Good Chinese Food
 

I’m from NY, lived in TV for the past 10 years and have yet to find a good Chinese food “eat in” restaurant local. Love Sakura at Colony Plaza and Bamboo Bistro near Target but they are Asian fusion. What about you, has anyone found one? Most Chinese restaurants are take out and not all that good.

We like Kayame but now it is take out.

Plus 1 for Koyame.

IMHO there’s no good Chinese food here, but ok Chinese food. We go to Cheng’s On 466.

Chengs was our go to place for Chinese. Last time we picked up an order (hers) of Moo Goo Gai Pan, and (me) something different, Mongolian Beef. Hers was okay and mine was very disappointing.

Lin Garden II in Inverness
 

Recently had the buffet at Lin Garden II in Inverness. Very well prepared Chinese IMO. Following normal Covid procedures as well. East Wok is another quality place, in Taveres, tho only takeout due to Covid. For local, the VKI Japanese Steakhouse in Lake Sumter is very good though a bit more expensive. Nice for hibachi.

I am originally from an area that had no Chinese restaurants. My first Chinese Restaurant was a takeout in Goose Creek SC. That set my standard. All Chinese food in the Villages is good. If it is hot and fur free, it is good. Otherwise, go Mexican.

Cheng's on 466 is quite good. And good is the highest grade around here.

Try Yummy House in Ocala. Near exit 350 off of I-75.

Ocala Menu

I don't miss it. They really did make a Special Wonton for us! No more Chinese for us ever again. Better safe than sorry.

Try YouTube. It has language otherwise I would link it. Type in Eddie Murphy special wonton soup!

There are no good Chinese restaurants in the bubble how you could possibly ever compared to New York City. In fact I will say the reason is because people here are too cheap and the restaurants here understand that. If you look at it and egg roll but you will get here it is half the size with no meat inside of it. Fried rice has very little vegetables or cut up roast pork. There are probably 6 or so good New York style restaurants in Florida I have found why not south of Cocoa Beach and several towards Miami. There is also 1 in Leesburg that is takeout only. he is from New York. The problem is cost and cheapest survive in Senior town

I've lived in TV 27 years and have not found a really good Chinese restaurant. I'm from Michigan and miss all the good ethnic restaurants. Good Luck

Wow you folks are a tough audience.

I love the Japanese restaurant next to the movie theater in Sumter Landing. It may be called Japanese Steakhouse. I can never remember. Great food but at this time may be only take out.

Being from NY (me too) I'm sure you realized this restaurant is JAPANESE right?
 

:clap2:

There isn't any. You have to go to Orlando, or even further to find the real thing. Most chinese restaurants will "Americanize" thinking that's what most American's want. By the way, General Tso is not Chinese.

Yummy House is close to NY Chinese

Try the Yummy House in Ocala.... Authentic Chinese food

Yummy House in Ocala
 

Yummy House in Ocala is by far the best, it’s located on route 200 Not far via 75 North get off at art 200 exit East and it’s about 1/2 mile on the right in a Shopping Center, the best Dim Sum on a cart

Sakura is Japanese

Koyame Asian Express EXCELLENT! 352- 750-9983
1558 Bella Cruz Dr. near Spanish Springs Publix

I heard a rumor that a P. F. Chang is coming to the villages. A little pricey, but good Chinese food.

Does that mean we will be out of luck for our weekly sushi feast?

There is no authentic or even good Chinese food here in the Villages or any real ethnic food either. I'm from Seattle and really miss "real" ethnic food. Yummy House in Ocala at least has dim sum. For real Chinese food you have to go to Orlando in the Asian part of town. Bring a cooler and stop at the Asian Market and buy supplies to make at home. Order 2 of your favorite at the restaurant and bring home one order to enjoy for later. Best Korean and East Indian also in Orlando. Have fun exploring.

I cant remember the name but theres a take out in the Publix shopping center on 42 right next to the veteran hospital. Great food at not a badprice

FOR SURE!! No great sushi here!
Sakura, IMO, is nothing at all like NY or NJ, but just OK.

