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35 Restaurant
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 11 am - 2:30 pm
Mon-Thu, Sun 4:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Fri-Sat 4:30 pm - 10 pm
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Garage
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- Free
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
45 reviews for 35 Restaurant
Review Highlights
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"...the three pepper chicken and the stir-fried string beans." In 2 reviews -
"Main course was the three-chilies szechuan-style lamb." In 4 reviews -
"Ron's twice cooked pork looked fantastic, even to this non..." In 2 reviews
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45 reviews in English
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Review from Justin P.
Cary, NC
5/13/2012
I just LOVE coming to 35; whenever I hear that I'm going there I get excited!! 35 is such a hidden gem because it is hiding behind an RBC Bank. You wouldn't notice it unless you saw the tiny little sign, which you can hardly see from the road.
A reason why I love 35 is because of the food! In past trips I have tried various noodle, vegetable, pork and seafood dishes. However during this visit I ordered spicy eggplant (which I love), lion's head, which is meatballs, spicy fish, and seafood noodles. The eggplant and fish were spicy. Not just a little spicy, really spicy! In fact, if you don't like spicy food I really wouldn't recommend this restaurant because a lot of the foods are spicy. The fish and eggplant were very good and well prepared. The lion's head was scrumptious and it was a surprise to have napa and noodles underneath the lion's head! The seafood noodles were just awesome!
I would recommend this place to anyone because to me, it is the best Chinese restaurant in Cary! -
Review from Alejandro B.
Durham, NC
3/14/2012
The way to eat here is to come with a large group and order family style. This is the place to discover new, authentic Chinese food. We have a list of staples we always order: three pepper chicken, gingery lotus roots (I had never had them before coming to 35 and am hooked), cumin lamb, and when it gets too spicy cool down with crispy duck. I recently tried their golden buns and really enjoyed them, a tasty dessert.
I was skeptical when I first came here because I am sensitive to MSG but I have never had an issue with it after coming to 35.
The service here is always great, they are able to attend to our group very well. -
Review from Miss V.
Raleigh, NC
1/28/2012 1 Check-in Here
When I was a kid, I loved chinese buffets with a vengeance until I started to grow up, and have a little money to splurge on food that one actually needed a palate to appreciate. From that point on, I shunned Chinese food with all the food snobbery I could muster lumping it all together and thinking any Chinese restaurant would lead me feeling blah, and ickily (yeah, not a word, go with it) saturated physically.
This is not that type of Chinese food. This is *real* Chinese food, and that being said, you would be doing yourself a disservice if you were to order off of the American Chinese menu. Go with the Chinese menu. I can highly recommend the crispy garlic duck, as that is what my boyfriend and I split the most. Comes with a side of rice, and we normally get white rice; this isn't the type of white rice you leave to the side of your plate and then take home in a to-go box, only to ignore it in the fridge until it's hardened enough that you can throw it out without feeling too wasteful. This is the type of fluffy, delicious rice that you'll be rubbing around your plate to absorb just a little more of the wonderful sauce of whatever plate you decide on.
They also have a really great fried rice that has an assortment of meats in it-- chicken, beef, pork, as well as some small veggie pieces and egg. It's about $9 or $10, but made the perfect late night snack as well as breakfast.
They also have a lunch special: $7.95 until two thirty (I think, call ahead) and you get a drink and an entree and side. It's a limited menu, but I don't think you can pick anything wrong. The lunch I had was some sort of mongolian beef, and the meat was very tender, the sauce fantastic, and the white rice....oh, the white rice.... -
Review from John A.
Zebulon, NC
Way different then the old 35 restaurant, I mean this in a good way.
Very authentic great tasting Chinese food -
Review from Kuanyu C.
1/17/2012 3 Check-ins Here
Delia: I can't believe we're eating Cantonese. Is there no Szechuan up here?
Lydia: I plan to have a stroke from the amount of MSG that's in this food.
- "Beetlejuice," 1988
A lot of folks have the misconception that Szechuan(Sichuan) food is all about tongue-burning, hair-singing spices. But if you ask the Iron Chef Chen Kenichi (no relations to me, I think), whose family was from Sichuan Province, he can attest that Sichuan cuisine is about the abundance of flavors, of all kinds. Besides the standard Sichuan stable, such as Kung Pao, Ma Poh Tofu, Dan Dan Noodles, and Three Peppers Chicken (which from what I heard is the Litmus Test for great Chinese food for some) there are plenty of dishes which does not require you to douse your tongue with ice water after meal.
I have taken friends and family members here for a really nice dine-out experience, reasons being at 35 Restaurant offers traditional Chinese style dining (big round table, Lazy Susan, everyone digging in,) and since part of my family is still in town, I took them to 35 last week. My grandpa was from Sichuan Region so my family was accustomed to a little heat in our diet. After the meal, grandma gave her nods of approval, which seals the deal on the authenticity of 35 Restaurant branding itself as genuine Sichuan.
