King Wong — Restaurant in Cherry Hill Township

THIS REVIEW IS FROM 2018 but post-pandemic reviews suggest that the restaurant has changed for the worse. I have not been back. Proceed with caution: I needed some crowd-pleasing Chinese takeout, suitable for a wide range of tastes. Found King Wong via reviews and it was PERFECT. Just what I needed to please a large group of ten picky eaters without breaking the budget.

This is not gourmet regional cuisine. This is American-style Chinese -- a big menu with simple preparations using American ingredients. Nothing too spicy. Nothing too unusual. Brown sauce, white sauce, garlic sauce, fried rice, noodles, some deep fried offerings, you know the drill. If you're looking for gai lan, wood ear mushrooms, or taro root, you've likely come to the wrong place.

But that's not a criticism. There are plenty of bad versions of this kind of food. King Wong delivered fresh quality ingredients including truly jumbo shrimp, generous portions, and a very nice willingness to customize any dish (I was ordering for people who variously didn't want garlic, or onions, or mushrooms, or soy, or spicy... King Wong accommodated everybody and did so with a smile).

The food was a little bland, but that's a lot better than being a salt bomb, or being greasy. The often dull Young Chow Fried Rice and Chicken with Broccoli were surprise highlights, as were the Chow Ho Fun noodles and the aforementioned jumbo shrimp. The only real disappointment was the steamed dumplings, which were a bit doughy and lacking in flavor.

But everything was a good value. The group agreed that King Wong was a hit and we'll order...

OCTOBER 2022: This has been my favorite local Chinese restaurant for seven years. The current owners have done a great job keeping up the standards of the original owners. However, I believe inflation and supply chain issues are taking a toll on overall quality. I'd rather pay a little more and keep things the way they were. Please do the best you can for your loyal customers.

UPDATE MARCH 2023: In the fall of 2022, I dropped my rating to four stars. Now I am dropping it to three. It seems that my favorite dishes are being changed, one by one. Inferior ingredients. Commercial sauces rather than fresh made. Disappearing flavor. Thank goodness fresh broccoli is still fresh broccoli.

UPDATE OCTOBER 2023: I've stayed away for seven months. The last reviewer gave a positive report. I ordered chicken and broccoli. 40% of the broccoli was yellowed. In March I wrote that the fresh broccoli was fresh. Now that's gone. Unforgiveable. Makes me wonder what other cost saving changes have happened -- ones not so easy to see. Also no utensils or fortune cookies. Please, someone alert Chef Ramsey to save this restaurant. Down...

Everyone should be warned that this restaurant is not only the worst Chinese restaurant I've ever experienced but just about the worst restaurant ever. The wonton egg drop soup was nothing but yellow cornstarch with what I can only suppose was egg andabsolutely horrible flavor! The wonton in it were terrible texture again no flavor, texture flimsy and rhin and God only knows what was inside. The roast pork chow mein was nothing but soggy onion strips with three count them three pieces of celery and no other vegetables, miniature pieces of pork and very few at that tasted like cardboard. The sauce was brown and ugly and it looked as if it had been sitting there for weeks! I had invited a friend who was helping me with the Christmas tree and was so embarrassed by what came from that restaurant that I don't know how to make it up to him. Be forwarned this...