[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by Villagesgal

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.

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

[Sherrilee]

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.

[margearch309@gmail.com]

Koyame (hope spelling is correct) it is delicious!

[Scorpyo]

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.

[charlieo1126@gmail.com]

Originally Posted by mojoslacker

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.

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

[davem4616]

Originally Posted by yankygrl

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.

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

[PugMom]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

Wow you folks are a tough audience.

[BlackhawksFan]

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

[zendog3]

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.

[MandoMan]

Originally Posted by yankygrl

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.

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.

[Stu from NYC]

Originally Posted by Scorpyo

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.

So where do you get good potato knishes at a reasonable price.

Only thing we have found is Gabila at Publix price is very very high.

[davem4616]

Originally Posted by Stu from NYC

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

We've been here a few years now, IMHO with very few exceptions, you'll find that the eateries outside TV are far better than those in TV

If you like Greek food, OPA's in Orlando is the best...you cut the lamb with a spoon and you'd think that you were back in Greece....

We've tried the Italian restaurants down here...a very few come close to the ones in Boston's North End, Providence's Federal Hill, or NYC's "Little Italy"... Francesco's on 441 is good

My wife's 1st generation FBI...we do a lot of cooking from scratch using authentic recipes handed down in her family...so we generally choose something other than Italian when we dine out

If you want a great steak "Mark's" in Ocala is tough to beat...

[KRM0614]

The ones here are not real Chinese, closest is Orlando near the mall. Same with deli !

[MJY10101]

We tried a few but settled on Koyame. Always fresh and hot even for takeout!

[MaxCat]

Unfortunately the best authentic Chinese restaurant was to drive over to Cocoa Beach and go to Yen Yen's. Which I think is currently closed -- don't know if permanently or just due to the virus or if the virus was the cause of permanent closure. But if it ever opens again, it's fabulous and authentic. Sit down and fabulous. (I think the owner, who is Chinese, moved to Florida quite a number of years ago from NYC ) If closed permanently, we will have to hope for a re-opening under a new name . . . ????