Restaurant Pengyou — Restaurant in Bucharest

Attracted by reviews I ate at Pengoyu restaurant. Good down to earth vibes here (building, decoration, furniture). No kitsch. Also, it is close to my hotel and an easy walking distance away.

It was a mixed bag. The Dim Sum (not called that but Starters) were lovely, Sesame balls with pork filling, these were good! Flattened like a fat cookie instead of ball shaped, but I don't care as long they are as good as they are. Similar the dumplings: homemade style with irregular shapes, and very nice sauce came with it, tremendously good. Order twice for more of those. Full 5/5 stars here.

Being slightly confused with the menu, I was looking for familiar Chinese names or descriptions. Despite a picture for every dish, I needed the description in Romanian with an ok, yet unusual English translation. But no Chinese description was available, so choosing was part guesswork.

The very friendly Asian looking staff did not speak a word of Mandarin. So we ordered in English, forgetting that asking for "authentic food" could be a good idea.

Main dishes: I had something along yuxiang rousi, eggplant with sliced pork. It was good, let me say that. The sheer amount was gratifying (and too much for me). Cooking style, unsure, maybe just too sauce-y? Certainly was an original interpretation. I liked it with mild bewilderment.

The other side of the table had gong bao ji with nicely cubed ingredients, generous amount of chili flakes, staff had asked "how spicy do you want it" - "Spicy." Good overall taste. The spicy punch from well done preparation. (If you cook at home this is kinda hard to get quality.) However. In digestion this dish gave them a hard time and took a day to recover. Unsure if chili, chicken or their travel related extra sensitive stomach. I liked the few bites I had, no issues.

Given the adequate pricing and "day after"-experience for the main dishes I'll give 4/5 stars overall.

We went there at the end of November, so inside it was. I imagine in summer the terrace in their yard must be an especially lovely place! Will go again next time...

One of my travel hobbies is to seek out a Chinese restaurant in each country I visit (or live in) and compare/contrast how their foods differ from one another. Each always caters to the tastes of their host country. I almost forgot this time!

My visit to 朋友饭店 started with me being in a terrible mood. I actually had a reservation somewhere else. You see, earlier in the week I had eaten one of the best meals I've had in the past six months at a nice Romanian restaurant and I had booked myself a reservation there. I showed up on time, they took me to the table, and I was completely ignored for 15 minutes. It was my last night in Bucharest. I was so angry I cried. I took off walking with no plan.

45 minutes later I looked up and there it was: Friend Chinese restaurant. Oh my god! I could use a friend right now!!!! And I've been here a week and forgot to eat any Chinese food!

I was the only person there. I had boiled dumplings and sweet and sour chicken. I lived in China for 3 years and I know Chinese food very well. I should have tried something a little more authentic but I was in a really bad mood and those are my comfort foods.

My Chinese is pretty good. I tried speaking to the woman who delivered my food in Chinese and she just looked at me funny. Then I thought well crap. I'm being such a stereotype and assuming because she's Asian and working in a Chinese restaurant she speaks Chinese. She could have been from Uzbekistan for all I know. Sorry, lady!

The dumplings were great. The sauce had just the right amount of spice. Definitely westerners. The chicken was kind of bland but that could be the Romanian influence because all for one restaurant I ate at I found all Romanian food I ate rather tasteless. I'd have to go back and try more dishes to really be able to judge but since I'm writing this from my apartment in Spain that's not going to happen.

The server was lovely.

The ambiance was 100% China. All I needed was some bai jiu and a bunch of old men smoking at all the other tables and I could have believed I was...

Probably the best Chinese restaurant that I have eaten at in Bucharest so far (yes, I am Chinese). Their "Creveti decorticati caliti" was very, very good. Hands down 10/10. The shrimp was fresh and snappy (爽), and the garlic sauce was well-balanced, Cantonese style. Totally a repeat item for me!

I also ordered "Dou Fu iute si amortit", a spicy hot tofu dish. Smooth, firm tofu cooked in a spicy sauce using Sichuan red peppercorns. Another great, authentic-tasting dish. My only complaint is that it should at least have a splash of green like chopped coriander leaves and chopped green onions as garnish. I give it 9/10.

My spring rolls appetizer "Pachetele de primavara" was disappointing. It tasted pretty bland. If the chef is reading this, may I suggest adding some wood ears (black fungus), some cellophane noodles, a tad more salt, and definitely more black pepper. A little chopped coriander stems in the filling would be awesome. And please serve them with some dipping sauce, like a sweet and sour sauce or a spicy tamarind/plum sauce. It should come with the spring rolls. Charge more if you need to, but don't compromise on quality. So yeah, your spring rolls need improvement. I give it 4/10.

Overall, it's a great restaurant. The service was good. At least one wait staff spoke good English. I will return!

UPDATE: Went back to Peng You about 3 weeks later because I loved the shrimp dish so much. BUT....ugh!! They served it this time using tiny, booger shrimp--so small that they didn't (really, couldn't) remove the "vein" (read: poop gut) of the shrimp. The waitress told me that they have decided to only use small shrimp for this dish going forward. So, from a definite rating of 10/10, this dish is now a deplorable 3/10. Consistency, guys! Not ordering this dish again! See my latest pic for comparison. I updated my overall rating to 4 stars...