China House II

On Monday, August 5, 2013 I had lunch at China House II, at 2584 Valley Avenue. This is in the Southpark Shopping Center, at Valley and Tevis Street, where the anchor store is Food Lion. It's in a single module at the far end of the building housing the Food Lion and several other businesses.

Entry was through a door in the center, into an enclosed vestibule with an inner door on its right side. A large lighted aquarium with goldfish was inside, against the back wall of the vestibule.

It's a small place. Seating was two tables for two along the right wall, a round table for eight in the center of the room and three tables for four along the left wall. A counter for the servers was in the left rear, with the entrance to the kitchen behind it. A Coke machine was in the back center of the room.

There were no other patrons when I entered. A Caucasian man and a Chinese woman were behind the counter, discussing something. Occasionally a Chinese man came out of the kitchen to join them, and several phone calls were answered. I was ignored and spent the time studying the menu.

Under Specialties, it listed Appetizers, Soup, Chow Mein, Fried Rice, Lo Mein or Mei Fun, Pat Thai Noodle, Egg Foo Young, Pork, Chicken, Beef, Shrimp, Vegetable, and Healthy Selections (Steamed). Other categories were Lunch Special ($5.65) and Dinner Special ($7.50).

For each of these listings there were a number of variations. Spicy items were printed in red, along with a red pepper symbol; extra spicy items had double red pepper symbols.

Finally, after more than five minutes, I was recognized by the woman. She took my order from the Lunch Special list for Chicken with Cashew Nuts, and a cup of tea. The latter was a plastic foam cup of hot water with a tea bag.

I found that off-putting; a real Chinese restaurant would serve a pot of tea already brewed, and give you a choice of several varieties. While my order was being prepared I was served a platter of fried wonton noodles, with a small dish of orange sauce for dipping. It kept me busy while I was waiting.

Before long I was presented with an oval china platter piled high with food. About half of the serving was vegetable fried rice, with bean sprouts. The rest was a mixture of chunks of stir-fried chicken and chopped vegetables. These included baby corn, celery, and carrots, along with whole cashews and a few peanuts. A deep-fried egg roll was on the side of the platter. All in all, it was lot of food for the money.

China House II opens at 11:00 AM Monday through Saturday, and at 12:00 PM on Sunday. In addition to dining in and take out service, it advertises free delivery with a minimum order of $10.00. No other patrons came in during my stay, not even for take out. I rate the place as merely OK, and am not likely to be back. It's no better and no worse that the typical shopping center Chinese restaurant.