Wait: We seated ourselves just after 6 p.m. on a Wednesday.

Service: Simple and effective, but lacking any semblance of personality. The speed in which dishes came flying from the kitchen was more iffy than impressive.

Meal: Boo Boo’s earned the unfortunate distinction of serving me the weakest won-ton soup of my life.

The two namesake dumplings looked naked floating in my cup of broth alongside a measly two pieces of cabbage. Not a single sliver of scallion, not one piece of pork.

Our pot stickers were no better than the store-bought variety, and they weren’t hot enough despite the speed with which they hit our table. Perhaps they once called a heating tray home, because they didn’t have that freshly fried crispness to them.

Soy sauce was the dominant taste in the rest of our dishes — from the chicken chow mein to the hot and spicy shrimp (more sweet than fiery) to the Mongolian beef (more green onions than steak).

Scene: It’s a box of a white-walled dining space with olive vinyl booths on either side and shiny cherry tables in the middle. A TV and a framed, shimmering waterfall art piece are the big eye-grabbers. Faces included both families and senior citizens.

Bathroom break: Basic and fairly clean.

Tab for three: $36 with tip and tax for a cup of won-ton soup ($1.95), pot stickers ($5.25), hot and spicy shrimp ($7.95), Mongolian beef ($6.50) and chicken chow mein ($5.95).

If work weren’t buying: It’s average Chinese food; it’ll do in a kung-pao pinch, but that’s about it.

SCORECARD
Food C
Service C
Scene C+
Bathrooms C
Overall C

Boo Boo’s Chinese Restaurant
1035 N. Ellsworth Road, Mesa

Major cross streets: Ellsworth and Brown roads

Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, noon to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

Reservations accepted: Yes

Health report: One major violation on May 9

Kid friendly: Yes

Web site: No