Hong Kong House

The food was really good. The problem was the appetizers came out with the meal, we’d ordered our sodas but they didn’t come to the table for 10 minutes or so, the server was good but they were understaffed, and we started to tip 22% but realized under the stapled one we tip and sign on was the detailed receipt on which they had added an auto tip of 15%. We were not a large group… only 2 of us. They would have had more if that wasn’t the case. That was a disappointing policy.

The waiter in this restaurant is TERRIBLE!!! TERRIBLE!!! TERRIBLE!!! He serviced the wrong dish and even tried to blame us! He should definitely be fired.

We are so happy to have this gem of a restaurant so close to our house! It is a lot like Fortune just nicer, better ambiance, etc. I crave the cumin tofu on a regular basis and like trying other things on the Szechuan menu while my husband can still get solid renditions of typical Americanized Chinese fare.

Super authentic. Server wasn’t particularly helpful with ordering, so we went with quantity. Everything was amazing. Easily the best Chinese food in town! Try the hot oil appetizer and beef entrée.

The dumplings in hot chili oil were fantastic. I don’t know if the dumplings were handmade, but they were absolutely delicious. And the hot chili oil was flavorful and tasty — I’ve never tasted anything like it! The lamb with cumin was good, but it paled in comparison to the dumplings. The lamb was spicy, of course, but it was also a tad too salty for my taste. I liked that it was served on finely shredded cabbage.

Wowzie! Soooo much better than the buffet style of prior years. This is a proper restaurant now, and we needed some good Szechuan in this part of town. I stopped in to order carry out and it was ready in 15 minutes. I’m definitely a dumpling girl, and their steamed dumplings are really good and obviously hand made. The standout is the crispy chicken Chongqing style. I’ve read reviews that say it’s like «expertly prepared popcorn chicken», and it really is. Perfect dry fried golden chicken nibbles with hot peppers. Very special and completely addictive. I can’t wait to try more dishes!

Wow. I had been to the buffet and was a little disappointed that they changed formats, but after this visit I can’t wait to get back. Plus, the portion sizes were big enough that I had plenty for two meals.
They’ve updated the décor, and it is quite nice now (though you can see the buffet tables hiding in the back.) Service was excellent, start to finish. Prices were reasonable for what you get. And the food? Outstanding.
I started with a couple of spring rolls. Fresh, big, hot, and tasty. After scanning the menu I wanted about 43 of the entrees, but settled on the lamb with cumin. Oh, man! Tender strips of lamb, with an almost-​overpowering blend of cumin, garlic, and who knows what other spices. Mixed with sauteed garlic, peppers, and green onions, on a bed of cabbage. Just wow. Spicy but not killer, just packed with flavor. I wish every Chinese restaurant served stuff like this. We are lucky to have more and more places going far beyond the typical Americanized Chinese and producing items like this.
I want more, now.

When I’m craving Szechuan food in Columbus, my number one choice is Hong Kong House. The quality of the food and its preparation make this a stand out option if you’re looking for hot and numbing flavor.
The food has, every time we’ve gone, been absolutely fantastic. There are two different diced chicken options (a must-​order for us). The regular diced chicken is just that: the type of diced chicken and peppers that you think of when you think of Szechuan food. It’s excellent. Even better though is the Chongquing style. It’s fried and crispy with an almost ethereal texture to the breading. This will likely be our go-​to option in the future.
Other things that have been absolutely great when we’ve gone:
— cumin lamb
— dan dan noodles
— shredded pork with hot peppers
— mapo tofu
In fact, I don’t know that we’ve had a bad dish at all.
One complaint however, is that rarely have our dishes been as spicy as you’d expect. I don’t know if we’ve been pegged as having mild palates, or what, but rarely have we received dishes so spicy that they make us sweat. And that’s what we want! Next time, we’re going to remember to ask that our dishes come out hot – and you may want to consider doing the same.
Finally, a brief description of the restaurant itself is warranted. The space is absolutely huge, and would be great for a large group. They have big round tables with lazy susans for easy access. The décor is well-​done and overall there is a nice ambiance.
Overall, a great place. I heartily recommend it without reservation.

