CHENGDU CUISINE — Restaurant in Hoover

BEST ASIAN FOOD IN HOOVER!! A colleague of ours at UAB who is from China tried this restaurant, and raved about its authenticity and the quality of (especially) its noodle dishes, and we've now eaten here MANY times. Their food is DELICIOUS!!! The Mongolian Chicken is pretty much the best we've EVER had ANYWHERE (incredibly flavorful, with a great balance of sweet and salt). The Lemon Chicken is INCREDIBLE - and they don't (like most places) skimp on the sauce; there is PLENTY of lemony goodness for all of the chicken pieces (which are excellent cuts of chicken; not rubbish gristle). The Stir-Fried Cabbage is to die for (unbelievably good); and the Garlic Sauteed Green Beans were INCREDIBLE (VERY garlicky and delicious); and the noodles are just as our colleague said. Specifically, we get the veggie Lo Mein, and it's FANTASTIC. You know how sometimes noodles have a greasy layer that leaves a residual coating on your tongue and mouth? NOT these - they're just flavorful with exactly the right amount of texture and chewiness. All in all, a new local favorite for Chinese food. Give them a try - you...

Got Orange beef and chicken Pad Thai for around $35.

I will say I did order about 30 mins before closing so it's possible this is part of the issue. Both items tasted almost earthy and bitter. I know usually we are used to a different taste for these items so we had open minds.

The pad Thai was rather dry and just meh. The orange beef was a weird spongey texture that was also overly gooey but not in a carmalized sauce is. Almost gritty texture, then with the weird bitterness mixed with the texture we just couldn't and ended up tossing it and made sandwiches.

It wasn't bad as in old I don't think, but it just wasn't good. I wanted to try to like it and I'm excited a new place is here, they have a expansive menu so plenty of things to try. Maybe a better time of the day or different items but I can't say I would recommend either of these things.

The young men that checked me out were super polite and the fortune cookies were honestly the best I've ever had for...

This is a great new addition to Hoover. I placed a to-go order over the phone and the guy who took my order was very nice. My order was ready by the time I got there which was around 10 minutes.

I ordered orange chicken, chicken lo mein, and crispy spicy chicken. They cook orange peel with the orange chicken and it's delicious. The chicken lo mein was the star of the show for us and I think I have to say it's the best lo mein in town. The crispy spicy chicken tasted good and the spiciness level was great, but it was a little too much of the dried hot peppers in my opinion. It's not a heat issue, but rather a texture issue for me.

Back in the '90s, this location used to be Mandarin House and we ate there all the time. It's great to see a new Chinese food place breathe new life into that spot.

I will definitely be back! This might just be my family's new...