I accept takeout Chinese food for what it is and is meant to be: fast, cheap, usually greasy and occasionally satisfying Chinese American food meant to stave off starvation and/or a hangover. If you have similar expectations, Cheung Lee doesn't disappoint. This is a bona fide, strictly takeout joint with bullet-proof glass over the counter, no token tables/chairs, fried chicken but no chef/house specials...you get the idea.
It's the first Chinese takeout I've tried in my hood, and despite my MSG-high, I'm not swearing it off for good...but I probably won't return until I've tried a few other places nearby.
What I ordered:
* Shrimp egg foo young: Standard 3 patties with "brown" sauce on the side and a pint of white rice. The crunch came mainly from onion and celery rather than bean sprouts, but the shrimp was good! Perfectly cooked, de-veined, smallish but not tiny, and there were 5 or 6 whole ones (plus a few pieces) in one patty! I tore apart a second patty and it was the same deal. Not bad!
* Small order of mixed vegetables: This was one of 3 or 4 vegetable options on the menu (not counting the plantains that you could sub for rice), so again, I wasn't expecting much. But in addition to broccoli and onion, I got green pepper, sliced mushrooms, carrot, and celery in roughly equal amounts. No baby corn, peapods, or bamboo, true. But everything was still crunchy and the saucy glaze wasn't just cornstarch. Strangely, a small order comes with a heap of white rice in a styrofoam box, rather than alone in a carton. (I didn't specify any kind of rice with my order, and they didn't ask.)
* A can of diet Pepsi: Soda selection is ginger ale, orange Fanta, diet Pepsi, and something else.
Total: $9.50, and less than 10 minutes for them to whip it up and throw it in the bag. No chopsticks, but maybe they figured I had my own? No delivery menu either...maybe they figured I wouldn't be using it? They probably do deliver though, because there was a bike with a huge basket chained up right in front. read more