Red Lantern

Stopped by for takeout and got: pork buns, salt & pepper fish, fried spicy chicken and dan dan…read morenoodle. Everything tasted great--my favorite is always the salt & pepper fish. Perfectly seasoned. Good authentic Chinese food! Staff was very friendly.

My daughter and I just had the most delicious meal at Longfei. We ordered bok choy w garlic &…read moreginger and Salt&Pepper fish fillets (and white rice). It was so delicious and savory and spicy and bright and fresh. I want a repeat, tomorrow! Highly recommend, and I am grateful, too, for the warm, hospitable and unfussy service.

Boba tea area

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Uncle Wangs Allley

4.2(26 reviews)

0.2 mi

Uncle Wangs Alley is easily one of the best options for Chinese food in Bloomington- especially if…read moreyou're looking for Cantonese-style dishes. The food here is consistently excellent. Everything I've tried has been flavourful, well-prepared, and feels much closer to what you'd expect from more authentic Cantonese cooking compared to a lot of other spots in town. Yes, the prices are on the higher side, but it's absolutely worth it. You can really taste the quality in the ingredients and the care put into the dishes. Overall, this is one of those places where you go when you want something reliably great- not just quick takeout, but genuinely good Chinese food.

In town for only a night and decided to get some takeout. Everyone was very nice and the food was…read moredelicious! Only took 5-10 min for my order to be prepared.

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Lucky Express

4.3(195 reviews)

0.2 mi

Great place! Wonderful food! Nice owners and chefs! The site is small and cozy but still enough…read moreroom to have private conversations.

Stopped by here for some take out on the way back from a trip, and it did not disappoint. First, I…read morewant to say that it is CASH ONLY. This was not made clear anywhere online that I saw, so it was lucky we had cash on us. The interior is pretty simple with some seating. The parking lot is not the greatest. There are several small businesses located in the same strip and less than 10 parking spots. The food was good. I will say that it is very much not Americanized Chinese. Which is good, however, the spice levels were far beyond what is typical for the dishes I normally get. It was so good but so, so spicy. The chili chicken had me SWEATING. So delicious, but I wasn't able to actually taste anything after the first 4 bites, haha.

Exterior

Fried Pork Chop with Salt & Pepper, green beans with garlic, beef with bamboo

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Chili Chicken, Bokchoy with Garlic, House Special Lo Mein, 6 Piece Crab Rangoon, 2 Piece Spring Rolls

Red

4.0(89 reviews)

1.0 mi

We went for lunch on a work day and were the only ones the entire time. Homely inside…read more The menu could use some work, greasy and very looong. I originally ordered the General Tso chicken off the lunch menu but immediately noticed that it tasted "off" - way too sour to be flavorful. The waiter allowed us to select a different item on the menu - Mongolian chicken (much better). He later informed us that the chef previously forgot the sugar! Chef cooked another small portion of the general tso and kindly let us sample what it should've tasted like - good!

My family ordered food for pickup on Christmas Day, and we would not order here again. It was…read moreeasily the worst Chinese food we have ever had. The entrees were mostly inedible, the chicken had a slimy consistency that made one person in our family gag. I didn't believe them until I tried it myself, almost as if the chicken had been reheated in sauce without frying first. The Mongolian beef had 4 tiny slices of beef, we laughed looking at the entire onion used to replace the meat. Our rangoons had zero filling, not even lack of seafood but almost like they had exploded in the fryer. If it had been any other day, we would have asked for a refund, but it was Christmas Day and we are traveling without the time/ energy to fix this. It was so bad that we ordered pizza and tossed more than half of the food. The hot and sour soup was outstanding, spicy and full of crunchy veggies and tofu. Every other item in our order was inedible. My three stars reflect the excellent service I received while placing and picking up the order, the soup was also very good. Clearly a business that treats their customers well, but wow that was the worst $80 I've ever spent on food.

