If you order from them through GrubHub and there's an internal error, they refuse to fix it. They won't bring the food you bought and paid for or give you a refund. You have to call GH to resolve the issue. This was all over a $2 order of wonton soup. I've ordered from them for YEARS. I'll never do it again. All they had to do was refund my money or send the soup. They can keep their wonton soup. And I'll keep my money. read more

China Star used to serve good tasting food. I ordered on 5/18 and was very disappointed. The food was salty, overcooked and mushy. We ordered 3 appetizers (chicken wings were salty and barely any meat), dumplings were so/so but $1 for additional for fried dumplings because they took a minute to fry them instead of steaming them? The chicken skewers were salty and dry and inedible. Hot and sour soup was dark and starchy and unbalanced. They added too much flake pepper and it was a gloppy, over peppered mess. The 3 entrees were barely edible. Crispy beef was overcooked and too honey sweet, Mongolian beef was oily and onions mushy, and Gen Tsos was disgusting. I asked for free egg rolls with this expensive order - the egg roll filling was mushy and disgusting. Seriously? A Chinese restaurant who can't make egg rolls? We added a tip (of course) and I didn't even get a receipt! I checked my credit card and we spent $120 for the disgusting mess of what they pass off as food. They used to have good food, but we hadn't ordered in a while so decided to try again. NOT AGAIN. I don't even have a receipt of the prices for what we paid for this mostly inedible meal. And they guy kind of hung around for a second like he was wanting a tip (we had included tip and we always over tip). $120! 3 appetizers 1 large soup and 3 entrees of barely edible food and NO RECEIPT! NOT AGAIN. Don't waste your money! read more

This place is serviceable for decent Chinese food. I actually prefer New China Restaurant for their portions (they definitely fixed their meat to veggie ratio of they ever had one, since my general tsao chicken was 95% chicken). But China Star is a decent second. Unfortunately none of these places are truly outstanding. The portions are fair, no issue with their meat to veggie ratio. Food is fairly flavorful. No big issues with anything either. Straight average. read more

Beware! China Star is not the same restaurant it used to be. Definitely different chefs. Most of the pictures people posted upfront are no longer created by the existing chefs I ordered KungPao Chicken, and I specified I wanted the real Chinese version. And the young male stated yes it's real. BS....it tasted not only like the American version but it was worse. Filled with MSG... the Lo-mein I ordered was also DS....as in Dog S!$@t. Just pure msg. The fast food China King is American Chinese but 10 times better and literally 50%cheaper. China Star charged me $21 for DS. Where China King would have been half and they don't use pure MSG. Enough said. I feel like I have been scammed! -------------- Okay, it's been about a year and I was dragged back here about 1 month ago and it has improved a bit. Not quite like it's original days, but acceptable now. read more

NEW CHEF? China Star was one of the greatest gems of Fairfax City and now there appears to be an all new chef. The dishes are all drastically different (taste, texture, color) and its just not the same. The staff admitted that the chef had just changed and didn't say where the old kitchen maestro went. I may be tied too much to the old but at this point China Star has lost its shine. Has anyone else experienced this? read more

If you look at the rating distribution, you'll see that I'm definitely a minority. Maybe you'll scoff at the whole idea. A Chinese takeout joint with five stars, pshhh! But wait, wait. There's more to this place than egg drop soup and General Tso's chicken. When the menus arrive, disregard the last three pages and hone in on the first three. Anything listed under "home style entree" will be spicy, garlicky, greasy, and so worth the clogged arteries. The appetizers and specials with slightly higher prices are well-executed and still a steal compared to American, and even other Chinese, restaurants. The exciting menu items include dry fried string beans (not really dry but quite tasty), wood ear mushrooms in chili oil, Ma Po tofu (oily, spicy goodness), Szechuan chili fish, fish and eggplant casserole, "Princess pig feet" (maybe not for me), and Ma La pig blood with tofu in hot pot (again, listed for your knowledge, not my thing). If you head past the Spur/270, you'll find a place called Joe's Noodle. Joe's prepares all kinds of Szechuan goodness. We don't have Joe's, but luckily we have China Star. While Maryland seems to have most of the exceptional Chinese restaurants, with a range of cuisines, Nova isn't entirely hopeless. We have a fair share of decent or even outstanding Cantonese eateries and a few authentic Szechuan places. Temptasian Cafe off Little River also offers dishes from this region of China; however, I'm not a fan of that area or the service. Hong Kong Palace (Szechuan cuisine despite the name) is good, but a bit too far for the Burke-Fairfax folk. In addition to serving some of the best Szechuan in the DC metropolitan area, China Star is also conveniently located off a main road in a shopping center with ample parking. Honestly, I'd endure difficult parking and traffic for China Star because the addictive and piquant flavors make all that worthwhile. On top of that, China Star staff is among the friendliest I've ever encountered in a Chinese restaurant, locally or while traveling. The servers are quick to come to the table to take your order, but patient when you ask for more time to decide. They remember to check to see if you need or want more water. Just the basics, which can be lacking in similar establishments. Indifferent service isn't a dealbreaker, but good to excellent service is a great bonus. read more

