Chan's Dragon Inn (Polynesian Chinese Retro)

[zhelder]

Up for an adventure, my brother and I decided to try this place a few days ago, and boy, "retro" is the right term for this place. But I loved it!

We tried the "family special", which allows you to pick certain items and have them served family style, for $16.50 per person. We got General Tso's Chicken and roast pork fried rice. The chicken was great, nice big pieces of white meat chicken in tempura covered with a flavorful sauce. The rice was good, but it had too much "stuff" in it for my tastes (especially onions, which I can't stand. The rice looked plain to me in Jason's pictures, which is why I was so excited to try this place). Oh well, next time I'll tell them no vegetables and then I'll be sure to devour the rice too.

The meal also included a choice of soup and appetizer. I got won ton and a roast pork egg roll, and both were great, the egg roll was the best I've had in a long time. My brother got the dim sum as an appetizer, and it didn't go over too well with him. It kind of looked like a scallion mato ball covered in light brown gravy.

We each got a wacky drink too. I got some pineapple drink, my brother got some blue vodka drink. My drink was good and strong, but not too sweet.

This place reminded me of my youth, when my father used to take us to the Garden State Plaza on Saturday nights (just after they converted to an indoor mall) and my brother and I would get $1.25 plates of fried rice and $1.00 egg rolls for dinner from the food court Chinese food stand. (I guess egg rolls are an inflation-resistant food!) We loved the stuff and my father was always real happy that he was able to take us "out for dinner" for less than $5.

Total bill was about $47 before tip. A bit more than I expected, but the food was very good, the portions were large, and I would definitely return.

[rooftop1000]

Shades of maraschino cheeries and pineapple-heavy Sweet & Sour Pork!

I tried to get that video, Jason, but it wouldn't come thru.

There used to be a Jade Fountain in North Arlington and it was like going into another world.  The Chan's Dragon drink menu looks just as I remember Jade Fountain along with the knife/fork/spoons and the zodiac place mat.

Aeons ago (really do mean aeons) the fried rice in a can was as close to that brown stuff in restaurants of yore, and I loved it.  But, now it is YangChow FR or no FR at all. (purist that I am)

But if I took DH there, he would love it!  Chop suey on the menu??

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Someone else but my family remember La Choy fried rice in the can?!?!? I loved that stuff...we actualy were talking about it on the 4th.

Tracey

[moosnsqrl]

OMG does this thread (and Jason's pics) dredge up old memories. We had a place called "Diamond Head" in Wichita (it was, oddly, adjacent to a bizarre disco-y club called The Wild Hare" in what we would now call a strip mall on south Seneca. In any case, they had the BEST food and the BEST service in town, bar none. They literally ran (surreptitiously) from table to table, ensuring that we never wanted for anything. The food, and the "umbrella" drinks were outstanding; very much the midwestern Trader Vics. And they had the requisite faux volcano which spewed steam periodically.

Ah, what memories!

[zhelder]

Someone else but my family remember La Choy fried rice in the can?!?!?  I loved that stuff...we actualy were talking about it on the 4th.

Tracey

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Oh, I remember that stuff, and the Chun King products too. It was good stuff, I wonder why they don't make them anymore as they seemd to be pretty popular.

[NJ2FLA]

Remember choosing plates from Column A and Column B? The family dinner.

[JeAnneS]

Thank you Jason for posting about this place! Chaz (my husband) and I were in the mood for a little "themed" dinner this evening. I remembered drooling over the pics in this thread, pulled up the mapquest and off we went! It was fantastic for both of us. Chaz was thrilled..he's Scottish and though most of his memory of Chinese food in the UK is take away, he said it was very similar to what we had tonight ..ie Cantonese style. His opinion of the Chinese we've had here (here=states, not here meaning Chan's!) is that it's too healthy tasting The blowfish lights over the booths and the twinkling dragon eyes just put it over the top (or it could have been the zombies and love potion)!

We started with the drinkies and a small pupu platter (the roast meat on a stick was fabu as were the fried chicken wings) and then split the roast pork Hawaii with a side order of fried rice. It was slices of roast pork over a bed of bean sprouts, sugar snap peas, mushrooms and water chestnuts in this brown sauce. YUMMY! The fried rice was the best I've had in a really long time..but that could be nostalgia talking. We brought home plenty of leftover and I thought the price was well worth it.

We will definitely go back!

JeAnne

Edited July 30, 2006 by JeAnneS (log)

[Jason Perlow]

Another satisfied customer!

I know, the place is seriously dated and over the top. That's why I love it.

[MJP]

Seeing this topic has convinced me: I want to do Chan's or Lee's for my birthday coming up. I'm not too thrilled at hitting the big two-four (I still want to skydive before I turn 30) but I think that with one or two Mai Tais in me, it won't be so bad. :-D

Problem is a good chunk of my friends are under 21 and a few aren't food people, e.g. even Chinese-American is a stretch.

A) Do Chan's or Lee's have an age limit to come in on Saturdays? We all love karaoke but I don't want people to miss it because they're not of drinking age yet.

B) Is one or the other better-suited for a group of ten to fifteen people?

C) Are there basic things for the non-eaters among us? One friend will only eat the crispy half chicken when we go to Hunan Cottage. It's basically just fried chicken without the breading... how someone doesn't like xiao long bao is beyond me, but it's just how she is. <shrug>

I like Lee's because I live literally up the street on Stuyvesant, so in case people are too schnookered to drive, they can crash at my place. Also, some people will be coming in via mass transit, and I don't know the area around Chan's well enough to tell them it's easy by bus or train.

Edit: Chan's doesn't do karaoke, do they?

Edited August 1, 2006 by MJP (log)

[Jason Perlow]

I'd favor Lee's for your birthday plans.

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=90208

Edited August 1, 2006 by Jason Perlow (log)