So I haven/t been here in a while, so I was surprised to learn that it was under new management. I came at around 8, and the place was fairly empty. The old pictures of food were off the wall, which made the place a little more bland. As I looked at the menu, I saw that prices were cheaper, so I thought, Hm, that's great. But where was the pho?? I thought it was on the menu, but maybe I just didn't see it, so that's what I ordered. But I was very sad when the waitress told me that they don't serve pho!! What the fudge...so I ordered the wonton noodles, something that they are known for. It was only 6.50, compared to the old price of 8 or so. But I was very sad at what I got. A small bowl, about 5 wontons, and some veggies. It's supposed to have pork, and baby bok choi!! Comon'! Excuse my emotion, but when it comes to food, I'm very emotional. Maybe I came at a bad time, but to not have pho, AND to serve me a lackluster dish is like cutting me and throwing salt on the wound, and squeezing some lemon on it for good measure. It just hurts. But it didn't taste bad. The wontons were quite good, but the dish as a whole was lacking. I'd rather pay more to get good food then pay less to get ok food. I'm sad, and probably won't be coming back.
(2)
Jess T.
Dustin and I had just moved to Troy and I needed a pho fix. Dustin did some research on the internets and discovered China Chef. It was close to home and served pho, so Dustin took me - I don't let him choose pho restaurants anymore. First warning sign - the restaurant is named China Chef. Nothing about "China Chef " says to me "I make great pho." Second warning sign - it was a Sunday afternoon, the time when it seems like everyone it out to eat, and no one else was in China Chef. I got my usual pho tai,and it was very meh. There was cilantro, basil, and onions floating in the top, and there were thin slices of meat on top of a mound of noodles. It certainly looked like pho, and as I had been craving the dish for a while I was excited to dive right in. That's when the ennui hit, the broth was just not flavorful enough. There was no depth, no complexity, no star anise, not enough spices, it was like bland meat juice. We have not gone back since, I make Dustin drive me to the side of town with Vietnamese people who care about their food!
(2)
Jim A.
Very good food.....affordable too.
(4)
Brittany L.
Okay, this was a last minute stop for dinner. It wasn't that great. It was no different than any other no-name carry-out.
(4)
Jose G.
This is a home style type of food, we have become regulars here and recommend it to our friends and family. Menu is quite big but if you still can't find what you like they will make it for you. Quality, flavor and service are outstanding, you got to try it.
(5)
Jessica X.
Terrific food but awful service. The waitress looks pissed most of the time. The food comes out very fast and in big portions. It is very authentic and tastes really good. I don't think you can go wrong ordering anything. I usually get some type of noodle soup and it's never been a miss. It's a good deal for how cheap it is.
(4)
Neko L.
This is definitely one of my favorite place, I go there to eat Shui Zhou Rou pian every time, awesome for the people who like meat, spicy and Chinese food
(5)
Asianzing S.
Excellent Spicy Fried Calamari, Wonton Noodle Soup with Beef Brisket is Amazing. Great Jasmine Tea. Highly Recommended!
(5)
Nicholas W.
This is perhaps one of the most unassuming Chinese restaurants that I've been to. It's tucked into the corner of a strip mall, and from the outside, you wouldn't think that it's an authentic Chinese place. The sign advertising Thai, Vietnamese, Sichuanese, and Cantonese food all in one place would normally be a red flag as far as authentic Chinese restaurants are concerned. The interior is simple, with only eight spartanly furnished tables making up the seating area. The food, however, is excellent. The huntun mian (wonton noodle soup) is the best that I've had yet in this area. It truly brought back memories of my time in Hong Kong. The jielan was tender, and the wontons themselves were light and flavorful, without too much salt. The noodles were chewy and had a nice bite to them. The soup, while good, could have been a little more flavorful in my opinion, and that's the only reason why I don't give China chef a 5 star rating.
(4)
Bill B.
We tried carry out from here when our usual Chinese restaurant was closed unexpectedly. The veggie menu leaves much to be desired. The food was bland. I also felt a bit unwelcome as I was waiting for my food. As I checked out the more Chinese part of the Chinese menu, the person behind the counter said something like, "you don't need to look at that, it's the Chinese menu." It was printed in Chinese AND English. How would they know what I do and don't want? It wasn't quite racial profiling but it did feel a bit icky. People behind the counter did not seem nice. I'll be choosing another alternative Chinese restaurant if needed.
(2)
Curtis B.
