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I live on Capitol Hill, yet drive all the way up to Maple Leaf to pick up my take out from Judy Fu Snappy Dragon. It is that good. Yes, there are Chinese restaurants with takeout closer to my house, but Judy Fu is the one I crave. I know that the trek is not very eco-friendly, and, Al Gore, I swear I'm sorry, but you'd make the drive too.
I have seen many terrible reviews of this place, and I am flabbergasted by them. Now, I'm no authority on the authenticity of Chinese food, but quite frankly, if food is good, it doesn't matter.
I have loved this restaurant since I was a small child - I have eaten here at least 40+ times in the last ten years, the most recent being two days ago after a four year deprivation. I was not disappointed; it was every bit as good as I remember. Better, even, now that I am older and have a more sophisticate palate with less sensitivity to things that are spicy. Haters to the left.
We we order:
1) Green Onion Pancakes. These are my favorite appetizer of any type of food. They come in about mozzarella sticks, even.
2) Kung Pao chicken. It can be pretty hot, but it's good and will surely clear your sinuses, at least.
3) Rice
4) The Snappy Dragon Chow Main with hand-cut noodles. Best chow mein I've ever had.
5) Depends on the time. Sometimes, the eggplant, which is very good. Also, the beef with snowpeas and water chestnuts is delicious as well.
This restaurant will always have a place in my heart and my stomach.
This place gets love/hate reviews. Apparently, it's not that authentic, as all of the one-star reviewers note. All of the five-star reviewers love the food anyway. You choose.
I loved it. I wasn't looking for the most-authentic food ever, just a nice variety of spicy, well-seasoned, quality dishes with great flavor. We had a group of 6 that enjoyed every dish that was served. I'm no expert on authenticity of Chinese food, just appreciative of a great meal.
I've eaten here a couple of times, but only my first time was my choice. All the other times, someone else chose. I heard so many raves about this place that I had to go check it out, I love good Chinese food and the hand-rolled noodles seemed intriguing.
But I was pretty disappointed after that first visit. The wait was incredibly long and the waiting area is tiny so sometimes you're shunted out the door to wait outside (terrible if it's raining or cold). Judy Fu serves Americanized Chinese food. It's not bad, I wouldn't turn it down if someone offered it to me and I definitely ate my leftovers from all those visits. But I wouldn't make this my go-to Chinese restaurant and I never crave any of the dishes served here. The hand-rolled noodles are decent, but I prefer hand-shaved and hand-rolled noodles at other joints. Chiang's Gourmet which is nearby on Lake City Way is much better.
It's not bad but it is a little overpriced. It's in Maple Leaf people. The raves must come from people who haven't had that much exposure to authentic Chinese. The dining rooms are very loud and the food never manages to stay hot for very long once it hits your table, odd and unpleasant. Sorry Judy, I wanted to love you.
This is my first review. I like Yelp, but haven't posted before. But after my awful experience at Snappy Dragon, I felt I had a moral obligation to warn others.
As someone who's eaten at a dozen restaurants in SF's Chinatown and spent the last 22 years (before moving to Seattle) living in communities that were 50%+ East Asian, I think I know what Chinese food should taste like. I would not normally eat at a Panda Express, but it would certainly be better than Snappy Dragon. There were no Chinese people visible in the restaurant, not even the staff. Perhaps a good warning sign.
My girlfriend and I ordered some "American" Chinese food and some of the more traditional items you wouldn't necessarily expect to see everywhere you go. The worst item, Sweet and Sour Pork, that epitome of fake Chinese, *can* be made well. It should be crispy, sweet and sour (of course), and focus on the meat over vegetable fillers. Instead we got the opposite, along with Day-Glo red sauce. The meat was as small as a sugar cube, coated in mushy batter a half-inch thick. It was tasteless and generally inedible.
Everything else was better by comparison but not something you would put on a list of "Food I Want to Eat Again." They forgot to give us the pancakes for the Mu Shu. A few other items I can't recall were also not that impressive.
This is the first Chinese food I've tried since moving to Seattle, and I only went here instead of the ID because I happen to live a few blocks away. But I won't be going back--not ever.