After reading reviews both in paper media and online my wife and I decided to give this restaurant a try.
Very disappointing!
Walking in a sign says please wait to be seated, so we do. We wait and wait and wait and finally after 10 minutes a person brings a waiting person a carry out in bags and then finally seats us.
Limited bar menu of 6 mixed drinks.
No gin martini no gin.
Wife got a half filled glass of wine.
I ordered chicken with vegetable but I
received Hunan chicken.
Neither my wife’s food nor mine were good.
Server was not very familiar with menu or serving.
So gamble if you will with other reviews that lavish praise on this restaurant but in our opinion their are far better Asian restaurants around town!

As soon as my friend and I walked in, all the right things were happening.
Traditional music played in the background, not some arbitrary radio station with Western pop. As more people came in to eat, the noise naturally grew; but overall the setting was never too loud.
Visually, the interior is very appealing, darker shades, and somewhat fancy.
The artistic wall divides, various adornments, and traditional circle-​style seating (which was offered along with booths) all combined into one perfectly executed experience which made it believable that I had been transported to a nice establishment in Hong Kong.
I will also note something which certain reviewers tend to ignore, which is the room temperature, seeing as some restaurants/​stores in general may or may not have a comfortable environment. Although the weather has been notedly hotter and humid in the time that we visited, Hong Kong House was perfectly air conditioned without being too cold either. And privacy for those who desire it, our seat happened to be one of the many enclosed tables.
We were seated as soon as we walked inside, and our drinks were ordered. We had Jasmine and Oolong teas, which were both very good.
Just to talk about the tea itself: it was very fresh, served in teapots which were left at the table for us, the leaves could be seen in the bottom of one’s cup after pouring, and it was not made so strong and concentrated as many other restaurants tend to ruin it.
There are two separate menus, one for the more Americanized, the other for the more authentic pallet.
The waitress was very helpful in answering any questions and explaining the sundry dishes that they offer. And overall the waitress remained very helpful and diligent, without being intrusive, unlike many American restaurants which encourage loud and hyper behavior in their staff.
Note: This restaurant specializes mostly in southern and Sichuan cooking, so much of the variety of dishes can be somewhat spicy. I personally don’t like spicy food as much, but none of the dishes I ordered were a problem to my slight surprise.
We ordered from both menus: crab cream cheese wontons, wontons with hot chilli sauce, pork blood soybean sprout stew, chicken in garlic sauce, and cumin fish fillet.
Our two appetizers came out first, and in reasonable time. The wontons were both very delicious, and the sauces they came with likewise.
After we ate our wonton appetizers, it took a while for the meals to arrive; however we didn’t complain because there was plenty of tea to converse over, and we were glad the chefs were taking their time.
Boy were we glad they took their time, because ‘delicious’ is a term which hardly comes close to this particular culinary experience.
The portions for all the dishes were more than enough. (Complementing the more traditional style of dining in which large dishes are shared around the table. And we did share amongst ourselves.)
The chicken dish, which was the closest to Americanized that we ordered, was quite tasty, and blended in nicely with an assortment of sliced Chinese vegetables and spices.
The fish was perfectly fried, delicately seasoned of cumin and little red peppers. It was cooked perfectly, the outer crust with a slight crunch, and the fish meat succulent and tender. Some reviewers have complained that their fish could have been frozen, but Columbus is land locked, so it would be unfair to expect the freshest seafood. Also, there are many fresh fish kept live in tanks at the grocery; so I highly doubt they champion the use of frozen fish.
Of all the dishes, the favorite was undoubtedly the pork blood soybean sprout stew, which was brought out in the pot and rested over a small burning coal to keep it simmering.
Let me tell you, this Chinese cooking transcends the mere senses of taste and temperature.
With not only pork and tofu, but other diverse proteins, this stew was expertly and intelligently crafted with exuberant spices and herbs, along side the various hot and numbing peppers.
The dish was spicy, but the sensation of all the flavors and the numbing peppers made it simply delightful even for someone such as myself who has a preference for the cooking of Huáběi.
Had my friend not wanted moon cakes so badly, we might have never discovered this undeniably wonderful restaurant.
This was the easiest five-​star review ever.

I’m very critical to Chinese restaurants in US, and this place will be in my A list of Chine restaurants.
I ordered the Lion’s Head, which is a meatball dish. And it is apparent that the meat is hand chopped in the house, which is how the dish is supposed to be made. Kudos to the chef for not using regular ground meat. The other dishes are made with appropriate ingredients, unlike other places where they usually skimp on ingredients.
Definitely coming back for more. If you like authentic Chinese food, this is the place to go.

