Really enjoyed this restaurant. It's a little bit off the beaten path, but not a far walk from the town center. I'm surprised it's not busier at the time we went. They definitely could do some more to expand their footprint. However, I understand that in the evening it becomes to go to social place for many college persons. The food was very good. We did order the scorpion bowls, which were very disappointing. Almost taste just like fruit juice with no alcohol. After a single scorpion bowl, I didn't feel any sensation of alcohol and I am a entire lightweight. Definitely not worth price. Wait staff was excellent. But I can see how they could get overwhelmed when it gets packed. As you can see on the photos, they have a significantly extensive menu. read more

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Gave me food poisoning, don't go here. Lots of the reviews I'm seeing are very old and do not represent the restaurant right now. If you don't want to be on the toilet or leaning over the toilet for 24+ hours then DO NOT go here. I got the hotpot and everything was just covered in oil, super bland the only thing that kept it from being horrible was the spice. My buddy had the orange chicken which most of the pieces were hard, clearly microwaved. read more

what an incredibly rude staff, I will never come back to this place.. I had to go order that I needed to pick up. There's nobody at the front but I saw a bag with a receipt to the right of the cash register. I looked and saw my name on there., I saw the person in the back, so I grabbed my order and tried to wave at him to let him know that I had the order he yelled at me to put the order back and said that my cameras would catch me stealing I told him it was my order and showed him a verification. He snatched the receipt off of the bag and said fine go take it I've never been treated so rudely in my life from a to go order spot. read more

sooooo good, the food taste pretty nice! Just like traditional Chinese food, not spicy but it's fine Service is great read more

Panda East - Chinese Near Me - Amherst, Massachusetts

I had a DoorDash order at this restaurant, and the order smelled delicious. I was curious and I really love a good Chinese spot. I ordered take out and got pork fried rice, chicken fingers, boneless spare ribs, fried chicken, and pork Lomein, this was absolutely delicious I'll be coming here again ! The only thing I didn't like is that the boneless spare ribs are thicker than usual take out places but everything had flavor it was fresh the chicken fingers was filled with chicken it wasn't crispy but it tasted just as good. I 10/10 recommend this place read more

I got the orange chicken. Not great. Not bad. Definitely pricey. Will have to try the other menu items

We have been going to Panda East for over 30 years. It is the closest we can get to Boston/New England style Chinese food in the valley. A year or two ago there was a management change and we had some pretty bad experiences. But after a year or more of trying other Chinese restaurants in the area and not being happy on New Year's Eve we thought we would give Panda East another try. We were so happy to walk in and see the people we knew from before the unfortunate management change were back. And now the food is back to what we remembered. :) read more

If you love Chinese food you definitely should give this a try! I loveeee the food here, and my partner does too!! We came here sometimes before the covid season started and the food was always great. Since the quarantine began, I did not have high expectations for restaurants to do as great as usual; I could imagine it is not easy for any business but this place goes beyond my expectation! The food is awesome, I feel like it's getting even better day by day. And I have to say that this place has the best value for the amount of food both for lunch or normal size! I love Sichuan cuisine so I only tried some items from the Sichuan menu of the restaurant. I would highly recommend the followings: 1. Fish in Mala sauce 2. Lamb or beef in Sichuan sauce 3. Pork ribs with garlic sauce 4. Lamb or beef in with cumin, chili, coriander 5. Milky crispy shrimp 6. Sichuan kungpao chicken I bet other items are also very good. Would definitely give other options a try soon. Highly recommend!! read more

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We went at a very busy night. There were college students partying in the whole dining space. It was so loud that we couldn't dine properly. The food was really comforting though. Especially the spicy pork dish we ordered. It was perfect for a cold day like then. read more

Panda East - Chinese Near Me - Amherst, Massachusetts

Best Chinese food in the whole Springfield area, I highly recommend to try Chinese food in the store instead of Japanese.

