Old Town Taste — Restaurant in Tempe

We just had dinner here, and it was really excellent. The eggplant 魚香茄子 and green beans 乾扁四季豆 were the really standout dishes, along with their fish soup. I also liked the cumin lamb 孜然羊肉. We were with people who could not take really spicy food, and they accommodated the food to our needs to a great deal of specification -- making the eggplant with a drop of spicy oil, putting a little bit more "mala" into the green beans. We also had a child, and they brought out small utensils etc for us.

This is probably one of the best service experiences that I've ever had. The waiter, Andy, really thought about how the dishes might complement each other and helped to guide us in thinking about the composition of a meal for nine people. We went back and forth a few times, and he also reiterated the list of dishes at the end so that we made sure there were no mistakes. He was really patient, asked general questions about our needs, and let us take our time. They also didn't pressure us to purchase any more, and just said that we could always add more dishes if we felt it wasn't enough, so we really didn't feel rushed out the door.

Andy also really excellent at taking group pictures, takes several photos to make sure there's a good one among them, and has suggestions about how to configure people in more natural-looking groups. There was a group of about 20 people, and the photo composition looked so amazing that we almost took a surreptitious photo (but didn't).

I'll make one last note that the decor was very tasteful, appropriate, clean, and nice. My prejudice is that I think that I normally think that the worse the decor and the service, the better the food. But that's not the case here. And the decor makes the environment a nicer place to eat, and somehow, the acoustics are such that you can still hear other people, despite how busy the place...

Now, I've enjoyed 'Chinese' food since I was a kid, but this place EASILY had the best Chinese food I've ever had in my entire life (most of which has been lived in Phoenix, Arizona or Brazil, so not an expert, by any means). I went with a friend on a Wednesday around 12, and there were plenty of open tables, along with two nice, big round tables for about 8 people which looked fun for large parties. We tried 4 different dishes...I blame the gluttony on the beautifully and accurately photographed meals in the menus...totally not my fault! Anyway, 3 of those dishes were just so damn excellent. The "Szechuan Style Spicy Fish" and the "Chongquing Sytle Spicy Chicken" were similarly seasoned and put together; the subtle differences are probably there, but lost on my uneducated palate. Both had lightly breaded and fried fish/chicken covered in vaguely ground peppercorns that made my tongue a bit numb and tingly in a totally awesome way. They also had some excellent green beans throughout which did an even better job of grabbing all nearby seasoning than even the fried meats. There were also bits of garlic, green onions, and some very tiny, very hot green peppers. The other dish we liked was a heaping pile of "shredded potatoes" (about the thickness of fat spaghetti) served spicy sour style. The potatoes still had a light crispness and the sour/salty/spicy brown sauce and garlic slivers all came together SO nicely. The one thing we got which we didn't like was the (giant!) bowl of hot and sour soup. It had some odd smell (again, uneducated palate!) that didn't make it appetizing. We took the leftover soup back to a coworker who loved it, so your opinion may vary. Overall, the experience was excellent, and I will definitely be going back to try some of the...

We were trying to go to our usual spot but they were closed on a Tuesday, so we decided to give this place a go. When we rolled up, they had our reserved table ready, which I had called in like 10 minutes before. Quick service, I like that. They even asked us what we wanted to drink right off the bat, which is rare. Usually, others let you settle in first. But, hey, I ain't complaining.

Now, the menu was a whole vibe. So many options to choose from. My fiancé ordered the Mongolian beef and I went with the Chongqing spicy boneless chicken. They charge a dollar for each rice bowl, and we ordered two. The wait wasn't too bad. First up was the beef with the sides of rice. My girl said they put way too many onions, but I didn't mind them. The flavor was decent, nothing to write home about. But I was really hyped for that chicken.

It took like 15 minutes for the chicken to arrive after our first dish was served. I wish they had brought everything out at once, but it's all good. When the chicken finally hit the table, it looked fire (peep the pic). I took a bite and the flavor was definitely there with that red pepper. It had a kick but it wasn't the spiciest I've ever had. But then, out of nowhere, my fiancé started making a face like she just tasted something funky. We started wondering if they brought us the spicy fish instead. That’s when we realized that since the chicken was deep-fried, they may have used the same oil they use to cook the fish with the chicken. That aftertaste was not it.

The green beans that came with the chicken, though? Perfectly seasoned with the spices. Shoutout to the staff also, they were chill and mad accommodating. All in all, it was a good experience, but that aftertaste left a bad taste in our mouths...