P.S. I would like to thank Phil (http://philidem.yelp.com/) and his UYE last year that helped me rediscover 35 Restaurant. I remembered long ago when I used to live in Cary, this was a mediocre Chinese buffet restaurant, so when I heard about the UYE I was actually hesitant at first, until I realized the change of management since I last visited.
P.P.S. Since the UYE last September, I have been meaning to offer my proper reviews, but my fellow yelpers had done such a good job right after the event, I was compelled to withhold my opinion until later. -
Review from Ron W.
Not sure why it took so long to came back but here I am at 35 Restaurant on Christmas Eve! Cool, the place is packed, it's pretty much tradition for many of my Jewish friends to have Chinese food for the eve so it was a mixed crowd. There was a bit of a line but it only took five minutes to get a table.
Even though there was only two of us, we ordered up a storm: scallion pancakes, fish fillets in szechuan oil, shrimp szechuan style and braised watercress. Overall the meal was great, the scallion pancakes were ok, probably not freshly fried. The fish fillet was very good and a large portion. The shrimp was decent, stir-fried with some nice veggies and the watercress was excellent, tender and well-prepared. Very good meal overall, there wasn't much for leftovers.
My first and last visit at 35 Restaurant was skewed by some really oily choices but felt they/we did much better tonight. Service was solid and yes, the decor is definitely better than SuperWok. But yeah, I'm still finding it hard to decide which Szechuan Chinese restaurant in Cary is the best. For now, I'll give 35 Restaurant the nod for value/portion size while I give SuperWok the nod for taste/preparation. I'd be happy at either so let's just call them 1A and 1B to keep things simple. Either way, 35 Restaurant is still a great choice for ethnic, Szechuan food. Don't come here for Chinese-American, come here for the real, spicy deal...Listed in: Chowin' Down Chinese...
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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1/17/2010
Whoa, this place is serious Chinese food! While the 35 Restaurant has a Chinese-American menu,… Read more »
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Review from YL S.
Chapel Hill, NC
1/3/2012
I think this place deserves a 4 star but they just can't pass for the 4 star service.
Overall, great Chinese food, greasy, oily, tasty and in-between Chinese food and American Chinese food. I also like the size of most of their dishes. If you are those who like plates and the candles more than the food, this is not your place. Go somewhere else. Not too much MSG, but a little on the salty side. If you are used to PF Chang or Pei Wei, you will be fine. If you just come from Asian, don't even try. You will hate almost every single thing there!
I have to rant a little bit about the service. The pretty lady at the front desk is rude, I mean very very rude. She kept asking me if know how many of my friends have arrived there and wouldn't let me get in unless I came up with a number. Well, given the fact that I can't read people's mind, so I failed, multiple times. So she laughed AT me and kept me hold untile my friends walked out. I don't see the how point of doing so. After I sat down, everything was normal, nobody really cared about how you felt about each dish and the only job the waitress did was to put dishes on your table. She was smiling though.
I recommend two dishes: sour and sweet fish, double-cooked pork -
Review from John C.
Danville, CA
11/16/2011
Yum. 35 was recommended to me by a friend from work - I was coming in front out of town, and was looking to get crazy hot spicy chinese like back at home in SF. This place rocks -- easily the spiciest food I've found in the Cary area.
They have two menus, their American style menu, and their Chinese-authentic -- the American one most of the Schezuan style dishes you can get at most restaurants, but when I told the waiter I was looking for spicy, he took that menu away. He recommended several dishes, and the spicy lamb was smokin good.
Excellent -- will be back. -
Review from Christina G.
Durham, NC
So we stumbled a bit with the reservation. Phil called and must have done a piss-poor job communicating because, seconds later, he found himself repeating his reservation request only to discover that the phone had been handed to a customer at the restaurant! Eventually the confused customer got the phone back in the hands of the hostess though -- and our reservation was made.
From then on, our meal was smooth sailing! There's more ambiance here than the more lunch-centric Super Wok and C&T. It's surprisingly large, and the tables are even covered in white tablecloths (which we proceeded to slop food all over...). Ten yelpers got together to explore the menu. We were seated at one of the large round tables with a lazy susan center -- perfect for keeping our smorgasbord in rotation. Our waiter was able to split the cost of the meal evenly for us, and didn't even bat an eye when two people in our party asked to get their drink orders on checks separate from that (there are restaurants that would ridicule you for making such a request!).
Of note was the three pepper chicken, and black mushroom and tofu. The tri-pepper dish was the best I've had (out of Super Wok and C&T) -- wonderfully spicy with thin slivers of garlic and green onion. If you can handle the heat, get this. The tofu dish came in a rich brown sauce. We also ordered Dan Dan Noodles, shaved lamb (served with cilantro!), a seafood and tofu hot pot (the only real disappointment -- bland and kind of slimy), pork belly (very rich, and nice cuts -- again, better than C&T), fish fillet in Szechuan sauce (a table favorite), and spicy string beans (another table favorite... and some welcome greens!). The food is seriously good. But on top of that, the service was awesome. Our server helped direct us to new dishes, so that we didn't order things that were too similar, made sure our waters were full, and joked with us too.