Probably a close runner up to my favorite Sichuan restaurant (Hong Kong Palace), this restaurant delivers authentic Sichuan that leaves you wanting more and more. The chili chicken and chili fish dishes are money. Braised fish money. Lamb in a sizzling pot (cumin lamb) was also good. Recently found this place, so I have a lot more visits ahead. Parking/seating is acommodating and the staff is super nice. read more

Things have dramatically changed since my earlier review of China Star. It looks like they completely cleaned house and are using a different chef. The food is prepared more like American Chinese food. There isn't as much heat and they've cut back on the once generous portions. I used to pile folks in my car and drive from Old Town Alexandria all the way out to Fairfax because this place had amazing Chinese food. Those days are long gone and it is apparent that other customers feel the same way. Usually the restaurant is jam packed from about noon to two on weekends. This past Sunday there were only three parties seated and just a handful of carry out orders. This place has dropped 3 stars from my previous revue and unless I hear otherwise about restoring its once great food, it will be some time before I ever consider returning. read more

3.5 stars From the outside, China Star appears to be any old american chinese restaurant but inside it's more of a szechuan restaurant that also offers many western dishes. In the mood for something spicy I went for the ma po tofu. My dad got one of the standard american chinese dishes and I can't help but feel like we were treated coldly because of that. Many of the people here were chinese and they seemed to get smiles and friendly service, but we got cold stares, annoyedly hurried service, and forks thrown our way, despite not asking for them. It just felt like they were annoyed that we were there. When the food came out there was a huge difference in quality between my dad's moo goo gai pan and my ma po tofu. As other reviewers have mentioned, this makes me think you should stick with the eastern menu. My ma po tofu was really spicy and quite good. My only issue was that it was VERY heavy which just exhausted my tongue after a while. Before a purist yells at me, I've had ma po tofu at other places that weren't THIS oily. A bit too much standing oil for my taste but the flavors were good. And for the money it was a tremendous value for how big the portions were. I'd love to return with some adventurous yelpers to plow through the rest of the eastern menu. It really does seem like chinese receive preferential treatment here so I feel like I was short-changed a bit in the way of service. If you order correctly, however, the food is worth it. read more

They definitely have a new chef. We ordered our usual favorite dishes: Lamb in a sizzling pot (cumin lamb) Shredded Pork in Garlic Sauce stir-fried eggplant dried fried string beans beef chow foon steamed fish Beef chow foon and steamed fish were good. If you had Beef chow foon there before, you know they make it differently than a Hone Kong Style restaurant. With this new chef, beef chow foon is the standard kind. My kids had 2 orders of beef chow foon. The steamed fish was flavorful and tender. But all the Sichuan style dishes were different. The flavor of the dishes were too mild to be Sichuan style food. The most disappointing dish was the stir-fried eggplants. The color, texture and the flavor of the dish was completely wrong. The eggplants were supposedly to be crunchy on the outside and soft inside. And the sauce created a nice garlicky coating on the eggplants itself. The dish we had was nothing like it. We had to send the dish back. The manager did not admit that the dish were done differently or there was a new chef. She said the kitchen must made a mistake and cooked a different eggplant dish. When the waiter came back with the eggplant dish again, there was no improvement. The kitchen didn't make a mistake. The new chef just couldn't make the same dish. We wouldn't go there again for Sichuan food. If we want beef chow foon or steamed fish, we would go to a Hong Kong style restaurant (like XO Taste). Well...there is no reason to go to China Star again. read more

