Mind you, this is not necessarily an evaluation of the restaurants as a whole. If I was to put together a top 5 list of restaurants, Gonsea would be in it. It just happens that none of their dishes made it into my top five.
I have tried most of the restaurants in county, and I’ve had a couple of horrible experiences (I won’t say where), but we actually have some decent Chinese food selections for a rural area. I’m looking forward to the day when the first dim sum specialty place opens for breakfasts – one of the offerings in the Bay Area I miss the most. If anybody can point me to a great BBQ pork bun in this county I’d be very grateful!
1. Red Snapper with Black Bean Sauce – Hunan Village in Fortuna
I haven’t been in there in a few months, but it’s been on the specials board for a couple of years now, assuming it’s still there. I’m hoping they integrate it into their next menu so that I can feel secure in knowing it’ll be there. The fish is cooked immaculately, and the sauce is subtle so that it doesn’t overwhelm the flavor of the fish.
2. Kung Pao Chicken – Liu’s in Eureka
Liu’s is our favorite Chinese restaurant in the county, largely because my son’s favorite food of any sort is hot and sour soup and his favorite version is at Liu’s; probably because he’s been devouring it since he was a baby. But since I’ve moved here I’ve probably had the kung pao lunch special over a hundred times. It comes with a bowl of soup (I usually go for the egg flower) and a spring roll. I much prefer it with steamed rice rather than the offered fried rice. The photo to the left looks just like it, especially if you click on it to enlarge.
3. Mongolian Beef – Cadilac Wok in Garberville
The restaurant has improved dramatically under the latest ownership, and they’ve added some decent Thai dishes to the menu. The Mongolian Beef is full-flavored and appropriately spicy. You get hot and sour soup with the lunch specials. Also recommended is their chicken curry, both the Chinese dish and the Thai stew.
4. Savory Wor Wonton Soup – Hunan Plaza in Arcata
My favorite time to visit this restaurant is in the fall, where the sideways light comes into the quasi-basement room, darkened somewhat by the dark brown wood interior. The soup is especially rewarding if you’ve been out in the cold wet weather. The broth is to dream for, and the wontons are flavorful and generous with the stuffing. It’s filled with several different meats, including a nicely smoked pork, and a slew of crunchy vegetables.
5. Pan Fried Green Beans – Liu’s again
Spicy and crunchy just like Mom used to make!
42 comments
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November 10, 2010 at 6:51 am
Mitch
Off-subject but urgent…. does anyone know of a good Pho place in the county?
November 10, 2010 at 7:38 am
Plain Jane
Have you tried Mekong Cafe, Mitch?
November 10, 2010 at 7:46 am
Kym Kemp
I like the Broccoli and Beef at Liu’s and all my sons love the sizzling rice soup. Also they are fast and cheap!
November 10, 2010 at 7:51 am
Plain Jane
Also, that newer Asian restaurant on “F” Street across from Morris Graves has a wonderful Thai soup, spicy, peanuty heaven.
November 10, 2010 at 10:05 am
Ryan Burns
@Mitch, @Plain Jane: The place of F St., Pho Thien Long, has good Pho and amazing coconut shrimp. And Eric, I totally agree on the pan-fried green beans at Liu’s. Their Schezuan beef is pretty bomb, too.
November 10, 2010 at 10:12 am
Mitch
Hmmm. So Mekong Cafe and Pho Thien Long on F Street are Pho? I don’t get into Eka that much, or I might have guessed about Pho Thien Long 🙂 Thanks!
November 10, 2010 at 12:05 pm
Eric Kirk
Has anybody been to the place on 4th street where the Jamaican place used to be? I had a nice bowl of soup there once, but I keep forgetting to go back.
November 10, 2010 at 2:24 pm
Plain Jane
I have Eric and it’s pretty good too, if you can get a table.
November 10, 2010 at 3:52 pm
Mike Buettner
Love Luis. Plus the kitchen is spotless.
The place on 4th is Hue. Also excellent.
November 10, 2010 at 3:57 pm
Plain Jane
Where is Luis with the spotless kitchen, Mike? I do love restaurants whose standards exceed my own.
November 10, 2010 at 4:01 pm
Hayduke
If you get down to San Francisco around Civic Center and go up Larkin St. a couple of blocks there are some absolutely killer Pho places one right next to the other. Small order (which is huge) is around $6 and the big one is about 7 and a half. I like just about all of the local asian restaurants but Liu’s is my favorite.
