Tong’s House Chinese Restaurant And Club
Saturday, July 15th, 2006
Tong’s House is a relatively hidden little place in the Promenade Center. Maybe it’s easier to find it if you look for the WalMart right beside it instead. The interior itself is very small too. Tables are extremely cramped. If you sit back and stretch your arms even just halfway, you’ll bump into the chair or table beside you. As far as privacy goes, forget that. But on the flip side though, it does offer a very casual and everybody-knows-your-name type of atmosphere given you go there frequently. I found the beverage area pretty interesting as well. Actually my fellow DiningInDallas musketeers noticed this. Instead of the machine powered drink stations you see normally in public establishments, they have 2 liter bottles of the drinks themselves lined up against the wall behind the beverage counter. This tells me that they probably don’t order in bulk and do their shopping themselves at local retail stores and supermarkets. I may be wrong.. perhaps they just want to shoot for uniqueness in the drink area. Whatever the case may be, I just found it interesting.
On to the food. All four of us ordered noodle bowls. I ordered the pork and sauerkraut noodle bowl. I found it not undelicious. Allow me to explain that statement. Whenever I eat something and cannot definitively say that it was really good or it was horribly bad. I use the phrases “not undelicious” or “not ungood” to describe it. In this case then, I do believe the bowl itself was quite authentic. In fact, I will guarantee that you won’t find this type of food in any Americanized or Fusion establishment like Pei Wei’s or PF Chang’s. It is MSG infested however but that’s pretty common anywhere. I actually regretted not ordering a rice combination plate just so I can say that I tried a rice dish here. The noodle is your typical asian style noodle. I don’t think it was hand cut which is understandable I guess. The pork and veggies were diced rather thin. I would’ve preferred it a little thicker and larger but that’s my personal opinion of course. 
I tasted some of Jason’s fried pork cutlet and it was pretty good. I tasted John’s beef and it was satisfactory as well. I didn’t get a chance to drink his soup stock though but I was told it was very good. In fact the manager noticed that we were tasting each other’s dishes and recommended us to customize our bowls in the future. In other words, he thought that we didn’t like our own entrees because he saw us tasting other people’s entrees. Yeah we’re weird like that heh. But I was impressed that he took initiative to try to make our dining experience better so I give high marks for that.
On that note, service itself wasn’t too bad. The guy who took our order looked like the manager of the establishment. He was very friendly and helpful. As I mentioned earlier, he interjected suggestions in a genuine manner. I really appreciated that. But then there was this lady. I guess she was probably part of the family that owned the place. She literally would just stand there at times when nothing else was going on. Maybe it’s just cause of the cramped space in the restaurant.. but I felt like I had an ever watchful eye on me the entire time I was eating. It felt a little uncomfortable but I got used to it.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention one last thing. It’s one of the first things you get served and as such.. it’s the most easily noticed thing on the table. 
So basically we noticed.. or I should say Jason noticed.. something in his water. Not sure what it was.. perhaps a stray fried batter, remains of fried pork cutlet, or a brown booger. Well the last one might be a little over the top. But that’s just it.. when you see something in your water or in your food, you don’t know for sure what it is. And even if you know what it is, you don’t know where it’s been or how it got there. Apologies on the lack of clarity on the picture. If you click on it, you can get a bigger picture. Anyway, I felt that it needed to be pointed out. Oh and just for your information, Jason didn’t touch the water and just left it there untainted.
Tong’s House Chinese Restaurant And Club
1910 Promenade Center
Richardson, TX 75080
972-231-8858Ambiance: 5.2
Food: 6.1
Service: 6.6
Cleanliness: 4.9
Value: 6.6
Overall: 6.0
Tags: Restaurant, Chinese Food, Noodle
Posted in Restaurant Reviews, Chinese | No Comments »
Just your typical run-of-the-mill all-you-can-eat restaurant, with an innovative name like Dallas Buffet you’ll expect more of the same in their edible offerings. But at a price of $5.50 per person at lunchtime, it’s worth the trip if you’re looking for something inexpensive and filling.
Typical items you’ll find are broccoli beef, pork and onions, sesame chicken, grilled/fried chicken, string beans, seafood stir fry, noodles, egg/spring rolls, egg foo young, steamed dumplings, soups, etc. There’s a small mongolian grill station where you pick your own raw ingredients and have a chef cook it for you. A fruit section and a dessert section completes the rest of their selections. Nothing out of the ordinary except for some non-Asian fares like little bite-sized pig-in-a-blanket and pizza.
One thing I do like about this place is their carry-out option. You get a box to fill up on whatever you want for $6.95 as long as you can close it when you’re done. I decided to test the limit one day by filling my box to the brim and you know what happened? One of their staff (I think it might have been the owner) swooped down on me and told me that my bag (to carry the box in) was ready…basically short of saying, “Stop! You can’t get any more!” Apparently they watch you like hawks! I have to admit though, I probably got out of that with about 4-5 pounds of food in my box. Interestingly enough, when I did that little experiment a couple of week ago the carry out price was $5.95. Now it’s $6.95. I wonder if I had a part in the price change…lol
Ever felt like eating something fresh and healthy but you’re just too lazy to shop for ingredients and cook them yourself? Well, you can head on over to the nearest Genghis Grill where you’ll find one of the larger assortments of fresh raw ingredients that you can hand pick yourself and have one of their chefs cook them for you. Don’t worry, these ingredients are all cut and prepared for you. There’s a meat and seafood section where you’ll find steak, chicken, pork, calamari, cod, clams, shrimp, etc. 
Then there is the vegetable bar section where you choose your veggies ranging from onions, broccoli, carrots, and mushrooms to tofu, bean sprouts, snow peas, and bok choy. You even get to choose your own seasonings and sauces. Finally you choose your starch, be it fried rice, brown steamed rice, udon noodles, spiral pasta, or tortillas. 
Given the variety of ingredients, there are literally thousands of original dishes you can create if you put your mind to it. For me, it was exciting just to try out different combinations and taste the results. For some who usually don’t cook, however, this free reign of ingredients may be a bit daunting to say the least. But don’t worry, there are these little “recipe” cards of tried and true dishes that you can use to help you pick the correct combination of ingredients. Oh, and did I mention that it is all-you-can-eat? Because you control your own portions, if you screw up the first time, you get a second chance to make a better tasting dish the next time, or the third, or the fourth… 
