I am not a huge fan of writing 1 star reviews. Unfortunately when trying to look at the positives…read moreof this places it is very difficult. We were looking for something for takeout and saw that they had this option and were open later than many other places in town. When calling in the order it seemed typical. However when we went to pick the food they said cash or check only! Definitely something that should have mentioned prior to driving there. We don't have a bank in town so we had to pull out money from another bank which charges us a fee. If we would have known this a head of time we would have chosen another option. Was definitely surprising since most places take debit, credit or Apple Pay. This such an inconvenience. The inside is in desperate need of updating and cleaning! The inside looked like we went into a Time Machine to 1980...I could get on board with that if it was at least clean but this was not the case. The register is in the oddest location so when someone is opening the door it hits you while picking up food/paying. Now for the food quality. It was bad. It didn't even look appetizing. It was bland and greasy with limited veggies. We order pork chow mein, (had no pork in it!), orange chicken (sauce was decent but chicken non existent), pork fried rice (no pork again, and not fried, was more like white rice), and kung pao chicken (no spice, no red peppers, limited veggies other than carrots and smallest pieces of chicken). The spring rolls had smashed up food in the center and then fried in very old oil. Only could take a bite and couldn't even finish it. The taste was very unappetizing. I was very dissatisfied and my family was unpleased as well. Was really hoping to give a good review to support a small local business but I just have to be honest there is no way I can recommend this place.

My wife and I went for a drive last night and ended up in Emmett. We Live in Boise, when we got to…read moreEmmett my wife said we need something to eat or leftovers at home. We stopped at Emmett Chinese Cafe. (I had been there before and it was really the place to eat Chinese Food). As referred to in the one star review, the place needs to be brought up to today's standards and I think that their business would really take off again. We were told "Take out Only" but that didn't stop us from ordering; we believe in giving the benefit of the doubt. What we ordered was what I remembered from years ago. I would hope that there is some way that the community of Emmett could band together to help save this establishment unless the current management is happy with the current state of affairs. I can't see how the health department will let it survive unless changes are made to it. It would be a shame if Emmett lost a smaller business to bigger corporate enterprises. COME ON EMMETT, HELP THESE GUYS OUT.

The food was fast but not amazing. Only drinks were water w no ice The orange chicken looked like…read morenuggets w sauce on it. Cash only. Won't come back.

Nan: The waitress was better than the food. Very kind, informative and patient. But I had lemon…read morechicken and I couldn't tell it was lemon. The portions were good, but just not a lot of flavor. Nic: Maybe it's because we showed up right when they opened for lunch. Nan: Well, it should be extra better then! What did you have? I can't remember. Nic: *sigh* Eh.........hmmm......can't remember. Something with rice. Nan: Well, that's says enough. Guess we won't be back there.

The teriyaki chicken here is good. This is a great place for a quick pick up dinner for the family…read more I have also enjoyed their orange chicken. The best Asian food in Emmett. Super convenient and quick. Food consistently good. This inside could use some updating and the main reason I have only 3 stars.

Service was horrible, they couldn't even remember that we had even ordered, and then they didn't…read moreeven see our name. And then they called us and said that we forgot our dumplings. Serving sizes were very small for the cost that we paid. We bought almost $50 worth of food and I could've gotten more from panda express for half or more than what I paid there.. and food was horrible. Dry.

Super fun place to eat. Stopped there for lunch on our motorcycles. This place has not only…read morecharacter but great food!

First time stopping in after a soak at Mundo. Definitely looking for pork and seeds and egg rolls…read more The pork and seeds were soft, flavored and yummy. The egg rolls were pretty much a wrap with the pork and seeds but was still good. We will be back to try some different things

We had dinner at Mandarin the other night. I hate to say but the food was awful and nearly…read moreinedible. The Chow Mein was 90% CABBAGE! There was basically zero pork, a couple pieces of celery and a few bean sprouts. I was hungry and couldn't get through half of it. The fried rice was all stuck together and I couldn't get through it either. This has happened a couple times now. We won't be back. Very disappointed in Mandarin restaurant.

This is the worst Chinese food ever. My pork chow main had no pork . Flavor was nasty. We need a…read moredecent hunan or mandarin .

Really good Chinese food. Love the atmosphere when u step in the door. The staff is very friendly…read moreand willing to help. I would give this place 100%

Mediocre at best.. Everything was bland and a bit weird with a hint of cleaning product? Treated…read morewater flavor? Not sure. Sweet and sour sauce was almost tasteless. It was globby thick with a hint of cinnamon?, egg rolls soft and greasy, chicken chow mein was bland with microscopic pieces of chicken, general tso chicken was just ho hum as well. Broccoli shrimp was pretty "fishy" smelling and the hot and sour soup tasted like it had some kind of bbq sauce in it. Wth?? They nailed the white rice though and the fortune cookies were alright. Portions were good, but the food was a hard NOPE! We didn't even put the leftovers in the fridge. They went right in the garbage. A solid 2 out of 10.. This was the second and last time. Sorry, China Palace.

