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    Red Lantern

    3.9 (55 reviews)
    ModerateChinese
    Closed 11:00 am - 9:30 pm
    Updated 2 months ago

    Order Red Lantern Takeout or Delivery

    Red Lantern Photos

    RED LANTERN ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

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    Small Spring rolls vegan. These I could have eaten 10. They were awesome!

    Ordered spring rolls, crab ragoons, teriyaki mushrooms, beef with mushrooms, sesame chicken, wantons, sesame balls, chicken on a stick, pork egg rolls and fried rice. The spring rolls are awesome. Pork egg rolls were nasty. Took one bite and spit it out. Crab ragoons are really good so was their beef and mushrooms. Chicken on a stick I've had better. It was edible tho. Their fried rice is a big pass. Just say no. Sesame chicken was different than what we normally get. Even tho it looked different from our usual place. The sauce was gooey but was really good. Our usual Chinese place is golden China. I think we will stick to them. Over all edible but nothing to write home about.

    a plate of waffles and ketchup
    Ben B.

    Had three delicious items (beef Hor fun, hot n Spicy Chicken and Crab Rangoon.) Hot and spicy chicken was delicious (warning though, you may find it too salty. I'm a saltaholic so I loved it.) Overall, all three items were delicious.

    Fried beef in cumin
    Christina F.

    There is Chinese food in Bloomington that I think is as close to authentic as you can get, and it is tasty. Order the fried beef in cumin, the eggplant in garlic sauce, the spare ribs with taro, the seafood hot pot (I can't remember the actual name of the dish), the Dan Dan noodles, the lamb skewers, or the mapo tofu. I've eaten more, but these are the dishes that stand out. I have liked almost everything I've tried. The fried rice, however, is just standard. There's nothing special about it, but I'd rather eat steamed rice anyway. And the garlic chicken would be better for me if it wasn't chopped up skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs. Most of the chicken dishes are prepared that way, though. I'm only giving this place three stars because it's a little small, the cups and tableware are cheap and a bit worn, and the place itself could use some sprucing. It's fairly loud when there's a full crowd, and during those times it's hard to get the server to come back. These things won't prevent me from going back though, and they shouldn't prevent you from trying it out either.

    Exterior.
    H Z.

    I ordered their baked fish and it tasted great! The portion size is sufficient for two, and you can add anything into it like a hot pot. Definitely recommend!

    Fried fish

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    3 months ago

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    3 years ago

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    1 year ago

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    1 year ago

    Great place to get food in Bloomington for pickup! Always get the spicy chicken and the service and overall speed is amazing.

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    6 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Very authentic Chinese food, especially Sichuan dishes. This has been my favorite Chinese restaurant in town.

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    4 years ago

    Food is best taste like the name says. They need to package all do go orders in containers that don't leak though!

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    11 years ago

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    6 years ago

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    12 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    12 years ago

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    11 years ago

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    10 years ago

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    11 years ago

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    11 years ago

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    8 years ago

    Still and continues to be the best Chinese restaurant in town. Very accurate naming! I often bring lots of friends here.

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    11 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    6 years ago

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    8 years ago

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    12 years ago

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    11 years ago

    It's like the most recommended Chinese food in town. And it is authentic, but just not that tasty. Even not as good as what I cook.

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    9 years ago

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    12 years ago

    Everything there tastes strange... What I could say is it's definitely not authentic Sichuan style.

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    11 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    Page 1 of 2

    Ask the Community - Red Lantern

    Red - Spicy Squid

    Red

    (88 reviews)

    $$

    My family ordered food for pickup on Christmas Day, and we would not order here again. It was…read moreeasily the worst Chinese food we have ever had. The entrees were mostly inedible, the chicken had a slimy consistency that made one person in our family gag. I didn't believe them until I tried it myself, almost as if the chicken had been reheated in sauce without frying first. The Mongolian beef had 4 tiny slices of beef, we laughed looking at the entire onion used to replace the meat. Our rangoons had zero filling, not even lack of seafood but almost like they had exploded in the fryer. If it had been any other day, we would have asked for a refund, but it was Christmas Day and we are traveling without the time/ energy to fix this. It was so bad that we ordered pizza and tossed more than half of the food. The hot and sour soup was outstanding, spicy and full of crunchy veggies and tofu. Every other item in our order was inedible. My three stars reflect the excellent service I received while placing and picking up the order, the soup was also very good. Clearly a business that treats their customers well, but wow that was the worst $80 I've ever spent on food.

    We went for lunch on a work day and were the only ones the entire time. Homely inside…read more The menu could use some work, greasy and very looong. I originally ordered the General Tso chicken off the lunch menu but immediately noticed that it tasted "off" - way too sour to be flavorful. The waiter allowed us to select a different item on the menu - Mongolian chicken (much better). He later informed us that the chef previously forgot the sugar! Chef cooked another small portion of the general tso and kindly let us sample what it should've tasted like - good!