November 10, 2010 at 4:15 pm
Chris Crawford
Give Chin’s a try … on Broadway on the south end of Eureka next to Pierson’s.
Nathan is a 3-star chef who worked in NYC and he and his wife Alice have some interesting dishes, some of which are not on the menu.
Try their Vietnamese pork chops, salt & pepper shrimp (appetizer), orange peel chicken and Singapore noodle with seafood.
They also do a respectable Pho, Mitch
November 10, 2010 at 4:53 pm
Eric Kirk
PJ – Liu’s is on 4th at D Street.
November 10, 2010 at 5:15 pm
Plain Jane
Thanks, Eric. I know Lui’s very well, but thought Luis was a chef somewhere. Guess I pay too much attention to punctuation. Lui’s (originally at Hunan Henderson Center) was the first non-Americanized Chinese restaurant in Eureka. Until they opened, we only ate Chinese food in San Francisco. Chin’s used to be bland, totally Americanized food, but maybe with new ownership they have improved.
November 10, 2010 at 6:29 pm
Anonymous
Doesn’t anybody eat American food anymore?
November 10, 2010 at 6:50 pm
Mr. Nice
Just go up to Portland for that real real southern Viet shit. Hit up 82nd street Food Mart if you need blunts.
I mean Eureka do have good kinna noodles with hella sauce. But that ain’t Viet. That’s Hmong-Cambo soup fusion. Keep that shit in mind and it will taste better. Mekong do got good mango shit. But again that ain’t Mekong Delta Viet shit. Mangos were originally bred out in the same agricultural area as durian for y’all that don’t know. Buy hella mangos, basically.
November 10, 2010 at 7:12 pm
Plain Jane
Mekong’s mango salad is a real treat. Their cuisine is mostly Laotian influence.
November 10, 2010 at 7:19 pm
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Eric, when did Cadillac Wok change ownership? It’s been probably at least 7 years since I’ve given them a try, and if they are “new and improved” since then, perhaps I should give them another try. I really love ethnic food… and would love to have some Chinese / Thai locally.. as long as it does not give me a tummy ache!
November 10, 2010 at 8:00 pm
Dave Kirby
Have often wondered what is Vietnamese food here in the states. I had the pleasure of eating some very good meals in Ho city (Saigon). Some french cream soups and bread. Chinese and Indian food to die for. I was honored to be invited to a Vietnamese friend’s wedding banquet. The main course was duck. Refrigeration was not a part of traditional dishes. The duck had hung in the window of the butcher for awhile. The sauce was seasoned with the “giblets” of the duck. When the fried rice came I thought I could do this. It was the little cubes of rancid pork fat that put me off. ….Back at the base some Vietnamese women opened a fast food stand. We called them Monkey Meat sandwiches.
They were deadly. A big wok was the center of the kitchen/stand fried up some buffalo with little red peppers and put it on a crusty roll. This place was off limits
to us. This was a VNAF area.
November 10, 2010 at 8:50 pm
Bolithio
“” I’m looking forward to the day when the first dim sum specialty place opens for breakfasts – one of the offerings in the Bay Area I miss the most. If anybody can point me to a great BBQ pork bun in this county I’d be very grateful!””
If only!! I have been making my own steamed bun’s, surprisingly easy – though admittedly I haven’t been able to get the filling to to taste like it does in a real china town. Ive noticed that the bbq pork around here is always lean pork, as opposed to the fatty pork shoulders they use in the city. That is a huge part of that flavor.
Once you learn how to make the buns, the easy part, you can really have fun with the filling putting virtually anything you can think of in them…
…Yen Ching is my favorite. They serve a bbq pork sparerib that is awesome, and they have allot of good vegetarian options.
November 10, 2010 at 9:52 pm
mresquan
It’s true….Yen Ching is usually very good.And their chow mein,no matter which one you order is a top Chinese dish in Humboldt County.On the other hand,the crab cheese puffs,both times I’ve tried haven’t been so good.
November 10, 2010 at 9:55 pm
Eric Kirk
Never tried Yen Ching. Where is it?
November 10, 2010 at 9:59 pm
mresquan
F St. between 5th and 6th.
November 10, 2010 at 10:53 pm
Eric Kirk
Oh, I’ve driven by it so many times, but never went in. I’ll give it a try.
November 11, 2010 at 7:04 am
Plain Jane
Admittedly, I haven’t tried Yen Ching for years and then only their lunch buffet, but didn’t like it at all. It was just like all the other Chinese-American restaurants in town. If that has changed, I would be willing to give them another try.