Excellent Chinese (authentic) food There are new owners for the past year and a half or so, and I would guess that the 3 1/2 star rating are for the previous owners. We've been eating here weekly for about a year and have found the food to be excellent, the restaurant to be clean and the servers to be pleasant. Some of our favorites: The garlic deep fried pork chops Half steamed chicken with ginger and green onion, Chicken Hot Pot, Beef brisket hot pot, beef brisket with curry hot pot, deep fried fish and tofu hot pot, pork belly and stir fried cabbage, beef with ginger, onion and mushroom, House special stir fry with spicy XO sauce. We haven't tried any of the "american Chinese" dishes, but I would expect them to be of the same excellent quality as the more authentic Chinese dishes that we've enjoyed. It is a fairly small restaurant, but could handle a few tables of 10 and several smaller tables of four.
(5)
Susana C.
I have been searching for a good bowl of noodle soup and China Chef did not disappoint me at all. I will definitely return for more.
(4)
Tien Q.
PEOPLE, PAY ATTENTION, this restaurant no longer offer Vietnamese noodle, aka Pho. Their crispy chicken also different and not anywhere as good as the very original owner, who's now working at Motor City Casino. THIS IS NOW A FREAKING CHINESE RESTAURANT, WHO CATER ONLY TO CHINESE PALATE. And no, don't expect to get Chinese chop suey crap cooking here. Understand that, and you will get better experience. The waitress is very nice, and attentive. The food is very much Cantonese style and cater more to the Cantonese palate, not the chinese-american chop suey. The food generally very good and consistent, much better than other Chinese restaurants in the area. These are my recommend dishes: deep fried fish fillet hotpot w/ tofu, deep fried pork chop w/ pepper, salt fish and chicken fried rice, steam chicken w/ ginger, fish maw soup, and wonton noodle. AND NO, DO NOTTTT order the crispy chicken, you been warned.
(4)
M C.
Went back for the fourth time, finally ordered some dish I don't care for. I love their fried rice and decided to try fuzhou fried rice, big mistake! It came in flat round dish with fired rice at bottom and wet ingredients on top? When it's mixed the texture of rice is really weird, wet ingredients doesn't taste good either. The jindo pork chops taste like ketchup, pork chop is not tough but fattening. Good for fried pork chop but not mix with sauce. I will still be back in the future, but probably won't venture from my usual safe list.
(4)
Molida K.
I'm beginning to lose count how many times China Chef has changed owners but I believe it's all for the best. The latest owners are serving only Chinese food, so no more pho or Vietnamese dishes guys!!! We came here on Tuesday for dinner and it got packed quickly. Of course there are only 8 tables in the restaurant with 3 of the tables being the big round ones that hold 6 people. We ordered the BBQ pork noodle soup, shredded chicken and shrimp lo mein, and also the special dinner #2: salty and spicy pork chop and fish in black bean sauce. The special dinners are all in Chinese characters so please ask your server to translate. I didn't and scoured the entire menu until I eventually matched the characters to their dish lol. Our dishes came out one by one, typical of any Asian restaurant you go to. The lo mein was excellent with plenty of fresh, crisp veggies and lots of chicken and shrimp. The BBQ pork noodle soup was cooked perfectly and the broth was great with lots of ginger in it. The hubby slurped the entire bowl of broth! My special dinner with the pork chop and fish was also delicious. The pork chop was cut up and deep fried to perfection with plenty of garlic, salt, and chili peppers on top. The fish was steamed and cooked in a black bean sauce with red and green bell peppers. There was only one waitress but boy she worked her butt off and made sure everyone got the correct food without waiting too long. I can't wait to come back!
(5)
Emily L.
