Subject: Extremely Disappointing Experience -- Food Contamination and Poor Customer Service I had a horrible experience with my recent order. We found a hair in our food and immediately called the restaurant. They agreed to bring a replacement meal, which we appreciated at first. However, when they arrived, they asked to take back the original meal. What shocked me was how they handled the situation: they pointed out that the old meal was "half gone," accused us of eating it, and then took the new meal back. Right in front of us, the staff member used her hands to remove half of the wings from the new order, placed them in an old bag, and left with the contaminated meal -- without disposing of it properly. Not only was this unsanitary, but instead of apologizing for serving food with a hair in it, we were treated as if we had done something wrong. It was an appalling experience, especially as loyal customers who order from here every week and spend a significant amount of money. I'm extremely disappointed and concerned about food safety and hygiene practices at this establishment. read more

I was excited to dig into my beef and broccoli but after a few bites could not finish it. It had a weird oily aftertaste and not much flavor. No veggies or eggs in the fried rice pork. The restaurant itself looked disheveled and there was a room full of empty boxes and trash. Would not go back. The lady working the counter was very nice though. read more

Hau PO - Beef and broccoli - Chinese Near Me - Middletown, Connecticut

So lower me tell this used to be my favorite Chinese food. The place opened when I was a teenager. I moved away from Middletown about 20 years ago. I was here visiting family and had to go to my favorite takeout place. It was sad to see the inside of the restaurant. So dirty, stuff just pulled up in the dining area. Not sure what it all was, looked like personal items from there home. Against my better judgement I ordered food. If was good. Please clean the front area of the restraint and return it to what it used to be. read more

Where do I begin??? Okay I will start with the positive (yes, singular)... They have online ordering. Yay. Negatives: - Online ordering didn't give me any idea when the food would be ready. I arrived about 15 minutes after I placed my order and had to wait another 15 minutes. For 2 lunch specials and a pint of lo mein, and they definitely were not busy. There were 6 people in the restaurant, but one was fighting with someone on her cell phone and another was working on a laptop at the table I will describe next... -Two things jumped out at me when I walked in the front door...1) the bench seat of a car or mini van set up at a table with all kinds of junk on the table (laptops, laptop bags, office supplies, books, magazines, etc) and 2) a big metal pan of what I assume was chicken, sitting out on the counter with no cover. Now, it might have been taken out for preparation but in the 15 minutes I was in there it wasn't moved, covered or refrigerated. I was a little uneasy that my chicken was taken from that. Lets hope food poisoning isn't on the horizon for me. -Food was extremely mediocre. I tried a little of everything from the order...sweet and sour chicken, general tso's chicken, pork fried rice and pork lo mein. The sweet and sour sauce was watery and flavorless, the chicken was overcooked. The rice was very dry, it seemed old. The lo mein was overcooked, flavorless and very greasy. And the best part? The hair on my general tso's chicken...a short white hair that looked like it belonged to the man I saw cooking my food. I wish I had seen it right away so that I could have been spared from eating any of the food. I usually go to Great Wall which is only about 1 minute away from Hau Po. I wondered if other Chinese might be good so tried something new. But I say stay away and go to Great Wall. Restaurant is clean and tidy, service is friendly and prompt and the food is fabulous! They have real chairs and tables, and they're for the customers, not employee lounging. And, I've never found a hair in my food at Great Wall. Stay away from Hau Po...or be prepared to make yourself a sandwich when you get home and realize that the food is substandard. read more

Hau PO - The hair I found in my General Tso's chicken. Thanks, but I didn't order that!! - Chinese Near Me - Middletown, Connecticut

I love the food, the service is amazing, and the place is very clean. This is the best Chinese restaurant in Middletown

We have scoured the area surrounding Middletown for the best Chinese take-out; and Hau Po is our go-to place. We order about once a week. It is quite conveniently located on Rte 17, so I drive to pick up. Favorites include an excellent chicken Moo Goo Gai Pan soup, their beef and broccoli, the Happy Family, and a totally awesome Teriyaki Beef. Order thru Grub Hub, the food is ready quickly, and they offer "bonus" specials at different order totals such as free Spring Rolls or an order of Crab Rangoon. Delicious, cooked perfectly, generous portions, this place is a gem in Middletown. read more

