|
Wonton soup delicious, but 2-timing waitress spoils experience at House of Hong
By CRYSTAL PETROCELLI
Get Out
Wait: We walked into the sprawling, empty restaurant at 8:30 p.m. on a Wednesday.
Service: It was fine, save for the times our waitress tried to squeeze in bites of dinner at a table a mere 20 feet from us. Not cool. Part of me felt guilty for keeping the woman from her meal, and part of me was grossed out by the thought of her eating, then dishing up our soup, then eating, then handing us a plate of broccoli beef. Also, our main dishes came out while we were still working on our soup.
What we liked: Hong’s hearty wonton soup was one of the best I’ve had in Arizona. The flavorful broth was brimming with strips of barbecued pork, small shrimp, tender chicken strips, snow peas, white onion, bok choy and pork- and shrimp-filled wontons. The shredded pork and veggies with garlic sauce was good, but the “shreds” were so thin and mixed so thoroughly it was tough to tell pork was part of the dish. If I’m gonna eat meat, I want to taste it. The broccoli beef had a ho-hum sauce that the broccoli heads spent too much time in, rendering them soggy.
Scene: Four big, flat-screen TVs were not exactly what I expected to see when I walked into this Chinese restaurant. But the Suns were on and the place was dead, so the boob tubes saved us from an otherwise awkwardly quiet dining experience. The 50-foot-long bar and 35-plus tables offer an overwhelming number of places to park your rear.
Bathroom break: It was weird walking into a restroom I’d visited back when House of Hong was a bar (Mill Avenue Sport Rock Cafe). It’s cleaner, but definitely showing signs of age.
Tab for two: $35 with tip and tax for a bowl of wonton soup ($4.95), shredded pork in garlic sauce ($7.50), broccoli beef ($7.95) and chicken pan-fried rice noodles ($6.95).
If work weren’t buying: And so my quest for drool-inducing Chinese dishes continues...
Mouth-watering honey walnut shrimp highlights House of Hong's selections
By CHRIS PAGE
Get Out
Wait: We arrived at 6:15 on Saturday night and were seated immediately in the sparsely populated dining room.
Service: We were in a rush to get to a show, and our server, when alerted, got us our appetizers, entrees and check in just 40 minutes. Zowie!
What we liked: Forget the restaurants on Mill Avenue; from here on out, when we’re looking to fill our stomachs with delicious, inexpensive food before getting our souse on in Tempe, we’re hitting up Hong for its tasty (although awkward-to-order-out-loud) pu pu platter — an array of appetizers from crab puffs and fried shrimp to the tastiest beef satay we’ve chowed down — and the honey walnut shrimp: Creamy without cloying, subtly sweet, served with a side of glazed walnuts that made for good contrast. My companion’s ginger and scallion beef was good, too, though no better than typical.
Scene: Housed in a stand-alone building that looks like it’s seen its fair share of turnover, House of Hong’s interior is surprisingly nice — clean decor with elegant touches of art, a whammy of a bar and flat-screen televisions along the back wall — though the dining room is well-lit enough to be probably more family- and friend-oriented than romantic.
Bathroom break: The men’s room is clean and well-stocked, though the mirror and sink are tucked away in a nook that could use more light. Tab for two: $36 with tax and tip for pu pu platter ($9.95), ginger and scallion beef ($7.95) and honey walnut shrimp ($8.50).
If work weren’t buying: My mouth’s watering right now, thinking about that honey walnut shrimp. Here’s hoping House of Hong prospers in that spot — and that’s no Hong Kong phooey.
House of Hong
3231 S. Mill Ave., Tempe
Major cross streets: Mill and Southern avenues
Hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily
Reservations accepted: Yes
Health report: One major violation on Oct. 18
Kid friendly? Yes
Web site: No
|
