Taste of China — Restaurant in Coralville

We were looking for a reliable Chinese takeout place. This place seemed to meet all of the signature criteria of the best takeout places: nondescript name ("What's that place that has awesome Chinese takeout--'Tasty China'?" "No, that's not it...I think it's just called 'Chinese Food Place'". "Nah, isn't it 'Taste of China' or something like that?" "No that's not it either...whatever, it's the Chinese place right next to Hy-Vee!" "Oh yeah, that one."), hole-in-the-wall feel with seating available for waiting (I always find it curious when people dine-in at these types of places...I mean, you can technically, but those folks are missing the beauty and speedy convenience of takeout Chinese), and pop for purchase by the can from the fridge--classic!

I had my hopes up for Taste of China, because it met these criteria which are the hallmark of classic, awesome Chinese takeout places...but then I tasted the food.

It wasn't bad.

It wasn't good either.

Let me put it this way--it is clear that they do not use MSG in their food. That is a plus on the health-side. However, there was literally no taste. It's a scientific anomaly. It's like they actually extracted the flavor OUT of the spicy sesame chicken--the texture was totally fine, the presentation was exactly what I expected from a takeout tupperware container...it just had no taste. Of the sesame chicken, I could not even say, "Hmmm...tastes like chicken." I don't know how that is even possible, but that was my first experience here--and a disappointing one.

We may give it another shot since people apparently are ga-ga over their sweet & sour chicken. We had the lo mein (i.e., textured, flavorless noodles), sesame chicken or something like that which was supposed to be spicy (it was not), and my in-laws had something weird that I'd never had before that was also bland.

Pros: must not use MSG; reasonably priced; nondescript name so I will forget I ever ate from here Cons: made me feel like I had just ordered french fries with no salt...ever tried that? It's horrible. Why the hell would you order fries with no salt?

If my second go here is any better, then I will...

If you read through reviews to make a decision let this be it. I’ve only had one dish here so far and was thoroughly impressed. Kung Pao combination plate. I hate when veggies are soggy, meat is of low quality and rice is dry. This contained none of that. It was flavorful, fresh and delicious. Nothing tasted old. My veggies were crisp. The rice was fluffy. The chicken wasn’t too salty or sugary. I’ll be looking forward to trying more dishes and hopefully there’s consistency. They don’t give packets of soy sauce, fortune cookies or utensils automatically but that doesn’t matter much when the dish is that good. A little pricier but you get your...

A few months ago we bought two orders of sweet and sour chicken. I ate a bite of my chicken and it seemed like rotten meat. I attempted to eat some rice, but that was almost as bad as the chicken. My friend ate 1/3rd of her meal, said it was awful and a few hours later was puking her guts out. Up until this experience, the food had always been exceptional. However, I did notice two different people running/cooking the place. I know I will never risk going there again, worst Chinese food ever, it even made HY-Vee Chinese food awesome...