By Cristina Galvan
The restaurant Chinese Friends is appetizing and good for your wallet.
The exterior of the restaurant looks like a small hole in the wall. There is nothing eye catching about the restaurant since there are not that many decorations aside from a few pictures on the walls.
The menus are also plain. It is hard to order because the menu does not contain any pictures. The service and the food make up for the lack of ambiance.
The sizzling rice soup with three flavors is perfect for the cold weather. The soup has tender shrimp, chicken, mushrooms, and snow peas. Customers be warned because the soup is hot. This entree cost $8.95 and serves about five people.
Another good dish to order is the Kung Pao Chicken with peanuts, which also costs $8.95. Even though, the menu says that it is spicy, this is not the case.
The Kung Pao Chicken has chili peppers, but it is not spicy instead it is sweet. The chicken is tender and full of flavor. The crunchy peanuts, onions and chili peppers add to the rich flavor of the dish.
If customers want noodles, they should probably stay away from the Shanghai Style Fried Noodles. These noodles contain cabbage and pork. They are decent but not memorable. This dish costs about $6.00 and can feed about five people.
For $5.55, customers can have six dumplings. The pork and vegetable dumplings are juicy and fulfilling.
If one wants to stay away from meats, there are vegetable entrees available. Some vegetable dishes include the assorted vegetables mixed that go for $7.55 and the assorted mushroom with garlic sauce dish which go for $7.25.
There are also a variety of tofu dishes on the menu. Each table comes with tea, but customers could also order soda. On the weekends, the restaurant packs up fast, but it is worth it.
The staff is friendly and service is fast. Chinese Friends opens up every day of the week, but except on Tuesdays. All other days the restaurant opens from 11:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. and from 4 p.m. – 9:30 p.m.
The restaurant address is 984 North Broadway Ave. To get to the restaurant students could drive or take the gold line. If students want to drive, there is a small parking garage next to the restaurant. The restaurant validates parking fares.
If students decide to take the gold line, they could board it in the Atlantic station and get off in the Chinatown stop. After students go down the stairs from the platform, they have to make a right on College Avenue. Once students reach North Broadway they have to make a right. The restaurant is on the right hand side right before Bernard Street.
If customers want to eat from Chinese friends, but want to enjoy it from the comfort of their home, there is also a pick up service available. To order food to go customers could call (213) 972-9089.