China Chef has changed ownership twice since my previous review in 2010. To sum up: decent Cantonese food (yay!); no more Vietnamese food (ah well). New owner #1 (April 2011): the menu was still Vietnamese and was ridiculously extensive. The server was a polite young guy who kept fumbling around, not giving us our plate of bean sprouts, etc., until after he brought our bowls of pho to us. And the pho was not great. Bring back the grumpy lady with the delicious pho! I was so sad, stopped coming here, and went to Thuy Trang in Madison Heights instead. This would have been a 2-star review. New owner #2 (December 2012): they changed ownership yet again (in the summer of 2012, I think?). Now the menu is Cantonese, American Chinese, and some Szechuan, and it makes the name "China Chef" make more sense. I've gone twice now and have tried the following: * Te4 jia4 tao4 can1 "C" (special price set menu? hah): This part of the menu is all in Chinese and features five different boxes with 2-4 dishes, no substitutions allowed. Set (C) includes: - 1 crispy chicken Cantonese style. This was very tasty. A whole chicken, deep-fried at a super high temperature so that the chicken skin is all crispy. The chicken is chopped into smaller pieces and arranged on a plate with a dish of salt and pepper if you need more saltiness, and some shrimp chips as garnish. - 1 vegetable/fish stir fry (called "fillet of fish with Chinese vegetable" on the menu). This was very tasty too. The fish was cut up into nugget-sized pieces and stir-fried in a sauce with you2 cai4 "oil vegetable" (Mandarin)/yu choy (Cantonese), carrot, and I forget what else. OK, Wikipedia says it's the rapeseed plant ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ra… ). You will usually see it called yu choy at the supermarket. - 1 mapo tofu ("stir fried tofu with spicy"). This didn't taste like your usual mapo tofu. It wasn't spicy, and the sauce was more soy sauce-based. It also included bits of zha4 cai4, or salty pickled mustard ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zh… ). Even though it didn't taste like normal mapo tofu, it was still good. * Stir-fried string bean (gan1 shao1 si4 ji4 dou4): Green beans that have been stir-fried in super hot oil. Hell yes. I don't remember if there was meat in this dish... vegetarians should probably double-check with the server. * Salt and pepper shrimp with shell (jiao1 yan2 xia1): OK, this is one of my favorite dishes ever, but sometimes places don't fry the shrimp enough, leaving the shell hard and inedible, or a bunch of liquified shrimp brains gush out in an alarming vermillion shade (can you tell I'm not the biggest fan of shrimp heads?). This place, thankfully, did it right. The shrimp shells and heads were nice and crispy! It's like eating softshell crab, but it's shrimp. If you are like my boyfriend, you will peel off the head and shell, and give me the tail (yay!). Sadly, he is missing out because all of the flavor is on the outside, in a light batter that is the right amount of salt. * Deep fried pork chop with pepper and salt (jiao1 yan2 rou4 pai2): Similar preparation to the shrimp dish above, with a light, salty batter. This was pretty good; the pork was surprisingly tender. The pork chop is cut into smaller pieces, with some bone attached. * Young Chow fried rice (yang2 zhou1 chao3 fan4) This was the weakest link. Bland fried rice with some bits of flavorless cha shao/char siu/barbecue, tiny shrimp, peas, and egg. In general, I like restaurant fried rice better than my own fried rice because it's made on an industrial stove with extremely hot oil in a seasoned wok, giving it that extra something that my piece-of-crap electric stove cannot deliver. This fried rice tasted like something I might have made myself, but even more boring. * Seafood tofu hot pot (hai3 xian1 dou4 fu3 bao3): Your usual seafood tofu casserole, filled with fried tofu, shrimp, squid, nappa cabbage, and other goodies. Yum! * Beef with golden mushroom and green bean thread in satay sauce (sha1 die1 jin1 gu1 fen3 si1 niu2 rou4 bao3): OK, by "golden mushroom" they mean enoki mushrooms, those long, thin mushrooms, and by "green bean thread" they mean Chinese vermicelli ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ce… ). This was very hearty, warming, and tasty. The beef was tender, and the spices of the satay sauce were flavorful.
(4)
Tim T.
This place blows now. No more good Pho. It is just some crappy run of the mill chinese restaurant. Get your sweet and sour ____ here. And they royally fudged up crispy chicken. It is now soggy POS with no flavor. It use to be so golden and crispy with lots of flavor. Tip: do not eat here. I will not return. So disappointed.
(1)
Richard F.
