Great Hunan Chinese - Alexandria

I really enjoy The Great Hunan. They have excellent food...everything that I've tried. And it's a friendly, inviting atmosphere.

I really enjoy the big hunan. they have excellent eating and it is a friendly, welcoming atmosphere.

Wonderful staff! We were there for lunch. Lovely atmosphere, clean orderly, very helpful friendly staff. I had the lunch special sesame chicken which came with fried rice, soup, won tons tea. It all was so delicious! Definitely will be back the next time I'm in Alex! What I liked best about this place is they did not do a buffet! I can't tell how awful I think buffets are; nothing like doing a lot of things not well.

3.5 stars rounded up. Great Hunan was less than half a mile away from the Hampton Inn, and actually came in twice for dinner during my 5 days in Alexandria. Nothing against bar grill type of food, but this AAPI Californian gal was craving some rice and veggies if you know what I mean #smalltownvibes). Another reviewer wrote that they are as authentic as you 're going to find around here, which I agree with. My Chinese-American colleague was happy to see the owners are actually Chinese, and this was a sit-down restaurant rather than a buffet style. Party of 3 each time. We did not avail of any of the pre-determined Family Dinners, instead ordering a la carte. First visit, we shared hot and sour soup, tea, cashew shrimp, mixed vegetables with white sauce, chicken with vegetables and brown sauce, white rice, and house special fried rice shrimp, beef, chicken, pork). These were alright, enough for leftovers. Cashew shrimp was okay meant to order walnut shrimp), not bad overall, similar textures for everything though. Second visit, we tried sweet and sour pork, shrimp lo mein, ma po tofu, kung pao chicken, spring rolls can 't remember if these were the veggie or meat filling), and white rice. I was semi-surprised the sweet and sour pork arrived separate from the sweet and sour sauce and was mostly pork except for one presumably canned pineapple chunk, a piece of onion, carrot, and a slice of green bell pepper as garnish. The spicier dishes such as the ma po tofu and the kung pao chicken were good, maybe due to the region the chef was from Szechuan style). Also, we got the lo mein based on the photos since what the menu deemed chow mein looked more like chow fun. Leftovers again. Other menu items that caught my eye were the Mongolian Beef, Two Flavor Chicken Snow Peas and General), Buddha 's Delight, and Happy Family. Happy to support small family-owned local business especially in a smaller midwest town. Lake Country gets busy in the summertime for sure, but this mall spot still seemed a little sleepy/less-traveled.

Great food and service!!! Authentic flavor and dish preparation. Welcoming atmosphere.