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| - Maybe I'm jaded from all the places I've traveled to and lived in, but I honestly didn't see the big deal about this restaurant. True, their appetizers are decent and the Hot and Sour soup tasty. But the main dishes we had -- Garlic Eggplant and a half duck -- both very highly recommended by other reviewers, were mediocre at best. I suspect most Americans wouldn't know "real" Chinese if they saw it and this restaurant perpetuates the myth, that what they serve is actual Chinese food (after bringing a friend to a Chinese restaurant off of Northern (Wahsun), which makes real Chinese food, he was shocked to taste what real Chinese food is). Most of the dishes at China Chili are overly salty and/or sweet (to be fair though, as a diabetic, I usually avoid both, so I might be overly sensitive on that point). The service is indeed excellent and friendly. My biggest complaint was the party of 15 Latinos sitting next to us celebrating a birthday, who apparently think it's okay to have screaming children ruin everyone else's night. But that's not the restaurant's fault, since machine gunning guests is (still) illegal and there was nothing they could do about it.
In summary, the food here is okay, with the appetizers being their strong suit. I've tasted much better in the Valley and don't really think this place deserves all the hype it gets. Then again, there ARE a lot worse Chinese restaurants out here, so this may be your best bet. It doesn't hurt either, that they're open till 10pm; a remarkable exception in a city, where the norm is to close at 8pm or 9, even on weekends and which, of course, is ridiculous for a "major" city.
I truly recommend "Wahsun" in Phoenix, if you want to try real Chinese food. I think most people would be surprised to discover how very different it is from what they're used to. The food takes some getting used to, but once you get into it, you'll never go back to China Chili or their colleagues.
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