So here's an update after going there a couple of times. Still love the sushi. I recently tried the New England Roll. $ 8.95 Wish there were more pieces. The eel donburi is great. Lots of rice!! around $12 Scopion bowl is awesome..$11 for large. Pork fried rice on the other hand came out really salty so sent that back. Really nice about it. Hard to find my server..so busy! Fried mango ice cream was weird..they ran outta green tea :( Can't wait to go back! read more

Panda East - scopion bowl large - Chinese Near Me - Amherst, Massachusetts

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Good food, good amounts, good prices. Excellent staff. Clean, bright. Usually not too crowed. You can sit and chat without being hustled out. Just a nice quiet place for a leisurely casual meal. Luncheon specials very good, not expensive. read more

True Rating = 3.5 Only a few minutes away from UMass campus, Panda East quickly became a popular location of my friends and co-workers to meet up for bite or drink (more for the drinks). Overall this place would be a 3 for food, and +0.5 for those scorpion bowls. I'll be nice and round up for the good memories. Probably my most fond memory of the place actually would be my first Scorpion Bowl. The mystical concoction is surprisingly pretty strong (if you get a large you may want to share it with someone else) but definitely a must have at $11~$12. They also have other delicious variants like "Pineapple Dream". As for the food, I've always enjoyed the dishes I've ordered. I haven't tried the sushi, but perhaps in the future. Usually if I don't want end up in a food coma, I find that the portions are enough for another small lunch. The food is cooked and brought out promptly. Although depending on what time you go, you might find the staff completely overwhelmed with swarms of loud college students pre-gaming for the night! I had an off experience where I went to Panda's with a group of 6 friends. We were one of those annoying groups that wants to split the check. We ordered our entrees and split 4 scorpion bowls. One of my friends ordered a small for himself and he received a large. Okay more drinks, no big deal. It seemed like they were just handing them out like bread starters! At the end of the meal the waitress had us write our credit card #s along with the totals. Somehow the whole process took about 30 minutes of just trying to pay for our meal. We recalculated the total about 5 times. My friend's card was swiped for my meal total and vice versa. In the end they really just wanted us to leave and in her frustration, the waitress just ended up giving us $5 to settle the discrepancy. Meh, hopefully that was just a one time occurrence. read more

Great Food, Great Service. I miss the sushi options, but am happy to come here after class and order everything else.

serving sizes are standard and service is fast. crab rangoons are delicious! albeit a bit soggy by the time i ate them. now, the real reason i left this review, the sesame chicken (which i assumed was the safest thing i could order) was fried decently and served with broccoli (as expected) but the sauce was extremely liquid-ey and tasted like cleaning solution or bleach. i tried to power through bc the drier pieces weren't as bad but unfortunately most of the contents of the container had the fresh sauce all over them so i had about 4 good pieces before i had to throw it out. might pick up some rangoons again if i'm near but will def not be ordering anything else from here. read more

The foods consistently pretty good, but every time I order they forget one or more of the things I ordered, at least they're always really quick about getting the items they forgot. I'll definitely order again but I'll ask they repeat my order to me next time just to be safe. read more

Since moving to Amherst about a year ago, I finally decided to try this restaurant that is commonly used for team-meets and pre-formals. It had a lot of Vegan & Vegetarian options, perfect for me. Restaurant Look: 10/10; I did not expect the restaurant to be so clean and well-organized, but it was spectacular. Appetizer: Miso Soup 10/10; Probably the best miso soup I have tasted in comparison to Fresh Side's and Arigato's Miso. It comes complete with seaweed, scallions, and tofu. A pretty nice proportion for the price. Not too salty either like I have tasted at other restaurants. All in all, I would drink a whole bowl of this miso for either breakfast, lunch, or dinner without anything else. Light Entrée: The Green River Maki Roll which has cucumbers, avocado, and asparagus. 9/10 Pretty decent Maki Roll, the textures of all the ingredients blended well together, and it felt really light to eat. The ginger was tastier than that of other restaurants I have been to. Entrée: Vegetarian Chicken General Tso's Style 10/10; I was in for a surprise when I tasted this Soy Bean-made heaven. The General Tso's sauce is a sweet sauce, but after my venture with sweet soy at another restaurant, I just shrugged my shoulders and ordered it. Best decision ever. We ordered some spicy sauce on the side. I dislike the taste of sriracha, so I was glad when we received oil with chili flakes. The rice as usual was served in a bowl and was delicious on its own with the spicy oil. Service: 10/10; The server didn't smile much, but his service was absolutely amazing. He would make sure that we were satisfied and didn't mind coming to us numerous times when we called. From the Maki Rolls to our Entrees, there was an extra plate for each of us, just in case. And my glass never emptied! The funniest part was when my friend received no fortune in her fortune cookie, but the server came to the rescue with double luck and gave her two more cookies. All in all, I have to say this would probably be the #1 Date Place I have visited in Amherst, at least for lunch. It is comfortably located near Amherst Ice Cream, so there is always dessert to take your date to. (Haha.) read more

