China Lin — Restaurant in Toccoa

So, I have been in the area for three years but never tried this because I have to be in a certain mood for takeout Chinese food (I don't get drunk, but this is perfect hangover food for most people).

After checking for authentic food items like Mapo Tofu or house made dumplings to test my theory of this being Amerinese food or not (standard Chinese food in America - check out the documentary, "Searching for General Tso's Chicken" to find out more about why most Chinese takeout restaurants have the same menu), I decided on a dish that tests sugar content and ingredient freshness and how plentiful.

As expected, the sauce was very sweet (to satisfy the American palate), and they didn't have more authentic Chinese dishes. You get a good portion which is what people want, sometimes more than authenticity.

PROs: the food was piping hot and plentiful. The mushrooms and pork were plentiful as well, which you would expect given the fish name, "Pork and Mushrooms". You won't be disappointed by quantity, even though the prices are higher than many. I love the old-school takeout container, and the modern container is great for reusing. The woman taking the order was extremely friendly and polite and was refreshing compared to many customer service people today.

CONs: Not a place for authentic Chinese food (not expected). Too sweet for me (I got mine extra spicy knowing it would likely be sweet). Pork, carrots, and pea pods were overcooked (maybe even pre-cooked before adding to the heat for final prep), and fried rice was dry (likely pre-cooked) but you could add it to the sauce, which softened it.

Overall, a great movie night or late night food that can be shared. The place is really set up for takeout, although they offer tables, but not with any thought to design, just tables to sit at. Inventory is visible at the front and stored behind cheap sellinh items of jewelry and trinquets, which is also standard in a lot of these type places I've been in. All in all, I wouldn't dissuade anyone from going here, as long as you adjust your expectations and know what to expect.

I'll go again but ask for "not sweet" and made fresh. Let me know your experience and whether you are a...

My family and I often call in pick up orders to go from China Lin. It is consistently delicious. The food is always freshly prepared and appealing. This small "mom and pop" restaurant is one of our frequent go to places to pick up supper.

My husband and I always order off the menu, but our son likes to pick out various choices from the hot bar that is available at the counter.

From the hot bar, you can choose a side of rice or lo mein along with three different entrées out of about 10-12 options for around $10 per plate.

No matter which entrées we choose from the menu or hot bar, the food portions are very large. We always have plenty to eat for supper and enough left over for lunch the next day. Most of the entrees from the menu are around $10-11 each. An egg roll costs around $1.59. The potstickers are about $7.50.

This restaurant also has a small dining area; however, we always pick up our food to go.

We highly recommend this place! You will not be disappointed if you like great Chinese food full of flavor for a great deal!

They recently added a low Country boil option to their menu, which we have not tried yet, but plan to do so...

The hot bar looked good but, we just took out from the menu. Repeated order 4 times, still missing 1 out of five people's meals missing a sweet and sour chicken, on me for not checking. They don't give white rice for your meals, they give a bland fried rice. The shredded pork in ginger wasn't shredded, nor have a hint of ginger flavor. The chicken fried rice was the same bland brown rice they give instead of white rice, and they just slice some precooked breaded chicken into it. The 100 health rating they display was from 2017, you can see the latest 75 score from 2019 if you lean over the counter enough but not a recent one. All the food except the potstickers were bland and far below almost every Asian restaurant...