Crappy Dragon!!!
Okay... we have eatin here before at lunch and it was pretty good, but one night we were working late and my boss ordered delivery from them and i was shocked! We ordered two orders of kung pao chicken (a spicy dish that ALWAYS COME WITH RICE!) AND THEY SENT NO RICE. When we called to ask about it they said we had to order it separately. Then why didnt they ask us on the phone if we wanted rice? Up sell people!!!!
This was confusing since we paid $27 for 2 egg rolls and some kung pao we couldn't eat because it was too spicy without rice.
We asked if they could bring us some rice and they said the minimum order for delivery was $15.00... they were 3 blocks away!!!
Not only that but the traditional kung pao chicken is cubed with celery peanuts etc. they had obviously made it in a hurry because there were Huge slabs of chicken and little else.
We had to stop working to make our own rice .
Total rip off and rude when they made a mistake!
How in the world were they rated best for King5 Chinese cuisine?
When I went to Judy Fu, my spouse and I had high high high hopes. We ordered nearly everything off the menu. We were unhappy with everything we ordered. It tasted too Americanized- I'd say even more Americanized than PF Changs. The only thing we were positive about was the hot tea- the same hot tea in every other Chinese restaurant.
Judy Fu's friends were in the table next to us. It looked like they weren't entirely crazy about the food as well. Hey, they're lucky, I HAD TO PAY to eat that.
Having been born and raised in Asia, I think I'm making a good judgement call by saying this place sucks and there is no way I'm coming back again.
I'm sorry, I have tried this place a handful of times over a 10 year period and just been disappointed every time. I have always wanted to like the place for whatever reason-maybe I just like the name-but it has never succeeded in winning me over. I have a couple of friends that are fans of some of the dishes, and maybe I have just made some poor menu choices.
Bland shouldn't be the first thought jumping to mind when considering the whole experience from ordering to eating, but it does. Expect to wait, and leave with no stand out flavor except maybe...salty? Popular with mostly white people I suspect. If your looking for Chinese and your willing to drive to Maple Leaf, do yourself a favor and head down to the International District and you will have a better experience. If you have a taste for mediocre, and don't mind being underwhelmed then by all means, order up.
As far as I'm concerned, this is as good as Chinese food gets. I used to get delivery all the time when I lived in Northgate, and now that I'm in Capitol Hill, I still make the trek up there for the deliciousness.
Get the Jao Zi, the wontons in peanut sauce, the hunan beef, the garlic chicken... it's all good. The only time I've been done wrong was with the vegetable potstickers. They were just too doughy and didn't have enough spice. But everything else has been consistently yummy.
Last time we were there, Judy Fu herself gave us free Jao Zi. She said 'a sample, a couple' and then came out holding a place with at least half a dozen hot, steaming, fresh dumplings. Now that's loyalty.
This place was recommended to me as the best Chinese Food in Seattle - I think not.
I ordered Chow mein with homemade noodles and the dish was cold with almost no flavor at all. I might as well have been eating plain noodles.
I also ordered General Tso's Chicken and the chicken was almost charred with purplish "sauce." Whatever the chicken was coated with became baked on. It was terrible.
I will not be going back.
I'd pretty much given up hope on finding a decent chinese place on the north end of seattle. Luckily for me, my friend recommended Judy Fu's as a phenomenal place to go eat.
At the time, I should have remembered that my friend's second favorite place to get chinese is the buffet in everett and that he lived in virginia most of his life. So really, it's my own fault.
I ordered wontons, general tso's chicken, sesame beef and some fried rice. The beef was gristly, tough and burnt, however, the chicken was lean, juicy chunks. The sauces were pretty horrible. While I may be pasty white, I can recognize disgusting chinese food. Bingo, found it.
JUDY FU'S SNAPPY DRAGON! I like saying that fast and with such emphasis I spit on people. Her name and the title of the restaurant fit together splendidly. While the title brings about my inner kung fu master the food is all serious and good.