Now get this: We paid $12.50 PER PERSON. That's less than several of the individual entree prices we ordered. For more food than we could finish... a huge spread of variety! What an unbelievable bargain!Listed in: My 5-Star Faves!, The Asian Invasion, Cary-land, Szechuan Cuisine
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Review from Cait H.
9/16/2011 2 Check-ins Here
I really can't wait to go here again. It's a little pricey for frequent dining, but I'm really looking forward to introducing folks to 35.
I joined a group of other Yelpers and friends for dinner the other night and we ordered a bunch of different dishes for the table. My absolute favorites were the three pepper chicken and the stir-fried string beans. Easily the best beans I've ever had and the heat was great. Most things had a kick to them, but nothing I tried seemed to be CRAZY spicy.
The Dan Dan noodles were also deliciously hot and I can't believe I tried AND liked the tofu in a black mushroom sauce. I've never been a big fan of tofu and I hate mushrooms, but in the spirit of trying new things, this dish stood out. It was salty and savory, and the tofu had a nice crunch on the outside. Also...the sauce tasted super good soaked into my rice. Yum.
However, I should have read previous reviews more carefully. I got all excited about the fried shredded lamb, but neglected to notice that it's covered in CILANTRO; my mortal enemy. The lamb itself did taste strongly of cilantro, but was so juicy and tender that it almost didn't matter. If you're not of the "cilantro tastes like Lysol" persuasion, get this dish for sure.
Again, being adventurous, I tried the lotus root dish and found it to be incredibly satisfying! The sauce was flavorful and the root itself had a perfect crunch. I was very pleased to have enjoyed something I'd never heard of before. I'm also a rice fiend, so the giant serving bowls full of sticky, steamed white rice for the table were a dream come true. Keep it coming!
With adventure comes limitations; I did not try any of the fish dishes on the table. Fish is not my cup of tea, but apparently the fish fillet in Szechuan sauce was a BIG hit. It was also easily the hottest thing on the table, because a number of guests were suffering from numb-tongue. As Christina G. mentioned, we all got out of there paying less than we would have paid for individual dishes...so you should definitely go to 35 Restaurant and bring a big group. Split that puppy evenly and you'll make out like a champ! -
Review from Jim L.
When I think of 35 Chinese, I think of the older buffet they had here, an average buffet that was always popular with the lunch crowd because you could get in and out fast.
This is not that 35, indeed no. And I like the changes here. I've been meaning to review this place for awhile and finally have the time. The first thing you notice now is the fact that the customers are mainly Asian, mainly Chinese. This made me a lot more comfortable than in the past. There was a vibrancy of a happy Chinese eatery. This was authentic Chinese in the middle of Cary (if there is a middle these days).
Last meal I tried out the Cumin Lamb and Whole Fish in Szechuan Sauce. Both were super spicy in their own way. The only criticism I would have with the lamb was the fact that it had simply too much cumin, which drowned out the taste of the rest of the dish. The fish was a challenge and not for the inexperienced. I say a challenge because the fish was broken up and swamped with Szechuan oils. Eating the fish was an assault course through a million bones. But I enjoyed every minute.
I can't wait to go back and hopefully improve my score of this place. I still very much prefer Gourmet Kingdom, and also Super Wok has an edge on this place.Listed in: Top Chinese Restaurants in the…
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Review from Bary G.
Cary, NC
3/4/2012
This place has a 2 story parking garage in back constructed out of concrete. If there was a storm approaching with the possibility of hail, I would drive over and hide out. Just trying to make sure my car survived. Hate not having a garage!
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Review from P K.
Raleigh, NC
10/11/2011
Its a little pricey, but at least the portions are big.
Silky Tofu, a spicy fish dish (forget the exact name) and Kung-pao chicken, all awesome!'
Only thing I didnt like was the weird ads they had playing on their televisions, ruined the ambiance a little for me. -
Review from Chuan T.
Cary, NC
7/27/2011 2 Check-ins Here
My girlfriend and I went here for Valentine's day last year. I loved it after our first date. We sat in the corner along the windows facing Kildaire. I thought it was the most romantic dinner. However, I was facing outside and my girlfriend, who was facing into the rest of the dining area thought otherwise.
I loved 35 because of how authentic it seemed. It felt as if a Chinatown restaurant just plopped down into the heart of Cary. However, after the novelty wore off for me, I realized that the food isn't good at all. Everything is very greasy. It may be "authentic" - but authentic isn't always good or high-quality. If you like your food drenched in oil, you will like 35.
Otherwise, it's the experience of 35 that makes it worthwhile. But even that isn't enjoyable for more than one time. Definitely try it out if you like Chinese, but don't expect too much! -
Review from Amy H.
4/3/2011 ROTD 4/10/2012
Seriously the BEST chinese food I have had in a long time! I went with a group of friends and 6 of us chose to do "family style." Two had been here before, so we asked them to pick the 6 dishes.