Panda East - Miso Soup The Green River Maki Roll Vegetarian Chicken General Tso's Style - Chinese Near Me - Amherst, Massachusetts

First visit to Panda East. It was a Saturday night, and the restaurant was absolutely packed! The food came out fast though, no complains there. I really enjoyed my Ma La pork intestines, a delicacy only typed in chinese on the menu. Two of my companions opt for less adventurous dishes: Panda Trio and Orange Chicken. Portion is huge! I would definitely share the next time. Prices averages $12-$14. Scorpion bowls are on every table - would probably order it when I return. read more

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This place ran into a few problems a couple of years or more ago related to serving alcohol to under age drinkers. It seems business has tapered off since then. As the business has slowed the food quality has gone from superb to average and sometimes subpar. The real reason for my one star is the cleanliness of the place. From the silverware to the glassware to even the exterior of the metal teapot - don't settle for less than clean! Staff has been there for quite a while but seems to not want to speak with the customers. I'm not looking for a friend in the staff but I would appreciate 'friendly'. We agreed we will not come back. read more

Easy 5 star rating The food was phenomenal I've had nothing like it I recommend it to everyone who reads this read more

Mediocre Asian food. Prices are in my opinion too high for quality of food. Their fried rice was pretty tasty but some of the more expensive plates were not so much. Generally speaking, if I was REALLY in the mood, I would eat here again, but definitely wouldn't be my first choice. read more

This is the last restaurant I'd go to in Amherst. Inauthentic Chinese food but with overly authentic Chinese servers (that's why they be asking for tips from their customers). The food will keep you full without the expense of your wallet - the only beauty of Panda East. I came with a party of 8 and ordered several entrees and apps to share. I made a special request to order Pea Pod leaves/stems (off-menu) but a very popular Chinese stir-fry vegetable dish. We got really excited when they were able to make it for us but I was super upset when the dish was served. They did not take any time into making sure the vegetable was edible. I've cooked this dish one too many times and know how it should be served. It's as if I ordered carrots and they just gave me a cooked carrot with the leaves at the top and skin unpeeled. The vegetables were inedible at this point and gone untouched after everyone tried it. Our server took advantage of us assuming that we didn't know anything. Even without that experience outlined above, I would never recommend Panda East to anyone. read more

Maybe they were having a bad day yesterday but I ordered last night for pickup and the food was disappointing. I have liked them in the past so that's why I went but last night's meal was tasteless and I didn't even finish it. If I was in the restaurant I would have sent it back. I had chicken with mixed vegetables and vegetable lo mein and neither were good. The egg roll was edible but that's about it. read more

I enjoyed my food and visit to the Panda East. I would rate it 4 stars for food and 3 stars for service. The service was friendly enough, but the wait staff was noticeably hurrying around. Maybe they were understaffed. My meal did not come out at the same time as my daughters either. Delivering meals at the same time is a pretty basic requirement. My meal, however, was worth the wait. I had vegan General Tso's chicken and I thought it was delicious. The soy of whatever was used for the fake chicken was delicious. The sauce was perfect and very much like traditional General Tsao. The menu had extensive Chinese and other Asian food options on it. There was also a decent drink menu. There is plenty of seating inside at Panda East. The decor is not much to speak of and slightly run down. The location is super and is right off of Main Street in Amherst. I would be happy to go again to Panda East. I am sure they are good for take-out too. read more

If you're looking for a good place to eat you've found the right place. If you're looking for amazing service, clean facility, look somewhere else. I come back again and again because I love their panda pan fried noodles and cannot find a dish similar in taste anywhere else. The food also comes out in a reasonable time. However, the servers are middle age and can seem impolite at times but considering they deal with groups of college students trying to split one check 13 ways I would be grumpy too. There have been times I've looked at their utensils and glassware and there is still food deposit on it. Again the only reason why I keep coming back is because the food is actually decent. read more

