I've always wondered how a bunch of these old, tired war-horse Chinese restaurants stay in business. The ones that have been there forever, decor never changes, menu never changes, maybe owner's car only in the parking lot. I've never had inclination to go in any of these.
Two examples are Golden Cafe on 19th & TC Jester and Empress on Long Point & Antoine.

Is the food as bad as I imagine?

lunch traffic? maybe they own their locations, and eke out enough to cover their relatively low overhead?

Every Chinese place has an empty parking lot? Who eats in the restaurant?

How about Happy All Cafe on Yale?

Eastern Chinese is one of these type places at 34th/Oak Forest. I have never eaten there, but done take out lots of times. One of the best chinese restaurants in town.

Don't know about those ones in particular, but many I have gone to throughout houston on a regular basis that are like that all had a pretty regular clientele of Chinese immigrants. They were never packed, but they had the same group of customers that hit them up every week. Enough to keep em in business.

ccolley hit the nail on the head with Eastern. That place in money! And really cheap at lunch. I only carry-out as well but they get a pretty descent sized crowd at night sometimes.

Agree on that place on 19th/TC, that place is always a ghosttown. Went to the place on Long Point a few years back for lunch, it was okay, not great and not terrible...but that time I was the only one here. It was wierd.

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Golden Cafe on 19th & TC Jester and Empress on Long Point & Antoine.

Is the food as bad as I imagine?

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Golden Cafe is the same as Happy Lamp or Happy All or any other little Chinese place, just slightly bigger. They all serve the same Sysco "Chinese Restaurant" in a box menu.

They're mostly family run second businesses, so they probably keep their costs pretty low.

Eastern is absolute garbage. If your like Chinese food greasy, bland, and not fresh then I would say yes it is the best in town.

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Eastern Chinese is one of these type places at 34th/Oak Forest. I have never eaten there, but done take out lots of times. One of the best chinese restaurants in town.

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That place sucks!

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That place sucks!

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They can't all be PF Changs or Pei Wei. I am one of the odd people I guess who just loves Chinese food almost regardless of quality. I love Chinese buffets, I love it take out, and the fancy sit down places are ok, just not my thing.

Eastern Chinese may not rate up there with PF Changs in all categories, but the thread was about the small, old, dirty looking joints, not the mall anchoring, over priced, over crowded PF Changs.

I missWan Fus out on Fondren. Mainly because they'd serve me beer at the age of 16

Fu's garden>whatever ****ty chinese restaurant in your neighborhood

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That place sucks!

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They can't all be PF Changs or Pei Wei. I am one of the odd people I guess who just loves Chinese food almost regardless of quality. I love Chinese buffets, I love it take out, and the fancy sit down places are ok, just not my thing.

Eastern Chinese may not rate up there with PF Changs in all categories, but the thread was about the small, old, dirty looking joints, not the mall anchoring, over priced, over crowded PF Changs.

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Defining pei Wei and pfchangs as high end Chinese is strike #2, but back to eastern is doesn't even meet the bar of a cheap run of the mill low end Chinese joint. The chicken is low quality and very fatty, veggies aren't fresh, it just sucks, overall. Fus or panda garden (fountain view ) is the same price range and about 10x better. Eastern sucks.

it doesn't take much overhead to run the place when you serve complete slop and garbage and rent a run down crappy building.

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That place sucks!

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They can't all be PF Changs or Pei Wei. I am one of the odd people I guess who just loves Chinese food almost regardless of quality. I love Chinese buffets, I love it take out, and the fancy sit down places are ok, just not my thing.

Eastern Chinese may not rate up there with PF Changs in all categories, but the thread was about the small, old, dirty looking joints, not the mall anchoring, over priced, over crowded PF Changs.

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Defining pei Wei and pfchangs as high end Chinese is strike #2, but back to eastern is doesn't even meet the bar of a cheap run of the mill low end Chinese joint. The chicken is low quality and very fatty, veggies aren't fresh, it just sucks, overall. Fus or panda garden (fountain view ) is the same price range and about 10x better. Eastern sucks.

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Yeah that Panda Garden on Fountainview is pretty good as well.

RIP China View

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Fu's garden>whatever ****ty chinese restaurant in your neighborhood

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This

Fus Garden is the tits

Drug dealers have to launder their money somehow.

RIP Dong Ting!

What is that massive China Bear place up north of Houston? I always see it whenImdriving back into town but never stop causeits usuallypretty late.

anyone know of a real chinese place inside or close to the loop? i don't want sysco sweet and sour chicken crap.

that china bear place on 45 is massive, but it isn't anything amazing. just mega sized buffet place.

They do have a gift shop, in case you wanted a souvenir to remember your trip to a marginal Chinese mega buffet.

“Ol’ Dirty has now changed his name from Dirt McGirt to the Ol’ Dirty Chinese Restaurant…” 

Sloan - not ITL but try Classic Kitchen on Bellaire. It's on the north side of Bellaire just inside Bwy 8 in the shopping center with the grocery store (Golden something or other I think).

Very close to what the food was like in Beijing and the experience is authentic. Expect them to look at you like WTF are you here, then panic as they try to find the picture menu or the kid in the back who speaks enough english.

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anyone know of a real chinese place inside or close to the loop? i don't want sysco sweet and sour chicken crap.

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Kam'a Chinese Richmond/Montrose is excellent. Orange beef and pan fried dumplings are great. Parking is brutal though.

You had me at Mega Buffet

Qin's (pronounced Chin's) Dynasty is the best Chinese I have had in town. Fu's is pretty damn good too.

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Golden Cafe on 19th & TC Jester

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Can only vouch for the General Tso's lunch combo, but it is up there with Fu's...almost identical. Good egg drop and hot & sour soup. Havent been there in maybe two yrs, but they always seemed to get a pretty decent lunch crowd on the weekdays. The inside is much nicer than the outside.

[This message has been edited by North Mayne (edited 8/20/2012 1:24p).]

i've driven by Eastern so many times and always wondered how it existed. still don't have the guts to try it based on the mixed reviews

speaking of that location, anyone been to don teo's right across the street from it?

Fu Lu Su

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anyone been to don teo's right across the street from it?

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It's decent, very cheap. Comparable to Mi Cocina in BCS.

qin's is probably my favorite "american" chinese in town. their lunch specials are spot-on. kills pei-wei or pf changs, imo.

Are there any places in town that aren't "American" Chinese? I asked a coworker from china if there were any places where you could find authentic chinese in town and at first she tried to convince me i wouldnt like it, then she said like 1-2 places over near Bellaire.

I really want to try an authentic place though.

[This message has been edited by North Mayne (edited 8/20/2012 3:23p).]