The East Cafe Chinese Restaurant — Restaurant in Aurora

Before the pandemic hit, I would bring my mom to the East Cafe biweekly and I always made sure we got our big orders from them. The food was always spectacular. Since they reopened in the pandemic, the food has gone so far south. I gave them 3 chances, thinking maybe it was just a one off on the quality. Three times and three different “Go-to” orders (Lemon Chicken, Sweet and Sour Chicken, and finally Chicken Lo Mein). I believe in three chances, especially with restaurants I really enjoy. However, one time is an accident, two times is a coincidence, and three times is a pattern. If I wanted overly preserved and disappointing Chinese food, I could get it via fast food and for much cheaper in a food court at the mall. What happened to the quality, the flavor, and the experience...even the to-go experience??? I ordered chicken lo mein, egg rolls, and wontons...pretty standard as the last couple orders of lemon and sweet and sour chicken have been a disastrous and nauseating experience. Today I decided to go with my final favorite hoping it would be good. The order online for steamed rice and I got fried, and the lo mein was so over cooked, it was barely palatable. There was no delicious sauce...truly, nothing like before, even when I did get it to go. Even the egg rolls were over cooked. How does this happen multiple times? I feel like they either transitioned to lower quality ingredients or changed the recipes. I have never felt so sick after eating a meal that wasn’t completely correct to begin with. I was told I would be credited the same meal which was a step in the right direction, though the better option would have been to be credited the price of the meal to be able to order anything else. The only saving grace was the wontons (the reason East Cafe got two stars instead of one). This place used to be a Five star place for me and I always recommended it. Sadly, at the end of the day, I gave East Cafe...a place I loved for ten years, three chances to be better... and I got three failures. Time to find another place to get good Chinese food. I am beyond disappointed and I am sad to say my loyalty to this small...

We have been to this location multiple times to get some lunch or dinner. The food is basic with just slightly better taste than a dollar scoop place & the portions are slightly small. They don’t give you any napkins & all though they are good at refilling your water, they are terrible at refilling any sodas. Probably, To save resources, Even though it’s free refills. Today’s incident means I will never be back. When we were presented with our bill, There was a 15% gratituty added to the tab. We asked why they had added this as it says on their menus that 15% is only added for parties of 5 or more. We were told in a very rude manner from our waitress “Tracy” that other waitstaff had told the owners that we do not tip. Which I would say out of the roughly 10 times we’ve been there we have tipped when we were able to do so. We have the right to chose to add gratuity, that’s why it’s called gratuity, We have the right to pick how “grateful” we are. It’s not our fault nor our choice you have a job that does not pay you a livable wage & it’s not my responsibility to pay for you to do so. Speak to your employer or find another job. I do not get tipped for my job when I do a good job but then again I made sure I was paid a livable wage before I accepted the position. Read the fine print? 🤷‍♂️ So they decided to add that on. We told her that tipping is optional & always has been & it’s our right to leave however much we chose to leave or not. She responded by raising her voice & telling us it’s “amaican culture” & that we are stupid for not tipping. She offered to remove the tip & She then told us that we would not be served anymore on any visit unless we began tipping. To which we replied that’s fine because we wouldn’t be coming back after today. Tipping. Is. Optional. If this “triggers” you then run back to your offended castle because I simply do not care. So thanks “Tracy” for all the money I will NOT be spending...

Wife and I visited there a number of times. There are some good points. While the wanton soup is plentiful and with sufficient ingredients, but it is watery and without much flavor. It's like taking the things out of regular wanton soup and putting it in hot water. The steamed rice looks and tastes like minute rice - it has no substance or body and is often stale and drying out. I.e., it is not sticky at all and never clumps like it should. The fried rice appears to be very stock and unexceptional. It's not any different than you might get at an airport kiosk. I ordered the cashew chicken last time. It comes with diced veggies and diced chicken. While you cannot tell the difference, on close inspection, there was very little chicken included.... almost all veggies. I asked about this and got an argument from the waitress. I pointed out how, in order for the dish to be as advertised and even respectable at all, it had to have a sufficient quantity of actual chicken in it. The waitress complained that if they were to increase the chicken then they couldn't make a profit. While I don't want to argue about such things over dinner, I agreed to pay an extra few dollars if they would simply add more chicken. The version redone was not even up to par for the first price, let alone the extra I paid. While their Mongolian Beef is the best tasting I've ever had, they continue to have a problem with sufficient quantities of meet in every dish. I don't want just flavor in a vacuum or smells or other niceties. I want a meal - and this place just doesn't cut it. Nothing...