Three of us met for a quick bite before a business meeting. I was pleased to see Pho on the menu. That was the good news. The bad news was that the Pho and the rest of the meal was pretty mediocre. But first, let me describe the place. China Chef is situated on the east side of Rochester Road, north of Big Beaver, by a mile or so. It is located in a strip mall. It is a small place with just a few tables and some of them are large round ones so you could get a pretty good sized group or family at one of those. The first signal I got that this might not be a stellar experience was the signage on the outside of the restaurant. It said Cantonese, Szechwan, Thai, Pho, .... And it was in a strip mall with lots of Korean businesses. You get the idea. I think it is at least atypical for a tiny restaurant like this one to be masters of all Asian Cuisines. Still, the opportunity to have a new Pho place was intriguing. Well I ordered the "Large Pho with Medium Rare Beef and Tendon." The small was $ 7 and the large was $ 8, so I figured that going for the large was the smart thing to do. The large bowl was pretty large, and it came out with the usual plate of bean sprouts and Thai basil. Also on the plate was a wedge of lime and that was it. Now normally I would have expected to at least see some fresh sliced hot peppers for the after-burn, but they were absent. The "medium rare" beef came out a as a small scant congealed blob of well done beef. That is to say instead of slices of beef, it looked like they had pre-sliced the already cooked beef and just placed in in the soup without separating the slices. The beef tasted OK, but it was hell to separate the slices with chopsticks and a metal spoon. The tendon came out in two large hunks instead of the more typical bite sized morsels. They too tasted OK, but cutting the golf ball sized and anatomically obvious pieces were difficult to reduce to bite sized with no surgical tools. The broth was OK, but nothing like the rich broth served at other real Pho houses like Thuy Trang for example. The rice noodles were fine and the bean sprouts and Thai basil were fresh. So on a scale of 1 to 10, I'd rate this Pho as a solid 3. My wife ordered the Singapore noodles. I didn't try those, but she said that they were good and mentioned that they were not as greasy as she had experienced at other places. It was a big plate which cost around $ 9 and she ended up bringing half of it home with us. Our other business friend ordered some kind of Kung Pao plate that included fried rice and an egg roll. He said it was "OK." He might have been polite. To me it looked like something I could imagine from having a bad dream about Chung King frozen dinners. The lunch bill came to around $ 28 without tip, which isn't bad. but I would gladly have paid more for a good meal and when we left we agreed that we would not be rushing back any time soon.
(2)
Irene L.
I've been coming here for years for pho and it is always consistent and satisfying. I get the smalI pho tai and appreciate that they give a pretty darn generous portion of gristle-free beef. I always leave full of soupy, noodly goodness. Sure, there's better pho to be slurped in SE Michigan, but this place is so close to my parents' house that I'm pretty sure I'll be a customer for life. Bonus: pho is a great when you're hungover.....or so I hear.
(4)
Daniel K.
If anybody is a fan of Vietnamese food, China Chef is the way to go. I have never tried the Chinese food here but i figure its probably like any other fried rice place. The Pho, a beef based soup with noodles, is made fresh and comes hot..not piping hot but hot enough. Fresh rolls are a good place to start, and if you are a champion eater, the crispy chicken is also a good entree, though it takes a little bit of time to prepare. The prices are very reasonable, 7$ for a small and 8$ for a large bowl. Two can eat for about 20$ and leave full. The customer service sucks. The waitress, which i believe is only one lady, isnt really in the mood for conversation but hey, who really wants to chit chat..just take my order and give me my food. So if your in the mood for some good Pho, which i also hear is a GREAT hangover cure, China Chef is the way to go. Also i might add, the seating is very limited so expect to wait for larger parties.
(4)
Mike Y.
I'm a pho phan, and I was suprised to see it here. I was pleased with my choice. The broth was very tasty, and it came with all the fixin's. I have not had any of the other dishes here, as I tend to go Thai when looking for rice or noodle dishes, but the pho is very good. Ambiance is missing, but the food makes up for it.
(4)
James P.
The only reason this place gets a 2 star from me and not a 1 star is because the deep friend chicken and Pho is one of the best around MI. Plus the portions are big, their Pho is one of the biggest portions around compare to other Pho places. The down side is the customer service, one of the owner lady is one of the worst around. I remember one time me and my friend went in to eat. The lady just had a pissed off look, but we know she is like like that all the time, but for some reason we keep on going back for the food there. So he decided to ask her why she doesn't smile what so ever, she told him "You are here for the food, not for service!!!" He told her ok, yes yes, we are here for food not service, you are right. Other than that other people who serve the food there had ok attitude, but that one lady (one of the owner or the owner) is one of the worse around, she does not understand what is customer service nor care about it.
Takes Reservations : No Delivery : No Take-out : Yes Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Good For : Lunch, Dinner Parking : Private Lot Bike Parking : Yes Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : Yes Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Casual Noise Level : Average Alcohol : No Outdoor Seating : No Wi-Fi : No Has TV : No Waiter Service : Yes Caters : Yes
The popularity of Chinese food in America can be adjudicated by the appearance of China Town in many major cities in the United State of America. The popular trend of ordering or opting for Chinese take away food isn't unknown in America. Chinese take away food comes to rescue when you're too tired from work or too exhausted to cook. No one can resist the temptation of eating spicy noodles, shrimp, chicken, beef or pork cooked in the sweet and spicy sauce. The cooking method of authentic Chinese food is a lot different compared to what is served in America.
