| rev:text
| - "Yelp never steers us wrong" proclaimed DH when we started looking up Chinese restaurants whens we were driving back to Phoenix. Well, I guess you can look at our meal at Hao two ways: either Yelp DID steer us wrong or we should have paid better attention to a phrase used in many of the Yelp reviews: "best Chinese IN FOUNTAIN HILLS". Obviously, FH has a dearth of Asian restaurants.
As commented, the inside was MUCH more attractive and contemporary than the unpretentious exterior. Dining room and bathrooms were VERY clean. And of course it was empty, as it was 4 pm on a Sunday afternoon. Oh, and our server was very nice and attentive. (That's actually why they get 2 stars rather than one) So, I guess that leaves the food, right?
We started off with two appetizers---DS and I shared the crab puff and DH and DS's GF shared the egg rolls. Actually, both were really good. Fresh, hot, not greasy, tasty. (But wait....)
Then we ordered entrees. (Btw, hardly any entrees were more than 9.99, so I don't know what people were talking about this place being expensive) I asked for Spicy Eggplant and Pork, DH got General Tso's chicken, DS got Sesame Chicken, and DS's GF got Vegetarian Chow Mein. DS and I added the soup and eggroll---he got the egg drop and I got the hot and sour. (Additional $3 each) Soup and eggrolls arrived promptly.
He said his soup was okay, but "didn't taste like anything". Same for my hot and sour. The broth was a much paler brown than I am accustomed to with no depth of flavor. There were a couple of small chunks of mystery meat and then giant peas and square carrots---like the kind you get in a freezer bag. Not impressed. However, the eggrolls were really good---no meat, but very fresh and well-cooked---but after a couple of bites, my son said "Ugh", and pulled about a 6 inch long hair out of his eggroll. Yes, I know this kind of stuff happens and DS even made a joke, but basically, we both put our eggrolls down unfinished. And no, we didn't say anything because DS was like: just forget it, Mom!
So the entrees arrived. I was like uh-oh as soon as I saw DH's plate. It literally had an entire can of water chestnuts in it. He hates water chestnuts. And maybe six 1 x 1 pieces of red pepper and the chicken. DS's Sesame Chicken was exactly that: nuggets of fried chicken with a sticky sauce and sesame seeds. DS GF's Veggie Chow Mein looked----remember that stuff you used to buy in a can with the little container of dry noodles? I think we found out where all those extra cans went.
And mine was okay. Not spicy, not a lot of taste, but it was okay. But everyone agreed their vegetables (except for DS, who had none) were either way over-cooked or had come out of a bag. There was absolutely no "tender-crisp crunch" to them. NOBODY cleaned their plate (a rarity among our crew) or asked for a take-away container.
Consensus when we left: we'd rate our meals on average about 2.5 on a scale of 1 to 10. DH gave the lowest score at a 1 (he'd wanted to do minus one, but he did enjoy his eggroll) and I gave the highest at 4 (It was food, it was hot, I didn't get sick).
But really---best Chinese food in Fountain Hills? I'd just go to Senor Taco.
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