***This review is for the Sichuan Menu only*** Cat P's review really hit home for me, and this place had been on my list of places to try ever since . I LOVE Sichuan cuisine, especially after trying the real thing in China on a number of occasions. We decided to do take out and run because of the time of day and the expected traffic on the way back to Reston, but after looking inside we wish we could've stayed and enjoyed our meal there. It was pleasant, quiet and relaxing which was surprising- guilty as charged, I prejudged the interior given the strip mall location. When I discovered that China Star was in the same shopping center as Cinema Arts I was a little worried. I think we all know what a zoo that parking lot has a tendency to be. Thankfully, the restaurant is tucked away on the right side of the strip mall, in a much less hectic area, and I found plenty of parking even at lunchtime. The woman who took the to-go order was affable and very patient. Different from some other places in the area, the Sichuan menu (as opposed to the American-style Chinese menu) here is very accessible to non-Chinese folks ... ie. it is not some underground menu that you have to either beg for or need a secret wink and a handshake to get. The English translations are quite good, very descriptive, and it is located right next to the American Chinese menu when you walk in. I felt comfortable asking lots of questions, which I did. For example, I really like "Ma-La", which are super spicy/almost metallic tasting Sichuan peppercorns. I know that they do not put them on every dish, so I asked if they could just sprinkle a few in my tofu, and they were happy to oblige. We also asked her to leave out any meat and fish in our dishes. (It is very normal in this cooking style for tofu to be cooked with pork or fish). No problem! We ordered Ma Po Bean curd and string beans and both dishes were huge (family style) and delicious. The price was $9-$10 for each dish. The portions are huge, more than enough for 2 or 3 people, so 2 entrees were a perfect amount to share with the hubby. Plentiful, spicy, well seasoned and oily, just like it should be! PS: this is NOT health food. It is fatty and will give you a food coma. But everything in moderation, right? Including food comas! This is a great place to grab a bite before or after a movie at Cinema Arts. We will definitely be back to try some of the other things we were eyeing: wood ear mushrooms in chili oil sauce, here's looking at you! read more

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I read reviews with high expectations. Ordered General Tsao chicken and sweet and sour chicken. No pineapple, pepper or onion in sweet and sour just French fried pieces of chicken and a container of sauce and container of rice. Instead of Genersl Tsao, I came home with almond chicken with no flavor except in the celery. Never again read more

We ordered the Sichuan chili chicken and scallion fried fish. Both dishes were excellent (though I would not order the chicken on the bone again). I would say the food was a little salty for my taste, but still absolutely delicious. I was close to giving it 4.5 stars and this could be one of my favorites Asian restaurants in the DC area, but will have to pay a few more visits before I'll make that claim. That being said, this is my favorite discovery since Hong Kong Palace. Wil return. Will return. Will return. read more

The restaurant looks nicer now, but having gone out here pretty much since it first opened, the new chef is not bad but... it's just not the same. Portions have been drastically reduced. Like 40% of the original amount. No more Szechuan beans complementary in the beginning. Not enough spice or the wrong kind of spice. No Shan City Rabbit. The end of an amazing restaurant experience. I used to drag people out here all the time from all corners of Fairfax and out of the area. On the bright side, the risk of coronary failure thanks to China Star's food has been significantly reduced. Well, until I go to Peter Chang's in Charlottesville. read more

Their default menus are in Chinese. Order from this menu, it's authentic Chinese. The other menu is Americanized Chinese... My favorite dishes: Spicy Peppercorn Beef w Cilantro Szechwan Chili Chicken Dried Fried String Beans Salt & Pepper Eggplant Hot Pot read more