Generally, Chinese use dark meat small bones and organs to cook dishes but this changes when you are eating American-Chinese fusion food prepared using white boneless meat cooked with broccoli, carrots and onions. Back in China, the food is less spicy and oily as they favor steaming and braising method for cooking the most popular dishes. So, if you have a taste for authentic Chinese food, then try finding a real Chinese restaurant in the city. You can also try the most popular fusion Chinese food like Pecking Duck, Chicken Feet, Hot Pot, Shrimp Dumpling Soup, Mapo Tofu, Wontons, Chop Suey, Egg Rolls and not to forget Fortune Cookies.
There are not many restaurants in America serving authentic Chinese food. A little research on Restaurant Listings directory can help you locate the best Chinese restaurants in the city. Chinese cuisine is continuously evolving, and you can find a variety of dishes categorized as the food for lactose intolerant, gluten intolerant, vegan, vegetarian, and diabetic friendly. So, if you have a group of friends with different taste patterns, save the hassle and visit the nearest Chinese restaurant in your city.
Minh S.
So I haven/t been here in a while, so I was surprised to learn that it was under new management. I came at around 8, and the place was fairly empty. The old pictures of food were off the wall, which made the place a little more bland. As I looked at the menu, I saw that prices were cheaper, so I thought, Hm, that's great. But where was the pho?? I thought it was on the menu, but maybe I just didn't see it, so that's what I ordered. But I was very sad when the waitress told me that they don't serve pho!! What the fudge...so I ordered the wonton noodles, something that they are known for. It was only 6.50, compared to the old price of 8 or so. But I was very sad at what I got. A small bowl, about 5 wontons, and some veggies. It's supposed to have pork, and baby bok choi!! Comon'! Excuse my emotion, but when it comes to food, I'm very emotional. Maybe I came at a bad time, but to not have pho, AND to serve me a lackluster dish is like cutting me and throwing salt on the wound, and squeezing some lemon on it for good measure. It just hurts. But it didn't taste bad. The wontons were quite good, but the dish as a whole was lacking. I'd rather pay more to get good food then pay less to get ok food. I'm sad, and probably won't be coming back.
(2)Jess T.
Dustin and I had just moved to Troy and I needed a pho fix. Dustin did some research on the internets and discovered China Chef. It was close to home and served pho, so Dustin took me - I don't let him choose pho restaurants anymore. First warning sign - the restaurant is named China Chef. Nothing about "China Chef " says to me "I make great pho." Second warning sign - it was a Sunday afternoon, the time when it seems like everyone it out to eat, and no one else was in China Chef. I got my usual pho tai,and it was very meh. There was cilantro, basil, and onions floating in the top, and there were thin slices of meat on top of a mound of noodles. It certainly looked like pho, and as I had been craving the dish for a while I was excited to dive right in. That's when the ennui hit, the broth was just not flavorful enough. There was no depth, no complexity, no star anise, not enough spices, it was like bland meat juice. We have not gone back since, I make Dustin drive me to the side of town with Vietnamese people who care about their food!
(2)Jim A.
Very good food.....affordable too.
(4)Brittany L.
Okay, this was a last minute stop for dinner. It wasn't that great. It was no different than any other no-name carry-out.
(4)Jose G.
This is a home style type of food, we have become regulars here and recommend it to our friends and family. Menu is quite big but if you still can't find what you like they will make it for you. Quality, flavor and service are outstanding, you got to try it.
(5)Jessica X.
Terrific food but awful service. The waitress looks pissed most of the time. The food comes out very fast and in big portions. It is very authentic and tastes really good. I don't think you can go wrong ordering anything. I usually get some type of noodle soup and it's never been a miss. It's a good deal for how cheap it is.
(4)Neko L.
This is definitely one of my favorite place, I go there to eat Shui Zhou Rou pian every time, awesome for the people who like meat, spicy and Chinese food
(5)Asianzing S.
Excellent Spicy Fried Calamari, Wonton Noodle Soup with Beef Brisket is Amazing. Great Jasmine Tea. Highly Recommended!
(5)Nicholas W.
This is perhaps one of the most unassuming Chinese restaurants that I've been to. It's tucked into the corner of a strip mall, and from the outside, you wouldn't think that it's an authentic Chinese place. The sign advertising Thai, Vietnamese, Sichuanese, and Cantonese food all in one place would normally be a red flag as far as authentic Chinese restaurants are concerned. The interior is simple, with only eight spartanly furnished tables making up the seating area. The food, however, is excellent. The huntun mian (wonton noodle soup) is the best that I've had yet in this area. It truly brought back memories of my time in Hong Kong. The jielan was tender, and the wontons themselves were light and flavorful, without too much salt. The noodles were chewy and had a nice bite to them. The soup, while good, could have been a little more flavorful in my opinion, and that's the only reason why I don't give China chef a 5 star rating.
