First Hong Kong Express - Coconut Grove - Miami, FL

Fried Chicken Wings

 

Shrimp Lo Mein

 

House Special Fried Rice

 

 

Not bad, the best Chinese takeout/delivery that I have found in this area so far.

First Hong Kong Express
3015 Grand Avenue, Miami, FL 33133
(305) 476-8188
www.firsthongkongexpress.com

Chef Tian Express - Coral Gables - FL

Wonton Soup

 

Hot Spicy Chicken Wings

 

Pork Fried Rice

 

 

Not a good choice. The rice was undercooked and everything else was very mediocre.

 

 

 

Chef Tian Express
4700 Le Jeune Road, Miami, FL 33146
(305) 666-0103
www.cheftianexpressmiami.com

Toa Toa Chinese Restaurant - Sunrise, FL

Tea

 

Pan Fried Dumplings

 

Beef Siu Mei

 

Singapore Rice Noodles

 

Crispy Sesame Seed Ball

 

 

Some of the best dim sum you can find in South Florida.

Toa Toa Chinese Restaurant
Pine Plaza Shopping Center, 4145 Pine Island Road, Sunrise, FL 33351
(954) 746-8833
www.toatoachineserestaurant.com

Good Mong Kok Bakery & New Golden Daisy - Chinatown - San Francisco, CA

 

As one of the best Chinatowns in America, one of my goals during my visit to this beautiful city was to make a stop for some dim sum and Chinese food. For that, I first headed to Good Mong Kok Bakery.

 

It may have been a bit early in the morning, but I chowed down on some dumplings, Shumai and more (for very cheap by the way) and experienced some of the best I have ever had.

 

I followed up with the Noodles (which were thin compared to what I am used to) which were so good and so much better than what I am used to and interestingly enough were very simple to taste so good.

 

I also had to get a Sweet Sesame Ball which thankfully wasn't super greasy and tasted great.

 

At the recommendation from someone else in line, we went next door to New Golden Daisy to try out the Chicken Wings. They may be as good as the person suggested, but they were cold and cold chicken just is not that good so I didn't exactly enjoy them.

 

We paired the wings with Fried Rice which was more enjoyable, at least me for.

 

Out of the two places, I liked Good Mong Kok Bakery better.

Good Mong Kok Bakery

1039 Stockton St, San Francisco, CA 94108

(415) 397-2688

New Golden Daisy

1041 Stockton St, San Francisco, CA 94108

(415) 392-0111

Happy Hour at P.F. Chang's China Bistro - Sunrise, FL (Other Locations)

Happy Hour at P.F. Chang's includes specials on limited drink and appetizer from 3-6pm. For me, it is more of the same cuisine you expect to find at P.F. Chang's but with better prices. 

I have had dinner at P.F. Chang's before but never ordered a drink and I quite enjoyed the variety and quality of the drinks. There was an apparent freshness!

Warrior Smash

Asian Pear Mojito

Chang's Mai Tai

Our dim sum choice for the night was the Crab Wontons. The wonton had the right crispness but as you would expect, it wasn't a very crabby on the inside but still it tasted good.

Our street fare choice was the Chang's BBQ Spare Ribs. The were quite finger licking good.

After those two small bites, we were still hungry so we moved onto dinner, ordering the Mongolian Beef and Fried Rice Combo. Hot, fresh and delightful is what I have to say about that!

My sweet tooth could resist and we finished off with the Flourless Chocolate Dome. Sinful!

My only complaint was that everything was brought out randomly and quickly so while I was still on apps, dinner was being brought out and when the beef was brought out, the rice wasn't. Please work on the timing P.F. Chang's because I do like that there has been much improvement since the last time I dined here years ago.

P.F. Chang's China Bistro

1740 Sawgrass Mills Cir, Sunrise, FL 33323

(954) 845-1113

www.pfchangs.com

Mee Sum Pastry - Seattle, WA

I passed by Mee Sum Pastry one evening and saw a lines of people waiting for food and vowed to go back. The next morning, I decided to stop by and ordered a selection of items.