To begin, if you are coming here for what I call the fast food/takeout aka your General's Chicken, beef and broccoli etc, don't. That part of the menu is not where they shine and is quite frankly pretty bad. Their brown sauce was watery and flavorless, their fried rice (while looking very nice with the vegetables in it) was stale and had an off putting taste. Where this place shines is their sichuanese cuisine. This is your chilli chicken, beef with tripe, hot pots etc. I even think they call this "Traditional" on their menu. When it comes to this type of cuisine you have predominantly two variants, one with a depth of flavor that morphs on your palate as you eat with a mixture of salty, sour, sweet and then an underlying heat. And then the complete opposite where heat is the predominant flavor with the others making a cameo. Notice I said heat not spice. Sichuanese food does not destroy your mouth with spice like you get when eating those "lava" chicken wings. It is a slow build up of heat that is made possible by the use of sichuan peppercorns. They have a numbing effect that make you taste the flavor of spices instead of just the pain. I would put this restaurant at the latter of the two. They go for the numbing heat with flavor. read more

The food is amazing. AH-MAY-ZING. As close to authentic Szechuan as you are going to find in the area. The szechuan green beans, the chilli chicken, szechuan eggplant and dumplings are by far my favorites. It is authentic wipe your brow, kill some taste buds hot, but SO GOOD. Good thing the sticky rice is unlimited! The prices are very reasonable as well. We went there with friends and ordered 5 entrees for a grand total of $40. The decor does leave something lacking. There's not much intimacy in the seating. The service is also a little lacking. You really need to jump out and grab your waitress in order to get their attention. The food though, the food is mmmmmmmmmm. And really, isn't that what really matters? read more

If there was a less than 1 star option, I would pick it. The food was horrible. I ordered for my family of four and it was mushy, extremely salty and one dish was flavorless. It also took 1 hour 45 minutes for delivery. Since it seems highly rated on Yelp, I guess I just had bad luck? I will Never order from them again, though. read more

China Star has been my go to Chinese restaurant since we moved here. I agree with past posters, don't bother ordering from the American Menu--you will totally miss out on the heart of this restaurant. Fish with sour mustard is AMAZING. A big bowl of fish siting in a flavorful, delicious, spicy, soupy sauce. Don't let the word "mustard" fool you, it refers to the mustard greens, which are delightfully crunchy and sour . Also delicious: Ma Po tofu (soft cubes of tofu bathing in a chili sauce) and Salt and Pepper Eggplant, and some kind of flounder in chili sauce. The rabbit dish had too many bones for me, but that was the only culinary strike out at this place. Delivery is not always consistent and the service isn't the best, so just go for the food. read more

When this place first opened in 2002, it was my favorite Chinese restaurant in Fairfax. If you read any of my reviews for Sichuan restaurants, you'll know that I love Sichuan food and can tolerate spiciness like none other. China Star fulfilled my Sichuan food quota for the majority of my high school days. The original chef was spectacular and knew how to handle the wok and didn't skimp on any of the spices. Only later did I find out that that fantastic chef was none known than Chef Peter Chang, who came to China Star after working as a chef at the Chinese Embassy and cooked here until 2005. After that realization, it was no wonder that the food was so good. However, as Peter Chang does, he disappeared elsewhere. I usually ordered the braised fish which was so good. It's a hefty portion too. I never finished the whole dish and would always take it home as leftovers. They also had a chicken with chilies (辣子鸡) dish that consists of marinated, deep-fried chicken that's stir-fried with garlic, ginger, and chili peppers. This was a good dish although they gave more chili peppers than pieces of chicken. Another great dish they used to make was twice cooked pork (回锅肉), which involves simmering pork belly steaks in water with ginger, cloves, star anise, jujubes and salt. The pork is shallow fried in oil, usually along with some vegetables like napa cabbage or bell peppers. When China Star changed chefs, that's when the quality went down for me. While the food wasn't bad, things were different (and not for the better). Seasoning changed, some spices gone, and some dishes nixed. I used to frequent this China Star so much in the early 2000s, but when I went last year, I was shocked/saddened at how drastically different the food tasted. They're skimping on the amount of fish and lessening the heat in the braised fish dish. You can also taste the MSG more than ever. It's a bit disheartening to see how much has changed here over the years. While I wouldn't disown it, I'd think twice before eating here, especially if I have a Sichuan food craving. read more

