Chef's Choice Noodle Bar — Restaurant in Bakersfield

This type of food isn't my favorite but I saw they have orange chicken, so I ordered it as well as 2 other people in my group. It had several fried chicken pieces but when I tried one it was just breading. I tried another and it was a lot of breading and a little piece of chicken and I couldn't taste the chicken. I gave a piece to my mother and she pulled the chicken out from the breading and again it was small. It also had a smell to it that I can't describe but I just pushed the bowl away and quit eating. One of the others that ordered the same didn't like it either and quit eating hers as well. The waitress asked if I wanted something else and we both declined. She took the food away. One person had a duck plate of some sort and liked it. One person had tempura shrimp and said it was ok. One person had a shrimp bowl and liked it. I know I will never come back and 3 others said the same after we were presented with the checks and our 2 orange chicken bowls were there.. I don't believe that was right and we then paid the bills and left. The waitress was nice but I believe she should have taken care of those dishes since I only ate 3 pieces. Sorry I didn't take pictures. I definitely...

If you’ve been to Thailand probably avoid this place. Lovely atmosphere and clean but had the worst Thai Basil ever. It arrived at the table “warm” and was obviously prepared by someone who doesn’t know how to prepare it properly. I would call this place the Denny’s of Thai cuisine. Bland, way too sweet, sauce not caramelized at all which completely ruins the dish’s taste. Told the waitstaff I’d been to Thailand seven times and I like the dish very spicy. So I get the “you can’t return the dish if it’s too spicy” speech and it wasn’t spicy at all. The biggest red flag is this establishment had no fresh Thai chilis. That’s a “sign” folks. Just green and red peppers. Waitstaff left our dirty plates on the table until just before bringing the bill. I’m guessing some of the dishes must be decent or they wouldn’t have been busy. Just definitely not for those who know how Thai food should taste. I’ve taken Thai cooking classes twice in Thailand and I know how to prepare Thai basil perfectly. This place was a clear reminder to me of why I avoid dining out. I would have called the manager over but didn’t want to embarrass the family member who was “treating” me to...

I've been to Chef's Choice a few times in the past couple of years. The food is reliable, but not terribly exciting, and quite overpriced, especially compared to similar restaurants in Southern California. Yesterday, I decided to try the chicken satay ($13.50 for large order, with 4 pieces of chicken), since I've been trying to eat fewer carbs. Chicken tenders were used, but they didn't seem like they were the freshest, as the meat fell apart quite easily. The meat was also dry and not at all juicy. They were supposedly marinated in "coconut milk, curry paste, and cumin", but were pretty bland. I initially thought the peanut sauce had a weird texture, but since the chicken was so dry, I ended up using most of the sauce. The chicken was served with Texas toast (strange choice for an Asian restaurant), as well as pickled jalapeno/cucumber/red onion, which ended up being the best part of the dish (although it was described as a "salad", I'm not sure what kind of salad is served swimming in brine).

Chef's Choice is somewhere I go if friends want to go, or if someone else is paying, but it is not a restaurant I seek out on my...