Birds Nest — Restaurant in Aurora

I really want to like this place: after all, the idea of a Chinese scoop restaurant is beautiful and wonderful and should be preserved!

…but it’s kind of a love-hate relationship. Look… for this class of restaurant, I’m not expecting gourmet food. The food shouldn’t have to be complex or healthy or beautiful.

What I am expecting is relatively fresh food that comes out quickly and is a good price.

For $11.99, you get 3 scoops and lo mein (or rice, or half and half). It really depends on what you get for whether it will be piled high or not. Be ware that the dishes like “kung pao chicken” don’t have much chicken, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing—we like vegetables! And this place certainly does too: they will give you lots of “butter potatoes” (fries, basically), but maybe not so much jalepeno chicken.

The noodles WERE fresh (but they were also mixed with old noodles that had been sitting out for a while). The salt and pepper shrimp was somewhat stale and DEFINITELY too salty. I was super excited about the s&p and picked it even though you only get 4 per scoop with the combo.

The service was friendly! And kind and very competent. Just not extremely fast, limited mainly be the kitchen. I understand that there’s a turn-around associated with fresh food, but waiting for 15 or so minutes when you’re just staring at this buffet line of food, as are the four people who have been waiting even longer than you, wondering why they weren’t prepared for this is just… confusing, man.

I recommend supporting businesses like this because they are close to a great deal (certainly they are at least a good deal;)), and the food is tasty, for sure. The family working here obviously works really hard, and I’m happy they’re so close to my home. Just wish I could’ve said I had a better experience this time.

Anyway, it did hit the spot:) so thanks,...

This is a fair rating of a Chinese scoop restaurant. So, this 4 star is in relation to the type of place. For this category, Bird’s Nest has been great. Fresh food. They don’t let things run out bone dry before they refill. No crusty rice or leftover tiny scoop of goo. No matter what time of day. This is not the Ho-Ho of the past and hasn’t been for years. New management/owners. New food.

Now don’t get me wrong, you will not get a lot of beef in the beef and broccoli. There are a whole lot of chicken dishes. But this is a scoop eatery and if you’re expecting two scoops of beef in every dish, you’ve never been to a scoop restaurant before. The veggies are well cooked and not soaked in soggy.

The selection of dishes is fairly constant and of good quality. They are generous with the portions, so I usually have enough for lunch and dinner or dinner and breakfast. By the time I am done the cost is around six dollars. The hot and sour soup is killer though!!

If you patronize Chinese scoop restaurants, then you will understand the four star rating. If you do not like or have never been to this type of cheap eatery this review may be...

So if you like Panda Express or Chinese scoop places, you'll most likely enjoy this restaurant. This is probably one of the few local businesses within this area; most of this street has been taken over by corporate stores. The restaurant was fairly clean. Their bathroom is clean as well, but suffers from lots of graffiti from little kids; this is a minor inconvenience if you're here for the food. Now, this food isn't Michelin star quality of food, but you are definitely getting a great bang for your buck. I got the combo there: low mein with jalapeno chicken and teriyaki chicken. They do not hold back and try to portion control you; they'll scoop a big scoop and put it in the to go box. So you basically get a big box of tasty food for less than 7 bucks. I am never able to eat it all in one sitting, so you're basically getting two servings of food for 7 bucks. It is not the healthiest of foods obviously, but if you want some tasty Chinese food to fill you up for cheap, this is definitely the place to go. Plus you'll be supporting a local business! I enjoy their food every time I am there, I hope you guys...