Cuisine: Chinese

Taste of China’s Crispy Shrimp with Scallion

May 23

Posted by Erin in Food Finds | View Comments

I’m still trying to catch my breath after Charlottesville’s Peter Chang roller coaster. He was here. It was awesome. Everyone went to eat there. Everyone wrote articles about him. “And poof. Just like that, he’s gone.”

We were curious if Taste of China would manage to hold onto the Peter Chang magic so he headed back there recently. As suspected, rather than three-hour waits for a table the restaurant was barely over a quarter full at 7 pm on a Thursday. The wait staff seemed relaxed and our order was taken right away. We waited apprehensively to see how the Chang-less Taste of China would fare. I’m delighted to report that all dishes… Read More

Tags: Charlottesville, Cuisine: Chinese, Neighborhood: 29/Albemarle Square, Restaurant: Taste of China

Food Find: Asia Specialty Late Night Food

Dec 11

Posted by Erin in Food Finds | View Comments

One of my longstanding weekend traditions after leaving a bar late in the evening is to spend the rest of the night bemoaning the lack of downtown late night food, in addition to general whining that my feet hurt and I’m cold. Good times for Jed. So I’m not sure who was more excited when we recently heard there was a restaurant a mere block away from the downtown mall serving food until 5:00 am.

Last weekend, we headed to Asia Speciality on Market Street (the old Bohéme spot) to confirm this rumor. And it’s true – there has been late night downtown food right under our noses this whole time!… Read More

Tags: Charlottesville, Cuisine: Chinese, Neighborhood: Downtown, Open Late, Restaurant: Asia Specialty

Taste of China

Dec 6

Posted by Erin in Reviews | View Comments

We started to get excited after reading various food blogs about a renowned yet mysterious Szechuan chef who had attracted a devoted cult of followers in DC before disappearing. After sightings in Atlanta and Knoxville, there was a rumor that THE Peter Chang was behind the new nondescript Taste of China restaurant in Albemarle Square. I tried to keep my expectations in check, but they shot up when we arrived to see the restaurant name in neon Chinese, as well as English, outside the strip mall exterior. And up even further when we walked in to an absolutely packed place featuring very little English, with a menu… Read More

Tags: Charlottesville, Cuisine: Chinese, Good for Vegetarians, Near Carmike Cinema, Neighborhood: 29/Albemarle Square, Parking, Rating: 4 stars, Restaurant: Taste of China

Food Find: Ni Hao’s Ma Po Tofu

Oct 9

Posted by Erin in Food Finds | View Comments

The sign of a truly authentic Chinese dish is when the tofu comes with meat sauce. We recently hit up Ni Hao on the corner (the new Chinese with some Thai restaurant in the old Ethopian Messob space) and asked the waitress about the Ma Po Tofu. “Very healthy choice,” she assured us. Which we felt good about. And then when it arrived in a thick gravy of meat bits drowning those healthy chunks of tofu, we felt even better about it. The tofu, pork, hot peppers, and scallions dish was beyond delicious. The tangy hot flavor was perfectly punctuated with szechuan pepper. If you haven’t had szechuan peppers before, they’re fascinating. They look like harmless peppercorns but actually… Read More