So, to be honest, I'm not totally sure what we got. But every last dish was amazing. One was a spicy white fish with cabbage, another twice cooked pork perhaps, another "husband and wife lungs" (which was thinly slice beef), another tofu with black beans, another a seafood hotpot with crispy rice cakes, and lastly green beans with tiny dried shrimp/onions. The fish was spicy and flaky, the pork just like soft bacon, the beef flavorful, the tofu silky and tender, the seafood perfectly cooked and seasoned, and the beans just heavenly. I'm not sure if I have to thank the two who order or if everything is just so fantastic that it's difficult to go wrong!
Like everyone else has said, the location is pretty hidden but COMPLETELY WORTH IT. -
Review from Charlene G.
Cary, NC
3/19/2012
I've tried items from both menus. Good, but i've never felt need to rave about any specific dishes. Maybe I'm still not ordering the right things, but I've had a hard time enjoying the food here in three visits.
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Review from Jake S.
Raleigh, NC
3/12/2012
Great food - Unique experience. We will definitely be going back!
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Review from Jennifer P.
Durham, NC
4/20/2011
I went here with my brother-in-law and his parents while they were in town. As the only non-Chinese speaker, they ordered most of the food for me :) However, I selected the pecan shrimp which was insanely good! It is prepared tempura-style in a light, sweet sauce with candied pecans and honeydew melon. The eggplant appetizer was also a favorite at the table. I really enjoyed the food here and thought the service was pretty good.
The restaurant can be hard to find, it's tucked behind an office building and there is not a sign along the roadway. If you use your GPS you can almost find your way there. -
Review from Magie L.
I had heard that 35 was an authentic Chinese restaurant that wasn't "fusion", buffet or Americanized. I do like places like PF Chang's and Lantern, but I think sometimes it's important to get the authentic experience. Honestly I don't think I had ever really had "real" Chinese food, just the typical orange chicken, General Tso's, beef n' broccoli, ect. So in the spirit of adventure, we decided to try out 35.
35 was almost as difficult to find as Udupi. There's no signs for it on the street, but the building is on the east side of Kildaire Farm Rd, between Executive Dr. and the CSV Pharmacy. My best advice is as you're driving north on Kildaire Farm Rd, turn right one driveway past Executive Dr. It's unmarked but you'll see a parking garage back there, just park and get out. You'll find a little hollow with a sign that says "Restaurant", and that's 35.
The decor is pleasant, with 2 fish-filled aquariums and a waterfall with rocks and turtles. If you have small children along they're sure to be amused by the turtles. There are mirror-lined walls, bright, cheerful lighting, red lanterns hanging from the ceiling and Chinese art on the walls. The tables and booths are a bit out of date with some cracking in the vinyl seats, and there are paper tablecloths on the tables, so it doesn't really have a high-class appeal.
We were offered two sets of menus, one Americanized one, and the other was authentic Chinese. We both ordered off the Chinese one; I got the Crispy Duck with special garlic sauce and my husband got the Fried Shredded Lamb. Both dishes were just 1 pepper out of 3. I wanted to be adventurous but I haven't yet gotten to the point where I'll eat things like organs and tendons... Maybe some other day. My husband also ordered the Hot and Sour Soup off the Americanized menu.
The soup came out pretty quickly. My husband said it was the best Hot and Sour Soup he's ever had, and he's had a lot of Hot and Sour soups. I tried a bit, and it was quite good. Really spicy with almost an orange flavor to it.
My husband's fried shredded lamb came out next. I know some people don't like it if the entrees don't all come out together, but we were going to share anyway. The lamb meat was very tender and moist, and had some lovely spices that I can't identify. It was just spicy enough to be considered spicy, but not spicy enough to hurt. The lamb meat was served with an awful lot of cilantro stems. I didn't even know people used the stems in cooking, I had always discarded them when using cilantro. I think all the stems were a bit much. My husband ended up throwing most of the stems away when he ate leftovers the next day.
My crispy duck came out a few minutes later. When I went to spoon a few pieces onto my plate, I found a huge black hair in the dish. I understand sometimes this happens even at the best restaurants, and I don't really freak out at hairs. I do, however, care how the staff reacts. The waiter was very apologetic and got the manager. The manager apologized as well and took 10% off the bill. I think the staff dealt with the situation very well and I don't fault them at all for it. It happens.
As for the food itself, it was very good. The duck had a spicy, strong garlic sauce that was rich and delicious. It was served with some spinach underneath it, and I'm not a huge spinach fan, but the sauce made the spinach edible. The duck meat was as soft and silky as duck meat can be, and the skin was crispy as promised.
The prices were about average for a Chinese restaurant. The soup was a very inexpensive $1.95 and the entrees were both $14.95 each. There are a lot of new dishes yet to try here and the Pork Belly with Preserved Vegetables sounded like something I'll probably be trying next time. The sweet and sour jellyfish and fried intestines will probably be a few years off for me, but I'll make it there eventually. -
Review from Nene K.
