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| - Congee places aren't usually on my list of places to critique but as a person who's gone to this place on a somewhat frequent basis, I'm happy to say that it's a place (for now) I'll continue to go.
The decor, for starters is pretty nice. It's bright, vibrant and offers a complete view of the entire dining floor. It looks like it can seat a lot of people but they've placed their tables where potential traffic jams wouldn't happen. It's a rather smart table setup that they have there.
Service, on the multiple times I've been, they've been pretty nice, patient and very accommodating (especially in the times I've gone as a large group, they would be willing to split the bill multiple ways without issue). They bring the food in a timely fashion and always seem like they're in control (you never seem to see any of the waitresses get overwhelmed or stressed out).
Food, for the most part is pretty solid. Some of the stuff we ordered ranges from duck congee, seafood congee, fried turnip cake and deep fried squid. While their menu might not have the range and variety like other congee places, I don't recall a dish that I've ordered that was below average. Not to mention the dishes are reasonably (again, I don't go to millions of congee places, but $6.99 for sweet and sour chicken for a generous portion, is rather reasonable). None of the congees that I've had consisted of that horrid MSG taste, that lingers even after the meal and they've included a good amount of seafood or duck (depending on what congee was ordered).
One of my fav dishes, and a dish I'll continue to order is their Salt&Pepper squid. Typically, in a lot of congee places, or the ones that I recall, the squid is tough and the yummy seasoning is pretty much an afterthought, but Phoenix manages to perfectly cook their squid, and it's rather light (not heavy in grease). My only complaint? I don't think they put enough on the plate. I kind of think that they skimped on the portion there...but meh...plenty of other food that my friends and I were enjoying.
It's a solid place to go get your congee fix, but just be aware (while this isn't much a restaurant can do about this, but I find parking and access here is kind of a nightmare), but it's a good place for congee in my books!
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