(4)Bill B.
We tried carry out from here when our usual Chinese restaurant was closed unexpectedly. The veggie menu leaves much to be desired. The food was bland. I also felt a bit unwelcome as I was waiting for my food. As I checked out the more Chinese part of the Chinese menu, the person behind the counter said something like, "you don't need to look at that, it's the Chinese menu." It was printed in Chinese AND English. How would they know what I do and don't want? It wasn't quite racial profiling but it did feel a bit icky. People behind the counter did not seem nice. I'll be choosing another alternative Chinese restaurant if needed.
(2)Curtis B.
Excellent Chinese (authentic) food There are new owners for the past year and a half or so, and I would guess that the 3 1/2 star rating are for the previous owners. We've been eating here weekly for about a year and have found the food to be excellent, the restaurant to be clean and the servers to be pleasant. Some of our favorites: The garlic deep fried pork chops Half steamed chicken with ginger and green onion, Chicken Hot Pot, Beef brisket hot pot, beef brisket with curry hot pot, deep fried fish and tofu hot pot, pork belly and stir fried cabbage, beef with ginger, onion and mushroom, House special stir fry with spicy XO sauce. We haven't tried any of the "american Chinese" dishes, but I would expect them to be of the same excellent quality as the more authentic Chinese dishes that we've enjoyed. It is a fairly small restaurant, but could handle a few tables of 10 and several smaller tables of four.
(5)Susana C.
I have been searching for a good bowl of noodle soup and China Chef did not disappoint me at all. I will definitely return for more.
(4)Tien Q.
PEOPLE, PAY ATTENTION, this restaurant no longer offer Vietnamese noodle, aka Pho. Their crispy chicken also different and not anywhere as good as the very original owner, who's now working at Motor City Casino. THIS IS NOW A FREAKING CHINESE RESTAURANT, WHO CATER ONLY TO CHINESE PALATE. And no, don't expect to get Chinese chop suey crap cooking here. Understand that, and you will get better experience. The waitress is very nice, and attentive. The food is very much Cantonese style and cater more to the Cantonese palate, not the chinese-american chop suey. The food generally very good and consistent, much better than other Chinese restaurants in the area. These are my recommend dishes: deep fried fish fillet hotpot w/ tofu, deep fried pork chop w/ pepper, salt fish and chicken fried rice, steam chicken w/ ginger, fish maw soup, and wonton noodle. AND NO, DO NOTTTT order the crispy chicken, you been warned.
(4)M C.
Went back for the fourth time, finally ordered some dish I don't care for. I love their fried rice and decided to try fuzhou fried rice, big mistake! It came in flat round dish with fired rice at bottom and wet ingredients on top? When it's mixed the texture of rice is really weird, wet ingredients doesn't taste good either. The jindo pork chops taste like ketchup, pork chop is not tough but fattening. Good for fried pork chop but not mix with sauce. I will still be back in the future, but probably won't venture from my usual safe list.
(4)Molida K.
I'm beginning to lose count how many times China Chef has changed owners but I believe it's all for the best. The latest owners are serving only Chinese food, so no more pho or Vietnamese dishes guys!!! We came here on Tuesday for dinner and it got packed quickly. Of course there are only 8 tables in the restaurant with 3 of the tables being the big round ones that hold 6 people. We ordered the BBQ pork noodle soup, shredded chicken and shrimp lo mein, and also the special dinner #2: salty and spicy pork chop and fish in black bean sauce. The special dinners are all in Chinese characters so please ask your server to translate. I didn't and scoured the entire menu until I eventually matched the characters to their dish lol. Our dishes came out one by one, typical of any Asian restaurant you go to. The lo mein was excellent with plenty of fresh, crisp veggies and lots of chicken and shrimp. The BBQ pork noodle soup was cooked perfectly and the broth was great with lots of ginger in it. The hubby slurped the entire bowl of broth! My special dinner with the pork chop and fish was also delicious. The pork chop was cut up and deep fried to perfection with plenty of garlic, salt, and chili peppers on top. The fish was steamed and cooked in a black bean sauce with red and green bell peppers. There was only one waitress but boy she worked her butt off and made sure everyone got the correct food without waiting too long. I can't wait to come back!
(5)Emily L.
