Holy Chow! — Restaurant in Kemp Mill

I might be overly angry about this because it ruined my husband's 40th birthday evening, but we ordered in from Holy Chow that Thursday night because we had covid and could not go out :( We are within their usual delivery zone but they did not have a driver available that night, but they said we could do grubhub. OK. We placed the order at 5:10, and at it was supposed to arrive at 5:52. The grubhub delivery driver arrived and was told it would be a 25 minute wait, then waited for 40 minutes, and was told it would be another 25 minutes. He understandably cancelled the pickup. I called the store, very angry, and they told me that they had several large orders and they were understaffed and then hung up on me (maybe I deserved this. I was kinda yelling, but seriously!) Another driver picked up the job and we eventually got our food at 7:15, over TWO HOURS after we ordered it, except that we did not get our food at all. We got another person's food that was one entree, not three, and I wound up having to fight through it to make dinner for my kids and my husband ordered pizza and ate a late, sad dinner. I understand being understaffed, but with the prices they charge, they should be able to pick up employees. At a bare minimum, if there is going to be a delay, you should be able to communicate that when someone calls. If someone called after me and put in large orders, then they should prepare mine FIRST and communicate that there will be a delay to THOSE customers. Also, after ALL that, they could have at least made sure they gave me the right order. Delayed orders are not just delayed orders...they are crying, hungry children, haggard moms cooking dinners at a moment's notice to get hungry kids into bed, and ruined nights. For crying out loud, at the very least, you can learn to estimate cooking time and communicate clearly. I will say, in the interest of fairness, if you do finally get their over-priced food,...

I finally got around to try out Holy Chow. I really liked the entrees. Tried the oriental hot dog and Wonton soup as well. My kids loved the soup, but I thought it was just OK. The soup is good value since you get a lot for your money, so I would still get it in the future. The oriental hot dog was over priced and not worth it. No one liked it. When I go back I will likely only order entrees since they are the tastiest and best value. Prices are just about right, maybe slightly high for what you get. The large portions are very large. My biggest issue with Holy Chow is that you can't place an order and pick it up in less than 30 minutes. I do not usually have time to plan to order an hour in advance. This is probably due to them being a new business, and I will happily adjust my review if I see an improvement in timeliness next time I try them out.

I would definitely recommend getting takeout from Holy Chow.

UPDATE 6/20: This time I tried several lunch specials, and they were ready 15 minutes after I called. Everything tasted good, and I thought the portions were actually good value. I tried chicken noodle soup, egg drop and hot and sour. All were good.

UPDATE 12/21: They had to significantly increase their prices due to labor/food/investment costs which makes it very expensive. Still overall I would recommend holy chow when you are in the mood for chinese and...

I finally get the chance to sing the praises of Holy Chow!

Kosher Chinese food that has flavor everywhere and spices as required/requested. Hot and sour soup that has both tangs that a soup called Hot and Sour requires. Wonton soup with a yummy broth and wontons that were not doughy.

And the mains! Beef with broccoli with a wonderfully tasty brown sauce and a very acceptable meat - green ratio. And the best for last (even with it's small fault to me) - the General Chow's Chicken. (As an aside I eat and enjoy habanero peppers straight). While the breading was a tiny bit too soft for my taste it was still wonderful. And hossanas for the sauce. The first sign that I had a chance of the type of Chow's sauce I love was the numerous Chinese hot peppers in the dish. Then I finally got to dig in. A burst of perfect sweetness, followed a few seconds later by the delicious burn of heat

I look forward to challenging the cooks to push the heat level while keeping the wonderful flavors. Until that battle is entered (which I'll happily put off while Holy Chow continues to get up to speed) we look forward to working our way through the menu.

**I specify "to me" and "my taste" very specifically as I have many friends for which that type of breading is what they desire. It certainly will not stop me from ordering the General Chow's...