04/09/09

Cheap and great

by jooz

This place has a great view, cheap stiff drinks on the weekend, and chinese food. i don't really like chinese food

• Pros: Cheap Drinks, Great View
• Cons: I don't like Chinese Food

04/07/09

China Harbor for an all-round good time!

by JTWang

I love this place. You can't ask for more from a restaurant with cheap, tasty, filling meals, multiple full-shelved bars, an AWESOME view (day OR nighttime), a spacious comfortable atomosphere, and a poppin' downstairs night club packed with beautiful people!!! 5 stars for an all around restaurant and good time!! Me and my buddies are definately making this place a weekly ritual.

• Pros: Night club is packed with beautiful people...
• Cons: Night club being too packed??

04/06/09

Best for Both Worlds (Asian and Americans Alike)

by wendydarlingpan

Firstly, I would like to point out that I am an American-born Chinese female who has tasted BOTH authentic Chinese food and the more Amarcanized versions, and my boyfriend is an All-American Caucasian male who ONLY likes "American Chinese" food. That being said, China Harbor is our favorite restaurant to visit that appeals to both my more picky Asian palate and his more Westernized one.

Let's start with appetizers: I absolutely detest potstickers and egg rolls that are too greasy, so this restaurant is the place to go if you want fried food that isn't shiny or dripping with oil--sometimes ungreasy appetizers could be a problem, but let me assure you that the potstickers and egg rolls are extremely tasty and don't have the texture of dry/stale cardboard that other restaurant's ungreasy appetizers have. My boyfriend doesn't really care for soup, so we usually skip that, but there was once a large family sitting behind us who got the Hot n Sour soup (or is it sweet n sour?) and it smelled delicious and looked like they were enjoying it, so I ordered my own bowl (even tho I never really liked Hot n Sour soup), and it has become one of my most favorite soups ever... but only from China Harbor--weird, huh?

Our favorite items are the Mongolian Beef, Chicken Chow Mein, the Eggplant dish, and the Almond Fried Chicken. (We also got a side of white rice for me cause I can't live without my bai-mi-fan!) The Mongolian Beef and Almond Fried Chicken were exactly the kinds of dish that my boyfriend loves--straight up Westernized, very tasty, nice and steamy, and all around good American... err Chinese food. If you're more into the more traditional kinds of textures and flavors, the Eggplant dish is absolutely perfect--it's not soggy like some places when they over cook it, or hard and acidic when other places undercook it. It is seriously THE Goldilocks of eggplant dishes with the perfect texture and invigorating flavors that compliment the acidity of the vegetable rather than numb it down or play it up. As for the Chicken Chow Mein, it's another dish that's not too greasy but also still has great flavors--this is a dish we always have to order. We tried the combination fried rice here a couple of times and although it was good, there was just too much food and has a little too many ingredients for my liking (but then again, I'm a straight-up, white-rice kind of person).

MOST of the wait staff are also very quick on refilling drinks, coming by to check up on your meal, and are also prompt with ordering (although, I would like to point out that I usually get treated a lot better at most asian restaurants when I go to them with my boyfriend-haha!). No matter, MOST of the staff is very sweet and attentive.

Now onto the negatives--as I pointed out, there are sometimes some unfriendly waiters--but this does not detract from the quality of the food. Also, because there is a disco or club or whatever outside of the restaurant, there could be loud music if you choose to dine later at night (you can avoid this though if you go earlier or even for lunch!) Ummm, oh yeah! The bathrooms are kind of... iffy. I mean, they're like any other chinese restaurants' bathrooms... but they could definitely use some sprucing up. Also, one thing I REALLY wish China Harbor would do is give us free refills on soda (since my bf is kind of a soda hound), but good thing is we get free refills on hot tea! Yeay!

As for the surrounding areas of China Harbor--it rests right up against the water so it is a great place to have dinner and watch the sunset. Overall, this restaurant is a great place to grab a meal--whether if on a nice date or at a huge family gathering, China Harbor is THE chinese restaurant that is sure to please everyone!

• Pros: Great view and delicious, super cheap chinese food!
• Cons: No free refills on pop, dingy bathrooms, unfriendly waiters