    Siam House - Steam rice so cute

    Siam House

    (263 reviews)

    $$

    Excellent Thai restaurant with high marks for food, service, and atmosphere…read more I've tried the Thai fish cakes, sweet and sour saute, pad bus sa ra com, mango sticky rice, and Thai iced tea and coffee. The savoury dishes were all super flavourful, cooked well, and generously portioned. Maybe this has something to do with the dishes I got, but I think the flavours here are generally more intense than the other Thai restaurants I've tried in Bloomington, and their spice levels might be a little higher. I've been somewhat underwhelmed by level 3 (out of 5) at other places, so I tried level 4 the first time I ordered here, and it was a little too hot, so I went back to level 3 the next time, and it was just right. The Thai tea and coffee were both very good, especially the coffee. It almost tasted chocolatey. The service is consistently on top of it. I was there on Valentine's Day, and they were slammed but had enough staff on the floor for it; the food was quick as usual and everyone was still very friendly. I also love the atmosphere here. The building is one of the converted houses on 4th St, and there are different dining rooms, some with lots of windows, all filled with interesting decor, and there's also a very nice patio during the warmer seasons. The only problem here is, unless there's a back entrance I don't know about, I don't think the building is wheelchair accessible; you have to go up a few stairs to get to the main entrance.

    Party of six, four adults (there is a children's menu). We had a variety of dishes, including Pad…read moreThai, Massaman Curry, Pad Woon Sen, and appetizers like fish cakes, spring rolls, and their crab rangoons. All were great, fresh ingredients, served in concert, and quickly, too. This was a family meal, and all were delighted, including the children with chicken fingers and fries. We're trying to expand their horizons, but picky eaters are tough. The appetizers were especially good, and each has their own different sauce. My order was well-spiced, and there was enough taken home for a second delicious meal. This is perhaps the best and most consistent Thai food in Bloomington. There are rivals to this high throne, and we try them, too, but this is our go-to for no-compromise Thai, every order consistently great.

    Chow Bar - Q27. Dry Pot Lamb and the Indonesian Fried Rice

    Chow Bar

    (124 reviews)

    $$

    Came for an early-ish dinner and it was pretty quiet. The service and atmosphere were both kind of…read morebare bones. There was no music so it was almost silent. I was had someone come to my table to take my order and bring my food but no one came by again after I got the food, so I went to the register to pay. Maybe a bit of a language barrier with the staff. I asked for jelly in my drink and got tapioca boba instead and generally felt like they didn't really understand what I was saying. I got a tofu rice bowl with miso sauce and a green milk tea with boba. The rice bowl was the perfect size for one meal, and there was a lot of tofu which made it filling. It was simple, with just the protein and sauce over steamed greens and rice, and I felt like it was pretty healthy. It didn't blow me away but it was good! The green milk tea was also good, strong but not too sweet. Some versions of the menu call it matcha but it very much tasted like green tea, not matcha. I think it was from a powder mix but that's fine. Reasonable prices. If I remember correctly, the rice bowl was about $13 and the boba was about $6 including the topping. I liked the food and would definitely eat here again.

    Food here can be a bit hit or miss, depending on what you order. The salt and pepper squid and beef…read moreand broccoli are both really good -- definitely worth getting. Other dishes, like the Yeung Chow fried rice, aren't quite on par with what you'd find in bigger cities like Vancouver or San Francisco, but still decent for Bloomington. Service can come across as a little abrupt, but I think it's just their efficient, no-nonsense style, similar to what you'd see in major Chinese cities -- not actually rude. The ambience is quiet and relaxed, though the interior feels a bit dated and could use a refresh. Overall, solid Chinese food for Bloomington, especially if you know what to order.

    China Star Restaurant - My dessert selections

    China Star Restaurant

    (53 reviews)

    $

    Good buffet, excellent crab Rangoon, great variety, polite staff. The staff is composed of…read moreFOREIGNERS who don't have American languages or customs as their primary experience- they're not rude. We go all the time and the buffet is always hot or about to be refilled. Tables are clean, too. There's plenty of seating and they will let you pick where you want to be if you speak up. My dads on a knee rover and has been for years and they are always very accommodating when we go. Is it 5 stars worthy? No. Few places actually are and they're handed out like free bread anymore, but it's a 3.5-4 star place for value, cleanliness, speed of service, variety, etc... Whoever gave it crappy reviews probably woke up on the wrong side of the bed that day or had crazy standards. It's the best buffet for Chinese food around (not that there are many options, but still).

    This place used to be so good! My family and I stopped in yesterday and some of the food was…read morehorrible the fried chicken was so dry it looked like beef Jerky but we still ate bc not all was horrible. But before being seated I tried paying for a total of 7 people 90.00 only 2 were under 9. But my card declined saying it was expired even though it doesn't expire until 2029 but that's not their fault but what is their fault is that the waitress saw us gather the only cash we had to pay for the dinners and I normally tip well but didn't have any other cash on me and she literally yelled thank you to each one of us even my kids bc we didn't have a tip for her n2m she only came to our table 1 time after seating us and that was when we were leaving. There was also a man who yelled move to people as they were making their plates the only nice one that talked with us was the cashier

    Red Lantern - chinese - Updated May 2026

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