Crab Ragoon, Pork Egg Rolls. Kung Pao Chicken & Mongolian Beef

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Siam House

4.2(263 reviews)

0.3 mi

Excellent Thai restaurant with high marks for food, service, and atmosphere…read more I've tried the Thai fish cakes, sweet and sour saute, pad bus sa ra com, mango sticky rice, and Thai iced tea and coffee. The savoury dishes were all super flavourful, cooked well, and generously portioned. Maybe this has something to do with the dishes I got, but I think the flavours here are generally more intense than the other Thai restaurants I've tried in Bloomington, and their spice levels might be a little higher. I've been somewhat underwhelmed by level 3 (out of 5) at other places, so I tried level 4 the first time I ordered here, and it was a little too hot, so I went back to level 3 the next time, and it was just right. The Thai tea and coffee were both very good, especially the coffee. It almost tasted chocolatey. The service is consistently on top of it. I was there on Valentine's Day, and they were slammed but had enough staff on the floor for it; the food was quick as usual and everyone was still very friendly. I also love the atmosphere here. The building is one of the converted houses on 4th St, and there are different dining rooms, some with lots of windows, all filled with interesting decor, and there's also a very nice patio during the warmer seasons. The only problem here is, unless there's a back entrance I don't know about, I don't think the building is wheelchair accessible; you have to go up a few stairs to get to the main entrance.

Great Thai restaurant right near campus perfect for lunch or dinner in a unique atmosphere with an…read moreoutdoor seating option. Drunken noodles, Red Curry, and Yellow Curry were all excellent and full of flavor! Big fan of the noodles and recommend. Wonderful service!

Tofu Pad Thai

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Chow Bar

3.8(125 reviews)

0.4 mi

The quality of the food at this restaurant is consistently exceptional. The establishment maintains…read morean impressive level of cleanliness, which is evident even while observing the food preparation process. On multiple occasions, I have watched the chefs carefully prepare meals while diligently sanitizing their workspaces after each dish, ensuring a high standard of hygiene is consistently upheld. The menu offers an extensive and diverse selection, which I greatly appreciate. While I have several favorite dishes, I am continually encouraged to explore new options thanks to the wide variety available. The restaurant caters to a broad range of tastes, featuring not only American-style Chinese cuisine but also a rich selection of authentic Chinese, Korean, and Japanese dishes, along with a few American offerings. The staff is courteous and attentive, providing excellent service with every visit. The food is always served hot, flavorful, and in generous portions. There is often so much so that it is difficult to finish a meal in a single sitting. I confidently recommend this restaurant to anyone seeking a high-quality experience, and it has even earned the approval of our native Chinese friends, which speaks volumes about its authenticity and overall excellence.

Came for an early-ish dinner and it was pretty quiet. The service and atmosphere were both kind of…read morebare bones. There was no music so it was almost silent. I was had someone come to my table to take my order and bring my food but no one came by again after I got the food, so I went to the register to pay. Maybe a bit of a language barrier with the staff. I asked for jelly in my drink and got tapioca boba instead and generally felt like they didn't really understand what I was saying. I got a tofu rice bowl with miso sauce and a green milk tea with boba. The rice bowl was the perfect size for one meal, and there was a lot of tofu which made it filling. It was simple, with just the protein and sauce over steamed greens and rice, and I felt like it was pretty healthy. It didn't blow me away but it was good! The green milk tea was also good, strong but not too sweet. Some versions of the menu call it matcha but it very much tasted like green tea, not matcha. I think it was from a powder mix but that's fine. Reasonable prices. If I remember correctly, the rice bowl was about $13 and the boba was about $6 including the topping. I liked the food and would definitely eat here again.

Rainbow tofu, green bean milk tea w/ boba

Miso sauce fried tofu rice bowl, green milk tea w/ boba

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A10. Combination Platter

Lotus Garden

3.1(42 reviews)

0.1 mi

The short of it is that my order was OK, but you shouldn't use to decide to go here, as the sample…read moresize is very low. I went for one dish that they make. They changed the recipe-- but the last time I was there was seven years ago. Perhaps the rest of the menu uses better recipes and my desired dish is the only one that suffered; I hope that's true. Certainly the service was good and fast.