China Star was my first experience in authentic Sichuan Chinese and it holds a dear place in my stomach. When going to a place like this, with such a large menu I'm always tempted to try new things, but find myself wanting to come back to my same old favorites, including: 1. Salt & Pepper Eggplant - Deep friend, salty, spicy, garlicy, and gingery it is such a perfect comfort food I can't help but get it every time 2. Fish with Sour Mustard - I ordered this when I took my friends here once and they were skeptical at first, but insist on getting it everytime now 3.MaPo Tofu - Super spicy, with silky tofu and great little pieces of ground pork, one of my favorites 4. Dried Fried Green Beans - Amazing I have tried multiple other dishes and always satisfied, there are very few chinese restaurants I go to now thanks to the quality of this place. read more

I'm going to say something incredible here, and by "incredible", I mean that you will not find it to be credible at all. China Star is among the 4 or 5 best restaurants I've ever visited. My wife and I came here on advice from my brother, who raved about it like a frothing lunatic, waxing endlessly about the "Szechuan menu" and the treasures therein. Well, he was right. The lamb in sizzling pot is spectacular. The szechuan chili fish is the most aggressively spiced thing I have ever eaten. I dream about the scallion fried fish. The crystal shrimp is amazing. The chicken with leaks will literally, LITERALLY (okay, not literally) cause you to weep with joy. And the spinach with garlic (not usually on the menu but always available) is the best spinach you've ever had. The Ma Po's Preserved Fish is incredible. I could go on and on. It should be noted that I've tried most of everything in the Szechuan Menu. The Emperor Duck is great. The service can be grumpy. The decor isn't much. And if there is one miss on this giant menu, it's the lion head in hot pot. NOT VERY GOOD. I live a good 30 minutes from China Star, but I return often. Only the Lion Head in Hot Pot has been less than revelatory, and I'm not being hyperbolic. I swear. read more

Delish. The name is not very original, but peeking through the window I could tell the lobby was packed with carryout orders and all tables were full of customers. In a location where your customer base is made up of only the locals, I knew it would be good. I've ordered carryout several times now and I'm never disappointed. Walking in, it's like chinese new year every day. The place is packed and bustling. The food is prepared quick and is very hot. I've ordered mostly off their "specialties" menu - things with names like "dragon," so I can't rightly remember what was in the dishes, but I loved them all. Highly recommend. read more

If you want beef with broccoli, this can be your restaurent. If you something out of the ordinary this can also be your reataurent. Just ask for the chinese menu (but it's in English still). The chinese menu have dishes that are not the typical "happy family" dishes. There's a certain spice in some of these dishes that make my tongue go numb. Yes, I keep going back too. Try the Schecuan Chilli Chicken. You will call for your mommy. read more

This place was one of my best DC "experiences" in the two years I lived there. I ordered the Szechuan Chili Chicken and asked the waitress for an appetizer to complement it. She returned with a plate of trembling offal, which was fine, but too big. The Chili Chicken was one of the best and most intense things I've ever eaten. Ordered on the bone, you get a full bowl of knuckle-sized pieces of dark meat chicken swimming in chili oil and hot pepper. My lips went numb about halfway through, and I'm tolerant of very spicy foods. So that's a warning. But the menu is helpful in this respect. And you can order things that are one pepper level down before stepping up to a dish that would probably send Gordon Ramsay into permanent retirement. read more

I love hot & spicy sichuan chinese food. Spicier the better. Tonite I was craving for some sichuan. I decided to give China Star a try from the good review it has received. Man o' man, I never sweated so much eating a meal. Being a first timer to this restaurant, we had a difficult time what to order. So we decided to go the hottest. We ordered the braised beef & vegetables and eggplants with garlic sauce in hot pot. They both had the little symbols of 2 peppers & red star next to the name. Some had 1 pepper & red star, others had 1 pepper & no star. Both dishes were very good and made my mouth numb from the spices. However, it lack one ingredient that I can't explain. To my taste Hong Kong Palace has that ingredient that makes me addictive to their dishes but China Star lacks that ingredient. It's just my preference. This restaurant is a must if you like the mouth numbing food. read more

I was shocked to discover such a fine Chinese restaurant in the middle of no where of Northern Virginia. Very authentic Sichuan food, as good as any top Sichuan restaurants in LA. I loved all of their traditional spicy dishes, but my personal favorite is actually a non-spicy dish: Diced fish with Pine Nuts. 2/26/2010: Just read the latest article in New Yorker about the head chef who used to cook here. Turns out I was very lucky when I ate here back in 2004 and 2005. read more

