if it wasn't for the fellow yelpers posting claims like "best Chinese food in town" and even pictures of their menu, i probably wouldn't be as pumped to try the place out.
maybe i should have stuck to the less Americanized dishes (do they exist? i know not), but my mental picture of a "sweet & sour" dish urged me to order their lunch in chicken version, along with fried rice and hot & sour soup (reminiscence from another distant memory), AND a teriyaki beef app that came with, all for under $7!!!
guy picking up the phone sounded more like an ABC than what he looked like when i finally came to meet him in person. that was quite surprising, actually. he was courteous and efficient, thanking me for patronage and such. the restaurant was practically empty during a weekday lunch time, but that is to be expected in a small town non-American eatery.
anyway, excited to open my lunch when i got home, as i was starving since the call was made. only to be disappointed through and through.
beef teriyaki was actually the "best" part of the meal, it being an ok, average fare. soup had lots of fixings in there, but was rather tasteless itself, and lacking the vinegary property. felt like i was just dunking plain corn starch paste with a hint of spiciness. needless to say, 1.25 pints of it went down the drain, and that's only bc i have problems wasting "perfectly edible" food. it WAS edible per se, just not enjoyable.
meanwhile, the so-called sweet & sour chicken was downright..."horrifying" (see pic). i know i shouldn't be comparing with the Hong Kong style dishes i had in my childhood; i should have expected THIS type of preparation. but, it was really just tasteless chicken wrapped in thick batter, fried and then slathered in this super artificial red colored syrupy goo. the kind that would congeal at the bottom of the takeout box and you could peel it out and jiggle it like Jello. and it was soooo artificially sweet that my throat felt the sugar burn and was desperately begging for water, or maybe even soda, as a cleanser. suddenly, i started to wonder where my great $7 lunch deal went.
this fail partially falls on me, really. if I had known they offered pad thai, i might have just stuck with that. but now, that red syrup...really, my mouth hasn't forgiven me yet. blehhhhh!!!
really wanted to like this place, and glad to see others appreciating their food. but i'm not so sure after this meal. might give them another chance on next occasion, and see if i have better luck. but for now, I have to sign up for a detox.
p.s. they have a sign inside the restaurant stating "gluten-free" dishes available...but judging by their version of classics, take it how you will. read more