Mekong’s “crab puffs” are different than most in that they actually contain crab and are made like tiny egg rolls. Really delicious.
November 11, 2010 at 8:12 am
Anonymous
When did the Cadillac Wok change hands?
November 11, 2010 at 8:23 am
Bolithio
I had the same experience with their lunch buffet. I went in there years ago, and didnt much like it – never returned. Then a good friend of mine, a well respected professional chef locally, invited me there for dinner and I saw the light.
Yen Ching excels at traditional dishes – while their ameri-chinese dishes (e.g. crab puffs) aren’t that great. If you go – order from the menu and avoid the buffet!
November 11, 2010 at 3:51 pm
mresquan
Hmmm….I haven’t noticed that a buffet was still there.The last few times I have been in there,the buffet table area was completely dark,and there hasn’t been anything listed about it on the menu.
November 11, 2010 at 4:13 pm
Snickerdoodles
@Mr. Nice – you obviously haven’t been to Pho Thien Long on F St. The other places in town are making faux pho. But PTL is making the real deal.
I was so happy when they took over the old Thai Cuisine location that I swore to do everything I could to help keep them hopping – which usually means eating there at least once a week.
Their combo pho isn’t the “best” I’ve ever had (the tendon is usually undercooked for my taste). But it’s definitely the best to be had for about 200 miles. I’ve introduced a number of locals to pho there and each one of them have become regulars too.
So quit talking shit with no knowledge!
November 11, 2010 at 4:25 pm
Un-Named
shameless unrelated and unsolicited plug for my favorite mexican joint: La Hacienda in Orick! Eat there! The owners are awesome and the food is fantastic, and they need the business. What humboldt lacks in other dining genres it makes up for with good mexican food…Hacienda is perfect after a day of hiking around fern canyon.
November 11, 2010 at 4:37 pm
Un-Named
Thumbs up with others above…my friends and I affectionately refer to pho thien as The House of Sauce, because their dishes are slathered with the best sauces. So delicious.
November 11, 2010 at 4:39 pm
Eric Kirk
Un-Named – I’ve heard about the Orick place, but it will have to be excellent to surpass La Costa in Fortuna, which is just spectacular.
We’ve already had this discussion here.
November 11, 2010 at 4:42 pm
Eric Kirk
When did the Cadillac Wok change hands?
I don’t know, but a few years ago a friend almost literally dragged me into the place. All new faces, and a different menu. I hadn’t been in there since like 2000.
They’ve painted and redecorated more recently and it’s a much different look. Some of the dishes are better than others, but give them a chance.
November 11, 2010 at 6:35 pm
Ernie's Place
Refrigeration guys aren’t supposed to speak out of school, but the Cadillac Wok is very dilligent about cleanliness in the kitchen. The Rotary Club often has their 5th tuesday social lunches there. Big groups of people work best in Chinese restaurants. I love their spicy dishes.
November 11, 2010 at 7:13 pm
Plain Jane
Big groups of people also means a wonderful variety of different dishes to try. This may sound odd, but the best Chinese food I’ve ever had was at PF Changs in Eugene. It may not even be authentic, but it’s GOOD.
November 12, 2010 at 10:05 am
Eric Kirk
I don’t know what is “authentic” really. I think Chinese Californian is an authentic genre all its own really, and should be honored as such as Chinese innovation with the ingredients which were available when they came here. Chop Suey, Chow mein, egg foo yung – they may not be trendy, but made well they are damn good dishes with their own history and cultural value.
Quite frankly, I miss the old chop suey houses of SF which Kerouac wrote about. There are a few left, but cultural gentrification can be a bitch even if it results in more liberal policies politically.
November 13, 2010 at 12:31 pm
Give me a burger!
I do not like Chinese food.
November 13, 2010 at 6:21 pm
Eric Kirk
Okay.
November 13, 2010 at 7:04 pm
mresquan
Hunan’s in Fortuna has the best egg rolls.
November 13, 2010 at 8:52 pm
kristabel
Eric…every time you mention dim sum it makes me want to jump in the car and drive to San Francisco. Sigh.
November 13, 2010 at 8:57 pm
Eric Kirk
Dim sum is probably my favorite cuisine with fond memories all the way back to childhood. I hear you.
November 21, 2010 at 3:04 pm
Eric Kirk
Okay, I tried Yen Ching the other night, and the food is impressive. Best pot stickers I’ve had locally.