Oh man, like many Chinese restaurants, this is a place where you can order lots of dishes and see the money pile up. But if you are out with a big group, it can be alright.
The food is fantastic here. I regrettably do not have the photos from my meal, but someone in my family might, so I will add them at a later time.
We ordered the big shrimp, chinese bacon (pork belly) on pickled cabbage, cumin lamb, szechuan steamed fish, vegetables of some sort (I forget now), conch salad, and some other things.
It was all so delicious. Spicy, tasty, authentic. Absolutely fabulous. As I said, it can be pricey, but the food was very good. Not too much else to say.

My most favorite Chinese restaurant. I’m not Chinese but I have been in China for 3 years. This is really authentic Sichuan style Chinese. And atmosphere is also quiet and not cheesy. I feel like going back to China if I eat this restaurant foods. Thanks for your service.

The ambience was elegant; the restaurant seemed clean. Although I must admit I did not check out the bathrooms, which I had previously found disgusting when they were a buffet. Service was very prompt and attentive. Food even tasted pretty good — — although a little bland.
So why only one star? Because when I got home, about five hours after enjoying this meal of pumpkin with ginger and scallions and salt and pepper beef ribs the vomiting, excruciating muscle cramps, and diarrhea again. That was two days ago, and I’m still experiencing muscle cramps and have no appetite for solid foods. I have survived chemotherapy (via two different diagnoses 30 years apart), many episodes of the flu and motion sickness over the years… But I have never in my life had as severe vomiting and muscle cramping episodes that were involved with this meal.
And no, I didn’t have any other foods that day or any other illnesses that would explain my symptoms. This may be a great restaurant, but unfortunately I will never come here again.

Great service and friendly staff.
Was better when it was a buffet.
Food was on bland side.

Finally found myself in the area with enough time to check out the renovated Hong Kong House. It used to be one of my family’s preferred buffets in Columbus, but I was excited to read that it changed to a standard restaurant with authentic offerings.
For appetizers the wife ordered spring rolls and I had the Szechuan cold noodles. The spring rolls were one of the better versions I’ve tried. The noodles were thicker like lo mein, but nicely firm. They sat in a slightly sweet peanut sauce. I would have liked the dish to have used a little less sauce with added spiciness, but then the wife wouldn’t have been able to eat it.
For our entrees we ordered sesame chicken for her and dry fried pig intestines for me. I had a bite of the sesame chicken which tasted like sesame chicken everywhere else. The plating was nice and we liked that the broccoli was kept separate and cooked perfectly. My pig intestines were over crisped. I like this dish to have a little more chew to go along with crispiness. The seasoning, however, was spot on. My mouth was tingling and partially numb from the Sichuan peppercorns. Adding to that was a decent burn from the abundant dry chilies and jalapenos. I love this dish and style of cooking because of the intensity and aggressive spices. It was also a good style contrast to the cold noodle appetizer. They provided a small complimentary dish of pickled vegetables to eat with our meal. It consisted of mildly pickled carrots, cabbage (I think), and large cuts of garlic.
The service was above average although the entrees came out a few minutes apart. The restaurant was clean with a quiet and relaxing vibe. The authentic Chinese and American-​Chinese menus are both pretty extensive, so you’re likely able to please any picky eaters in your party, but try to go with a group of like-​minded eaters to enjoy a family style meal.

I have a confession to make.
When a friend asked if I’d like to go check out Hong Kong House, I was aware that they had a good reputation for Sichuan, and that they’d recently remodeled. I knew that if I wanted, I could probably get an excellent authentic Chinese meal.
But for reasons I cannot explain, only report, I had an insane craving for the whitest of «White Guy Chinese» dishes. So I ordered the General Tso’s chicken.
Now, that said? It was flavorful, well executed, and you got large identifiable pieces of chili peppers and garlic in with the breaded chunks of meat and ubiquitous brown sauce.
I also had a bowl of the hot and sour soup as part of their lunch special, and found it very intense as I got towards the bottom of the bowl — enough that I actually couldn’t quite finish it, but it did a nice job of clearing out my sinuses.
My only real complaint is that even though the combo was very nicely priced ($ 7 average on most of their lunch menu), the plate I got was more than ¾ steamed rice. I suspect dinner portions are a much better ratio, but the included bowls of soup do help balance the value.
I saw some concerns about the speed of service, but that wasn’t really any issue for us — my only complaint is that we ordered some water to go with our hot tea, and after the first refill no one bothered to ask if we wanted another round. That’s pretty minor quibble, though.
Beyond that, the décor is quite nice — classy, even! Once you walk through the relatively generic foyer, the wood paneling, semi-​private tables, and beautiful chandeliers make you forget that you’re eating inside a strip mall. A great deal of effort went into the space, and it really shows.

