This food is so spicy and delicious --I loved every bite. Great mixture of traditional and…read moreAmerican style Chinese

The food is mediocre at best. The service is not great either. The staff are experts at being…read morerude while smiling, typical self absorbed attitudes Don't bother with the soups - bland and overpriced

For many many years the food has been excellent and the service not bad at all, until yesterday. I…read moreoffered up some Chinese food to my aid and she said yes so she called in the order, on one of the orders I had the lo mein noodles, and on her order she had the pork fried rice . When we get it opened at home hers had just plain white rice. When calling the the restaurant back the guy was very combative no you got white rice, and he wouldn't even talk to her. Very rude. They need to go back to customer is always right? Apparently the owner of this place does not practice that. They need to be more polite to the public Also for some reason the food this day was just way over spicy? They've never done that before. Something was wrong with the kitchen.

Sucked. Rice was cold and hard. Lifted the whole clump in one shot. Was old. Egg roll was cold…read more General Tso's wasn't good either. Never again.

The meal I ordered seemed so simple: pork and pickled vegetables with rice noodles. I ordered it as…read moretakeout. As I sat down to eat it I was already anticipating what it might taste like. Wow. It was great. I rarely have such an immediate reaction. It was every bit as wonderful as I hoped it would be. Almost too spicy. Makes your lips burn sort of spicy. At least, my face didn't break out in a sweat. For my taste, this was authentic Szechuan with just enough heat. It was a large portion. I had enough leftover for a meal the next day. I tried to plate the meal to do it justice even though it was takeout. This was my first visit to Shu. The interior looks nice. The woman at the counter was friendly. I'd heard a great deal about the restaurant. Trying to decide what to order on my next visit.

Updating my review of this place based upon two dishes: Bok choy with garlic and Home style tofu…read more(deep fried). Both were available with either white rice or brown rice. I opted for the brown rice. Funny how our palates change over time. When I was younger, I hated Brussel sprouts. Now, I love them. Same situation here. When I was younger, I would have said the bok choy with garlic was plain and boring. Now, I taste it as a more subtle dish. It is served in a broth, not the cloying sticky sauce that's usually made thicker by the addition of a corn starch/flour slurry. The broth allows for the flavor of the bok choy to shine. I'm guessing the dish was made with MSG as well. Nothing wrong with MSG, it is one of the ingredients which provides a savoriness or meatiness to a dish - umami. The bok choy was trying hard to be meaty. Also, the addition of sesame oil was evident at the end of a bite, the slight taste and whiff of sesame becoming more pronounced. Home style tofu - this was comforting and satisfying with a slight kick of spicy heat. It's like grandma hugged you and squeezed your cheek, for good measure. There was a corn starch slurry used in this dish but it sort of calls for it; it's a more substantial protein rich dish. I honestly didn't miss meat at all when eating this meal. The dishes provided today proved to me that the cooks at Shu Chinese can do subtle...and they can do spice (mala). I'll definitely be back for more.

Placing takeout order by phone went well as did pickup…read more Great location on upper Union Street in Schenectady with parking in front. Nice looking front of restaurant. However, upon entering, the first thing I noticed was each of the seat cushions in the booths was torn and in need of serious repairs. There were also tables and chairs. I thought maybe the food will be good. Ordered 2 luncheon specials at $7.95 each which is less expensive than most comparable places. --Sesame Chicken --Shrimp in Garlic Sauce, both with Wonton Soup - -Plus a pint of Hot and Sour Soup The Sesame Chicken had a flavorful sauce, but it was mostly inedible because of the hard, chewy over fried pieces of skin. There was little chicken meat. The fried rice and broccoli were okay. Chicken was put in garbage. 4 Stars Yes! Shrimp lunch was very good. The shrimp were LARGE and tender, not overcooked. The sauce was good. Wonton Soup was typical. But the Hot and Sour Soup was a surprise! I like it and order it often, and I have never had a version so dark and inedible. Not only was it visually unappealing, it was too salty and had no mushrooms or tofu. I could not eat more than a taste. See Photo. First and last time ordering from here. Better Chinese food can be had two blocks up the street.

First time ordering, the Hunan Chicken was good, Szechuan Dumplings with Peanutbutter Sauce were…read more.. eh, either to much peanutbutter or it sat for awhile and got to thick, the food was okay. The order came somewhat on time. For a delivery over $24 I don't know if I'd say for what I paid was so much worth it. Maybe if I got something else it would of been better.

A few weeks ago, my wife had surgery and we ordered to have a night in…read more Everything was top shelf. The food was just amazing. The rice was unique and uniquely different. The chicken was magnificent, and the lo mein was out of this world The quickness of service was just amazing It was a very clean restaurant when we picked up our order. The people were helpful, helping us complete our order. We are most definitely be back time and time again.

We have a bit of a drive to get to Proctor's Theater so we always stop at Zhu's for dinner. It's…read morenot the best Chinese food I've had (I grew up eating in Chinatown) but it's definitely not the worst. We usually are the only ones eating in the dining room but they do a big takeout business. I can't say a lot about the decor but my daughter loves the fish tank near the entrance. I think if you order from here you won't be disappointed.