China Chef has changed ownership twice since my previous review in 2010. To sum up: decent Cantonese food (yay!); no more Vietnamese food (ah well). New owner #1 (April 2011): the menu was still Vietnamese and was ridiculously extensive. The server was a polite young guy who kept fumbling around, not giving us our plate of bean sprouts, etc., until after he brought our bowls of pho to us. And the pho was not great. Bring back the grumpy lady with the delicious pho! I was so sad, stopped coming here, and went to Thuy Trang in Madison Heights instead. This would have been a 2-star review. New owner #2 (December 2012): they changed ownership yet again (in the summer of 2012, I think?). Now the menu is Cantonese, American Chinese, and some Szechuan, and it makes the name "China Chef" make more sense. I've gone twice now and have tried the following: * Te4 jia4 tao4 can1 "C" (special price set menu? hah): This part of the menu is all in Chinese and features five different boxes with 2-4 dishes, no substitutions allowed. Set (C) includes: - 1 crispy chicken Cantonese style. This was very tasty. A whole chicken, deep-fried at a super high temperature so that the chicken skin is all crispy. The chicken is chopped into smaller pieces and arranged on a plate with a dish of salt and pepper if you need more saltiness, and some shrimp chips as garnish. - 1 vegetable/fish stir fry (called "fillet of fish with Chinese vegetable" on the menu). This was very tasty too. The fish was cut up into nugget-sized pieces and stir-fried in a sauce with you2 cai4 "oil vegetable" (Mandarin)/yu choy (Cantonese), carrot, and I forget what else. OK, Wikipedia says it's the rapeseed plant ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ra… ). You will usually see it called yu choy at the supermarket. - 1 mapo tofu ("stir fried tofu with spicy"). This didn't taste like your usual mapo tofu. It wasn't spicy, and the sauce was more soy sauce-based. It also included bits of zha4 cai4, or salty pickled mustard ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zh… ). Even though it didn't taste like normal mapo tofu, it was still good. * Stir-fried string bean (gan1 shao1 si4 ji4 dou4): Green beans that have been stir-fried in super hot oil. Hell yes. I don't remember if there was meat in this dish... vegetarians should probably double-check with the server. * Salt and pepper shrimp with shell (jiao1 yan2 xia1): OK, this is one of my favorite dishes ever, but sometimes places don't fry the shrimp enough, leaving the shell hard and inedible, or a bunch of liquified shrimp brains gush out in an alarming vermillion shade (can you tell I'm not the biggest fan of shrimp heads?). This place, thankfully, did it right. The shrimp shells and heads were nice and crispy! It's like eating softshell crab, but it's shrimp. If you are like my boyfriend, you will peel off the head and shell, and give me the tail (yay!). Sadly, he is missing out because all of the flavor is on the outside, in a light batter that is the right amount of salt. * Deep fried pork chop with pepper and salt (jiao1 yan2 rou4 pai2): Similar preparation to the shrimp dish above, with a light, salty batter. This was pretty good; the pork was surprisingly tender. The pork chop is cut into smaller pieces, with some bone attached. * Young Chow fried rice (yang2 zhou1 chao3 fan4) This was the weakest link. Bland fried rice with some bits of flavorless cha shao/char siu/barbecue, tiny shrimp, peas, and egg. In general, I like restaurant fried rice better than my own fried rice because it's made on an industrial stove with extremely hot oil in a seasoned wok, giving it that extra something that my piece-of-crap electric stove cannot deliver. This fried rice tasted like something I might have made myself, but even more boring. * Seafood tofu hot pot (hai3 xian1 dou4 fu3 bao3): Your usual seafood tofu casserole, filled with fried tofu, shrimp, squid, nappa cabbage, and other goodies. Yum! * Beef with golden mushroom and green bean thread in satay sauce (sha1 die1 jin1 gu1 fen3 si1 niu2 rou4 bao3): OK, by "golden mushroom" they mean enoki mushrooms, those long, thin mushrooms, and by "green bean thread" they mean Chinese vermicelli ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ce… ). This was very hearty, warming, and tasty. The beef was tender, and the spices of the satay sauce were flavorful.
(4)Tim T.
This place blows now. No more good Pho. It is just some crappy run of the mill chinese restaurant. Get your sweet and sour ____ here. And they royally fudged up crispy chicken. It is now soggy POS with no flavor. It use to be so golden and crispy with lots of flavor. Tip: do not eat here. I will not return. So disappointed.
(1)Richard F.
