Dave Wong's - Stockton

Our waiter, an older gentleman, seemed disinterested and unwelcoming. He didn’t greet us and clumsily set the table, making a lot of noise as he dropped the utensils and nearly knocked over the plates. His service was just as careless; he ladled the soup in a rough manner and pushed the bowls around the table without much care. After years of enjoying meals at Dave Wong's, we’ll be looking for a new Chinese restaurant. It's disappointing to see how good restaurants can fall from grace.

This restaurant offers overpriced dishes with small portions. We visited for a family-style dinner and ordered 6 or 7 dishes for our party of 7, along with rice, with the intention of having one order of each entree. However, they decided to increase our orders to 2 of each dish without consulting us, believing we needed more food. When we pointed this out, they blamed us for not specifying our needs and insisted we cover the entire bill. In summary, I recommend going to China Palace on March Lane and West Lane instead, where the portions are generous and prices are lower, without compromising on quality. Even Tsing Tao on Hammer Lane offers better value. Our intended bill was around $75, but it unexpectedly shot up to over $100.

This restaurant serves below-average Chinese food at inflated prices. A small order of egg rolls costs about $6, and the takeout portions are quite tiny. The deep-fried dishes are overly greasy, and the fried rice is bland. The only dishes that were somewhat acceptable were the stir-fried vegetables and lemon chicken, but expect them to be heavily battered.

I acknowledge that it's a more Americanized take on Asian cuisine, but it really does work. It seems to be popular among locals, as the place is always bustling. Even my husband, who isn't keen on Asian food, is happy to dine at Dave Wong's because he loves the hot and sour soup. As for me, I enjoy the entire menu, particularly the lemon chicken, chicken fried rice, pork chow mein, and Mongolian beef. I just wish they offered a larger variety!