARS to be very old and worn down. the leather chairs were cracked and actually hurt when sitting on them. The tables were worn down. Silverware scratched up. 2. It smelled like food. Most restaurants do a good job of ventilating and most of the food smelled good. The problem lies in the fact that when all those smells come together, it sometimes smells like garbage. The best thing about this restaurant is the sushi bar. They will make handrolls to order and actually have specialty rolls that come out for special occasions and depending on the day of the week. Problem: the chef doesn't really understand English well. I think I tried to order the Dragon New Years roll. I ended up getting the spicy salmon. Hm. Recommendation: Go to Chen's. For the same price, you'll get better food of higher quality and be in a more tolerable environment. read more

Ask for the Chinese/authentic menu. Steer away from regular Americanized items and the food is really good. Large portions. They should make the portions smaller and reduce the price. Maybe it was by chance this one time, but next time will be asking for low-sodium. Not sure if its because of the population in this area, but their food seems a lil tab salty. I would suggest that you order entrees and do family style. Stick to the white rice to get full flavor of foods. Also their soup with come out luke-warm. Growing up eating alot of asian soups, I'm use to my soup being scalding hot. The soup we ordered was great tasting and only con would be that the temperature - it seems that it had been sitting for more than a couple of minutes. read more

ta-ta-chan-chan-taha! I dont understaaaaaaaand you! :))) But your dumplings are goooooooood! read more

We stumbled in on an unseasonably cold, rainy day after a long day of annual training and in lieu of a canceled fireworks demo, wanting a decent, hot meal before we collapsed in our hotel room in preparation for spending the next day driving back to Indy We were very pleasantly surprised--Forbidden City is at least one cut above the standard greasy, hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant I expect to find in a place like Saginaw. The servings were plentiful (one entree would have been more than enough for two of us), the food was flavorful, and it seemed to have been prepared with a lot of care. The moo goo gai pan was made with the narrow, capped whole mushrooms rather than the regular sliced mushrooms like you'd find in the supermarket, and the sauce was light and full of garlic. The soup was obviously homemade and the rangoon filling actually had some crab in it. (Sure it's fake crab, off the coast I don't dock them for that.) There were even dishes of (possibly homemade) sweet and sour sauce and in-house-mixed mustard available, which wins them extra points--the mixed-from-powder mustard is far superior to the premade stuff from a jar or a packet. read more

Arrive late an very hungry! The egg rolls I ordered arrived with a cold center and they did not taste good. Gerneral Tso Chicken was good and portions large. Spicy like I like it. I agree with the other comments about the place needing some updates. Terrible dishes and silverware read more

I love this place. I've always found the service to be excellent. The management is very visibly present, and staff appears to respect their opinion. Everyone seems eager to please the customer. The food is reliably good. I love the crab cheese appetizers! You'll find even their take out to be hot and well-preserved. The seasoning is well done by folks who know the various spice levels well, and get it right every time. The restaurant's ambiance is nice as well. It's a relaxing place with a unique cherry wine. I don't think you'll ever be disappointed here. read more

Consistency. My family has been eating here for over 30 years and they have consistently served good food. In all the Chinese restaurants I have eaten in (too many to count) I have not seen some of soups and dishes they serve here. read more

Forbidden City - Shan-tung Beef - Chinese Near Me - Saginaw, Michigan