Taste of China

My favorite in brooklyn… their fried chicken is the BEST! They are clean and friendly, only thing is they do not deliver

I had better… I was just hungry

It was late, and I was tired.
It had been a very difficult week and I had no strength to make food. As I walked on Nostrand, hoping to pick up food, I realized that everything on the street had closed. I checked my watch – it was nine. Too tired to be picky, I just walked into the nearest open place.
Taste of China is a small take out Chinese place located on Nostrand and Lincoln. Like the many other Chinese take-​out restaurants on Nostrand, the place is a little dismal hole in the wall with bad fluorescent lighting and cheap looking photo menus. There are two orange tables, but the place is much more of take-​out or delivery option than anything else (the sign above the trashcan also discourages customers from «staying after eating»).
The people here are the best part of the store. From the looks of it, the entire family (mom, dad, three children, uncle) were all behind the counter working. The dad came out to mop the floors, the mom was taking orders in the front, the uncle did the cooking, while the children chatted amongst themselves. Everyone was super friendly, as dad even insisted that I sit down while I wait for the food.
The prices are dirt cheap. I got the General Tsou’s chicken (don’t hate; it’s my comfort food) and a big mound of fried rice for $ 5.50. I wouldn’t say they give out gigantic proportions, but I did have enough leftovers for a future meal. You get small and large options for everything, which is really convenient, I thought. The small options are all under $ 5 and the large are all under $ 9. If you order for a certain amount, you get free cans of soda. Also, they don’t use MSG.
The food though is okay at best. Granted that the place is a take-​out joint and probably wouldn’t have had gourmet food, it does taste a little too much like nondescript bad Chinese food. The fried rice was very oily and tasted like it was cooked earlier, and just refried for the order. The chicken was a bit boring (the sauce was sweet, but had no kick) and a bit tough.
And lastly, they do deliver!
I wouldn’t recommend this place unless you happened to be in Leffert’s Garden past 8:30 PM when everything else apparently shuts down. But! On a difficult night of a difficult week, there is some comfort in Chinese take-​out made by an entire family.