Misty says…
I have been going to Chin’s in Kanawha City ever since I joined the lunch group (before we started the blog) and I could never find anything I really liked. I have tried the Lo Mein, the chicken and broccoli, the pepper steak, and a few others and it all tasted, for a lack of a better term, slimy.
After a while, I gave up and would just order the sweet and sour chicken. I wasn’t happy with that choice, but at least it wasn’t slimy. I would always agree to go to Chin’s with an unenergetic “that’s fine.”
UNTIL ….a few months ago, we were there and Daniel was asking the server some questions about the items on the menu. He asked about the sauce on the Tahitian Chicken and she described it as a yellow gravy. Ummmm…I was interested now. She offered to bring us a sample before we ordered, and I jumped on the offer.
When she brought it out, we commented that it looked like chicken gravy that you would get at Bob Evans or some other country cookin’ restaurant. Guess what, folks?…it tastes like it, too. That settled it, I was breaking free of the sweet and sour chicken, and ordering the Tahitian chicken. And, I haven’t looked back. This may be one of the Best Chinese Dishes of ALL Time.
Tahitian chicken consists of an entire piece of chicken that is breaded and fried very crispy. Then, it is cut into strips. I get my gravy on the side. But if ordered without any special requests, it is poured over the chicken before it leaves the kitchen. The chicken is always blasting hot- and very crispy…Like it has just been taken out of the fryer.
I have to admit, this dish doesn’t taste like any other Chinese food that I have ever gotten. But who am I to question it. If you want a Chinese dish that is not your typical item find on a buffet, order the Tahitian chicken.
Other food at Chins:
Fried rice- I really like the fried rice at Chin’s. Chin’s gives you a generous amount and it is very flavorful. A big plus- it doesn’t contain a frozen vegetable medley. Rice loaded with onions is usually my complaint about the fried rice at other Chinese locations. Chin’s is just plain and tasty.
Egg Rolls- Let’s just say, I’m glad none of the “others” took a picture of my egg roll. I love the crispy outside of Chin’s egg rolls; but I’m not a fan of the celery laden filling. So, I pick out the entire filling and dip the crunchy shell in the sweet & sour sauce.
It’s a good thing I found the Tahitian chicken before we did our actual review of Chin’s. Their rating improved dramatically with this finding…Chin’s is a now a solid THREE FORKS.
P.S. The Tahitian Chicken is the lunch special on Thursdays!
Daniel says…
This is were we go when we are lacking chinese food control and a visit to a Chinese buffet would cause an obscene amount of calories to be eaten. Chin’s is diet Chinese for the Five. We visit about once a month and are always amused and well fed. This place has it quirks – “PLEASE, Do not touch the Bhudda!” Personally, I can resist bronzed man boobs. 
Phil brags on the egg rolls at Chin’s. He says they are the best. I say they are best in their category. They are made mostly of celery with a little bit of shrimp. It is especially good with a thin layer of real chinese mustard. (My sinuses are clearing just typing about it) It seems that the egg rolls leave the deep fryer and are on your plate in 15 seconds. If you take a bite of these guys too early molten celery lava will burn a whole through your tounge, land on the floor and burn a hole all the way to China.
Everybody has found their special dish at Chin’s and mine is the Soy Chicken. It has another name on the menu, but it says (Soy Chicken) next to it. A lean boneless breast of chicken is marinated and cooked in soy sauce. The lunch combo comes with broccoli and your choice of rice. A side of sweet and tangy soy based dipping sauce accompanies the entree. This a tender, but not juicy preparation. This chicken is consistently on the dry side, which might be caused by the extended marination. The marinade may pull moisture from the chicken.
If you dislike buffets and want to be served good Chinese foods visit this Three Fork Kanawha City landmark.
Susan says…
I gotta have me some Chinese food once a week. This week, Chin’s drew the short straw. We have been here on many occasions, just never documented it for a proper forking until now.
What a cute and quirky little restaurant. From the diaper cakes for sale displayed in the center of the dining area to the cart the lone waitress pushes to and fro the kitchen, it is a unique dining experience.
Service is always prompt, polite, and professional. All of our questions were answered succintly and we were even offered a taste of the “yellow gravy” on our previous visit after questioning exactly what that would be like. That’s good service.
Sorry Hippie Killer and Rob, but I can’t help but contend that the drinks are ENTIRELY too expensive, crossing the $2 threshold to $2.25. I will not drink a soda here again unless someone else is paying.