Panda East - Panda Pan Fried Noodles And Pu Pu Platter shared between two. - Chinese Near Me - Amherst, Massachusetts

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Wanted to write a positive review cause they were absolutely slammed on Christmas day (evening) and there was a mix-up with telephone numbers vs. online order numbers, and as a result there were a few very irate customers waiting for their foods and picking fights with the staff, and often the issue was that the customer had given them the incorrect phone number as a reference. The man and two women working the front were working their butts off, and were efficient and courteous with all the customers, doing their best to sort everything out. I've been getting the food here since I was a kid, and love this place so much. Just wanted to post, since I'm concerned they might get some flack from the displeased customers. read more

I just had one of the most racist experiences I've had in a while at Panda East Amherst. When trying to order a soup that was only listed on the "Chinese" menu the server made every excuse possible to persuade us not to order it suggesting I order from the "other" menu containing many American style dishes. Despite multiple efforts made to order the delicious looking soup that our neighboring table was enjoying we were denied and we ended up walking out without placing an order. Some of the excuses made include saying that the soup would be too hot for us, that we would not like it, and that we should stick to the other menu. When the neighboring table tried to give us a taste of the soup, the server yelled at them in what I assume was an attempt to stop them from sharing with us. This was after we had already asked them how hot the soup was and receiving a response of "not hot at all" . I will not be going back to this place on principle alone although I think the food is delicious. I can't support what I just saw. read more

We've eaten at Panda east now a number of times in Amherst, MA. We haven't been there is about 9 months and things have changed from the good meals we've always had in the past. A number of items. The cloth napkins have been replaced with paper. We ordered 4 items: Chicken fried rice Chicken Low Mean Beef with Scallions Chicken with Broccoli The chicken fried rice now has Corn, pea's Green means in it. These are fillers for actual chicken and rice. The chicken low mean now has lettuce in it - again another filler and it was bland. Both the Beef W_ Scallions and the Chicken with Broccoli were very good however the portion sizes are 2/3 of what they use to be however the prices haven't changed! The bill came and I asked my wife which copy was mine and which to sign. Since I was dissatisfied with the meal, I didn't see the need to leave the standard 15%. I left 12. The waitress came back to me after I signed the slip (Paid with a CC) and said the tip was to small. Needless to say I was taken aback as I've NEVER had this happen to me in 45 years of going out to dinner. Would I go back? Maybe, but it won't be the first choice of Chinese restaurants that I would want to go like I had in the past read more

DO NOT GO TO PANDA EAST! 1. WORST SERVICE Went there with friends and got scolded by waiter because we wanted add a dish after one of our friends came. Instead of taking the order, the waiter decided to pause and yell at us: "why can't you order everything together. I got no time for just you." 2. HORRIBLE FOOD Meat not fresh. Got hotpot & lamb there and meat definitely not fresh 3. OVER CHARGE FOR ALCOHOL Menu prices are two dollars lower than what they actually change you 4. WROTE IN TIPS FOR YOU The same horrible waiter decide to write in tips for us??? Excuse me? Why do you think you deserve this much tip with your horrible service? Never seen horrible service like this and will never go back read more

The biggest problem was the service, and as one who worked at Ding Tai Fung as a waiter for a total time of a whole year, I believe I could judge on their service reasonably. Strike 1 - food: As an international student, Panda East was one of first Chinese Food restaurants in Amherst in 2018. However, some of my friends who went to Panda East would have butterflies in their stomach. So we decided to stop visiting Panda East; Strike 2 - service: About half a year later, my roommate and I decided to try Panda East hoping the food improved. It did, at least no more butterflies in the stomach. So we started to visit Panda East on a fairly frequent basis - a few times per month, sometimes per week. Some of the waiters were really not friendly, as if you could hear them say "I've been here for years and will be here for years to come so as long as I give you food, you gotta tip me 15% or more". My friends and I never took that seriously because we just assumed that their attitudes were part of their personalities and not intentional. And for both dine-in and delivery, we tipped 15%. (Sometime we tipped slightly more to make it a nice looking number that ends with $xx.50 or $xx.55). The managers were friendly enough to maintain a healthy dining and customer relationship. Strike 3 - experience Just tonight, when I was dining in with two other friends, the server was really not doing his job well (we have been served by him before and tonight was not even close to that). Just some examples: shifting the bowl while I was using it to make room for new dishes but there was plenty room for the new dish, or asking "are you done eating" while we were literally in the middle of the meal putting food into our mouths. We decided to give a 10% tip and he started to argue with us. One of my friends was so annoyed that she decided to offer a $10 tip extra for the $60ish meal which was like more than 26% tipping. And the waiter simply did not give up arguing, he even came after us after we left the restaurant (to give back my friend's phone) and arguing, saying "I've been waited for six years and never had one said my service was bad" (well you probably have never been to Yelp either I guess?) Conclusion: least likely I would visit Panda East again because I don't want such people to handle my food out of my sight. read more

