Hoping for good; settling for edible: #2 China Yi Wang

For today's adventure I found myself having to travel all the way to the intersection of Eastern and Burton. It turned out that many of the places I thought were restaurants were actually hair salons or churches.

China Yi Wang

Address: 1947
Style of food: Chinese
Travel method: car
Food ordered: Hunan Chicken with fried rice
Cost: $4.50 OTD
Would I eat it again?: No
Did my dog eat it?: N/A
Health inspections: Check
After effects?: Yes

China Yi Wang is one of the places that inspired this blog. I had never seen it before that one walk a few weeks ago. Then, as now, when I walked past I saw a mostly empty restaurant. The tables and chairs seemed to be merely decorative. This is really a take-out only kind of place; a big open room with a giant menu board, and a few cafeteria style tables to sit it while you questioned your choice of food.



At first I imagined that the name of the restaurant means "impressive chinese package", but it turns out the restaurant is named after a Hong Kong grad student who likes to wears skin tight track suits.


The real Yi Wang

I ordered my usual choice of whatever "main spicy chicken dish", usually implemented as Kung Pao, Szechuan or Hunan. Hunan was the variation in this case.

The cooks impressively fired up the stove and began cooking the food. It looked like a blacksmith furnace. Bright flames shot out of gas jets onto giant blackened woks.



The food was served in a cheerful bag by the slightly less cheerful cook. The only other customers were two bored girls who asked the price of a pop, and then decided against the purchase.



Inside the cheerful bag was a silver dish of some very good looking food.




The chicken meat was white and tender. The vegetables weren't too overcooked. With the first bite I was beginning to enjoy it, but the flavor of the sauce became annoying. Then it began to taste bitter and greasy. Then I saw what was on my fork.



That same stuff was coating my mouth and teeth.

For having made it through the food, I was awarded with a decent tasting fortune cookie. Inside it read "You have a friendly heart and are well admired". True it may be, but my heart wouldn't be friendly or alive long if I ate this food very often.