Whenever I head to Judy's I order myself some tofu. I blame her for my fanatical love of all things (mostly) tofu. This tofu dish is fried with an incredible sauce and red chili peppers. It is spicy and I learned that lesson the hard way. The bathroom was my dear friend the next day.
There are numerous choices on the menu ranging from noodles to meat dishes. I do like how you have the option of white rice or brown rice when you order. Judy's claim to fame are the homemade noodles which I can vouch are rather scrumptious, thicker, and more sponge like than typical noodles. My description sounds frightening but take my word that they are good.
I am a fan of Judy Fu's. While I can't say this is the best Chinese good I've ever had it gets quite the honorable mention.
Good : dumplings (meat), glass noodles with chicken
Not good: hand shaven noodles
I love dumplings so thankfully they were tasty. My brother ordered the glass noodles and that was good too. Kind of weird though - the sauce was very soupy so it was very wet. Had to try the hand shaven noodles because I also love noodles. They unfortunately had no flavor. We ordered their house special chow mein but instead got just chicken. Sent it back and got it right the second time. But chef forgot to add the salt? Anyhow - tons of staff sitting around (I thought they were in line for the bathroom but turns out they work there.)
Yuk. Fu.
I had heard so many wonderful things about Snappy Dragon, that I couldn't resist stopping by for lunch. Hmmm. Was it the unwashed condiment jars and silverware?? or the slacker wait staff during a relatively quiet lunch hour? Maybe it was the fact that my fortune cookie read *THAT WASN'T CHICKEN*...whatevs...I won't be back. Sorry, Judy.
I drive more than 40 miles as often as possible for this, my perfect Judy Fu's meal:
1) Green Onion Pancakes: Fried and served as an appetizer, these are an excellent way to start your meal.
2) Sesame Chicken: Unlike typical Chinese restaurants that serve chicken elbows and beaks and gobs of breading, you'll only find real quality chicken here. I have also had great luck with General Tso's Chicken and Mongolian Beef.
3) Homemade Noodles: Well, the truth is that you can order anything on the menu. But you MUST order the plain homemade noodles.
I can get great Chinese far closer to home. But, there is only one place to get Judy Fu's Snappy Dragon.
Spicy Green beans are awesome, thank you D for introducing me to these. I also love potstickers too.
Hmm, I wasn't feeling it.
I got the sweet and sour chicken and it was super bland. I love chinese food, so it was a very sad day for me. I really wanted to like it! Then again, my boyfriend got the same thing and thought it was perfect.
Our waiter was sweet but awkward.
The atmosphere was... unexpected. It looks like Denny's. I felt kind of weird.
The manager man at the door was nice, though! He did a good job making me feel welcome.
I think this was just a matter of personal taste.
Judy Fu's is my absolute favorite Chinese place in Seattle, the place I return to time and time again. I will qualify this by admitting I don't often make the trip over to the supposedly "superior" Chinese restaurants of the international district but i gobbled up a TON of great Chinese food in San Francisco...so I know of which I speak.
Unlike mom & pop grease factories with industrial strength doses of MSG and cornstarch, Judy's food always seems fresh and unique. Yes those hand-made noodles are fairly substantial, dense even, but I prefer them to the standard-issue chow mien you find everywhere else, even though Judy's serves those too for less adventurous palettes. I'll admit that using this hearty dough for pot-stickers may be a bit much, but again I'm a fan so this works for me even though this renders them quite filling.
The Mongolian Tofu is my favorite dish, with a not-too-hot spiciness and a dark, flavorful sauce over those crunchy fried noodles that they thoughtfully keep in a separate bag for take-out. I am a JUNKY for the Crispy Eggplant in Tangy Hot Glaze, which is covered in a decadent red "crust" that is as undoubtedly loaded with calories as it is with flavor. Judy's is also one of the few Chinese places I've found in Seattle that offers the alternative of brown rice.
One warning: this place gets PACKED on weekends, and truthfully the complaints about iffy service are probably fair, the waitstaff seems slightly overwhelmed at times although they're always polite and friendly. As a result I mostly go for take-out, which usually comes in 15 minutes for even large orders. Prices are slightly above some of the smaller family style joints...but with food this good it's worth it.
