Ming Dynasty Restaurant — Restaurant in Charlottesville

The food is outstanding IF you order the right thing. On the other hand, a couple dishes I've tried here were kind of awful. If you're disappointed with something here, I'd still recommend trying a few other items on the menu before giving up on the place, as the best dishes are worth it.

I'm vegan, so I haven't tried any of their meat. But I can tell you a little bit about the faux meats and which ones I think are and aren't worth trying.

All of their sauces are good in my opinion. You can't go wrong there. The spicy sauces are not very spicy, though, so if you want extra heat, you might want to add your own hot sauce.

Highly Recommended (in my book): -Vegetarian "fish": lightly seasoned vegetable protein patties wrapped in seaweed for ocean-y flavor and fried in tempura batter. Served with soup or medium-spicy dipping sauce. -Dragon's Head Tofu: fried tofu balls with crispy water chestnuts and other vegetables mixed in. Served in a slightly sweet brown sauce with bok choy. -Curry noodles (I added tofu for $1; added tofu is lightly pan fried) -Veg "meatballs": I'm not really sure what is inside of these. They're kind of doughy. But they're crispy and served with the sweet and sour sauce and veggies on the side so they don't get soggy. -Eggplant with "special sauce" from the "authentic" menu. I'm not 100% sure whether it's vegetarian (could possibly contain fish sauce--I didn't think to ask),but it's good. Other eggplant dishes are also good, but a little odd because they are deep fried in a thin batter.

Recommended: -Vegetarian "pork": made of gluten and glazed in a sweet red sauce. Not too chewy. Not deep fried as most items are (unless it says so; the dish I had wasn't) -Vegetarian "ham": thin slices of--maybe soy?--protein, with a mildly sweet and smoky flavor, but not very ham-like. It reminds me more of Tofurky. Not deep fried. -Vegetarian "chicken": I think these are those TVP chunks like Nutrela. They're chewy and deep fried. They're good, assuming you don't expect them to taste like chicken. -Any other tofu/bean curd: Some of the tofu is breaded and deep fried. The batter is OK, but it tends to fall off and doesn't reheat well. -Any of the appetizers: spring rolls, dumplings, cold noodles, edamame... -Note that you can also add tofu to any of the plain vegetable dishes. I haven't tried that, but I might.

Dishes to avoid (in my book): -Vegetarian "shrimp": I couldn't finish these and just ate the vegetables. They are made of konjac, the same stuff shirataki noodles are made of (if you like those, maybe you will like them more than I did). The texture is rubbery and unpleasant, with little flavor. -Any other vegetarian "beef" (i.e. other than the "meatballs"): I'm not sure why, but the other beef dishes taste very starchy/floury, like pure batter if the batter were...

Before ordering my meal I called the restaurant to see what the meal had in it because I cannot eat certain food. The man that answered the phone assured me that they didn't put mushroom in the meal, only one vegetable was in it but when I received it, it had Mushrooms, bamboo shoots, carrots, and a few other things in it. I called him back and he laughed stating that the cook must have just thrown them in. I asked for a manager and of course the manager just happened to be out. He would not give me a refund, although I told him they could come back and get the food because I couldn't eat it and he wanted me to come pick up a replacement order...I had used uber eats to get it. I called back again today for the manager and of course she wasn't in again and when I asked him when she would be back, he said he didn't know and hung up. Please be aware!!! Also, please if you do buy from here, never get the egg foo young, it's very bland and has no taste at all!! I didn't get a chance to taste the...

ONE STAR BECAUSE CANNOT SELECT LOWER I’ve been a customer for probably 20+ years. Recently my delivered order came with no rice - as advertised and written in their confirmation receipt ... my request for extra pancakes/extra sauce (moo shu pork - I always get extras) missing as well. And two fortune cookies that were WET in the packages - REALLY! ? I was home in Scottsville by the time I noticed this (delivered at my mom’s) so not like I could stop back in. So I’ve emailed them twice, telling them what happened and requested a response. NOTHING ... NADA ... Apparently my patronage is not all that important so I won’t be back. If I make a mistake - I apologize. If they make a mistake - they ignore you and basically steal from you - since I paid for food I never received. Yes I am a little upset. But there are plenty of Chinese restaurants so ... time to look for better quality and service. Beware - CHECK YOUR BAGS BEFORE YOU LET THEM LEAVE. BETTER YET -...