Koyame is “the best” for many because the portions are huge. The food is not bad.

The other one that people love, which I don’t recall the name of at this moment, was, for us, disgusting... even though it’s rated another very good one. We brought another couple there BC19 and I felt terrible even suggesting it! It was gross, and I’m really not that picky.
We order from China Gourmet in Colony, and as long as it isn’t overcooked, everything but the ribs is pretty good. Veggies not mushy, tasty, and I rate it as PG. (pretty good) compared to others. With that said, it’s take out. For some reason we prefer bringing in Chinese, rather than sitting at. Tradition I guess.

If you need a “fix”, you can find just about anything on
gold belly.com. If you’re willing to pay just about anything too! Sometimes I’m tempted to order a deli sandwich or pizza from NY or Chicago!

Lmao

I heard that P.F. Changs was coming to the Villages? I enjoy Panda Express as much as any down here.

You're right we should have moved to the east coast for N.Y. food. I like all the places you mentioned. China Star at Penellas is my favorite take out.
And your Italian place is a favorite.

It’s called VKI and is good!

We are new here but have found several good Italian restaurants as well as a good Greek one Taki.

I want chow mein like in Boston... white celery bamboo shoots and noodles on bottom!! What is the chow mein here!! I’ve thought of calling Kowloons and shipping a crate frozen here but ridiculous idea.

Koyame (hope spelling is correct) it is delicious!

I like Cheng's as well. Try different items and you'll wind up with something you might like. I like the Szechuan Braised Beef. Lots of meat and just the right kick. I'm from the Bronx. Let's see....the Bronx has better Chinese food, better Italian food, great knishes. The Bronx has high cost of living (rents and homes), much higher crime rates and ugly neighborhoods. The Villages has okay Chinese and Italian food (no knishes). The Villages has gorgeous homes and just about no crime. Hmmm hard to choose between the two. Also, if you want authentic Chinese food you could have it imported from China. Ugh wait a minute I take that back. The last thing we imported from China did not work out to well.:ohdear:

Wow eating at a Chinese buffet
 

in Inverness . You have my vote as the bravest people on site lol

I'm with you...it just doesn't exist down here....we couldn't find decent Chinese food when we were in Ft Lauderdale either

'Chinese' is one of the first things that we go for when we go back north

:1rotfl:

Chinese food here, especially the pork fried rice, is mall food court quality.

I am from Seattle, so Seattle Chinese is my standard. That said, except for dim sum, I ate college/street food Chinese.

That said, for me, the Chinese carryout from the restaurant in Colony Plaza is as good as it gets. Definitely not fancy.Low cost, harty, flavorful.

I used to live in Beijing, where the low quality Chinese food in the “foreign experts dining room” at the Friendship Hotel was quite a bit better than most Chinese food I’ve eaten in the 36 years since. But expecting a Chinese restaurant with chefs from near Hong Kong to make decent Szechuan food or northern Chinese steamed buns or Mongolian food, etc., is like expecting a good cook in a French restaurant to make good Italian food. There are so many different cooking styles in China. And then, there is the sad fact that “moo goo gai pan” and “General Tso’s chicken” and “chop suey” and “chow mein” are only vaguely Chinese, in any case. They are American creations.

Don’t you find that the best Chinese restaurants in New York are the ones specializing in one region, and that when you eat there, you shouldn’t try a dish from a different region? Those are the ones the food critics love. When I returned from China, there are quite a few Szechuan restaurants making good Szechuan food, but I think that apart from in a few large cities, most of those have been closed. A lot of the local Chinese mom-and-pop restaurants have a barely-trained cook who may have never tried real food from other regions of China that he or she is expected to cook. Thus, most of what we buy may be edible, but it’s only an approximation of the real thing. Alas!

The same goes for pizza or the best Mexican tacos al pastor or tacos asado or other sorts. The best is hard to find because the cooks are hard to find and the audience can be hard to find, too. People go to where they can find their favorite dishes, authentic or not.