rev:text
| - As part of my never-ending search for cheap Chinese takeout that's acceptable and includes decent Hunan-style selections (I'm very picky about my Hunan), I tried New China King. First off, I like their on-line ordering system very much; easy to use and you get a confirmation emailed back. The place is one of the ubiquitous hole-in-the-wall spots with just a couple of tables so you have a place to wait for your order if you're early. My order, dinner for two with some fried pot stickers on the side was ready on time shortly after I got there.
The menu is pretty varied and includes a lot of choices that aren't on the typical cheap Chinese list. Dinner for two at $18.98 is a good value since you get won ton soup, egg rolls and fried rice for two along with any two entrees priced under $9.75 each, which covers a lot more items than the typical dinner for two choice list. Most of the menu choices meet the price limit with the exception of those in the seafood and specialty section, so you really get a good number to choose from.
The food: I ordered Hunan Beef for me and Lemon Chicken for my wife. The beef was lean and tender, and was very plentiful and came with nice crispy vegetables (baby corn, water chestnuts, broccoli, green pepper, onions, mushrooms and a bit of carrot. The sauce was not sweet (I hate sweet Hunan sauce). I prefer mine a little greasier (House of Hunan in Fairlawn's sauce is the gold standard); however New King's is acceptable. My wife's lemon chicken was OK for her; she makes what I think is terrific lemon chicken so I've never been inclined to order it; however she wanted to compare hers. Totally different, so there's really no way to say how it compares with other restaurants' and frankly most don't even have it. She liked the crispness of the broccoli that comes with it. The won ton soup was alright, the broth was good with scallions and nice thin-skinned stuffed won tons, but no pork or bok choy. The egg rolls were nothing special, although they were nicely fried and not greasy. The pot stickers were really good. The fried rice was decent as well, much better than the stuff you get sometimes that's just brown colored with no vegetables. It would have been much better if they had thrown a few chunks of pork in.
All in all it was a good value and a good experience. You get tons of food, including 2 separate pints of soup and fried rice, so apart from the egg rolls, everything is packaged per person. I plan to try their lunch specials very soon because again, they have a big selection of items AND hot & sour soup is one choice (I love me some good hot & sour soup). New China King is a keeper for me!
P.S., I don't usually do delivery so I can't comment on that.
|