Judy, you get two snaps up in a circle from yours truly!
I personally could care less about the authenticity of the food or that fact that some feel that it's geared to a westernized palate. If you haters think this food is Americanized, try going to a Chinese restaurant in the midwest, where everything on the menu is deep-fried and/or covered with sweet-and-sour sauce.
Anyway, I had my birthday dinner here tonight and I luv-luv-luved it. Another snap for our cheerful, enthusiastic waitperson.
It was a cold, snowy night so we started with a huge bowl of the Beef Noodles. Out came a huge steaming bowl of rich spicy broth with big chunks of meltingly tender beef and delicious homemade noodles and crunchy vegetables. We knew we were in for a great meal.
We also ordered the Dry Sauteed String Beans with Almonds. Out came what had to be 2lbs of beans on a plate! They were definitely not dry, but the beans were crisp-tender, and the spicy thick sauce was delicious and full of crunchy blanched almonds. These alone with a bowl of rice would have been enough for dinner. But no, we had to have some of the Jiao-zi boiled dumplings. OMG they were excellent. The wrappers were dense, chewy and delicious, and the filling was dense and punctuated with the delicious zing of ginger and scallions. Not a gloppy torn wrapper in the bunch. Bravo!
We ate way too much. I couldn't stop myself. I loved it. I loved looking at the food being brought out to the other tables and plotting what I'd have next time. And the time after.
Thanks for a great birthday dinner, Judy! I'm your new #1 fan.
I have been craving Judy Fu's pork dumplings. Surprisingly large and filling, they are flavorful little bits of bliss.
We went on Friday for dinner because I had demanded dumplings, and we very much enjoyed our dinner. We started with the aforementioned dumplings and some drinks (beer for him, a Pikachu punch for me. My drink was so strong I could smell the rum when they set it down- wonderful!)
For dinner we had the sesame beef (delicious) and the salt and pepper chicken. The salt and pepper chicken was definitely overly salty, but once paired with a bit of rice, it became harder to notice (or maybe that was the rum?).
Even eating until we were full, we had enough food leftover to have lunch for both of us (with another small serving for an additional lunch for one).
I like Judy Fu's because of the flavor, and all the wonderful choices. Too bad it's kind of far from my house...
I went here with a big group of ~11 people. We took forever to eat, ordered a ton of drinks and appetizers, etc. and the staff was very friendly and accomodating.
They had a surprisingly large drink menu with a bunch of cocktails. I got a lychee martini which was good. Unfortunately, I wasn't wowed by any of the many dishes I tried. Nothing was bad, it just didn't stand out as exceptionally good either.
I don't eat meat, so our table got mostly vegetarian dishes which were the only ones I sampled. I tried baby bok choy, mongolian tofu, asparagus and black beans, green onion pancake, pot stickers with spinach, kung pao tofu, and hot and sour soup.
The spinach pot stickers were odd... one friend commented that it tasted like greek food almost 'cause it was just a giant bite of spinach with the casing. I liked my 5-star mongolian tofu most out of all the dishes. We probably failed by not ordering more stuff with their homemade noodles. I'm not sure whether they made the rice noodles with the mongolian tofu dish or not.
At the end my bill was $26 with tax and tip for an entree and appetizers, $7 of which was the mixed drink.
I've started to become a bit disappointed with Snappy Dragon lately. I definitely still love it, but the food has really gone down hill. Everything is SO salty! I miss how delicious it used to be.
I've been going here for years and years with my family and just within the last year or two the quality of the food has really changed.
I order the same items each time:
If I'm with a party I'll get the Jao Zi (not totally sure on the spelling) they're these yummy little homemade pot stickers you can watch being made if you get seated in a certain room and they come with this delicious dipping sauce. These are still good and worth ordering in my opinion.
If I'm just with my boyfriend I'll usually get the Won ton Soup instead. It's good, pretty average for Wonton Soup.
I used to get the Sesame beef, although I'm not sure if I'll be ordering it anymore. I'm not one for fried food covered in a sauce, but this used to be truly delicious. Now, though, the pieces of beef aren't delicious and crispy, but squishy and chewy. =[ I'm very sad, I used to LOVE this dish. Maybe I'll try ordering it again in hopes that it's gotten crispy again.