China star is such a find. It was definitely my first time eating authentic Sichuan food and I'm not going to lie, at times I felt it was somewhat TOO spicy for me. I was with three fans of spicy food and if I remember right, the braised fish was their favorite of all. I went there one other time with a friend and it was equally as good. I just feel like everything is so new and different from what I normally expect from chinese food. Also, the servers tend to be very nice and they were really fun to practice chinese on. Overall, definitely a must-try in Fairfax. read more

I really wanted to like this place, but it just didn't live up to the hype. Per consensus of "what's good," I ordered the spicy wontons, lamb hot pot w/fried rice and a spring roll. Spicy wontons: + Tasty, potential to be spectacular with easy adjustments, Spicy (but good!) - Too much sauce, Little filling (meat), Limp and almost slimy texture, Arrived lukewarm Lamb Hot Pot: + Great texture to the meat - it seemed very fresh, Very spicy, Nice seasonings, Pleasant Aroma - Arrived lukewarm Fried Rice: WTHDIDIJUSTEAT!!? No, really. The fried rice came with the lamb hot pot, but it was quite literally the worst fried rice EVER made. I can't even suggest it was soaked in soy sauce. It was hard, brown, lacked flavor and moderately warm. Strip mall fried rice is high cuisine in comparison. Spring Roll: + Thickly filled with cabbage and carrots (no other vegetables), Nice try on it - Cold, and thus no longer crispy Service: + Online ordering was efficient, Whomever I spoke to in the restaurant was nice - Better descriptions online of the food would be nice, Delivery guy was RUDE, Took 1.5 hour to arrive when projected time was 45-60 minutes TLDR; Delivery is a bad idea, but the food would be good if you could eat it in the restaurant or receive it hot (and crispy)! read more

Updating because this has become my go-to Chinese take out place. They have American-style and authentic Chinese. They do both pretty well. I complained before that while the flavors were good everything was dried out. Have not had that problem since. They have a good lunch special, which is always a plus. read more

My wife & I were waiting for our movie to start at Cinema Arts (in the same shopping plaza) & decided to give this place a try, and WOW we sure are glad we did! We both like spicy food & were both unfamiliar with Szechuan food, so we split an order of Chengdu Spicy Cold Noodles from the appetizer menu & an order of Braised Fish. Both were FANTASTIC. Plus the serving sizes are huge so we had a lot of leftovers to bring home & enjoy later. read more

It has been a while since I've been back here and this time I ordered off the home style menu instead of the typical takeout stuff. I started off with the mapodofu and while it did not have shredded pork, it was very tasty and the mala is prevalent. I also ordered the fish and tofu in peppery broth hotpot and this was not quite as successful in my opinion. While good, I was expecting mala and it was flavored more with the traditional red pepper. My fave fish in peppery broth is still Hong Kong Place and China Wok in Tysons does an admirable job as well. China Star is closest Sichuan in the area so proximity makes it attractive. Another Sichuan place is in Chantilly hiding in a buffet place. Overall, good quality and enjoyed talking with the staff there and they seemed genuinely happy that I was enjoying my food. read more

Serviceable food but nothing to rave about. Singapore noodles were more than some places offer (aka box of noodles with meat as an afterthought), and while I love spicy noodles the word that comes to mind is indiscriminate. The spice isn't too hot but it seems to be dumped on there without discretion. The fried dumplings were so so. Beef fried rice was fine. Sevice was adequate. I will probably eat here again, but it has not knocked my favorite Asian delivery out by a long shot. read more

This place is my favorite chinese place in all of DC. Everything is super tasty and tastes really authentic. The prices are marginal. I can't say enough about the food. The duck and hot pot dishes are delicious. As well as the noodle dishes. The only reason it doesn't get a 5 is because... 1. It is kind of hard to order 2. Some of the dishes leave me questionable as to the quality of ingredients. Some of the beef I had tasted we so tender that I could only assume that it was treated with baking soda. But this is purely an assumption, maybe they do use high quality beef and use great preparation/long cooking times, but I somewhat doubt that. I can also say that every standard chinese restaurant follows the same practices but this place is exquisite. read more

