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Review content:
Firstly let me say that I love ?Chinese? food, both Americanized and Authentic. I was really looking for ward to eating here (based on other reviews). However it turned out to be WORST Chinese meal I have ever had.
I am originally from Great Britain, and grew up eating a lot of Chinese. I have worked in Hong Kong, Beijing, Taiwan and Singapore, so , in my own humble opinion, I consider myself to have a good amateur knowledge of Chinese food.
We went to the restaurant on Valentine?s Day 2010, I choose this because my Wife loves Peking Duck and I had heard that they sell it here.
The restaurant was deathly quiet, I mean there was NO background music and the staff stood near our table the whole time.. I was like speaking in a cave, every word could be heard by everyone at every table. I know that this is not a huge problem, but my advice to the owners (should they ever read this) would be to put on a little music, so people feel a little more relaxed.
THE FOOD:
We ordered the ?Sweet & Sour Chicken? for the kids, a Special Rice to share and the with great anticipation the ?Peking Duck?..
WHAT IT SHOULD BE: For those of you who have never tried a Peking Duck, here is what you SHOULD expect. It is a whole duck (sometimes you can order half ? but NOT here), prior to cooking the skin is separated from the fat and hung for 24 hours to dry. Then it is roasted (sometimes deep fried) for 45mins at very high temps (525 F) until it is crispy on the outside but lovely and tender in the middle. After frying it is de-boned and chopped up for easy eating. It is served with thin pancakes, spring onion, cucumber sticks, and a hoisin sauce. If you are lucky enough to find somewhere that sells ?Aromatic Crispy Duck? this is even better and crispier.
WHAT WE GOT: When the duck arrived in 20mins (which should have rung alarm bells, it needs to cook for 45mins!) The skin was very fatty (as it was not separated from fat) and so it was NOT crisp at all. Most of the bones remained and the meat was very pink in places (not fully cooked). It was served with about 10 pancakes a TINY plate of sauce and a TINY plate of onions.
We were determined to make the best of it so we tried to be optimistic. I am sorry to say the taste did NOT overcome our initial reaction. Very bland, undercooked, fatty and lots of cartilage, gristle and bones. I suspect the duck used was very old and sick.. It may have even been a seagull (joke). In total there was only about 2-3oz of edible meat on the duck. When we tried asking for more onions, sauce etc our server informed us that it would be $10 extra more! T he duck, which is billed as a meal for two, and costs $30, a BIG waste of money.
I complained, but to no avail, they refused to help.
The other dishes, well the Sweet/Sour Chicken was about what you would expect from PANDA Express, nothing special at all, the sauce was a little like wallpaper paste. The rice appeared and tasted day old re-heated , you know how rice gets ? it get a little hard and the oils separate and so it is oily too.
I am not going to pretend that I was NOT angry, I was and still am. This was supposed to be a special occasion and it was ruined. But this review is honest and I want to warn people about the food quality. Perhaps other dishes are better, or perhaps it is a new owner or chef.
The bottom line is this place does NOT deserve the high reviews that it once had.
Steer Clear of this one.
Pros: Free Parking was about the best I can say.
Cons: Horrid Service, Horrid DUCK
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