8/5/2010 ROTD 10/26/2010
OMG.
Are you looking for authentic Szechuan food and never thought in a million years that you'd find it here in NC? Well you are wrong, very wrong because the food at 35 Restaurant is probably better than some dishes you'd find in Sichaun Province. No joke.
I went with my Chinese friend who's from a town near Shanghai and a few other friends. My friend ordered for all of us since she knew the waitstaff and the dishes they served. We went months ago, and I can't remember all the dishes we ordered but our order definitely included beef tendons, a chicken & pepper dish, another beef dish, fish, and a huge bowl of white rice. Everything was sufficiently spicy (!!) and every bite was a pleasure, a moment to savor even when my tongue became numb from the spice. I kinda want to relive it . . . right now.
The bathroom is a bit tricky to find as the restaurant shares it with the office bldg in which it is located but once you know how to get to it, you'll never forget. There are also plenty of aquariums here with live fish and mellowed out turtles.
Verdict: Spicy and scrumptious food, pleasant waitstaff, and chill aquatic wildlife? Yes please! -
Review from Duke C.
10/4/2010
If you didn't know it was there you would miss it. 35 is tucked into the first floor of an office building in a very unobvious place.
Went there with the UYE group. We ordered way too much food at our table but that meant that we got to try a lot of different stuff. The flavors were authentic sichuan. While the 'heat' level wasn't as great as Gourmet Kingdom in Carrboro, I thought the preparation and taste was better.
My favorites - cumin lamb, salt and pepper friend fish, and the spicy eggplant.
The wait staff was very good, especially since we were a giant group of 20+ people. The food came quickly and hot from the kitchen. Will definitely go back, lots on the menu to try.Listed in: Best Chinese Food in the…
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Review from T H.
Raleigh, NC
10/29/2011
Spicy! I order the Ma Po tofu and the Kung Pao lotus root. I may rank this higher later. I've only had take-out, and can't comment on the dinning experience. Portions are large. Great discovery.
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Review from yanwen j.
Brooklyn, NY
12/24/2010
My family and I have been frequenting this establishment for as long as its been open and even though my brother and I no longer live in Raleigh, it is still, at the very least, a place that we go to once if we are back in town visiting family.
In a place like Raleigh, where Chinese take out food is easy to find but authenticity is like digging for gold, 35 stands out for its sichuan cuisine. It has some of the best that I've ever tasted and that is after frequenting establishments in both DC and New York City. Every traditional sichuan dish can be found here and they are all equally tasty.
As a warning: their head chef seems to change quite frequently. My family and I are familiar with the owners and it just seems that it is hard to find - and keep - a well educated sichuanese chef on staff. You can taste this problem in their food, as the sauce seems to change with every turn. This, sometimes, leads to inconsistency. However, the food remains good because the quality is high. If you are in Cary or visiting Raleigh and love good sichuanese food, then you must visit this gem buried on the first floor of an obscure office building. -
Review from Gregory H.
Creedmoor, NC
9/7/2010
I'll admit I have no clue what "Authentic" Chinese food is supposed to be like. I can also say my bride and myself have struggled to even find a "good" Chinese restaurant since we moved to NC 4+ years ago. Hold the phone, I think we found it! I decided to RSVP to the UYE held here and joined a rather large group of Yelpers to try this place out.
The dining area was lit for ambiance - bright but not overly so. The Chinese lanterns made for a nice touch. First stop - the bar - ordered a Gotham cab for myself and an Avalon cab for my bride. The Gotham cab was so good I literally spent a couple hours online, the next day, trying to find a place where I could buy a bottle (or a case).
Our group was taken to a mostly private area around the back of the restaurant that easily accommodated our very large group. We were seated at two very large tables with a lazy-Susan in the middle. We must have spent a solid 20 minutes just perusing through the menu trying to figure out what we might like. As a group we decided to all order something different and we could each try another dish and get to experience a wide variety of menu choices to see what we might like.
I ordered a spicy shrimp dish for dinner and a cold spicy chicken dish for an appetizer. My bride ordered a spicy beef. Other orders around the table included ribs, Szechuan style green beans, fried fish, dumplings, tofu and just too much to remember. The things that really stuck in my mind were the green beans, the fried fish (battered) the spicy beef, the shrimp and the lamb. Everything was terrific. The server was very helpful in answering questions about the menu.
Aside from the good food was good company, it was good for me to get out of the house and meet up with some fellow Yelpers including some new (to me) faces.
The best part of the night - when the bill came to the table it turned out to be less than $20/person (before the tip). I couldn't believe it (in a good way).Listed in: Local Favorites
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Review from Fred B.
Greensboro, NC
9/17/2010
After some strong recommendations from a couple of knowledgeable Yelpers, we gave this place a try for lunch today. I must admit that finding it was quite the mini-adventure.