It's been a while since I've eaten at China Star, but I still fondly remember the whole roasted fish, the pork with green pepper, and the crab meat with asparagus soup. Other dishes that were ordered by our friends were the beef stew in a hot pot, salt and pepper eggplant, and MaPo Tofu. All excellent dishes. I went with a group of 3 other people and we had no problems getting a table. Our server didn't speak much English, but we were able to point to the menu to order. As others have mentioned, if you're looking for authentic Szechuan, make sure you ask for the Chinese menu instead of the American menu. read more

Excellent Szechuan food and other homestyle. Our favorites are the lions head--big soft meatballs--which you can't get anywhere else, pepper fried tofu, & chow fun. Fast and reasonably priced also. Well worth the trip from falls church, but wait til after rush hour! read more

I usually am not a fan of most take out Chinese food places. We ordered the Szechwan chili diced tofu, crispy beef, and spicy emperor duck. The tofu was delicious! It is actually fried tofu with red peppers and quite delightful. Be warned --- it is very spicy (sometimes a bit too greasy)! The duck was ok, but I'm probably more picky than most because my mom cooks the best duck. The duck had too much sauce in my opinion. I think I'll try the crispy duck next. [I did end up trying the crispy duck and it is better! The crispy duck was a tad dry, but it was ok.] The crispy beef was ok, but not the best. It wasn't very crispy, but at least it wasn't drowning in brown sauce. Compared to most places, I'd have to say, it's a decent take out place. They only deliver if you're within 3 miles of the restaurant and only accept Visa or MasterCard. I'm willing to give their other dishes a try. read more

Please bear with me on this. I dialed another restaurant's number and didn't realize the line some how crossed to China Star's phone. I thought that sort of thing went out when the digital age established. I didn't even notice, when the person picked up, that they had greeted me with the name of a different restaurant. I placed my order, for delivery, and eagerly awaited lunch of crab rangoon, BBQ spare ribs, and the chicken with cashew nuts lunch special. More than enough food to share with my friend who'd come to watch movies for the day. The food was delivered by a very nice man, no complaints there. Delivery was fast and professional. I was a bit confused when I opened the bag to see a menu from China Star. I thought the delivery man was promoting a new restaurant, and thought it odd, as it would definitely be a competitor of my favourite place. Then as I unpacked the food, I realized it was all the right food made not in the way I was accustomed. The ribs were juicy, and with a more Americanized barbecue tomato like sauce, rather than the sweet caramelized ginger coating I prefer. The crab rangoon was salty and the fried wonton wrappers were very doughy, yet somehow crisp at places. I could not eat the chicken with cashew nuts (ordered with fried rice). I found it unappealing to look at, as it was all the same colour, a kind of orange/yellow/sickly brown. I did brave one bite, and was met with an overwhelming mound of salt. If you hadn't guessed, I'm not a fan of salted foods. That was it. I hit the redial on my phone, and was ready to ask what happened. The phone rang a few times then slipped to a recording device. That's when I went to my computer and found on Yelp, that my beloved Chinese restaurant had gone, and somehow China Star had received my last order, and certainly my last order to China Star as well. While the people were very nice, and professional, my body cannot tolerate so much salt in one meal. read more

Their food and it's quality is good. I've tried their Boiled Fish, traditional style fried rice (no soy sauce), dan dan noodles, ma po tofu etc. I can say it feels pretty authentic and tastes good. I can definitely compare this to TemptAsian in Alexandria. However, I do not like their cheap attitude on certain things. For example, they give a free order of egg roll for orders over 15 on a take out, but each time I order Traditional style dishes they give me a hard time saying the free egg roll is only for American style dishes. I asked them if the color and value of the money is any different for Traditional Vs American dishes. I keep reminding this is how they will end up losing some loyal customers. read more

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My favorite used to be their Crystal Shrimp. It was like a bug zapping lantern; it mesmerized me into it's spicy depths with glowing red delicious peppers. Luckily I survived that dish and many other spicy ones. Once I became a vegetarian I was worried that I wouldn't be able to enjoy their food. After hesitating for a few months I returned and found I could still enjoy their Eggplants with Garlic Sauce in Hot Pot and Szechwan Chili Diced Tofu. Despite my herbivorous tendencies I am still fascinated at all the interesting dishes you can order here that you just don't find at cookie cutter Chinese food places. This is my top pick in the Fax. read more