empress of china

pickuporderwith no problems. lettuce wraps were a notch just below pf chang's lettuce wraps (this is a compliment), but we felt like the to-go was kinda small considering the rice noodles took up half the container. i actually thought that this was easily one of the better non-hibatchi fried rice orders that i have ever eaten. i ordered the pork fried rice and despite its plain white rice appearance, it was light and had a really good flavor. most fried rice that i have had in the past was either really greasy or drowned in soy sauce. other dish we ordered was the chicken and broccoli stir-fry and thought it was terrible. the chicken seemed slimy and bland and i didn't want it anywhere near my rice (i actually wiped off my paper plate). everything was cooked well and i would go back again.

i called in toorderdinner tonight. the greeting when she picked up the call was warn and welcoming and the moment i said i wanted to place anorderfor pick up everything changed. it left me wondering whether it was my voice that upset her or my order.

anyways, at this point i was hoping that the food will make up for it but nah i was disappointed there too. food was just ok not great nothing close to making up for the bad attitude. i don't think i will be going back again. people have been generous in rating this place, it doesn't deserve a 3.6 may be 3 will be right.

vanilla prawns. very good. i like the light creamy sauce. the crunchy sweetened pecans and crisp shrimp gives the dish great texture.


-----27 dec, 2014-----

stir-fried green beans. ordered their version of spicy green beans. i passed on the rice though. green beans were not as spicy as they could have been, but still had a lot of flavor. beans appeared to be stir-fried with a table spoon or so of guilin chili sauce, or at least that's how i prepare them. the taste was very similar. service was adequate.


-----02 dec, 2012-----

good chinese food (2 reviews). i've eaten here several times, most recently being last night. each time has been consistently good. i dined with two close friends, one of which has selected this as his favorite asian restaurant. there is no buffet here, everything is off of a menu, so you expect the food to be piping hot when served and it is. i had the t-5, which was the chicken with spicy garlic sauce and my friends had anorderof special house shrimp and chicken and broccoli. they also ordered an egg roll. the only problem i had was that they served my entree at the same time that they brought them their eggrolls. i waited until their entrees were brought before i began eating. i think the restaurant's timing was off. the spicy garlic chicken, although very good, was not spicy at all. as mentioned in previous reviews, i do not think locals appreciate spicy foods so restaurants in general keep any heat to a minimum. i tried the other entrees and found the chicken and broccoli to be fresh and crisp, simply prepared, presented nicely but not as flavorful as i would have liked. the special house shrimp was very good, sweet with a good tangy flavor. shrimp was very fresh. service has been great each time with refills prompt and even additional rice was brought when requested. i give this restaurant a b- and will return.

(return visit- 5/11/14)- returned on sunday, mother's day. i ordered the same thing as before, the spicy garlic chicken. it actually was a little spicier this time around. since i had the luncheon special it came with a hot and sour soup and a small egg roll. the soup was good. this good was barely sour and had a brown base but was chock full of vegetables and pieces of meat. it was nothing like the hot and sour soup that i have had at other restaurants in the past. it was very good though. the egg roll was okay. strictly run of the mill. service was sketchy. i thought i was going to have to call to get our teas refreshed, but our server appeared just when i was taking my last gulp. had to wait a bit and move the checkholder right to the edge of the table to get the server's attention. my opinion of empress of china has not changed. food is different, service is somewhat indifferent, but i'd be back. this is my friend's favorite chinese restaurant in the mid-cities.