My boyfriend and I ordered from here as we are sampling some Chinese food and picking our go-to. We can honestly say that this was crossed off the list pretty fast. The egg drop soup didn't have much eggs in it. The fried wontons to put in the soup were sort of burnt. The chicken lo mein was subpar to standard lo mein. My cold sesame noodles were very warm, which kind of ruins the purpose of having it listed as cold. My boyfriend and I have had better. The redeeming factors included fast delivery and a very pleasant delivery woman. At least the customer service was nice. We probably won't be ordering here again. read more

We picked up dinner, chicken and broccoli, pork Lo mein and some steamed dumplings. All were fine, fresh and we also found 2 egg rolls in our bag. The dumplings were very good, a little smaller than usual but 10 instead of 6 or 8 we get from other local Chinese restaurants. In general it was just average, not bad and not great. read more

Fast, affordable (extremely affordable) and super tasty! It happens only about once a year, and tonight, it happened...CHINESE FOOD CRAVING! I've only lived in this area for about 8 months so when the hunger struck for some super spicy sugary and crispy General Tso's chicken, I was clueless as to where to turn! :::Enters trusty yelp.com::: FOUND IT! Less than 3 miles from my humble abode, Hau Po hit the spot. All the regular standbys on the menu. The only thing I could really mention about the food is the crab rangoon could have been more cream cheesy, but I LOVE cream cheese (probably too much) so I may be bias. Off to my cream cheese-a-holics meeting I go...stuffed and happy! read more

Obviously you're looking for a certain thing when you order take-out Chinese. You don't want the restaurant to look too nice, too clean, or too welcoming. You want harsh fluorescent lights, old cardboard boxes, and a open cans of 'whatever' festering next to the deep fryer. That's what you get here. The food is greasy and bountiful. I've been going here since I first learned to chew and it is exactly the same. Probably the best Chinese food you can get in Middletown and my personal favorite. read more

Absolutely delicious and completely the best Chinese food I have had in a while!! The deliver was quick and kind and simple. The food taste amazing and the order was perfectly accommodating to my specifications. Thank you so much for being my new go to Location. Why does it Want me To keep writing and writing. I said it all. read more

Yummy food! Healthy yummy options, and great prices. We do take out often and we are never disappointed. The general tsaos, steamed broccoli with garlic sauce, and Kung pao are among our favs. We love it! read more

I used to go here from time to time. If you don't know where this place is you we'll definitely miss it. I really don't think this place is very clean. Looking at the kitchen it looked pretty dirty. The owner is too cheap to put the heat on so the whole family that works there wears their jackets all winter long. As for the food the boneless spare ribs can be pretty good and crispy or really fatty and bad. Great Wall is a better option down the St. read more

If you want your order to be lost when you called ahead, charged for your order, and then given attitude and given the wrong food and told there's nothing they can do to fix it overall very rude customer service, then this is the place to go. read more

I went here and the restaurant dinning room was a total mess. The people working here ( all related and family). They were so disrespectful and didn't have any since of kindness in them. They would look at you and turn to their family member and talk in Chinese and laugh hysterically. The food was just terrible. Either under cooked, over cooked and greasy. read more

I ate here once and never will again. We ordered take out and I was grossed out when we went to pick it up. The dining area was a mess - one of the benches at a table was the bench seat from a minivan. Newspapers were strewn all over, and an employee's partially-eaten meal was out on the table. The counter area was dirty as well. I could only imagine what the food prep area looked like if this is what they were presenting up front. My husband said his food was mediocre and I took a couple bites of mine and couldn't even finish it. I just couldn't stop thinking of how dirty it was. read more

This is my go to place for takeout Chinese food. The prices are great and the food is good. The people who run it are friendly and your order will be ready quickly. The dishes are generous sized, with ample protein portions. We always have leftovers when we order two dishes. read more

This place is not bad. It's the most tolerable Chinese food near me. I haven't tried Great Wall yet but I think I should. Hau Po is a very dingy place and yes I was worried I would be sick after eating there, but I LOVE their peppered chicken meal and they do have the best chicken in garlic sauce (I've had it from China King, Anoho and Fortune Wok). It's a shame the place is like, literally a dump. read more

