Critic's Review
The first time I went to Christina Wan's I has a bad experience; I did take out and aside from them charging me $3 more for an entree than they had listed on their web site, it was one of the worst versions of chicken with black beans that I've ever had. That was 3 years and 725 reviews ago. So I thought it was time to try again.
This time I decided to eat in; on a rainy day, it's a pretty dark restaurant. There's a bar up front, booths all along the walls and tables in the middle; all in one big room
The place was pretty empty so I had a nice big booth to myself. Tables are preset with a big basket of crispy noodles with duck and mustard sauce. It's a thin duck sauce; not the goopy stuff most place put out.
A server came over and filled my water and then zoomed off without ever asking if I wanted a beverage. He came back and few minutes later and asked if I was ready to order. Their lunch menu gives you a choice of soup, a choice of rice and a good selection of items ranging in price from $7.95 to $10.95. I opted for the Hunan Beef.
The soup came out instantaneously.
This was an excellent version; it was spicy enough that I didn't have to add anything. Unfortunately my order came out before I was half done with it; it was also the last time I saw my server before flagging him down to get the check.
The food here is well prepared; the broccoli was firm but not raw, and the portion was just about right for the price. It wasn't spicy at all, which was disappointing. I don't think that it was much different than regular beef with broccoli.
I'm not sure I'd order the chicken with black bean sauce again, but its a pretty nice place as Chinese restaurants go for a fairly priced lunch.
