Wong's Place had always been my favorite Chinese Food in the Phoenix Area. The decor was woefully outdated, but the service was ALWAYS friendly and fast. They had a waiter there that I remember from the 90s. Who does that anymore?
We were sad to see that Wong's was "closed for renovations". We were sadder to see a new name on the front of the shabby strip mall it was in, but were still hopeful that we'd get the same good food and service we were used to.
We finally tried it tonight. Mr. Wong (?) was still there, still playing with his false teeth but greeted us warmly and showed us a table right away. the renovation - which was LOOOONG overdue was very nicely done. Everything looked fresh and new - not dingy and gross like before.
No tea - when it was Wong's, we were alway given nice tea to start the meal off.
Potstickers - horrible. Wong's potstickers always took a very long time, but they were hand made fresh to order and they were THE BEST potstickers in the entire Phoenix area without question. Even worse, there are no more potsticker sauces. All we got was a little bowl of I'm guessing soy sauce.
House Special Soup - gone. No more. This soup - I was convinced after eating it for 20 or more years - that it had magical healing powers. I kid you not - if you felt like caca, eat that soup and you felt much better. The way to cure the common cold - I swear to you! But alas, it is no longer. I will need therapy because of this - I am so not looking forward to cold season this year :-(
Pork Fried Rice - so not the same. Not even close. This was relatively bland and even the portion was much smaller. Usually we take huge amounts of food home - not this time. Nothing went home.
Szechuan Beef - The meet was very, very tender - almost like it was from a tenderloin. Not chewy at all. This was the lone high point. The sauce lacked creativity and tasted like it came out of a bottle or jar. The veggies were crisp and done nicely.
Happy Family - interesting and pleasant combination of beef, chicken, shrimp, krab and tons of veggies but like the Szechuan beef, the sauce lacked creativity and tasted like it came out of a bottle.
My bay area transplant husband forcefully approved of Wong's Place and said it was no different than eating in SF. I was pleased to see that other people felt that way too.
Mandarin House tastes like what white people think Chinese Food should be. There is ZERO authenticity to this food whatsoever.
The service was friendly - especially Mr. Wong (?) and his creepy teeth. I don't know where the waiter went - hopefully he found somewhere to go. He was a fixture there.
We won't be back - unless they change the menu back. read more