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Chow's Chinese Restaurant
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Alcohol:
- None
8 reviews for Chow's Chinese Restaurant
A consistently good experience.
Chows is your typical, downtown Chinese joint. You can eat in or take out and in both cases, service is great. I order from Chows once a week just to get out of cooking for myself and, of course, to satisfy my craving for chicken in garlic sauce.
Though the food is standard fare, what really stands out is the service and hospitality. Everyone working here is courteous and always greets me when I walk in. They even stop to say hi when they see me wandering down Haddon Ave! An even bigger surprise was when they gave my girl and I a Christmas present since we come in so often!
All in all, Chows is a dependable good meal, served with a smile and a fortune cookie.
I went here the first night I moved into my new place, since I really didn't feel like cooking. I ordered the Kung Pao chicken, egg rolls, and hot and sour soup. They filled the order fairly fast for a walk in and the price was allright, although it seemed a little more than I'm used to paying for Chinese takeout.
The hot and sour soup was pretty decent with plenty of vegetables and tofu in it. The egg rolls were a disappointment. Way way too much frying and grease. I think they pulled some out that had been sitting around for a while. The vegetables in the Kung Pao chicken were pretty crispy. The chicken was tender. However the sauce was not spicy or very flavorful.
I talked to my roommate and he acted surprised that I didn't have a really good meal. I'll try the dish he recommended next time, and I"ll go earlier to avoid the end of the night leftovers.
Editor's note: I am basing this review only on the Chinese food. The Japanese unfortunately leaves much to be desired (lord knows I've certainly given it enough chances).
As far as fast food Chinese goes, Chow's is on top of their game. I get lunch here often (shrimp and broccoli with white rice is around $6 and if you are REALLY poor, a whole quart of wonton soup is $2.50). My boyfriend says none of the Chinese in Philly comes close, so we are constantly hitting them up for take-out when he's on my side of the bridge.
The best thing about Chow's is their Amazing Chicken. It's basically General Tso's, but with all white meat. Freaking awesome.
If you're on Haddon Avenue, this is definitely the place to get Chinese food. (Avoid any of the Chinese on the menu at Woksabi across the street: that part of the menu manages to be both bland and overpriced.) It also has a decent price-to-quality ratio on the sushi.
The Hot & Sour and Wonton soups here aren't doing you any favors but the Egg Drop delivers. The Boneless Spare Ribs get points for flavor and most pieces won't have that unsightly hunk of pure fat that some places serve up. The Amazing Chicken is, well, amazing. As a former vegetarian, I was impressed with their Vegetarian General Tso's Chicken. However, the less said about the Orange Chicken the better.
The prices are what you would expect from take-out Chinese. Their lunch specials list is pretty expansive as well. (A lot of places seem to only offer ten or so of their dishes as part of the lunch specials.) I only have a couple of issues with this place. One, no delivery. Two, they don't seem to honor special requests; no matter how much you emphasize that you want your food 'extra spicy' you will get the exact dish as if you had said nothing at all. Is it really that difficult to add some chilies when you cook the food?
Don't let the name fool you - it's now "Chow's Chinese and Japanese Restaurant"! And it's not the best you'll ever have, and they don't deliver (cry, sniff, pout) but it really isn't bad for the price!
Some tips:
-More than one of you ordering and you're planning on getting a bunch of rolls? Just order "Sushi Party A". It's about $40, but you'll get a ton of stuff and it's worth the money.
-EVERYTHING takes 15 minutes according to them. One eggroll? 15 minutes. Sushi Party A? 15 minutes. Doesn't matter. I've learned to figure out your time by the price of your order: one minute for each dollar you spend. It's usually dead on!
I've eaten here several times, both inside the restaurant and takeout. The food tastes fine, the sushi is good. This isn't a remarkable restaurant but I've never really eaten anything that discourages me from going back. Its location is convenient and the staff is really courteous. The overall experience is satisfying, which is why I remain a patron.
Meh.
We keep ordering from here and then being completely underwhelmed with the chinese food. It's bland and mushy and just kind of sits there on the plate/in the box looking apologetic. The vegetable sushi, however, is good and we've never had a problem with it.
Still... meh.
OK, this is my local hometown Chinese Restaurant. They do do sushi and my daughter is a fan, but in my opinion skip it and go wait @ Sagami's down the street. It is worth the wait and the $$$. We have grown up going here and probably don't know any better. We love their Chinese Pancakes and Broccoli in garlic sauce although sometimes it doesn't taste the same. We generally do take out, but this can be a quick and easy choice for fast seating and a quick bite. We have tried two other local places; Lo's and another place in Oaklyn and we have never gone back to either one. Chow's opened in the 90's and we have been loyal since that time.