When the GPS lady said: your destination is on the left, my first thought was - I don't see authentic Szechuan food coming from RCB. So, I continued on aways, and circled back, and looped around, while Sweet Alice suggested I ask for directions. I, of course, refused - if the GPS lady can't find it, why should I believe a complete stranger could help. We called the restaurant, they informed us the RBC was indeed our destination - Alice felt vindicated, while the GPS lady was strangely quiet.
This is a nice place, roomy, with Chinese lanterns that are a bit much. We were initially given the standard Americanized lunch menu, but ask for the authentic menu, which is extensive.
I was going to order the Hot Pot Beef, and said I wanted it spicy - the waiter said if I wanted spicy, I should try the Lamb Cumin, and I did. Really didn't care for it - entirely too much cumin taste - it smothered the lamb completely - and the heat was moderate only.
We also tried the 3 Pepper Chicken, which was hot, really hot. I liked this dish, but I really feel that Super Woks version is better - it doesn't have actual peppercorns in it, just sliced peppers.
The Dan Dan Noodles were good, with some nice green onions, but little meat, and almost no heat. I liked the flavor, but again, there is better available in this area, for my taste at least.
We'll definitely give this place another try. The service was excellent, although they placed the first four parties in four consecutive booths, when the entire restaurant was open. The owner came by after we ordered to be sure we really wanted very spicy food - nice touch. -
Review from David S.
ASTORIA, NY
1/15/2010 ROTD 1/29/2010
Wow! A real Szechuan (Sichuan???) restaurant within driving distance! Ron W and I hit the spot up for lunch, and I have to say that I'm really impressed. Good Szechuan food is extremely hard to find, even in larger cities. While most Chinese places claim to serve Szechuan cuisine or have a few items from the provence on the menu, it is rare that you'll find one that is truly authentic.
For the uninitiated, Szechuan cuisine is known for being spicy. Yes, it can be extremely fiery stuff, but one thing that make it unique is Szechaun peppercorns. These aren't actually peppers, but are the outer pods of a fruit. They actually cause a tingly numbness on the tongue and lips. Used together with fiery chili peppers, it is the key ingredient to creating Ma La (literally "numb spicy"), the signature flavor of Szechuan cusine. Ma La was present in the dishes Ron and I tried.
Our lunch consisted of dried tofu in red oil, szechuan green beans, twice cooked pork, and fish 35. The tofu was alright. The green beans and fish were fantastic. The fish was fried and then tossed with chilis, peppercorns, garlic and scallions. I got it extra spicy. Delicious! Left a great burn and numbness to the mouth and combined well with the oily sweetness of the fish (grouper in this case).
Ron's twice cooked pork looked fantastic, even to this non-meat eater. They prepare it in the traditional fashion. Slivers of bacon smothered in leeks with a touch of chilis. They also offer intestines and kidneys on the menu prepared Szechuan style. If you really want to try something authentic, give these a try.
Was too stuffed to try the desserts, but they also offer traditional dessert dishes like Eight Treasure Rice and some sweet congees. The desserts are for more than one person, so don't fly solo if you want something sweet.
Service and atmosphere were good. Location is kind of odd. It's in an office building. Price given the quantity and quality of the food is a stellar deal. I'm going to have to hand it to 35 Restaurant...it's the best, most authentic Chinese food I've had in North Carolina. -
Review from Erica W.
Cary, NC
9/17/2009 ROTD 4/20/2010
When moving out to North Carolina, I was almost in tears because I knew i'd be giving up my favorite chinese restaurants in the bay area. We heard about this place thankfully by yelp, and a few days ago we decided to try it out, knowing that it would either be one of the worst experiences ever (like when I went to Zeitgeist in San Francisco) or one of the best (maybe not Sushi Ran best). I became a little more fearful when we found the restaurant tucked away in an office building.
We got in, and it wasn't too busy. The hostess was really nice and gave us "americanized" menus and "authentic" menu. I think the americanized menu was an afterthought to us and we went straight to the authentic menu. I was a little dissapointed they didn't have spicy cucumbers, but they did have some tasty looking things on the menu.
I can't remember what the name of my dish was, it was whatever item is in the chicken section with three chili peppers next to it. My husband got beef in red oil with soybean (something to that effect). When the waiter asked if I wanted chicken with bones or no bones, I asked for the boned chicken. We also got an appetizer of some really thinly sliced pork in chili sauce.
I have to say that I almost did cry when we had our food, for how happy I was! The chicken was awesome and really spicy, just the way I like it. I got tired of having to deal with the bones in the chicken so I'll probably order it with no bone next time. The beef dish was amazing, and the pork was almost like some I had in San Francisco. My husband and I devoured the meal without hardly any chatter between us two.
I'm not chinese, and maybe i'm not an authority on how "authentic" chinese food should be, but the food here is really delicious, and if you're looking to try something a little different, its way worth the money. -
Review from Susan Z.
1/9/2010 2 Check-ins Here
I went once w/ my roommate and my bf and it was great! Authentic Szechuan cuisine! Spicy!
