Fortuna Cafe 2.0

Delicious!!

Discovered this place on Chinatown food walk day recently: well without knowing it was a China town food walk.

They were super busy! Food walk had specials for $6. Pretty sweet deal. And I got the same dishes but bigger. Mapo tofu was delicious and their spicy wontons were good.

Came back a few times to try other dishes but their hours were off. Closed on most days. Or at least days that I came. There was even a Wednesday. Call before you come.

But when you do get ahold of them, it's great. Mapo tofu is perfect! Numbing, spicy and so flavorful! You can get it with or without ground pork.
Mongolian beef: another delicious dish:
Pork wonton in chili sauce: numbing spice. A little too porky.
Kung pao chicken: good!
Fish in chilli oil: the wurst dish, avoid unless you like breaded fish and some weird sweet /sour sauce. But the rest was delicious. Mapo tofu being my fave!

After my friend kept raving to me about the beef chow fun here, I decided to order pick up from here. I'm all about cheap delicious eats and this definitely hit the spot!
Beef chow fun- 4.5/5 this was pretty good but I like it better at another place in ID which has more of a wok hey flavor. However I'd still order from here because they give you a decent amount of food and it's still pretty delicious!!
Singapore rice noodles- 5/5 this was the star of the show. I looooved how much curry flavor it had in each bite. This was actually sooooo good!! Just an FYI, it contains pork! I used to always order this dish at another place in ID (the one where I usually get my beef chow fun) but I think this is actually way better because of how deep the flavors are!

It looked pretty run down and empty when I was there so please go support! :)

MAN this place is what quarantine days are made for!

I've been here a few times since the pandemic, and I just can't believe why I haven't patronized Fortuna Cafe 2.0 before. The food here is amazing, prices are decent, and portions are generous.

Some faves:
1) Beef Chow Fun - fairly standard here but it's good and full of beef-iness. And compared to neighboring spots, you can't beat a price of $12.50 WITH tax and tip.
2) Cumin Lamb Lunch Special - OMG if you like juicy piping hot lamb, this is where to get it. They offer these $10 lunch specials during, well, lunch hours, and are such a steal.
3) Garlic Cucumber - the amount of garlic in this appetizer is INSANE, and that's saying something coming from me because I love my garlic. The tanginess of the sauce mixed with the strong garlic aroma makes this dish a perfect complement to your umami and salty main counterpart. I think I drank all of the sauce...

Solid 3.5 to 4 star place!
I have only come here in the time of COVID lockdown so its take out only for now. Nice mix of szechuan and Cantonese favorites.
Stuff tried:

Ma po tofu: love the pungent szechuan peppercorn spice flavor! Just enough kick to know its the real deal but isnt mouth numbingly spicy hot. Great over rice!

Fried rice: generous portion. I get the veg version and spoon mapo tofu all over it.

Sauteed spicy cabbage: nice veg side dish with generous portions. Very mild spicy kick

Green onion pancake: an okay, but very thin version of this here.

I also noticed this is one of the only chinese restaurants in the ID that actually serves coffee (caffe vita roast) so you can get your caffeine on as well.

I am one of those people who's heart aches when I hear about lack of business due to coronavirus. So I have been making a point to go by International District and eating all the smaller restaurants. Saturday, I chose to eat at Fortuna Cafe with a group of friends.

We walked in at 6:30 on a Saturday night to zero customers. We were the only table. Eventually a single diner did come in and sit next to the window, and when leaving, it looked like people were ordering take out.

We were a group of 6 and ordered:
- green scallion pancakes x2
- Dan Dan Noodles
- Beef Chow Fun with vermicelli noodles (they didn't have Chow Fun)
- Ants on a Tree (our lest fave)
- Mongolian Beef
- Orange Chicken
- General Tsao Chicken
- Honey Walnut Prawns
- Rice

Our faves: Green Scallion Pancakes, Dan Dan noodles, Beef Chow Fun, Mongolian Beef, and the Honey Walnut Prawns. Also Dan Dan was $4.95 for a bowl! How can you beat the price?! The server was super nice! I was speaking Mandarin to him, but I noticed the lag in him picking up my Chinese and switched to English. I assume he prob spoke Cantonese. The Orange and General Tsao Chicken were drenched in sauce. Tasty, but also the dishes were very similar to each other. Ants on a Tree, which was a noodle dish, was not something I would personally order, but the group wanted to try something different. It was spicy and the noodles were hard to pick up and separate. Overall though, we had a good time dining here! At the end of the meal, everyone got a free scoop of ice cream too! Group faves were the huckleberry cheesecake and cookies n cream flavors!

Fortuna is such a great hole in the wall corner spot that always hits the spot.

Their lunch specials are unbeatable, at less than $10 for a whole meal, tea, and rice. Beyond that, each person on staff is incredibly kind and welcoming each time I come in. The food is consistently great and never has disappointed us.

Tip: You can easily get here from Canton Alley off of S Weller St which usually has more parking options.

Oh I feel horrible because I know this is a crowd favorite. The service was so cozy and it really felt like a Mom & Pop place. But the dishes I got were really below average. The beef and bitter melon was well seasoned but the beef was rubbery and enigmatic. They added onions (not green onions) to the dish which is an absolute no-no. And I honestly sat there and picked out all the bitter melon.

Perhaps I am being picky and perhaps I'm not adjusting enough for fair pricing. But I left rather disappointed in the food quality. The sauteed Chinese broccoli was above average. A tad too much corn starch and not enough garlic.

I would come try this place again and likely focus my orders on Cantonese cuisine, such as BBQ pork or duck.

Pros: cozy hole-in-the-wall, intimate, affordable
Cons: beef quality was poor, dishes were unappetizing
Recs: perhaps stick with the roast pork and duck

Haven't been disappointed yet coming here. Favorite dishes: Chongqing chicken, eggplant in garlic sauce, braised beef tofu fish, and HK Crispy Chow Mien for the kids.

Any traveling food connoisseur knows that some of the BEST food you will find is a hole in the wall, unexpected gem and that is exactly what this place is.

When we walked in it looked like a simple restaurant, which is what we were looking for. The menu is simple, straightforward and self explanatory but boy is the food anything but. The seasoning, presentation and flavor was immaculate. I've eaten Chinese food, this is Cantonese/Szechuan hybrid by the way, from across the pond to the East and West Coasts and NEVER have I tasted food as great as this.

Not only was the food amazing but the place has history. As we were perusing the photos on the wall learning of David the owner who had worked with these amazing Kung Fu Artists in walks none other than David to greet us and thank us for visiting his establishment. He went on to not only give us his history but history of Seattle and the best ways to enjoy the city. We truly could not have hoped for a better experience overall. Can't wait to go back and hopefully get a leak into his studio as well!

I've probably visited a couple time during the pandemic. It's great to see someone you knew in high school do so well. Decided to try the Dan Dan noodles today and got an order of the scallion pancake. Came to about a little over $11 after tax. The noodles has just the right amount of kick of my taste and spice level. I liked the scallions, and peanuts sprinkled on top along with I believe was napa. Service was friendly and so grateful during this trying time. What I really appreciated and this is so small some people may have noticed or even cared was they put a small piece of cardboard in the bottom of the plastic bag. For someone walking back to their office lr home or even someone driving, this small effort and attention to detail made a world of difference you don't have to wonder if the container is going to tip as your carrying it. I haven't tried everything on the menu but this blew me away enough to give 5 stars