Decent take out. It's very difficult to find if you haven't been there before since it's lodged in the corner of a triangular plaza. I ordered the Hunan Beef spicy combo dinner deal with an egg roll for 8 bucks. The beef was tender and surprisingly tasty and the vegetables were hot and fresh. The egg roll was exactly what you'd expect it to be. There is absolute no semblance of an atmosphere. In fact it's somewhat depressing and there used to be an old car seat used for the family to sit at while waiting for customers. Call in advance to order and you'll be happier. If Yelp allowed me to put 1/2 stars I'd go 3.5, but if you have a hankering for take out I'd say it's tasty and worth it. read more

I think these guys have the best fast Chinese food in Middletown. Their food is super fresh and isn't over greasy like a lot of other places I've tried. LOVE their hot & sour soup!! read more

I love this place. If you want that classic Americanized Chinese food, this is the place.

Above average Chinese food with large portions. A wide variety of choices too. I tend to find the rice a little overlooked and gummy, but you may like that. While they have tables, this place is really for take out. The seating isn't great and the lighting a bit dim. Double check your order, a couple times mind has been off a little, but they quickly fix it if it is. Lots of vegetarian options, but no gluten free sauce last time I checked. read more

Best Chinese food in Middletown by far... The boneless spare ribs are the best and highly recommended! This is not meant to be a dine in restaurant stick with the take out... read more

This Chinese take out is by far the best I have been to. I have lived in Middletown for over 20 years, probably been to all the Chinese restaurants and this, by far has the best general chicken. The price is reasonable and the wait isn't long. The only con I feel I should point out is. Ex. A van car seat in a take out restaurant which doesn't seem to fit in. Other than that, this is perfect. read more

Definitely worth checking out, especially with the other Middletown Chinese takeout places getting sloppier in quality. I'm a huge stickler for all sorts of Chinese takeout and I know my way around menus fairly well. I ordered the crispy sesame beef and the seven stars around the moon (a seafood dish). The crispy sesame beef was fine, but the seven stars was phenomenal. As soon as I opened the container for it I knew this restaurant was a keeper. The combination of seafood and vegetable in mild yet savory sauce was like no other. The restaurant is family-owned and the owners were very courteous and prompt with the order. My order took no more than 15 minutes and the meal was very delicious and satisfying, especially considering the economical price. For one of the reviewers below me (Valerie R.) I'd like to make some corrections. 1) If you wanted your order to be ready faster, you should've called instead of ordering online. This is kind of a given for most Chinese restaurants, or ordering takeout in general. 2) There was no minivan bench seat when I went there. No need to worry about the quality of the dining place, it's about as tidy as it can be. 3) The person working on his laptop is presumably the owners' son. The place is family-owned and family operated, meaning their kids take time out of their busy schedules to work on a regular basis (props to them). 4) When I went there I saw absolutely no food just sitting out and around in plain sight, except the fortune cookies and maybe some woks full of oil. No chicken just marinating away on countertops in vats, rest assured. Like I said, the place is clean. 5) The food I ordered was fantastic. Sure, the rice was a bit old admittedly, but it's perfect for making your own fried rice. With that being said, the main dish itself is more than enough to keep your average adult full on a Friday night. But don't let these reviews make the decisions for you. You never know until you really try, and I'm glad I gave it a go - and you should too. read more

I have given this place enough chances. Tonight was the last straw. The restaurant owners need to read all of these reviews or their business is going to fail. First off, you need to learn to be consistent and cook your food properly. Last time the dumplings were way undercooked, this time overcooked. My crab Rangoon was sooo overcooked, It tasted burnt and inedible with barely any filling in it. I ordered the pepper steak combo and got 7/8ths of the container full of rice. Only a few pieces of meat with little peppers and more onions than anything. I understand that food costs have gone up, but don't cheap out on the food, go up on food prices a little bit. The only thing that was decent was the beef and broccoli. And I am reaching on that one. BTW, the rice I had with the pepper steak was very salty and flavorless. Almost tastes like a bullion cube. The appearance when you walk in is dumpy and needs to be cleaned and organized. At the rate they are going, if they don't make change for the better, I can't see them staying open much longer. read more