Asian Cafe — Restaurant in Castle Shannon

Will not go back. We walked in and there was a girl and guy sitting in the corner booth eating. She got up right away and seated us, brought menus and took our drink order. We both ordered water and she came back right away with two small plastic bottles of tepid water - no glass, no ice. (red flag) I ordered the small sweet and sour chicken, my other half ordered a small beef and broccoli and we both got an egg roll. We sat and talked a few minutes and looked at our phones and then my companion says, "Is there anyone in the kitchen cooking?" I couldn't see from where I was but assumed there was someone working on our order. I looked at my watch and at that point it had been 10 minutes since we ordered and just then the guy who was sitting in the booth with our server when we walked in got up from the booth and headed to the kitchen and our server remained in the booth. (Apparently we needed to wait for him to finish his break) A few minutes later and our egg rolls came out with tiny plastic packets of mustard and duck sauce. we had to ask for soy sauce. A few minutes later and our food came out. My friend's beef and broccoli looked good but my sweet and sour chicken was served as small, round pieces all rolling around on the plate loose like hush puppies. The rice was in a separate bowl and the sweet and sour sauce was in a small bowl that barely covered the bottom of the bowl. The chicken was overcooked and VERY dry and not enough sauce to compensate for that. I had already decided we wouldn't be back but when I got the bill and discovered that we were charged $2.00 each for our small bottle of tepid water that clinched the decision. There are too many chinese places in the area that have far better service and food that don't try and make all their profit off of water. There is an awesome Mexican place next door that I am sure capitalizes on this places...

The only place in Pittsburgh that doesn't add noodles or much (if any) seasoning to Chicken Chow Mein. The chicken is a bunch of tasteless boiled chicken sitting in a milky white broth. After calling to check if it was a mistake, I was told that Chicken Chow Mein doesn't have noodles, in spite of the millions of pictures and recipes when you Google "Chicken Chow Mein." Honestly, it would have been fine if, when I called, the owner's response had been, "let me give you some noodles to add to it," or "let me remake it for you with noodles," but her response was, instead, "it's ok? Ok, bye" while rushing me off the phone.

The General Tso was about average for the area, though certainly not the generous portions of other Chinese restaurants in the area, but it was perfectly fine. The Crab Rangoon was also pretty good, and the sweet and sour sauce it came with was generic.

Overall, a fine place if you know what to expect, as long as those expectations are not, "great...

THIN AND CRISPY CHICKEN. We went here for the first time today, got General Tso chicken. If you're anything like me and are creeped out by huge chunky pieces of mystery meat at Chinese food restaurants, then you will love this place just as much as I do. I've searched far and wide for Chinese food takeout that has thin and crispy chicken. And today... I finally found it. I almost gave up on my search, condemning myself to a life of ordering wonton soup, egg rolls, and your occasional dumplings due to my fear of eating questionable balls of animal flesh. But no more. I have found my soul mate, and that soul mate is Asian Cafe. Thank you Asian Cafe for being the only Chinese food restaurant in history to actually serve meat that does...