This is the worst Chinese restaurant experience that I ever had. I have tried this restaurant twice. The first time was on 10/13/2021. One of the dishes we ordered was Katsu Don, this restaurant used the left over from other customer's order and reused here for me. They also overcharged this dish which costs $8.5 to $14. They argued that we ordered the dinner menu dish. I pointed to picture for this Katsu Don in their lunch menu. They were willing to adjust the bill for us. I decided to give them a second chance on 10/18/2021. This time I ordered a Kung Po Chicken and a Chicken wing dishes. The chicken were again, using left over food. This time I did not complain. However, they overcharged us again. So I asked them for explanations. The manager said the price has gone up. I said why the higher price is not shown on the menu. They said they were making a new menu and it is not available yet. I told them customers were expected to pay what the menu stated. This manager was upset and shouted to us," you could pay whatever you want, or simply don't pay." We then paid the menu's price plus tax, plus tips for the waiter. read more

Panda East - I pointed to the Katsu Don on their lunch menu. - Chinese Near Me - Amherst, Massachusetts

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Most college students know Panda as the place with bad food and good alcohol, but I actually love the food here--especially the mock duck with garlic sauce. The servers are friendly and fast, and the setting is nice. read more

I completely agree with @Yixin Z., YOU DO NOT REQUEST TIPS FROM YOUR CUSTOMERS. Service was awful, every order comes with a side of frowns from the staff. It was not busy when I arrived, but getting anything from the waitstaff was next to impossible. I had to walk up and ask for water & the server splashed water into the food & onto my phone, the horror on my face as he continued pouring & looking out into space. Yixin's mistake is probably that she didn't order enough scorpion bowls, it's strong enough to help you cope with eating here! The food is inexpensive. The sushi here seems pretty good, especially the maki rolls. The fried rice is a good dish to order but I am still not sure what's the difference between their fried rice and special house fried rice maybe light on the dog? read more

Called to place a takeout order an hour before closing. Not only was I hung up on, I was trying to inform them I would be traveling from Springfield to pick up my order. Instead I was cut off to be told "see you in 10 minute" and hung up. 1) how does it only take 10 min to prepare my order and 2) I have dietary restrictions so being able to clarify those with the person taking my order would've been nice but being hung up on works too. Exactly 35 min from placing my order I receive a call telling me "they close soon" and I "have to pick up my order" only to then be hung up on again. Not even to mention they still had over 20 minutes from closing. I was giving panda east a second chance tonight instead of ginger garden but lesson learned I'll stick with GG next time. read more

Best Chinese food in Amherst. I've eaten my fair share of Chinese food but what stuck out about this one was how not greasy the food was. I did not feel gross after eating it. I also had the leftovers the day after and the quality remained the same. read more

Update! This review isn't about the food, which remains wondrous. This review is about the waitstaff. Panda has the most rude waitstaff I've ever dealt with. One is a large, sullen woman that haunts the back wall and watches. She approaches immediately when you pay the check or are done with your plates. She's attentive, but watches from afar, and that's really an uncomfortable feeling. She's a bit rude, but she does her job well. Meh. Then, yesterday, we had our first experience with a waiter named Eric. He was awful. He was clearly having a very bad day, and that's fine, but he brought that to the table and let it show in his mannerisms. He took our order and just turned away without responding to my "thank you" or saying anything at all. He came by and made a snide remark about how quickly we ate. When he was putting our plates down, he pushed my elbow with my plate, because it was apparently where he wanted to put the plate. My elbow wasn't blocking the table, mind you. He walked away from another table, right by ours, muttering f-words under his breath. This happened twice. We've noticed before that Panda has rude waitstaff, but it's getting out of hand. I don't know if saying something to the management would help. We should probably have done that for Eric, but we'd just left him a crappy tip and wanted to get out before he noticed in case he felt like raging on us. So, to be clear, the food is marvelous. The service isn't. You should still go. read more