Was pretty excited to try this Sichuan style restaurant but it didn’t really live up to my expectations. There are 2 menus– American and a menu in all Chinese characters, we ordered from the latter.
Dandan noodles– too salty, otherwise it would’ve been tasty
Spicy fish– the fish taste like frozen fish fillets that you can get from any grocery store, so I felt like I could made it from home but the price is pretty low so… yeah.
Would I come here again, perhaps… I do want to try their other Sichuan dishes.

For as long as I’ve been in Columbus the #1 Sichuan-​style restaurant has always been Fortune on Olentangy, but that’s about to change! Don’t let the name «Hong Kong House» fool you, this is a very legit Sichuan restaurant. They probably ran out of money to get a new sign since they completely renovated the interior of the restaurant. It’s no longer a bland Chinese buffet (Used to be called Hong Kong Buffet), it’s now a very clean sit-​in restaurant with nice lighting, nice furnitures, and traditional Chinese decorations.
There were a few items on the menu that are traditional Sichuan dishes that are not at Fortune, so we ordered one of those dishes, which was the spicy braised cabbage and pork (I am directly translating this since I don’t remember the name on the menu). It tastes very very legit, the taste is strong, very spicy, and has a lot of the famous numbing peppers used in Sichuan dishes. Next, we ordered the spicy fish fillet broth, which we always order at any Sichuan restaurant. They put a lot more fish in this dish than any other restaurant I’ve been to. The taste of the fish is not over-​powered by the spices like it is at Fortune. This isn’t a good or bad thing. Just a simple observation.
I can’t wait to come here again. The spice level is exactly how I like it! If you love spicy and numbing Sichuan food, go here! You will not be disappointed.
Only reason why I deducted one star was because their service is not great. Food came out quick, but I did not see the server again for at least 30 minutes. So I was dying from the spices and had no water.

Hong Kong House has a fairly extensive menu of traditional Sichuan dishes, but it wasn’t the great meal I was hoping for. The service was a bit slow here, but our server was very nice, as were the hostesses. I can’t believe how large this place is. The main dining room is fairly big, but then there’s another room that’s almost the same size plus some rooms off to the back for much larger parties. I can’t imagine them filling the place, but we were there on off hours, so I could be wrong.
We ordered some wontons in hot oil and Dan Dan noodles to start off, but I’m pretty sure we got dumplings instead. There was definitely hot oil though, because they were literally floating in it! Not how I like my wontons (dumplings). They didn’t taste that great either. The Dan Dan noodles were also submerged in the sesame heavy sauce they came in. The flavor was okay, but there was just so much sauce that I really couldn’t fully enjoy them. Not to mention trying to serve these onto our place made quite a mess. Hot oil will splash, so you better not wear anything you really like.
Luckily, my entrée of Cumin Beef made up for the lackluster appetizers. They give you a nice heaping portion of beef, and the cumin flavor shines through without overpowering everything. I’d highly recommend any of their Cumin dishes if they’re anything like this.
On the other hand, my girlfriend’s beef brisket hot pot was essentially a pot roast except with chunks of beef that still had tough fat on them that hadn’t rendered down. It made some of the pieces unedible. The flavor was pretty much reminiscent of a beef stew and even came with potatoes and carrots. I wasn’t a fan.
Overall, I’m not sure when or if I’ll be back, since it’s so far out of the way for me, and I seemed to have found a few places closer that are doing Sichuan food very well. There’s also a lot of Asian options up this way, so I’d have to really be craving it. I’m still a bigger fan of Fortune Chinese which isn’t too far from here.