Where can I find a good Chinese restaurant? (Phoenix, Scottsdale: home, costs)

[LBTRS]

Tott's Asian Diner in Chandler has amazing Chinese food. All fresh made and the flavors are out of this world. We drive all the way from Goodyear just to eat at Tott's once a month.

http://www.tottsasiandiner.com/

[PoppySead]

Originally Posted by Jkgourmet

ABSOLUTELY! Vietnamese food is well represent in the entire Phoenix metro area. Especially strong in the east valley, where you will also find two huge Asian grocery stores (lee lee and mekong plaza) as well as many small ethnic speciality grocers. You can also get terrific vietnamese sandwiches at Lee's Sandwiches (across the street from lee lee grocery store.

I love "Lee's Sandwiches."

[observer53]

Originally Posted by PoppySead

I love "Lee's Sandwiches."

Me, too. The baguettes for 1.25 are amazing too... And, they are TWO FOR ONE on New Year's Day, if you are having a soup party and need bread!

[Jkgourmet]

Originally Posted by LBTRS

Tott's Asian Diner in Chandler has amazing Chinese food. All fresh made and the flavors are out of this world. We drive all the way from Goodyear just to eat at Tott's once a month.

TOTTs Asian Diner

Tott's is quite good - but more along the lines of PF Chang's type of good. It's not a Chinese restaurant at all. It's a mix of Asian offerings, including Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Chinese. The lunch menu is heavily Chinese, but the rest of the menu is more oriented towards Thai.

Very nice looking place - and nice people.

[LBTRS]

Originally Posted by Jkgourmet

Tott's is quite good - but more along the lines of PF Chang's type of good. It's not a Chinese restaurant at all. It's a mix of Asian offerings, including Thai, Japanese, Vietnamese, and Chinese. The lunch menu is heavily Chinese, but the rest of the menu is more oriented towards Thai.

Very nice looking place - and nice people.

Agreed, I've only eaten the Chinese items from the menu so I can't speak to the other items. Best Kung Pao Chicken, Mongolian Beef, Sweet and Sour Shrimp, Fried Rice and Chow Mein in the valley. The owner is extremely nice and always very appreciative of our business.

[tripper76]

I'm going to second Wong's in Tempe. Its a small family owned place. Nothing fancy but always full of people.

[azriverfan.]

Originally Posted by tripper76

I'm going to second Wong's in Tempe. Its a small family owned place. Nothing fancy but always full of people.

Wongs has gone downhill. It used to be amazing when it first opened but for the past 7 years or so, it's been mediocre. It's often dirty with the tables being sticky from uncleaned sweet and sour sauce. There were flies buzzing around in there last time I went. The chicken dishes taste like seafood because they will often cook the same items in the same oil. The food is really oily...I mean it's always been oily but it's definitely greasier than normal. The rice is reheated. 10 years ago, it was really impressive. It was small but packed. You couldn't get a table unless you were willing to wait. The restaurant was clean and the food was prepared well. They just got kind of complacent and lazy and the quality has slipped. It's still better than a lot of Chinese places but there are better ones now.

Originally Posted by khuntrevor

Having lived in E. Asia for two years, I have a good feel for Chinese food, and I have been to several disappointing Chinese Restaurants in The Valley. As others stated--find a specialty or province...but then here is what sets apart many: The stuff is not cooked to order. It is made in large batched and put on the plate. Food left in the warmer too long=yuck! Therefore, you need to see some iron woks and some high heat. They can cook those entrees in two minutes (or less), but they seem to prefer to pre-make the order. Also, there needs to be a proprietor close by...a little yelling is usually good. I am curious about Panda Express, the fastest growing Chinese restaurant in America...is it pre-made? We spoke about China Chille before and I like the central location and professional service, but 2 out of three times, the dishes weren't properly cleaned, and the third time, the food had been sitting (Mongolian Beef) in the warmer for way too long. YMMV.

Couldn't agree more! Wongs above is an example of them getting lazy and sloppy by resorting to these tactics. They no longer seem to cook items to order like they once did. There are not many Chinese restaurants that cook to order. Or what bothers me is how some dishes aren't made at all. It seems like most spring rolls and egg rolls are frozen items that are fried. There are not places that I know that actually make their own egg rolls/spring rolls any longer.

[khuntrevor]

and I forgot to mention that there should be some guy hacking away with a big meat cleaver, continually cutting up all of the ingredients to maintain freshness.

[ReadyFreddy]

We used to love Mu Shu on 15th Ave. and Thomas for a casual Mongolian BBQ type thing (fill your own bowl with veggies and they fry it up), but the last time we went the tables were sticky and there were ants and the food wasn't nearly as good as usual. It's always been too bright and noisy so that pushed it off our list. I'll have to try some of the places listed here.

[PoppySead]

Originally Posted by observer53

Me, too. The baguettes for 1.25 are amazing too... And, they are TWO FOR ONE on New Year's Day, if you are having a soup party and need bread!

That is great! I will be stoping by for sure. I love, love, love those baguettes.
I usually grab 4 every time I go. Thanks for the tip.