I also always get the chicken chowmein with homemade noodles. Their homemade noodles are incredible and the most delicious thing I've ever tasted. They have gotten quite salty, but I still love them. The chicken is kind of gross in it, maybe I should start getting a different meat.
I love love love their garlic green beans. They're incredible. I get them with extra garlic. Kind of spicy but oh so good.
I also order rice, it's the same rice you would get from anywhere, of course.
I've tried quite a few other dishes but these ones are my regulars. I wish they'd just lay off the salt and make their sesame beef crispy again and then this would be my favorite once again.
I want to like Judy Fu's. I do.
I have friends that live by the foo and each time we go over to their place and get the take out from the Fu, it seems ok.. but when we get it delivered, it barely makes the ok bar we set.
Last night was no different.
An order of fresh noodles with lots of meat, general Tso's chicken and mu-shu Chicken-- 5 stars..
None of it was impressive. Noodles lacked flavor, totally lacked flavor. Starchy. Boo.
Mu-shu was tasty, but the pancakes were too thick and broke each time we stuffed them with the goods.
and then there was the General.
5 stars means Hot people-- General Tso's is supposed to be a spicy ass dish--one that lights the lanterns of China and when I ordered 5 stars, I want something HOT. What is it with Chinese food shops that don't know how to Spice?
Also the General is supposed to be CRISP-- this was huge pieces of Chicken, from God know's what part of the chicky with batter on them, but it was like rice flour or something because the meat was crispier than the batter!!
It doesn't help that I lived in China for a year and really crave those noodles that are handmade by the muslim folk-- these are a sad, sad representation of a food culture that strives to be hot and spicy.
I won't order from there again.
This isn't authentic Chinese food. It's catered to white people and the food tastes like what white people think Chinese food should taste like. I've been there twice: the first time for meat dumplings and homemade fried noodles and the second time for veggie dumplings. The homemade noodles were abnormally thick; it was like chewing on a block of dough! The meat dumplings are ALL meat. They tasted OK but I don't like all meat dumplings so I decided to order veggie dumplings on my second (and final) try of this place. The veggie ones are near tasteless. I won't be back.
By the way, the veggie dumpling fillings isnt' just onion as Powie Q. says. It's like Chinese cabbage, scrambled eggs.
This place is delicious, I have been eating there since it opened and if you want fresh ingredients and home made noodles dumplings and sauces then eat it up!!!!! The owner is super friendly and I love the atmosphere despite the fact that we normally get take out. This food is great whether you eat in on your couch or at the spot. Hands down best Chinese I've had in Seattle!!!
Methinks not indeed. I've tried this place a couple of times because I really want to believe the glowing reviews. Both times I've gotten choked up on the doughiness of the noodles and potstickers. The tasteless bits of flour and water glue fall to the bottom of my stomach and make me ill.
I really want to feel the love, truly I do, but whenever I end up spending the money to go here, I end up throwing away most of the food because it's inedible and cursing myself for not going to FuMan Dumpling House, which is my standby for the best potstickers and homemade noodles in Seattle - and at half the price of Judy Fu. The problem, perhaps, that I have with Judy Fu's is that I tried them AFTER I tried FuMan - and the bar was set too high for her to compete with. I sorry Judy Fu. Unfair, I know. But such is life.
We used to order take out from here once a week - really enjoyed the wontons in spicy peanut sauce and kung pao chicken. But in the last few months, it's gone downhill. The wontons in peanut sauce are watery and not very flavorful. The kung pao chicken isn't bad, but it's just not as great as it used to be. I'm not sure what happened, but it's very disappointing. I used to like this place a lot!
Although it feels like you're sitting in someone's living room when you eat at Snappy Dragon, that's HARDLY a bad thing - especially when the last time I went there, I got my food so quickly after I'd ordered that I wondered how they even had time to cook it! I used to have a ban on eating seafood dishes at Chinese places (which can skimp on scallops and give prawns that are more tail than body) - HAH and BAH upon that, as their Happy Family is FULL of delicious seafood as well as superbly cooked vegetables. Their Cranberry Almond Chicken is something you'd hardly expect to see at an Asian restaurant, but it works perfectly with the sauce and snow peas, and the sweet and savory flavors are close like they were best friends since middle school.