If 0 stars was an option, that's what I would chose for Panda East.... After attempting to dine in at another local Chinese/sushi and finding the line much too long, we decided to try Panda East. Long story short - it was a mistake. See review below for details. We arrived in a party of 3 and although the restaurant was fairly busy, it was not overly full to the brim and we were confident that the amount of patrons in the restaurant would not affect our experience. We ordered our food and drinks and all seemed to be going well. The menus has a million options, and the drinks seemed appealing. The drinks came after about 10 minutes and our waitress assured us that the rest of the food was coming soon. 20 minutes later (30 minutes total) the waitress brought food for just 1 of us. It was sushi and it was less than average at that. She assured us the rest of the food was coming quickly. Another 20 minutes later (50 minutes total) she brought another plate of food out. This time a sweet and sour chicken. Again, the quality was about that of the frozen food section of your local supermarket. She assured us that the third and final plate would be coming quickly. Another 30 minutes later (now 1 hour and 20 minutes into this order) and still no food. She continued to assure us that it was only moments away. Finally, we decided it was time to go. We asked for the last plate to go so that we could hit the road. It never came. We let the managers know how upset we were with the service and the wait time. They basically told us to F-off. When we signed the receipt and didn't fill out the tip section the woman almost blew her top. Service: 1/10 Food: 3/10 I know I'm never going again. read more

Panda East is one of my main go-to Amherst restaurants, have gone many times and am rarely disappointed!! I am a vegetarian and finding good vegetarian choices at restaurants has always been a struggle, but Panda East has been a gift from above you might say. I want to share with you my favorite options here. STEAMED VEGGIE DUMPLINGS Never have I ever found such luscious, full, and perfectly textured dumplings, but what makes them even better is the AMAZING dumpling sauce! Seriously, like, I order them for the sauce basically, but even alone they are packed with veggies and goodness!! Tofu & Spinach soup for 2 A perfect dish to share with a friend, certainly more soup than i'd suggest eating alone, the broth was thick and delicious - though I added a little extra salt. DO NOT CONFUSE with the tofu&vegetable soup which I was severely disappointed by!! broth was thin and veggies way too huge! Fried Rice, Scallion Pancakes, and Sushi are all great! They also have fake-meat options which look so realistic that I didn't believe they were fake! And they have a good selection of drinks, I suggest the long island or pina colada. read more

I asked the Univ. of Mass. hotel staff for their recommendation for Chinese and without hesitation, Panda East was named. I'm Chinese and I eat a lot of Chinese food, especially at the restaurants in Chinatown's wherever I travel. We ordered chicken & shrimp with sweet sesame sauce, chicken noodle soup, eel & avocado sushi, and baby bok choy. Everything was well cooked and very tasty. The sushi was warm and the eel sauce was as good as I've ever tasted in any Japanese restaurant. The ginger was very fresh. The baby bok choy was especially tasty and well stir-fried. I rated this 4 stars instead of 5 stars because the table was not very clean, a bit sticky, and the plates were obviously old and probably need to be retired out of service. It's time to get new plates! The tea could have been a little hotter also. Service was excellent and our server was very attentive. Beware, this restaurant is a bit hard to find as it is behind other retail stores. In summary, this is an excellent restaurant that would stand up to the competition around the Boston area. read more

I was visiting the area and was this restaurant was recommended by the hotel staff.. nice atmosphere...The server was more than polite and fast.. gave us exactly what we ordered and growing up in New York City I know good Chinese food.. Gosh, this was the best I've had in Years if not ever.. Had an old favorite, Pepper Steak with onions Cooked perfectly.. with excellent Fried rice.. Good helpings.. Would come back again if in the area.. Just Wonderful !! read more