The food, though, is very reasonably priced with the lunches ranging from $4-something to $6-something and include soup or eggroll and rice. There aren’t a plethora of choices on the menu but there seems to be something to make each of us happy. Especially now that Misty has discovered her favorite Chinese sauce of all time: the Chinese Chicken Gravy.
Today I tried to order the Cantonese fish but with any of the other, spicier sauces rather than the yellow gravy it was intended to be served alongside, but after failing to communicate that notion, I thought it best to just order something else off the menu: Kung Pao Chicken.
Kung Pao Chicken
The one thing you can always count on at Chin’s, beside that cute little stainless steel cart, is that your food is served PIPING HOT! And I am not exaggerating. Your dish doesn’t sit on a counter in the kitchen any time at all before it is delivered to you via the cart. That goes for the yummy, always crispy, celery-filled eggrolls, too. By the time Doctor Misty closes the celery-removal-surgery, she is left only with the crispy shell and a couple morsels of shrimp.
The Kung Pao was also served very hot and fresh. Highlighted by a nice variety of vegetables, the chicken is sliced thin and cooked tender. Just enough sauce lightly coats the components and pools slightly on the plate. At one point, I picked up a bite of broccoli from the center of the Kung Pao food pyramid and then made several faces and wild hand motions trying to chew it whilst it set my mouth aflame. The others were so involved in conversation they didn’t notice my desperation, thank goodness. But it didn’t slow me down…food was too good. The only disappointment about it, to some (like Ron), would be the utter lack of peanuts or any other type of nut as would be expected in this dish. I don’t really like them on my food anyway so it was all the better for me.
I never say no when the gang wants to go to Chin’s. Check out the daily lunch specials for $4.50. A definite THREE FORK experience.
Chin’s 4114 Maccorkle Ave SE Charleston, WV (304) 925-1080 M-F 11-2, 5-9:30 Saturday 4-9:30 Sunday noon-8:30
10 responses so far ↓
Tara // June 30, 2009 at 4:17 pm |
I love chin’s! Their crab rangoon is also fabulous as is their lemon chicken. Unfortunately because I’m so addicted to the mongolian chicken and garlic green beans on Zheng’s china buffet we don’t make it here nearly enough!
Hippie Killer // June 30, 2009 at 5:17 pm |
$2.25 is a steep. But I can’t for the life of me remember the last time I ordered soda at a Chinese restaurant.
SagaciousHillbilly // June 30, 2009 at 6:44 pm |
Mr. Chin’s is as good as it gets for anything like real Chinese in Charleston.
Dignan // July 1, 2009 at 9:32 am |
As a lifelong Kanawha City resident, Chin’s is a treasure. The best chinese food in Charleston.
clear eyes // July 1, 2009 at 10:23 am |
Perhaps Tahitian Chicken “doesn’t taste like any other Chinese food” because Tahiti is not in China. Just a thought.
Susan // July 1, 2009 at 5:06 pm |
Tara-
While I am super happy to know you are a fan of my favorite Mongolian chicken and garlicky green beans at my favorite Chinese place, I must disagree with you about the crab rangoons at Chin’s. Misty & I ordered them once and we didn’t like them at all. We left them uneaten. Surprisingly Misty didn’t even remove all the filling and eat just the fried wonton shells.
Susan // July 1, 2009 at 5:09 pm |
HK-
do you usually have the tea? Or are you always going at a time when you can enjoy an adult beverage?
I don’t care for any hot beverages. Not even hot buttered rum, although that one’s as close I ever got to finishing an entire cup of a drink served hot.
Daniel and Phil order the hot tea about half the time. The other half, Daniel is still ordering those Arnold Palmers. His current excuse: it’s a summertime drink.
Susan // July 1, 2009 at 5:11 pm |
Clear Eyes-
I wondered the same thing.
Does anyone know if this Chinese Chicken Gravy is indeed an authentic Chinese dish that you could find if you actually traveled to China? It’s what I imagine Bob Evans would put on his menu if he were Chinese.
FireBall // July 1, 2009 at 6:42 pm |
Can’t find a dinner entree to your liking at Chin’s try the BoBo Platter for 2….really yummy!
buyo // August 19, 2009 at 6:11 pm |
As a chinese person, I don’t recall ever seeing a dish that has a “yellow gravy” on the chicken. But who knows… China’s a large place and each region has it’s own style of cooking with it own unique dishes. Although, I think Clear Eyes gets it right when he points out “Tahitian”. However, if it tastes good to you, does it even matter if it is authentic?