Food was just ok but the hot tea was very good. Sewer smell in restaurant that came and went.read more

Inside of the restaurant. Tables have heating plates and there's a large table with a lazy Susan for groups.

N13. Chicken Lo Mein P2. Spring Roll Sesame Chicken Dry Fried Green Beans Dumpling/Wontons with chili oil

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Outside of the restaurant

Judy's Kitchen

4.2(74 reviews)

2.1 mi

The food here was home-style and homemade, and reasonably tasty, but not my favorite Chinese food…read morein Bloomington. Wonton noodle soup: broth was a chicken broth that tasted super homemade, and might have been the best part of the meal. Wontons were okay, noodles were average premade. It all balances out.

I had the vegetable lo mein and a Thai milk tea with boba. All was very good. The lo mein was very…read moretasty, the noodles were tender, there were lots of vegetables, and the sauce wasn't too oily. The serving size was perfect for dinner. When I first saw the Thai milk tea, I thought it looked pale compared to the distinct orange colour most Thai tea has, and I worried it would be weak, but it was actually a nice milk tea with a subtle Thai-style spice, and the boba were supremely good. The guy who takes orders comes off as very unfriendly. I am used to no-nonsense Cantonese service and I don't think that's what this is; it feels like he doesn't want you to order. The first time I tried to order here I kind of got intimidated out of it because he told me it would be a 20 minute wait for food as I was just opening my mouth to order and the way it was delivered, I thought that was his way of telling me to go away. There was no 20-minute wait this time (I guess they were less busy) but it was the same vibe. I do intend to eat here again and look forward to it, I'm just not setting high expectations for the service.

Mala spicy shrimp, winter melon milk tea w/ fruit jelly

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Three Cup Chicken

China Star Restaurant

3.4(54 reviews)

4.8 mi

My friend and I love coming here, as it's probably the best Chinese buffet location in Indiana. For…read more2 people at around 1pm was $24. We got a decent amount of food (teriyaki chicken, chicken on a stick, vegetable lo mein, fried rice, etc.) All of it tasted amazing! Would definitely recommend this place!

Good buffet, excellent crab Rangoon, great variety, polite staff. The staff is composed of…read moreFOREIGNERS who don't have American languages or customs as their primary experience- they're not rude. We go all the time and the buffet is always hot or about to be refilled. Tables are clean, too. There's plenty of seating and they will let you pick where you want to be if you speak up. My dads on a knee rover and has been for years and they are always very accommodating when we go. Is it 5 stars worthy? No. Few places actually are and they're handed out like free bread anymore, but it's a 3.5-4 star place for value, cleanliness, speed of service, variety, etc... Whoever gave it crappy reviews probably woke up on the wrong side of the bed that day or had crazy standards. It's the best buffet for Chinese food around (not that there are many options, but still).

Chicken in a stick, potatoes, and sweet and sour chicken

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Dragon Chinese Restaurant

3.3(63 reviews)

2.3 mi

I've long been skeptical over Dragon's kitchen hygiene based on observations I have made while…read morewaiting for my food, but my family still likes to occasionally get takeout. My concern was validated on this visit. Mistakes happen, but this piece of metal was found in my son's meal while he was chewing his food.

Gayle and I recently visited Bloomington to visit family, especially the 2 darling grand girls…read more Her Son and his wife had pretty much kept the family at home for several months, and when we offered to buy them dinner one night, takeout was really the only option. There might be better Chinese places within greater Bloomington, but sometimes location convenience (this place was minutes way) is the key restaurant choice factor. There is also one interesting quirk with Dragon Chinese Restaurant in that they don't accept credit cards in person, but did when we ordered over the phone. We ordered a wide variety of dishes, including my favorite (Kung Pao Chicken), plus egg and spring roles. Everyone got what they wanted, with sharing encouraged. Food quality was very good and better than my average Chinese restaurant experiences. The portions were also generous and enough to feed the family for Lunch the next day.