Ok. So for months now I've been on a quest to find a DECENT Chinese restaurant in the neighborhood that delivers.
Orange Garden (which is a neighborhood favorite - for OTHERS), is not that good as far as I'm concerned. It's okay and will do in a pinch for the lunch special. But honestly I'm just not that impressed. The only thing I've ever eaten there that I've even remotely liked is their Orange Chicken. But other than that, it's just ok. Given the option between them and Panda Express, I'd go Panda every time.
Chen's, which people rave about, is bland as far as I'm concerned (and pricey to boot).
Mark's Chop Suey is just this side of ok, but nothing to write home about. And really much more for the palate that prefers greasy Chinese food. Think drunk frat boys at 2am.
House of Hunan was palatable, but expensive for what it was.
And Bamboo Garden, for which I held high hopes, disappointed. And the weird thing, is I can't even remember why. I just know that every time I think about ordering there, a little voice inside goes, NO.
So yes, I'm not easily pleased.
My old favorite China Lite, which used to be on Southport, CLOSED! Much to my dismay (rest in peace Walnut Chicken). So the search continued.
And then came Young's.
So, while Joyees remains my favorite (but out of my neighborhood), I have to say Young's is the only Chinese spot, thus far, that has moved me to create a Yelp account and write a review.
Not the perfect Chinese food, as I crave real authentic flavor, but really quite good.
I ordered egg rolls, Mai Fun and BBQ Pork Fried Rice.
The egg rolls were good but not my style. I prefer the Korean or Thai style egg rolls. But if you crave those big daddies, chock full of filling, these will do. And the filling was pretty good. White chicken and shrimp. Identifiable meat, so that's always good.
The Mai Fun noodles I ordered after the woman on the phone spent 10 whole minutes trying to explain to me the differences in each noodle dish (and choices abound). And while after I hung up I looked up pictures on the Internet and realized I probably really wanted Cantonese Chow Mein as opposed to Mai Fun, what arrived was quite tasty.
The dish had crisp vegetables and white meat chicken and was flavorful enough to require no soy sauce. Now, I'm definitely a person who likes salty. And to me this tasted JUST this side of NOT too salty. So, some may not like it. But I thought it really was pretty good. Light and flavorful and not at all greasy.
The BBQ Pork Fried Rice was excellent. I rarely, if ever, eat pork, as I'm constantly on some type of "no eating animals kick" or another. And pork is just one animal I have a hard time eating. But the pieces were those small little diced pieces that give it just the right amount of flavor without having to fight through pieces to find rice.
They gave me a nice condiment package with soy sauce and sweet sauce for the egg rolls, as well as hot mustard and three fortune cookies.
AND, even though they said it would be 45 minutes to get here, it arrived in like 25.
So, I will definitely order from Young's again and if I'm able to perfect my appetizer and noodle choice so that I'm as happy with them as I was with the Fried Rice, I just may have found my go-to place in the neighborhood. read more