Chez Chen

waiting at the counter for a takeout, the cook answered his cell while perparing. a few mins later, when the cashier asking staffs if anyone had change for $ 20 which i paid, he again reached for his wallet bare handed and went on perparing the next second. this is what i call DISGUSTING

I was tipped off to this place by a Chinese friend, who was surprised by how authentic and awesome the food was here. I ordered the crispy pork with sweet and sour sauce at her recommendation, and szechuan green beans with minced pork, as I was in the mood for something spicy. Both were delicious and came in a very generous portion. They offered us complimentary appetizer as well, which was spicy Edamame stir fried with some other vegetables (sorry can’t recall, but it was darn good). Overall the cuisine here is more on the spicy side, so if you like that, that’s good. Otherwise ask the server to make it less spicy for you.

Stumbled upon this spot on Valentine’s Day night. Surprisingly, most of other decent downtown restaurants were closed by 10pm on a Saturday night. This one closes late at 11pm, which, in my opinion, fits well with the schedule and life style of the downtown community.
Hot tea was immediately served once we sat down, with two appetizers: both, of course, home made. One of them is some crispy snack. Traditional Chinese style equivalent of nacho/​chips. Taste was amazing, with the right amount of spices.
We ordered a traditional DongBei stew: pork ribs, flat bean and potatoes. It’s exactly how authentic DongBei cuisine tastes like. I was very surprised and impressed by both the quantity and quality of it. Honest ingredients and cooking. On the menu, you will find a lot of other DongBei cuisine options with very good price.
The décor is different than your typical Chinese restaurants, with bright orange paint, open kitchen concept, feels very clean and open sitting inside. A larger TV on the wall, and most importantly, it’s NOT playing Chinese drama or boring news. They were playing hockey that night when we were there.
The staff were all very friendly and took care of our table w/​o being overbearing.
I’d definitely go back to try out more food!