China Cafe

Firstly, the lady who took my order was very nice. The food was ready in about 15 minutes. The parking lot was completely empty and I appeared to be the only customer aside from one lady who also came in for a takeout order. It was just after 4pm on a Tuesday. The restaurant was clean and smelled nice. Menu was easy and well laid out. Prices were a bit higher than some other places like in New Albany or Salem. The location is good but it's a bit hidden too. Secondly, the food. I did partake of a few crab Rangoon on the drive home. It was super crunchy and not greasy, but the center tasted like nothing more than sweetened cream cheese with no hint of crab. I ordered the General Tso's chicken, shrimp lomein, pork fried rice, Ma Po tofu, crab rangoon, and black pepper chicken (which is not on their menu but she gladly said they have it in the computer and can make it, so that was nice). I got one white rice with the tofu and one vegetable fried rice with the General Tso's. The shrimp lomein was maybe a 2/5 star. The noodles were good, but the flavor was a bit off somehow. And the shrimp seemed old and chewy. The Ma Po tofu was not Ma Po tofu by any sense of the recipe. It was cubed tofu in beef-stock based broth and frozen vegetables and a little heat from possible pepper oil. No garlic, ginger, or fermented bean paste like it should have had. Very disappointing if you are expecting Ma Po. The white rice, veg rice, and pork fried rice were all nearly rancid tasting, and clearly made with frozen vegetables. There was a hint of maybe chlorinated water or worse yet, some sort of cleaning fluid contamination? It was a very distinct "off" and "chemical" taste that permeated all three of the rice boxes (this was the most concerning issue of all the food). The General Tso's chicken was made with subpar ingredients. If I were guessing I would say sugar, ketchup and vinegar with a thickener. It's the cheapest way to make this dish and it's not good. The chicken was a bit soggy but this was take-out so it's hard to judge food in containers for 30 minutes. The black pepper chicken was not good. It was coated in some sweet, vinegar based sauce which made it unpalatable, and had soggy green pepper and onion bits that were cooked nearly to disintegration. Usually fresh peppers and onions are used and are still in the form of recognizable vegetables and slightly crunchy. I assume these were frozen pepper & onion blend that were used for this dish. Was also given a bag of free doughnut holes. Was a pretty standard biscuit dough, deep fried and tossed in granular sugar. So as for the food, which is the main attraction, I would have given 1 of 5 stars. I gave 2 stars because if they improve the food quality, the rest of my experience was pleasant. There was only about 10% of this food eaten that was purchased tonight. So I'm out $50 for trying a new-to-me place. I can't say that I will eat here again. Would take being under new management and more effort to make better quality food for me to reconsider. Hope this helps.