We got several dishes: stir-fried string beans, the spicy fish fillet w/ chinese cabbage, cumin lamb, and some other veggie dish.
Obviously, we ordered way too much food. But it was great. Don't go if you can't handle your spice. And don't be one of the pussies who go to a spicy restaurant and asks for "mild" spice. Pussy.
**Addendum: This place is a Szechuan restaurant & I only vouch for its authenticity/taste in its dinner, Szechuan dishes. I don't know how their lunch, Chinese-American dishes are. I would never order wonton soup from a Szechuan restaurant, wontons are a Cantonese thing. -
Review from Robert D.
Los Angeles, CA
8/19/2010
Except for the over-the-top decor (e.g. 35 red lanterns, blue silk waiter-jackets) this restaurant was pleasingly Chinese. Big tables meant for ordering big communal dishes, waiters and hostess yelling orders in mandarin, no other white people, etc..
One tip, it's a bit hard to see the restaurant from the road, because it's in an otherwise anonymous building with a bank. The trick is to look at the building, you'll definitely see the red lanterns in the window if you go in the evening.
For appetizers I had the tendon. Was expecting slow-cooked tender soupy tendon but actually got ultra-thin sliced and very spicy tendon. Pretty tasty, but it kinda blew my spicy taste buds, cause nothing else actually tasted spicy after that.
Main course was the three-chilies szechuan-style lamb. It smelled very spicy and did indeed give me that pleasing scalp-sweating sensation. More importantly, the meat tasted good through the hot.
At that point some friends arrived. They ordered kung pao (a bit salty, but probably the best dish of what I had, for those who don't like heat), egg-drop soup (fine), and ribs (awesome, though as a Southerner I tend to like them slightly more tender than the Chinese ribs I've had).
I look forward to trying more dishes at the upcoming UYE. I can definitely recommend the tendon and lamb for those looking for spice -- though they definitely could have been hotter.Listed in: Chinese Restaurants of the…
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Review from Liwei Y.
9/21/2011
Pretty authentic chinese food, but there were a lot of dishes that were a bit too spicy for me. Also, there are a lot of dishes that start tasting the same because all I taste is spiciness, but nonetheless, I still think this is one of the best places in the raleigh durham area to get Chinese food.
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Review from Dave L.
Cary, NC
3/6/2010 9 Check-ins Here
Stopped by 35 for dinner last evening, it was my second visit. The first time we came I ordered from the Chinese-American menu which was good, but last night we went for the traditional Chinese menu - wow that was a good move. On both occasions the wait staff was hospitable and attentive.
Between two of us we shared a beef hot pot and an egg plant dish. Our waitress let us know that there was going to be some spiciness, so I got a beer in case of emergency. While waiting for our main courses we were served a small bowl of cabbage, not like kimchi, this was dressed with a hot, red oil - yum. The main courses were difficult for me to describe in terms of flavor because many of the spices used were new to me (I did recognize the garlic), but they were absolutely delicious. The heat was definitely there, the beef hot pot was piled with small red peppers and I was thankful for the beer.
I love me some American-Chinese food and you can get that here, but if you want some adventure in you palate you need to go for the authentic menu and prepare for a taste treat. -
Review from Daisy L.
San Jose, CA
9/3/2011
Authentic and best Chinese spicy food in this area!
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Review from Photon O.
Durham, NC
5/27/2010
This is awesome chinese food. The tofu stuffed with ground seafood was the best. It tasted just like when I was in Singapore and had access to good Chinese food. Our waiter was nice, and gave us a good recommendation when we initially tried to order things that were too similar to each other-- we ended up trying the lotus root. That was pretty exciting.
I'm currently eating my braised tofu "home style" leftovers and remembering how delicious the meal was.
Next time, I will order a fish. -
Review from June L.
Sunnyvale, CA
5/9/2008
Am I the first to review? Haha~~
I was living in Raleigh, NC in 2006. My husband had been living there for more than 6 years. It has not as many Chinese restaurants or grocery stores as in California, but there are several good ones. 35 Restaurant, Red Palace, Ten Ten and Grand Asia Market. 35 Restaurant is slightly better than Red Palace.
Recommendation:
Fish With Chili Bean Sauce
Stir-Fried Towel Gourd
Water Spinach w/Garlic (My ex-boss called it "Hollow Heart Vegetable". This is his favorite!)
Stir-Fried Pork Intestine
Pepper Salt Spareribs
Spicy Beef Tendon
Shredded Pork with Bamboo Shoots
We had our post-defense celebration dinner and farewell lunch there. :) -
Review from Ben H.
Raleigh, NC
1/18/2010 1 Check-in Here
After reading review after review saying this is the best Chinese restaurant in the Triangle, I persuaded my wife to go to 35 Restaurant for lunch today. We arrived just around noon and were told the the buffet was not up and we would be ordering off the lunch special menu. Not a problem, the lunch menu was covered in my favorite Chinese American foods including Sesame Chicken and General Tao's Chicken. I'm not one to stray far from Chinese comfort foods so I ordered the second and my wife ordered beef lomein. Lunch specials come with soup and choice of rice so we both get won ton soup and fried rice.
