🏮Red Lantern-红灯笼川菜馆 — Restaurant in Bloomington

Names (and reviews) can be deceiving! Best Taste was anything but the best tasting! I went here for the first time based on these Google reviews. Either some of these reviews are fake or the reviewers have eaten some really bad Chinese in the past. I ordered Shrimp Fried Rice which was dry and bland with chewy shrimp, General Tso’s Chicken that had a strange taste reminiscint of cigarette smoke, Chicken Udon Noodles which amounted to a few bland noodles with lots of soggy lettuce and very old tasting chicken, Spring Rolls which were tiny and not nearly as good as frozen from the grocery store, and Wonton Egg Drop Soup that tasted just OK. At least my dog liked it. Maybe there are some good things here since the menu is extensive, but I have no intention of going back to find out. The prices are too high for what you get and the location is inconvenient as far as...

Construction on the downtown parking garage obscured the front of this little gem, which we had to ourselves at lunchtime (although delivery seemed to be quite busy).

We had szechuan chicken and szechuan shrimp, both very good but only mildly hot. The hot and sour soup was spicier, and chock full of vegetables, including several large wood ear mushrooms, and plenty of tofu.

Portions were substantial, with enough leftovers for another lunch. Service was quick and attentive, and lunch plus a pot of green tea came to less than $9, a real bargain. Nearby on-street parking was readily available in addition to the parking garage.

Info on Google Maps indicated that evening hours were much busier, which makes sense given their location directly across from the Ivy Tech John Waldron Center. So...

A small, quaint food spot. Stopped there a couple months ago for the 1st time. Pleasantly surprised by the flavor and freshness of the food. Our order was hot, fresh and seemed like it was freshly made upon ordering.

The young lady serving us was polite and friendly.

The atmosphere is soothing. It is not as modern as some of the restaurants in the downtown area but it felt nice, cozy and welcoming. Again, the food was amazing. The veggies were fresh, the chicken (teriyaki) was piping hot and had flavor bursting from it. The bourbon chicken was some of the best I've had. Again, fresh, tasty, deliscous!!!

They also offer some more tradional oriental dishes that we don't find at many other places.

I will absolutely be going back and supporting this small, local, business...