Review: Hong Kong Cuisine

I have lamented on this blog before about how there was a lack of good takeout Chinese food in close proximity to where I live.  However, after my recent experience I have to change my tune a little bit.

Ever since I moved down here I've been searching for a place that was a good as First Wok in Muncie with little success.  Great Taste Chinese was close to my apartment, but after the last meal I had there lacked quality along with getting my order wrong in the first place I decided I wasn't going back.  Chinese buffets can be okay, but unless I drive down to Dragon House in Fishers or 8 Chinese Buffet in Castleton I'm not really a fan.  That left Hong Kong Cuisine.  It was a little bit farther to drive and get takeout, but at this point it was worth a shot.

It has been my experience that when it comes to takeout Chinese food that people tend to get almost the same thing every time.  I'm no different.  My preferred dish is the chicken with garlic sauce and that is exactly what I got.  I have to say up front that this is the best version of the dish I've had in recent memory.  All of the ingredients seemed really fresh.  The chicken was moist.  The vegetables, especially the broccoli, had that nice snap to it that I prefer.  The sauce had a very nice intense garlic flavor and an adequate amount of heat.  It wasn't so spicy that it would put off those with a more tame palette, but it was not at all bland or sugary.  Also, there was a nice mix of veggies and not an overwhelming abundance of fillers like onions or green peppers cough...Great Taste...cough.  The fried rice which can at times just be a throwaway side seemed much fresher and more natural in color than I have gotten from other Chinese places in the past.  It included juicy chunks of pork as well that were quite tasty.  The meal also came with an egg roll that was nicely crisp with good flavor and was complemented well with duck sauce.

We also decided to order an additional side of crab rangoons.  The portion that was given to us was quite large...probably enough to serve 3 or 4 people in reality.  Each one was quite large in size and came with the typical red sweet and sour dipping sauce.  I wouldn't call them exceptional, but I would say they were good for being the usual crab rangoons.  I'm still yet to get the dumplings...maybe next time.

Taste: 9/10  As far as good takeout goes I can't imagine getting a much better meal than this.  It was exactly what I wanted.  No more, no less.  The flavors and freshness were spot on.  This is going to be my new regular place for Chinese to go.  I have also heard good things about King Chef.  I'll have to make a trip there at some point to see how it compares.

Value: 9/10  The girlfriend and I got two combos (entree, fried rice and egg roll) and a separate order of crab rangoon for 15 bucks.  Considering how good the food was, and the fact that we both had enough left over to eat the next day I would have easily paid 20.