I first had a BBQ Pork Skewer. The pork was sweet and tender, but not juicy. 

I then had a Steamed Pork Bun which I didn't like it. The dough was too rubbery and clammy. I also didn't love the filling, it was mixed with too much cornstarch or fat (whatever that was) and not enough meat and way too sweet to be savory.

The Baked Pork Bun fared better. It tasted like it had recently been baked. It had the right texture and that lovely golden brown crust.

I also had a Sesame Ball. The flavor was right but it was just way too greasy.

This was not food at its finest, but this is street food. It may not be the best, but it is quick and affordable.


Mee Sum Pastry
4343 University Way NE Seattle, WA 98105
(206) 632-7298
www.meesumseattle.com

GO! Bento Sushi Delivery & Takeout - Hollywood, FL

My visit to GO! Bento was an unplanned quick meal but I am glad I stopped. The only problem was that when we got there, although we were lucky and able to find parking, parking is very limited and will be an issue during busier hours and ain't nobody got time for that.

I did like the inside of the restaurant though. I thought that the decor was really cool! I liked the Japanese cartoonish artwork on the walls and the overall appeal of the restaurant. The restaurant isn't exactly suited for dining in (focus is on take-out and delivery) but there is some seating.

The menu is simple: Go! Bento, Go! Ninja, Go! Sumo or Go! Zilla. In other words a choice of entree, sushi or side depending on the box you choose to create. My friend and I both choose the Go! Zilla (1 entree and 1 roll).

She choose Honey Garlic Chicken as her entree. The chicken was a little dry, but the sauce was pretty tasty albeit a little too sweet. It came with rice that based on the the egg and some seasoning would indicate that it was fried rice, but it was very plain and all that stood out was a garlic flavor. 

I had Chicken Pad Thai for my entree and I was very happy with it. The flavor was good although I doused mine with Thai chili pepper to give it that necessary spice I like. Without it, for non heat eaters, it will still be satisfying.  The chicken pieces were a nice size and relatively moist. The noodles were acceptable.

Both of our boxes came with a sushi roll. She had the Spicy Tuna Roll and I had the Japanese Bagel "JB" Roll. Go! Bento's sushi is okay at best. The fish tasted fresh which is the most important part for me, but the rice could have been better.

Ordering, I thought this was going to be a small dish but it was nicely sized for the price. I was a little disappointed that it didn't come in the cute bento box (even the take-out kind) but in regular Styrofoam containers (not that it matters). Service was pleasant and quick. The girl at the counter was extremely friendly and accommodating. I probably would try it again if I'm in the area.


GO! Bento
2725 Hollywood Blvd Hollywood, FL 33020
(754) 263-3357
www.eatgobento.com

Hot Wok Chinese Restaurant - Metairie, LA

When I first spotted Hot Wok, it reminded me of the type of Chinese take-out restaurants you would find in New York and automatically peaked my interest. After passing it quite a few times, I finally had the urge for wings and fried rice and went inside to get my American Chinese on.

The place itself has no ambiance. It's just a hole-in-the-wall, average-looking take-out restaurant where you should never take a date to sit down and eat. Just as I had expected, the place was run by New York transplants who had taken ownership of the restaurant about a year ago.

This is a pretty good place, and even ordering Buffalo Wings off of the "American food" section I was satisfied. It was obviously not the typical buffalo flavor but was good sized wings with a proportionate amount of sauce that had a nice flavor to it.

I also ordered a pint of Roast Pork Fried Rice. It could have easily been a tasteless, greasy, soggy mess but it was really great rice. It tasted fresh not microwaved.

I went in also wanting to get an order of Fried Crab Stick but they no longer sell them so I settled with the Fried Crabmeat Cheese Wontons instead. They were just okay. I wish the wontons were a little crispier and that you could actually taste the crabmeat in the stuffing and not just cheese.

Regardless, prices are really good and I enjoyed the rice, so I will be back again when I'm craving Chinese!



Hot Wok
901 Veterans Blvd Metairie, LA 70005
(504) 831-3328