I will admit - I've not had the noodles that this place is so praised for making on their own, but man, I've had many other dishes, and haven't been disappointed with a one - not to mention that their robust vegetarian menu leaves many choices for my veggiesaurus significant other, so he's got plenty of things to try (and they're so good I've even been drawn away from my meaty dishes to nom on whatever he's ordered). It closes early, but it's definitely worth your while to stop in and savor the deliciousness.
Fast, pretty affordable, free tea!, interesting menu choices. Also, plentiful portions: four dishes fed four people with many many leftovers.
I'd probably give this place 5 stars if I actually liked Chinese food.
Expected a lil more from this place after reading all the rave reviews. Not the cream of the crop, though they are loaded with pretty waitresses who ironically, aren't Chinese! Their good looks however did not make up for the less than stellar service, oh well... Not bad food, but not great either. The place must get good business since it was near packed on a Wednesday night. Worth a try...China Harbor's better!
Update: I went here again recently, I felt blah afterwards, this place sux.
The worst Seattle dining experience to date. I had heard great things about Judy Foos, and was looking forward to something special. I was there in August. Super hot day, and if the place had air conditioning, you could have fooled me. It was stifling and zero ventilation. Now this place has more than one dining area, but the wait staff seated all the patrons in one room, right on top of each other when there were other seats available that would have afforded more privacy. I was elbow to elbow with the diner beside me. Claustrophobic to the max. My wife and I were sandwiched between a group of four to the right and another couple to the left in one of those long booth type deals. Noisy as hell, and we pretty much ate our meal in silence. Food was completely forgettable and overpriced. I hope this restaurant gets its act together, or they're not going to survive much longer. Way too much competition from quality restaurants in Seattle.
I've been to Judy Fu's Snappy Dragon several times with friends who love this restaurant. I find their food overly greasy. Even their homemade noodles are too greasy for me to enjoy their homemade flavors. The staff is friendly, and it's a good location - but the food really makes this place a 1-star restaurant for me.
Quite the reputation Judy Fu has develop, even more impressive her own line of sauces. I want my own line! Oh yea i don't cook.
Service = Pretty good
Ambiance = Like the location, nicely decorated, a bit tight
Food = Still a bit Americanized, but kept the integrity of Chinese cuisine
Price = $$
Crowd = locals
Personal Favorite = Dumplings and the dumpling sauce, reminds me of childhood
Worst = Crowded all the time
Meal for two = 40
Final Say = SuperDuper Panda Express
judy fu's is ridiculously delicious. a friend brought me there recently and now i crave it regularly. i must order mu shu pork and this sweet and sour eggplant dish, every time i go there. the mu shu pancakes are amazing and the filling is some of the best i have ever had. if you like chow mein then i suggest the handmade noodles. the mao pao tofu at judy fu's is better than any where else i have had it.
the last time i was there we ordered three dishes then three more to take home, that's how good it is. it turned out to be way too much food, but in a good way. if like me, judy fu's is no where near where you live, it is totally worth the drive or the bus ride.
I live in Maple Leaf, just down the street and THIS PLACE IS HORRIBLY OVER RATED. I go when I want something close. But don't order take out because THEY TAKE FOREVER. Some dishes are good but you really have to know what to order as it is spotty. There are much better places to go and it mystifies me why people think this place is so good
I still love Snappy Dragon's food.
Better yet, I can finally get delivery from here. They only delivery to a small area. When I had cravings for their food while living downtown, it was a pain in the ass to come all the way to Maple Leaf. Now I can just call and wait for them to come to me.
I always order their Mandarin fried rice and dumplings. I can't help it. They are wonderful. Yeah, they might be doughy dumplings to some, but to me they are heavenly. Their shrimp with lobster sauce is done the way I love it, a white sauce with large pieces of egg and veggies. I'm not a fan of the Cantonese style one that most places serve. Their sesame chicken is excellent and their handmade noodles are worth the extra price.
