Gary G.
Yelp
First time to this old school joint and my expectations were moderate. Much like at Kowloon to the north, I figured I'd get a nostalgic thrill from the atmosphere (definitely delivered here, with amazing old time architecture and decor) but a mixed bag on the food. I was wrong: the food was mostly superb.
I'll do the food recap in the order we tried it, starting with 3 apps from Appetizer Combo #3 (Egg Roll, Boneless Ribs, Chicken Wings).
Wings: Gargantuan size and larger than any I've had in any Chinese restaurant. Crisp, good color, good flavor, and easily the juiciest Chinese wings I have ever had (I've got literally thousands of Chinese food visits under my lengthy belt). Although I've had more flavor intensity at some other places, the combo of flavor and texture on these is unmatched. A great start to the meal.
Boneless Ribs: Wait, did they make a mistake? They looked like mini steaks! No, these were thick and lengthy boneless pork slices that were also extremely juicy. Not as much char or glaze as there could be, but still very, very solid, with the pork itself taking the lead on flavor.
Egg Roll: About average, nothing special positive or negative. Mostly green on the inside with little to no protein, but fresh and crunchy. Outer shell slightly crunchy, with more of a chewy Keebler Pecan Sandy texture. Not great, not bad.
Spareribs on bone: This app brought more char than the boneless and some of the glaze. A nice rendition. Definitely some juicy ones with others neither dry nor juicy. Overall, good.
Sweet and Sour Chicken: A humongous serving in a wide, deep bowl. Very fresh, very light batter almost tempura-like, with a sauce kinda halfway between typical sweet & sour and orange chicken. Extremely high quality here to the meat, with the highest meat-to-batter ratio I've ever experienced on sweet and sour.
Pork Fried Rice: The only weak link. Dark but kinda starchy and bland.
Dessert with the check: four fortune cookies for two guys, plus a bowl of chilled pineapple chunks--definitely a throwback move.
Overall great, can't wait to come back. We'll see if the PFR was merely an anamoly. Also eager to try egg foo Yong, lobster sauce, and chicken wings with either black bean sauce or oyster sauce (they offer both).