Three of us met for a quick bite before a business meeting. I was pleased to see Pho on the menu. That was the good news. The bad news was that the Pho and the rest of the meal was pretty mediocre. But first, let me describe the place. China Chef is situated on the east side of Rochester Road, north of Big Beaver, by a mile or so. It is located in a strip mall. It is a small place with just a few tables and some of them are large round ones so you could get a pretty good sized group or family at one of those. The first signal I got that this might not be a stellar experience was the signage on the outside of the restaurant. It said Cantonese, Szechwan, Thai, Pho, .... And it was in a strip mall with lots of Korean businesses. You get the idea. I think it is at least atypical for a tiny restaurant like this one to be masters of all Asian Cuisines. Still, the opportunity to have a new Pho place was intriguing. Well I ordered the "Large Pho with Medium Rare Beef and Tendon." The small was $ 7 and the large was $ 8, so I figured that going for the large was the smart thing to do. The large bowl was pretty large, and it came out with the usual plate of bean sprouts and Thai basil. Also on the plate was a wedge of lime and that was it. Now normally I would have expected to at least see some fresh sliced hot peppers for the after-burn, but they were absent. The "medium rare" beef came out a as a small scant congealed blob of well done beef. That is to say instead of slices of beef, it looked like they had pre-sliced the already cooked beef and just placed in in the soup without separating the slices. The beef tasted OK, but it was hell to separate the slices with chopsticks and a metal spoon. The tendon came out in two large hunks instead of the more typical bite sized morsels. They too tasted OK, but cutting the golf ball sized and anatomically obvious pieces were difficult to reduce to bite sized with no surgical tools. The broth was OK, but nothing like the rich broth served at other real Pho houses like Thuy Trang for example. The rice noodles were fine and the bean sprouts and Thai basil were fresh. So on a scale of 1 to 10, I'd rate this Pho as a solid 3. My wife ordered the Singapore noodles. I didn't try those, but she said that they were good and mentioned that they were not as greasy as she had experienced at other places. It was a big plate which cost around $ 9 and she ended up bringing half of it home with us. Our other business friend ordered some kind of Kung Pao plate that included fried rice and an egg roll. He said it was "OK." He might have been polite. To me it looked like something I could imagine from having a bad dream about Chung King frozen dinners. The lunch bill came to around $ 28 without tip, which isn't bad. but I would gladly have paid more for a good meal and when we left we agreed that we would not be rushing back any time soon.
(2)Irene L.
I've been coming here for years for pho and it is always consistent and satisfying. I get the smalI pho tai and appreciate that they give a pretty darn generous portion of gristle-free beef. I always leave full of soupy, noodly goodness. Sure, there's better pho to be slurped in SE Michigan, but this place is so close to my parents' house that I'm pretty sure I'll be a customer for life. Bonus: pho is a great when you're hungover.....or so I hear.
(4)Daniel K.
If anybody is a fan of Vietnamese food, China Chef is the way to go. I have never tried the Chinese food here but i figure its probably like any other fried rice place. The Pho, a beef based soup with noodles, is made fresh and comes hot..not piping hot but hot enough. Fresh rolls are a good place to start, and if you are a champion eater, the crispy chicken is also a good entree, though it takes a little bit of time to prepare. The prices are very reasonable, 7$ for a small and 8$ for a large bowl. Two can eat for about 20$ and leave full. The customer service sucks. The waitress, which i believe is only one lady, isnt really in the mood for conversation but hey, who really wants to chit chat..just take my order and give me my food. So if your in the mood for some good Pho, which i also hear is a GREAT hangover cure, China Chef is the way to go. Also i might add, the seating is very limited so expect to wait for larger parties.
(4)Mike Y.
I'm a pho phan, and I was suprised to see it here. I was pleased with my choice. The broth was very tasty, and it came with all the fixin's. I have not had any of the other dishes here, as I tend to go Thai when looking for rice or noodle dishes, but the pho is very good. Ambiance is missing, but the food makes up for it.
(4)James P.
The only reason this place gets a 2 star from me and not a 1 star is because the deep friend chicken and Pho is one of the best around MI. Plus the portions are big, their Pho is one of the biggest portions around compare to other Pho places. The down side is the customer service, one of the owner lady is one of the worst around. I remember one time me and my friend went in to eat. The lady just had a pissed off look, but we know she is like like that all the time, but for some reason we keep on going back for the food there. So he decided to ask her why she doesn't smile what so ever, she told him "You are here for the food, not for service!!!" He told her ok, yes yes, we are here for food not service, you are right. Other than that other people who serve the food there had ok attitude, but that one lady (one of the owner or the owner) is one of the worse around, she does not understand what is customer service nor care about it.
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