Opened in 2008, this is family owned and the young wife of the husband wife duo who has been…read moreworking at the order counter on our couple of trips in is always so sweet and cheerful with all customers, greeting what seems to be regulars for take out as if old friends. She also speaks Chinese to whomever is doing the cooking in the kitchen behind her that diners can't see into through the high open widow space into it but one can hear the sounds of cooking and Chinese being spoken. In that exchange it is also friendly and maybe even familial. In my book it is the delightful attitude that adds the extra star to rating. And as much as local people are boo-hooing about the closure in this calendar year (2025) of a number of long time Chinese food restaurants in the greater Treasure Valley, from Middleton to Nampa to Garden City and Boise, it seems they want to be super critical of the true little mom-n-pop places like this. Just saying. THE FOOD: This Cantonese - Mandarin menu is structured to appeal to American palates for diners who think Orange Chicken or General Tsao's are real things. That isn't my husband and me given we have been able to enjoy some extraordinary Chinese cuisine via Chinatowns in NYC and SF when we lived there and in Portland (OR) too when there was briefly a restaurant with Xinjiang dishes. But even for us there are things here to appreciate (although, as with all Chinese food places where we do not know the owners personally, we focus on vegetarian options) and if one is looking for Chinese food to take away, one can do a lot worse than this. Dishes (rice included) are generously sized and are in the $12 - 14 range. Noodle dishes maybe around $12. THE SPACE & SEATING: If you are planning to go for the first time, you need to know the space is very small, a handful of booths split between both sides of the room, and a round table in the middle. Also, because it is small, they are going to occasionally have things like bags of rice and other supplies stacked on the floor outside the kitchen. For that reason I am unable to report if the loo is unisex or not because I couldn't get to it on the only eat-in visit because of the supplies that had just been delivered and stacked in the way. And on that note, in the vein of everything being connected to everything else, the owner and delivery driver had a delightful conversation as if they were old friends through this connection of supplier and owner. Our preference here is take-out and we note there seems to be a brisk business for them in that. PARKING: This is a sort of old time Western town themed strip mall in Star (which at one time may have been thought of as that kind of town but which has been gentrified of late by out of state - read California homebuyers) and it has a parking lot. ACCESSIBILITY: ADA parking in the lot. The round table seating might work for a wheelchair user but I didn't look at it closely. Other than that, booth seating. WON'T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?: Right next door you will find Sea Salt Creamery + Bakeshop where the owner crafts outrageously good small batch ice cream and also does baking of delicious things from cookies to handpies to cakes to... See reviews for this biz too and do not miss it to pick up dessert to take home with your to-go Chinese food dinner.

Came in around 7:15 they close at 8:00 they said they couldn't have me dine in. Only one person by…read morethe way. They don't care about their customers. Food is decent not great.

Very friendly staff, checked on us regularly. Food was delicious and came out quick. Good portions…read morefor the price. Will definitely eat here again!

This is THE BEST chinese restaurant around. I was so happy when then opened. My family and I go…read morehere at least once a week. I also recommended the place to my friends and family and now they go. The food is already very fresh, good color so you know it is quality, and they serve very quickly. The owners who run the place are very nice and always in a good mood. I just can't say enough about this place.

If you want to enjoy the food at Tsai's Kitchen one more time, fyi that the owners announced today…read morethat next week is their last week and after 30 years in the restaurant business they will be closing this storefront and retiring. Such nice people. Wishing them all the best in retirement years. "Next week (11/4- 11/8) will be our final week... We are retiring from the restaurant business after 30 years. 10 of those in this amazing community, we appreciate your support all these years."

We were treated with a friendly smile and instructions to sit wherever we wanted for dine in. We…read morewere quickly handed menus and drink orders were taken upon arrival. The insides remind me of an Asian diner, almost like what people think an Asian diner would look like. Opened with the pork pot stickers for the appetizer...perfectly crispy bottoms and steamed tops. Hubby never eats these things and gobbled down three. 4/5 stars. I ordered the Black Pepper chicken bowl (served on white rice) and hubby ordered the Teriyaki chicken bowl (also served on white rice). Every time I've ordered black pepper chicken anywhere else, it always comes with a hearty pepper sauce, almost likened to teriyaki. This sauce was clear and loaded with so much uncooked black pepper that it was spicy. It was almost like the pepper shaker top fell off on top of my dish and difficult to eat. The chicken was cut into small shards of meat. The cut onions were very fresh, cooked tender crisp and the rice was soft without being mushy. Hubby thought his teriyaki was overall very bland, but the freshly cut broccoli and carrots soaked up the sauce and were delicious. Had to ask for drink refills at the counter. I truly wanted to love this place as I truly and deeply want to support local vendors and establishments routinely. However, I feel like the food is what they think people who don't appreciate good Chinese food want. I would go there again to try perhaps another dish in the future, but mostly to have those pot stickers again.

Great place to eat with the kiddos! Come here all the time with the family and always have an…read moreamazing experience.

We ordered online and the process was so easy. They were very busy when we went there to pick up…read morethe food, and it wasn't done quite yet. The waitresses were so nice, and the food came out quickly. We got it home, and the food was so tasty, and fresh. The Mandarin chicken wasn't oily like most other Chinese restaurants, and had good flavor. The General Tso's was also very tasty, as was the fried rice. The star of the show was the Chicken Yakisoba! This was incredible and the whole family loved it!