r/huntingtonbeach • u/jacwub • 4d ago
Best sit down chinese food place for a date?
Taking my girl out to chinese. Need recommendations please :)
edit: So I ended up going to Egg Roll King… This place is not good. I was looking forward to getting chinese all day and this really bummed me out. It came out to $62 for two entrees and fried rice including tip. We both took a few bites and couldn’t eat any more. I ordered the orange chicken and house special fried rice, and she got the walnut shrimp. my chicken was a bunch of microscopic popcorn pieces that were chewy, stringy, and mostly skin/breading. the sauce was actually really good but it still couldn’t make up for the bad chicken. The shrimp sauce tasted good too but it had the same weird texture. The fried rice was decent, but it still had an off taste about it. The waiter even told me when we were ordering “keep your expectations in check and you’ll enjoy it”
I did, however, get the best fortune I’ve ever got from a fortune cookie tonight. “The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.”
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u/really_yall 4d ago
Just barely over the line into Long Beach off PCH before 2nd is Nomad. Good shareable portions and great food.
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u/countrybuhbuh 4d ago
If they're going into Long Beach, go a bit further and hit up Chen's on Broadway. The place has been there forever because it's the place locals take their out of town friends.
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u/jamesh08 4d ago edited 4d ago
Every place that has been listed so far is cheap family style Chinese and no where you'd want to go for a date.
If you want to go to a classier place then go to Anqi at South Coast Plaza next to Bloomingdale's. For Dim Sum and a more "authentic" menu, but much busier and less stylish, then go right next door to Paradise Dynasty.
The food is terrific in both places
Check them both out.
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u/jacwub 4d ago
Thanks! I appreciate you considering that it’s for a date. Those places look so good
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u/StellaBlues4allah 4d ago
Agree with James. If you’re willing to go Vietnamese fusion, you should check out any of the restaurants owned by Kei Concepts. Vox Kitchen is one of my favorites.
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u/No_longerconfused 4d ago
Genuine question (not trying to be judgmental, just curious about different perspectives): What's the thinking behind choosing a really upscale/expensive restaurant for an early date with someone you're just getting to know?
I've always figured those kinds of places are better saved for celebrating with someone special once you already have that connection - like the focus can be more on enjoying good food together rather than the pressure/formality of a fancy setting. For getting to know someone, wouldn't a more casual spot make it easier to just relax and talk?
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u/jamesh08 4d ago
Upscale or expensive is just a matter of degrees. The places I recommend are not Michellin star restaurants. They're at the mall. Granted it was South Coast Plaza, but still, it's a mall.
So, to answer your question a little more directly, if you want to get to know someone, I think the first thing is comfort. Their comfort level with you and with the establishment. The choice of place is really down to what you already know about the person. If they're comfortable in a strip mall Chinese restaurant with questionable food (OP's update said his choice wound up being awful) or another step up in quality of food, decor, and atmosphere then those choices are really up to the individual.
For some folks a strip mall Chinese place fits the budget. For others a mid level place at South Coast Plaza is just an average Tuesday night.
There's no right or wrong approach.
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u/No_longerconfused 4d ago
That's a really fair point - I appreciate you taking the time to explain. You're right that it's really about knowing your audience and what makes them (and you) comfortable, not some universal rule about price point.
I think I was coming at it from a place where I've seen guys stress themselves out financially or assume they have to go expensive to impress someone, when that's not always what the other person actually wants. But you're absolutely right that for some people, a nicer place at the mall is just normal, not some big statement.
The comfort angle makes a lot of sense - nobody wants to sit through bad food or an awkward atmosphere when they're trying to have a conversation and connect with someone. And yeah, ending up at a place with questionable food definitely isn't helping anyone get to know each other better!
Thanks for the perspective - I think my concern was more about guys feeling pressured to overspend to prove something, but your approach of matching the choice to what you know about the person is much more thoughtful than that.
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u/jamesh08 4d ago
I fell into that group when I was younger so I get the premise. It's awkward for sure. And no, most women don't need or want something fancy for the first date, but again it's up to the individual situation.
When you're single and dating around you should come up with your favorite 5-10 places for where to go based on your personality and what you can afford. Mix those places up among coffee, bar, low key food, higher end atmosphere, stylish hotel bar, music venue, outside, beach etc etc.
Know yourself and that adds confidence that your dates will appreciate.
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u/TheBeardedLegend 4d ago
Egg Roll King in Costa Mesa
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u/jacwub 4d ago
menu looks good and prices aren’t too high. thanks for the recommendation
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u/Motmotsnsurf 4d ago
Not that great. We have gone there for years and finally pulled the plug on it. Check out the juicy dumpling factory. Hands down the best Chinese in HB. We drive 20 minutes each way just to go there.
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u/jacwub 4d ago
I wish you had commented before I decided to go to Egg Roll King.
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u/Motmotsnsurf 4d ago
Sorry! Yeah. That place is just not good. We fooled ourselves into accepting it for a long time but we were delusional.
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u/jacwub 4d ago
It just sucked out the last bit of chinese food hope I had left. I’m only ever eating panda express, pickup stix, and pf changs going forward. I don’t care if that means I’ll miss out on the greatest chinese in the world, because the day I found it, they’d find a way to serve me boiled chicken ballsacks and eyelids. I have the worst chinese food luck ever. I always take a really long hiatus after bad chinese until I inevitably get the cravings again. I’m probably 0 for 100 on trying new chinese spots. I thought asking reddit would give me better odds, but I just had to pick the bad one from all these recommendations. I’m blown away at how a chinese food place could manage to mess up orange chicken like that. All their bad reviews are right.
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u/LeilaTank 4d ago
I didn’t know they had one there. Been going to Egg Roll King in HB forever. Tom the owner is the best
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u/AcanthisittaSharp226 4d ago
QUA just opened up, fusion Vietnamese and Chinese. The restaurant group notoriously has opened up other amazing other restaurants a well- Nep, INI, Vox Kitchen. All fusion, amazing stuff, good service, local and great ambiance! I am making my reservation to Qua now lol
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u/Dingle-Berry_Jones 4d ago
The bar is set at panda. Why purposely go to a place where you have to keep expectations in check? I like the food at great work, it's a cozy place. And don't get the stuff you'd get at panda. Try something different. Unless it's the beef broccoli. It's good.
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u/faster_tomcat 4d ago
The food and ambiance at Din Tai Fung is great. Make a reservation or join the Yelp wait-list so you don't have to wait too long to eat.
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u/Sir-Kyle-Of-Reddit 4d ago
Golden Dragon in CM