First comes the won ton soup which was nothing more than chicken broth and pork stuffed won tons in it. The soup was extremely hot and the flavor was alright. About 5 minutes later the waitress brought out my wife's food. My wife being the prime example of Emily Post let her food sit as we waited another 5 minutes for my food to arrive.
At first sight I knew I wasn't going to really care for the food and after I cut up the first piece of chicken my thoughts were reassured as the piece of broken up dark meat proved that this meal was no more than a sit down version of a strip mall Chinese restaurant minus the food photoed menu. I guess I am always left wondering if McDonald's can serve me all white meat chicken McNuggets, why can't a Chinese restaurant that I'm paying twice as much to eat at? I guess the only redeeming factor for this place would be the price. Lunch specials are $6.50 and you get more than enough food. It is just too bad that food isn't good enough to want to bring home with you. -
Review from Eric M.
Raleigh, NC
8/24/2008
As far as Chinese buffets go, this one is pretty damn good. Much cleaner in appearance than Ten-Ten and with more atmosphere, they've got a cool koi pond that runs around the restaurant.
I've always had a great time at this restaurant; it's a good place to grab some cheap good Chinese food. If you're looking for gourmet or authentic Chinese, this isn't the place for you, but if you're into filling up on decent food for cheap, you'll love 35. -
Review from J C.
San Diego, CA
6/13/2009
Where to start...FRESH FISH!!! Yeah, pick it out of a fish tank and enjoy it deliciously prepared a couple of minutes later. Minutes? Yes. There's no waiting here. Food portions are huge. Order family-style. Everything for the most part comes with steamed rice. You want veggies? I highly recommend the dry-fried string beans or the Chinese Broccoli.
Chinatown, Mott Street, Hop Kee this ain't. But, their freshness of products, flavors, portions, level of service, and how they pay attention to me, is everything. It's the reason I go out to eat. I want to be made to feel like I'm the most important person in the restaurant.
I'm there 2x-3x/week...it's that good and the menu is varied. Did I mention they have two menus? American and Chinese. Both are written in English, but the Chinese menu has more home-style dishes. My recommendation is to open the blue menu, close your eye, and pick a different dish per person.
Ping me if you're disappointed. -
Review from Ellen C.
9/9/2010 1 photo
Came here with a huge group of Yelpers - 2 tables of 9 people each- for a UYE. Our eyes were bigger than our stomachs, and we ordered 12 dishes at my table alone. Although I didn't try many of the meat dishes, the highlights for me were the fried fish, the eggplant and green beans. I also thought the spicy fish with tofu was good, although truthfully I think that dish is slightly better at Gourmet Kingdom. The shrimp wasn't terribly fresh, however, and the baby bok choi was slightly overcooked. However, overall, everything was pretty darn tasty, and the servings were so big that even after stuffing ourselves silly (for $20/pp), we each had leftovers to take home. Yum yum yum.
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Review from Serena S.
Just when I gave up hope on finding any authentic Chinese food around RTP, I found this place. By found I mean drove around aimlessly until I realized it was secretly tucked behind an office building with a sign that just says "restaurant" on it. Despite the random driving around, it was totally worth it. Having been deprived of authentic Chinese food for some time, I really can't begin to explain how excited I was to find this place.
I was pleasantly surprised to find a place like this around RTP, let alone one that serves szechuan food. They have a pretty authentic menu - I'm talking intestines, whole fishes, etc. That's how I knew this place was legit. I ordered the spicy beef noodles, ground seafood stuffed tofu, sweet and sour jellyfish and fish 35. I'm a little picky about my noodles and the noodles in the spicy beef noodles were more along the lines of spaghetti, but beggars can't be choosers! Other than that minor technicality, I was really impressed with our food. ALL of it. The portions are huge! One dish is good enough for 3-4 people to share, so keep that in mind when ordering. I'd say some of the prices are pretty steep, but worth it for the amount you get. Szechuan style Chinese food, is basically just spicy Chinese food. By spicy, I mean, minimum 5 glasses of ice water and leaving the restaurant with an odd stinging sensation on your lips kind of spicy. Unlike most Szechuan restaurants, this place was more on the mild side. Or maybe it's just me.
Service was great! We were warmly greeted right when we came in the door and our server was very nice and attentive. Decor is a little on the cheesy side, including the "authentic" Asian garb the servers were sporting. This restaurant had the most Asian people I'd ever seen in one place since moving here from San Francisco, so I think that's a great testament to the tastiness and authenticity of their food.Listed in: Around The World
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Review from Faith X.
San Antonio, TX
9/13/2011
This place is amazing! The food is absolutely delicious and authentic! I highly recommend the special spicy fish and everything else on the menu. Make sure you ask for the Chinese menu if you're there with a group of non-Asian people...I think they may have different Americanized menus.
