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| - Well, I was ready to go to HK Star and did not know that it changed owners to Imperial One. After spending a week in good ole San Francisco with some amazing and simple Chinese Food, we decided to come here on Christmas Day to celebrate and not cook. Of course, i am looking for the traditional simple Chinese American fare, not American Chinese fare and i was not disappointed.
1. Decor - It is the same as when it was HK Star and even the sign on the building says HK Star. They do have some semi-private booths to sit in now. If you need tables for 6 or 10 people or if you want to reserve a few tables for a larger group, it is very easy to do here and accommodating.
2. Menu - New menu, lots of pictures, and well, i got confused just for a wee bit because I was used to the old menu and where to find everything.
3. Prices - Seemed to have gone up a few dollars here and there, however, the prices in general are excellent.
4. The Food - Ahh, I really enjoyed this.
a. Imperial Chicken - This is the white ginger scallion steamed chicken that is full of flavor, juicy and also I feel very healthy. This was an excellent dish and we ordered the whole chicken vs. half. Reminds me of home and gnawing down on some excellent and simple chicken. For those of you that are more into Panda Express type, remember that these chickens have the bone in them and are "chopped" right at the restaurant, so you have bones and bone bits as well. The best tasting chicken is on the bone!
b. Oyster Sauce Chinese Broccoli - Ummm, this was gone in like 60 seconds. Perfectly al dente with the right amount of oyster sauce and oil on it.
c. Grilled Lamb with Cumin - Very tasty. Would have preferred a sautéed lamb vs. one that was fried, however, it was tasty.
d. Steamed Flounder - Gotta have steamed fish to get that whole perfect taste of cilantro, green onion, minced ginger, heated oil, soy sauce over the steamed fish. The meat is flavorful and tender, juicy and well, only some bones were left. I order the flounder because it is generally half price or more compared to getting one of the market priced bass or rock cod.
e. Minced Garlic String Beans - We all love our veggies and this was just right. The string beans were very fresh and cooked to the right level of firmness and biteability. Crunchy, and not too crunchy.
f. Pork Chops - Loved these small cut up bits of pork chop on the bone. Slightly fried with garlic it was very tasty. Had to be careful fort he bones as they were hard to see with the fried coating. I may order salt and pepper pork chops in the future though.
g. Bitter Melon with Beef - love this dish. Absolutely love it. It was perfect.
h. Where was the soup - Normally at HK Star, if you are ordering family style they bring out fresh soup of the day for free. This is one of my favorites and well, they did not have this. Boo Hoo. I miss it.
i. Steamed Pork Hash - Another one of my favorites. It was missing from the menu as well. Maybe a bit too provincial or common, but one of my all time favorites with the salted fish bits on top.
5. GK says check this place out for some good ole Chinese American Food that many of us born in the US and our parents too, grow up eating if you are from the Cantonese areas.
I'll be back.
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