Russell Kofoed

Chinese Restaurants in Moscow
(913 Words)

There exist an amazing number of Asian restaurants in Moscow, given its population.  You can find somewhere to take a first date, somewhere to go after-bar, or just somewhere to go to get stuffed cheap.  All range around $10 a plate, with some of the fancier duck or shrimp dishes running a little higher.

Chang Sing, 512 S. Washington, Moscow, ID 83843, 208-882-1154, Mon-Thurs.  11:00 a.m.-9:30 p.m., Fri – Sat.  11:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m., Sun. 12:00- 9:00 p.m.

The Chang Sing, on Washington  Street, is a pleasant surprise.  It is under new management and they seem to be doing back flips to secure return business.  The service was impeccable.  The meal starts with complimentary hot tea and chips with sweet and sour sauce, Chinese mustard, and strangely enough, ketchup.  The restaurant is sparkling clean and brightly lit.  There were plenty of dinners on the menu costing around $10 dollar, and the two person family plans cost  $13 a plate.  They brought to our table huge platters of pork fried rice, lo-mien noodles, General Tso’s chicken, and something called “Happy Family, which consisted of shrimp, pork, beef, and chicken with plenty of vegetables.  Sometimes you get fried rice at a Chinese restaurant that has a couple of peas and a lone carrot cube, but Chang Sing’s fried rice has plenty of pork and vegetables.  In fact, all of their dishes were full of a variety of vegetables, including some you might not be familiar with.  The food was all excellent, and the meal was topped off with a plate of orange slices to clear the pallet.  This was by far our favorite of the Chinese restaurants.

New Hong Kong Café, 214 S. Main St., Moscow, ID , 208-882-4598, 11:00-9:30 Daily

The Hong Kong Café on Main Street is the perennial after-bar Chinese choice.  Although it has been a Chinese joint for at least 25 years, it looks as though it may have been a bar at some point in its distant past.  Large mirrors line one wall, and old wood and glass coolers line the floor.  It has cozy two person booths, as well as larger ones.  It has a great collection of stereotypical Chinese restaurant knick-knacks – the smiling Buddha, white faced ceramic dolls, Chinese fans, and more.  The food is less than $10 a plate and is fairly unadventurous, but is guaranteed not to unsettle your stomach after a night of drinking cheap beer.  The combo plates feature three items on a huge plate guaranteed to quell your hunger.  I had the combination dinner with Pork Chow Mein, Almond Chicken, and Pork Fried Rice.  These dinners run $7.55 a plate.  There was enough good food to fill you up, but it was just your plain, average Chinese/American cuisine.  Beware, the chicken tasted a little bland, sort of like a gooey McNugget from MacDonald’s.

The Thai House, 313 S. Main St., Moscow, ID 83843, 208-882-1930

The Thai House is an excellent choice for a first date, with its upscale feel without upscale prices.  Dinners were just over ten dollars, but well worth it.  The duck was tempting, at about $16 a plate, but instead I had an excellent Pad Thai.   They did everything right with this classic dish.  The rice noodles were good and the sauce had the right combination of rice vinegar, sweetness, and fish sauce.   This is authentic Thai food made by recent Thai immigrants.  Often the restaurant is busy, and when we went the wait staff seemed a little overwhelmed.  Despite the rushed service the food was outstanding.   

Super China Buffet, 1896 W. Pullman Rd., Moscow, ID, 208-883-4886

The Super China Buffet is the place to go if you want to really stuff yourself.  The food ranges from passable to quite good, and since you can pick and choose you are not stuck with one item. They have all the usual choices, general Tso’s chicken, Mongolian beef and broccoli, sweet and sour pork, and spring rolls, as well as some interesting items like mussels baked in cheese.  The mussel dish is really quite good, if you like that sort of thing, but it doesn’t really have a Chinese ring to it.  The dinner buffet is just over $10, and you will get so full you can barely drive home.  The dining area is clean, but the bathrooms always look sort of neglected in a gas station sort of way.

On the whole the selection of Asian food in Moscow is wide and varied.  No matter what your purpose in going out, whether it is fine food on a date or to get full cheap there is a Chinese restaurant for you.