Yum.
Best Chinese take-out in Seattle. This is comfort food. It's a little bit of a drive out of the… Read more »
The food here is great. We ordered the salt-pepper squid, deep-fried eggplant w/ some kind of sweet sour sauce, the seafood chow mein and the dumplings. All very good (except the chow mein which was just good).
The space is cramped for the size because the tables are too close together and the acoustics are not good. They need to add more decorations to absorb sound. There was a party there and one of the guys talked so loud. Luckily they were just about to leave. If you live in the area or just passing by, then I suggest to order take out and eat at home or have a picnic. I will return, but only for take-out.
Ok, I'd have to agree with whoever said "What's all the hype with this place"...
Even though the guy taking the order on the phone was nice (sent me extra fortune cookies) and delivery was fast..
The food was not the best... maybe I'm spoiled because growing up, I was blessed by being cooked for by friends of the family, but I've been to other places and they were still better than this...but I was craving Chinese and thought I'd give it a try...
Being single.. I usually don't order too much food... So I only had the Cashew Chicken with water chestnuts and Pork Fried Rice.
I wanted to try the pot stickers, based on another's review... but they wouldn't do a half order..
Cashew Chicken... good at first bite, but the sauce can get overwhelming after eating more than a few bites. Think it was the sweetness of the sauce that got too me.
Then came the Pork Fried Rice... TELL ME.. How can you screw up Pork Fried Rice??? Well, maybe they were having a bad night?? But this was completely non edible.
Maybe there are other items on the menu that are better, but I'm questioning... and don't think I'm going to try to figure it out...
This is a really fun place, but I'm not quite sure how to judge it. Since I'm not quire clear about which fence I should be sitting, I'm going to have to go with another weaksauce 4-star rating.
Let me explain.
I have often heard this place referred to as the all-caps "TEH BEST CHINESE DELIVERY PLACE IN TEH WURLD (of non-ID seattle)"
It's a pretty cool place to go into with all of the logos of every news and website's "best of" stickers all over the doorway.
A couple things I'm not quite sure about.
I was eating with a non-meat-etarian at the time, so that makes nearly all chinese food kind of suck without the pork. The dumplings, for instance, are not the imperial style tasty-assed variety, but the heavier and chewier boiled type. Feel free to un-bunch your Yelp panties now if you don't like that kind and don't bother ordering them. I thought that they were rather nice, though a bit tasteless without the meat.
The chow mein with the home made noodles feels like something someones parent or grandparent would make and was a nice change of pace from the usual type of noodles you get in a place like this. The veggies were fresh and more flavorful than I am accustomed. I'd like to know where they get their produce.
Here's a surprise. They make good drinks.
A restaurant that makes good drinks? Can it be?
Answer: Yes.
What happened?
We were fans of Judy Fu's when she was at Pandasia. That partnership split up and she ended up on Roosevelt with the Snappy Dragon. But things have really fallen off.
Last night I had something called "sesame chicken" which the server said was "spicy-sweet."
As soon as I saw it, I thought "uh-oh, Magic Dragon." It was chunks of breaded fried white chicken paved with that gloppy bright red syrup and a handful of toasted sesame seeds.
The whole concoction was a sticky tasteless mess. It should be served with a ball of butter and a side of pancakes, ala IHOP.
What I remember from the old days - crisp strips of chicken in barely sweetened garlic pepper sauce. I'm starting to cry.
The chow mein was uninspired. The consistency of the noodles made me wonder if they're using some sort of machine to make their own, instead of rolling them out and cutting them by hand. Half the fun of Pandasia was watching the cooks at work.
Now they stay hidden. It's probably better that way.
They may have some good things on the menu, but it's not worth going back to figure it out. I'm done here.
Neighborhood: Roosevelt
Category: Chinese
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Category: Chinese
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This is my list of favorite restaurants in Seattle…
I eat a lot of asian cuisine. This is what I think…
Yeah, I know you've never heard of it, and really,…
