China Chili is the restaurant that Orange Chicken built. While that dish is tasty, this place has so much more to offer. Venture away from the lure of the Orange Chicken tractor beam and try such tasty morsels as:
Boiled Won Tons -- a standout dish; the spicy peanut sauce is more like broth than sauce, but in a good way
Chicken Corn Chowder -- a reliable standby
Honey Walnut Prawns -- deep-fried shrimp enrobed in mayonnaise with honey walnuts; what's not to love?
Lover's Prawns -- half the prawns are in wine sauce and the other half are in spicy chili garlic sauce; very balanced
Pillow Chicken -- along the lines of deep-fried chicken croquettes with savory Black Pepper Sauce
Sichuan Style String Beans (with pork) -- a fantastically spicy dish
The lunch menu includes a number of their most popular dishes (including Orange Chicken, of course) that are very tasty and wallet-friendly as they include a cup of the daily soup and an egg roll.
This restaurant is run by a large extended family and the place has a very convivial atmosphere. The people watching here is great. The customers represent a broad range of Phoenix residents and there are usually a few gay peeps in the house, which is always a bonus.
The decor at China Chili really improved when they moved from Central Avenue due to the Light Rail. This place doesn't have the decor of C-Fu Gourmet, but it is pleasant enough. The enlarged dining room can now accommodate a crowd, which has really cut down from the long waits at their previous location that was so much smaller.
Besides table service and take out, China Chili also caters. The BF and I recently used them for our Tacky Tiki Gay Pride Brunch. Johnny handles the catering and he's great to work with. We asked Johnny to create an appetizer buffet, which was something China Chili had not done before. They did a great job building a custom menu for us and the food was great. I highly recommend their catering; it's a great way to feed a crowd on a moderate budget.