Cathay Chinese Food — Restaurant in Menifee

Can a food business be appraised by trying only one item? According to Winnepeg Taylor, a talented but unknown Chef, yes. Very much so. Aside from soda machines and fortune cookies, each item in the menu stands alone at the end of the day. Cathay Chinese Food was busy at approximately 4:30 PM on this warm Saturday in Menifee, CA. The food on display, served combination style, a la Panda Express, looked breaded, mostly sweet coated, and no different than any similar type, where the customer requests their preference, and in this case two lovely servers of the female persuasion, non oriental, served what appeared generous amounts of the available choices. It is a well known fact that Chinese places of this kind, sweeten most of their entrees, where savory dishes are far and few in between. There is a definite appeal to the American public for all things sweet: Sweet and Sour Pork, Orange Chicken, BBQ Pork, etc., and of course the fried part. According to the statistics Chinese food beats all the McDonalds, Burger Kings and Taco Bells combined, with over 40,000 Chinese eateries in the USA. I ordered Egg Rolls, Vegetables and the little more fatter and expensive, Chicken. Yes, that was it, to the tune of $12 plus. First, the chicken had barely any chicken, and frankly tasted mediocrely, and the vegetable was even worst. 2 Stars at most. Service and cleanliness earned...

My experience here was absolutely terrible. The food was nothing as I expected. The shrimp chow mein contained more vegetables than shrimp and noodles put together which only made up a little less than a quarter of the large to-go box. The noodles didn't look like the normal chow mein noodles, but I didn't mind it. However, the shrimp tasted like they were boiled and thrown in there for the sake of the name, it was bland. The chicken egg rolls were disappointing because they had one small piece of chicken in it, the rest being more vegetables. The customer service was decent enough. They were extremely nice, but the workers didn't seem to know what they were talking about when I asked about the box sizes. They replied with: "I don't really know." At first, I thought it was really pricey for what I got, but when I got home, I realized they had charged me for an extra portion of a small shrimp chow mein when I only ordered two large. I should've checked before I left, but I didn't think I had to. It would've been fine, if I'd received the small chow mein, but I didn't. If by chance this isn't only my bad luck, I don't...

Located on Antelope & Newport Roads in the Ralph's shopping center, by Ross with plenty of parking. This is a fast-Chinese food restaurant where you pick your items at the counter, buffet style (which is what I was looking for). I'm surprised to see so many bad reviews, which makes no sense. I had their 2-item combo with 'BBQ Pork, Orange Chicken, Fried Rice, and Lo Mein'. Their BBQ Pork was very tender and the Orange Chicken was actual chunks of chicken which were not extremely battered and fried like the common recipe. The Lo Mein and Fried Rice were a bit bland for my taste, but they complemented the meat perfectly because they were so tasty, and delicious! Prices are very reasonable, and portions are big. Service was fast and efficient even though I went during busy hours this Saturday evening. There are a few tables inside and a couple of tables outdoors to enjoy your meal there. I had a great experience here and will definitely return to try...