Comment Archives: Locations: Restaurants: Chinese
Re: “Guilin Chinese Restaurant”
My favorite restaurant in Tucson! Every dish I've had there has been amazing. Lots of vegetarian and vegan options too!
Re: “Golden Phoenix”
The menu items are really good. I wouldn't recommend the buffet though.
Re: “Guilin Chinese Restaurant”
If I could give this restaurant zero stars I would. I've been to this restaurant four times with others who are extremely fond of it, but I find the food tastes bad and looks bad too. In addition, I would ask them how they prepare a dish before you rate this as healthy food. My last meal I had them prepare the tofu/broccoli dish with a Mongolian sauce. The tofu was overcooked and had a strange taste, the sauce had the consistency of water, the broccoli wasn't even warm so it was basically raw in terms of crunchiness. When I asked them how it was prepared, I was told that the "tofu is deep fried before it is added to the dish." Deep fried tofu in a sauteed vegetable dish is not healthy, obviously. I don't understand why this restaurant gets a great rating every year and why they claim to be healthy Chinese food. If you want something much better and healthy, try Asian Bistro at Ft. Lowell and Campbell. The Mongolian Tofu is AWESOME, as is the rice noodles and vegetables dish with a name that escapes me.
Re: “Panda Buffet and Sushi”
Great Sushi for the price. Other hot Chinese dishes are very good as well. China A super Buffet on River road and Stone Road also deserves 5 stars. The new U Like Buffet on Wilmont just south of Broadway is just terrible thou.
Re: “Lotus Garden Restaurant”
I moved here from San Francisco and have had a hard time finding really good Chinese food. BirdsEye frozen vegetables tossed with plain chunks of tofu in a salty brown sauce doesn't do it. I can't believe it took me this long to try Lotus Garden, but it's the real thing--snow peas and carrots were lightly cooked so they were bright and had a bit of snap, the sauce relied on the flavors of its ingredients and not salt for its punch, the tofu was sliced thin and lightly fried for texture and flavor, and the shrimp were huge. My new go-to Chinese place.
Re: “Panda Buffet and Sushi”
Service and food is great. They go out of their way to prepare what you like if you don't see it on the steam tables. Going beyond the mundane Chinese dishes is where they shine. The oysters, escargot, variety of soups, sushi all are superbly prepared.
We have never found the food to be cold and certainly irt is full of flavor.
We go to their other restaurant in Green Valley-Sahuarita "Panda House Restaurant".
Sean, Tim, TuiLynn, Emma and all the staff are courteous and can explain everything fully if you qwant to know. We have been there a coulpe of dozen times and never disappointed.
We are from San Franciso and enjoy Chinese Food to its fullest.
P.S. We like it!
Re: “Panda Buffet and Sushi”
Second time I have tried Panda Buffet and second time disappointed. Most dishes were barely warm, the chicken dishes were certainly not tender. The Mee noodles were tasty but not too warm. both shrimp dishes I tried, honey shrimp and another were badly prepared and almost powdery in texture. The Hot and sour soup was hot in temperature and spicy enough but lacked much in the way of tofu and vegetables. Service was good and friendly without being intrusive. The first time I went there I had a similar experience and thought it must have been an off day but now after going there for another time has proven to be the norm rather than the exception.
Re: “Great Wall China”
No doubt JT. Awful place, as are so many others in Tucson. Don't be too hard on the reviewers though. Apparently they haven't had decent food in ages, if ever. In other words they have no yardstick to compare with. When my contract is up I look forward to moving. I could probably throw a dart at a map and come up with a better place, food and weather wise.
Re: “P.F. Chang's China Bistro”
Yeah. Overpriced, way too salty, americanized Asian food.
Re: “Ba-Dar Chinese Restaurant”
Best Hot and Sour soup ever!!! mmmmm...rich and very flavorful!
Re: “Ba-Dar Chinese Restaurant”
I've long enjoyed Ba-Dar's vegetarian options.
Re: “Golden Phoenix”
I get the impression the buffet is leftovers from some other restaurant. I would consider going hungry instead of dining here again. It is not just one thing either. Dirty place, low quality food, everything seems to be at room temperature except for a cold glass of water.
Re: “C. I. Chu's Mongolian Barbecue”
Bar far the best Mongolian Grill I have been too (I travel a lot). They serve the correct noodles for a mongolian bbq (some restaurants serve spaghetti noodles), veggies are fresh, good choice of meat, bowl size is perfect, sauce selection is great, and the customer service and cleanliness of the restaurant is a plus.
Re: “Great Wall China”
Tucson doesn't have any "top" Chinese restaurants, and unfortunately, the Tucson Weekly doesn't have any reviewers that know the difference between Chun King in a can and Alpo.
Re: “P.F. Chang's China Bistro”
"one of Tucson’s most popular places to be seen"
I rather eat great Chinese food than be seen - and all you can do here is be seen and buy over-priced, mediocre, not really Chinese food. Save you image and go to Vancouver, San Fran, Hong Kong, etc and learn about real Chinese food. You don't need "a chic, eclectic ambience" - you need to know what real food tastes like - or be seen at MacDonald's.
Re: “C. I. Chu's Mongolian Barbecue”
Yeah, that's about as 'Mongolian' as McDonald's is Icelandic....
Re: “Guilin Chinese Restaurant”
After moving to Tucson, one of the stranger things about the towns edible offerings was that despite being able to stumble into fantastic Vietnamese, Korean, and Japanese restaurants; several of the Chinese places I tried made me reconsider swallowing their food. Guilin is a -very- happy exception. The food was fantastic, although uninspired (at least on the non vegetarian and vegan menus), but I am happy enough to find a place with decent Kung Pao and General Tso's. The food was fresh, the meat was not rubber, and the veggies were crisp yet cooked. The only reason I don't give 5 stars here is that the staff was fairly pushy, and the restaurant wasn't exactly packed. Was asked 3 times within a minute if I was ready, and this was less than 5 minutes after I had sat down.
That said, definitely worth a trip and I will be heading back.
Re: “Golden Phoenix”
Your right biz, 35 years ago when it was Chinese Village the food was excellent. Days gone by.....
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Re: “Ba-Dar Chinese Restaurant”
Best in Tucson and perhaps Arizona. Prices are good, portions are large and the food is excellent.