Sunday, February 11, 2018

T-Jin's China Diner at Grand Parkway Marketplace

I stopped in to try out this new Chinese option in our neighborhood.  The place was empty and well-staffed, and everyone seemed ready to serve.  My waitress struggled just a bit with English, but her manager helped her out and we were all good.

The menu has all the usual Chinese restaurant staples, and not much that looks unique at all.  I got the China Town Stir Fry off the lunch menu as I had not seen that elsewhere, but it's a standard combination of beef, chicken and shrimp in light brown sauce.  I had it with an egg roll and wonton soup.

The soup was fine, three smaller wontons instead of one big one so easier to eat.  The egg roll would be called a spring roll elsewhere--very thin skin and mostly cabbage.  The stir fry was competent, but I would have thought the shrimp were something else if I hadn't been told.

There's not a lot to recommend the place unless you're right there and wanting Chinese.  It does have some attractions as a compromise choice--there are healthy options, and the place has a liquor license (beer and wine).  The inside was clean but extremely simple--I only saw one piece of Chinese decor, but they are just getting set up.  The bathroom was clean and fully functional.

 For me, it's definitely not going to push out Ming's as our neighborhood best.

Did you ever wonder how many Chinese restaurants there are, and how they come to resemble each other so much?  According to this article, there are more than 41,000, which is more than the big three fast food chains combined.  And they seem just as consistent.  But there's not one large company dominating the whole supply chain behind them--it's a combination, and the restaurants network through newsletters and staff exchange.

My Yelp Review

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