Northeast Chinese Restaurant II is one of my favorite local Chinese restaurants. All of my favs are…read morenorthern Chinese. That means they can serve up some deliciously spicy dishes. But if you're looking for something milder, they're great at that, too. I think the large menu has been updated since my last visit. The first few pages include dishes that I would describe as "soul food." There's frog, beef tripe and pork intestine-- you get the picture. I never really got into that. On this visit, my friend and I picked Stir Fried Spicy Squid, Crispy Chicken with Crunchy Red Pepper and Bok Choy with Garlic. We were hungry. The veggies came out of the kitchen almost immediately. Crazy fast. We were grateful. The other two dishes took a bit more time. When you see all of the ingredients in those dishes and how finely sliced they are, it's no wonder. I loved the chicken dish. The chicken was a little crunchy but the red peppers were super crunchy. It was a bit spicy but deliciously so. I liked the peanuts and what looked like slivers of jalapeño peppers, too. The squid was also great. Here, I think they used more jalapeño peppers and spices. There was more heat to this dish but it was deceptive. The more I ate, the more I could gradually feel the burn. By the time we were full, I could feel my face starting to sweat a little. That was fun. The restaurant is clean and attractive with a remarkable amount of seating. The back portion is reserved for hot pots which I have yet to try there. The staff is friendly, helpful and bilingual. They will make suggestions if you'd like. This restaurant generally gets a bit noisy because it's where large Chinese families gather when they want to go on the town. That's a good thing. There's also a large screen tv that plays cooking shows. With so much going on, the customers seemed pretty happy.

Been here a bunch of times now and they never disappoint…read more The review is really that simple. It's going to be really good every time. Order something spicy and get excited. Also get the ribs!!!

Ok, it's definitely Peter Chan in the kitchen after my skepticism in previous update. I know this…read morebecause first, a regular customer came in and called out "hey Peter how you doin?" Second, because the hard working chef is once again quietly exerting his authority with small acts of independence. He brought out my lunch special himself but declined to give me a dinner plate (needed because the serving entirely covers the oval plate it was delivering on) and, once again, my pork with pickled cabbage had no pickled cabbage. Touche, Peter. The regular customer ordered items I would never consider, like walnut shrimp and egg foo young. But I'm sure it was still great, as was my no-pickles pork, as is everything Peter cooks. The guy is a gem. And he looks to be in good health after that mystery hiatus so I hope he'll be around awhile.

I remember reading that Ocean Palace was closing for months to renovate. I was happy to see the…read moreresults. The entrance looks a lot better. Instead of picking up takeout at the front door, customers can now make their way to the counter. I'm glad to see them reopen. I had a lunchtime craving for Cantonese style curry chicken. It was a favorite dish growing up and it brings back fond memories. Another favorite is Roast Pork Lomein. I also bought a shrimp stuffed eggplant appetizer. It was pretty good. There are also new lunch options. Instead of a free can of soda, I was offered soup. I chose Hot & Sour Soup. It was good. This is one of the few local Asian restaurants that offers brown rice which is a healthier option. I always make a point of calling ahead so the food order is ready by the time I get there.

Ever been to Thailand? Well, I have! If you don't feel like flying halfway across the world for…read moresome authentic Thai cuisine, I highly suggest visiting Pad Thai Noodle. Green curry? Check! We ordered mild for the more spice resistant of the two of us (with sides of chili paste and powder for yours truly). Flavors were spot on-served piping hot (temperature) in very generous portions. Drunken noodle? Check! These rice noodles are not as broad as some other local Thai places but again-a very large portion with a perfect balance of savory, salty and sweet (also ordered mild for this first visit). Absolutely delicious....oh how I love the gumminess of a good rice noodle. The summer rolls were also great. We tried them with crab instead of our usual choice of shrimp (avocado was also an option). They're served with a peanut sprinkled hoisin sauce and a second peanut sauce. Again-nice sized portion with super fresh ingredients. Almost forgot-we did try a salmon avocado roll to sample the sushi-it was also great. But we wanted to focus on the Thai options. Not pictured but tasted (bc I dove in and scarfed without pausing for photos!): -Larb salmon: I've only had chicken and vegetarian versions of Larb (sometimes spelled Lahb); the salmon (raw) was one of the best things I've tried in a while. The red onions, scallions, rice powder, vinegar, chilies and fish sauce make this the ultimate umami experience that I can't wait to have again. -mango sticky rice: perfection. Ripe mango cut into cubes with sticky, sweet (and slightly crunchy) rice drenched in coconut milk sauce. I'm drooling as I write this. In case you don't now, the original version of this family owned and run restaurant had a terrible explosion/fire and underwent renovations last year. They took over the space next door and expanded the dining room area. It's light, bright and welcoming. Service was awesome-friendly and super fast. The menu is also extensive. I was initially overwhelmed by the choices so we stuck to the basics. Can't wait to go back and try more!

Back in Albany after a long hiatus, and tired but hungry after 8 hours of travel starting at 3am…read more Have a stomach bug so curry is always my answer. This place is rated one of the best Thai in the region. Was meaning to try it but they had an unfortunate fire last time was in town. Lucky for me they recovered and are up and serving some of the best Thai food. I ordered the Pad Thai noodle with chicken and Thai spicy. Also ordered the Massaman Curry with beef also Thai Spicy. They hit a home-run on the spice. Often times others fail on thai spicy afraid the customer cannot handle it. It was perfect. The side of fries rice for just a little extra free was some of the best I have had. Just Amazing. Will be back and good to be back in Albany.