Long lines, abusive service, dirty forks, and great food
Written: Jan 30 '00 (Updated Jan 31 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Fantastic food, ok prices
Cons: Bad service, dirty dishes, long wait
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| Naval's Full Review: House of Nanking |
Since I'm a vegetarian, and don't particularly care for soy sauce or salty flavors, Chinese food is always among my least favorite. House of NanKing, however, is another story entirely. If you've never been there, it's a MUST go, one of a kind dining "experience."
Pros:
- Fantastic food - usually very saucy, spicy, and tasty.
- The sizzling vegetables, veggie dumplings, and noodles (lo mein) are fantastic vegetarian chinese dishes.
- "Unique" interior and surroundings give it that "hole in the wall" feeling.
- Low - medium prices mean that you'll pay about $10-15 per person.
Cons:
- Unfortunately, the place is discovered. No reservations are taken, and the line is always at least 15 minutes long, often more.
- The restaurant is very crowded and loud. Not the sort of place where you can sit and talk.
- Service is often indifferent, sometimes rude. Often, the owner won't really let you order and just brings whatever he feels like.
- Cleanliness is NOT a priority here. I've found bottlecaps in my rice, dried food on my fork, and a film of something on top of my water. Grin and bear it.
Overall, house of Nanking is fantastic Chinese food for a laid-back group of people who don't mind the wait or the unhygenic surroundings. If you're going to restaurant for anything other than the food, though, then you're better of skipping this already discovered gem.
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Update: 1/31/00
A lot of people have complained about the 5 star rating that I gave this restaurant, despite my comments on the sanitary aspects of it.
Look, the food is fantastic! I grew up in a third world country, so I know that the phenomenon of people keeling over because they eat from dirty forks is pretty rare.
If you've ever worked in the back of a restaurant (like I have), you'd also know that a lot of "nice" restaurants are incredibly unsanitary behind the scenes.
And who hasn't cut corners by licking a spoon before putting it back into the pot full of sauce?
House of Nanking doesn't bother with the illusion that it's incredibly clean and polished, but it serves up great food.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Naval
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Member: Naval Ravikant
Location: Palo Alto, CA
Reviews written: 11
Trusted by: 291 members
About Me:
An Epinions founder and an addict - provider of brutally honest ratings and reviews.
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