I started out going to Casual Chinese for lunch when I worked at the downtown Staples just across the river some 10 years ago. Â And I just started going back there because I'm tired of crappy Chinese food from the joint in my neighborhood. Â And the same lovely people who used to take my order are still there! Â They even remembered me even after all this time.
Tonight I got my favorite, Chinese chicken curry with fried rice, wonton soup, and an egg roll. Â And I have to say I nearly blissed out on the egg roll alone. Â They have the best egg rolls in town. Â Crisp veggies, perfectly fried wrapper, and just enough seasoning. Â Their wonton soup hasn't changed a bit in a decade. Â The wontons are a mouthful, the pork filling is very meaty and seasoned well. Â And the broth is worth having by itself.
The chicken curry I get as hot as their cooks are willing to make it. Â And yet despite nearly blistering your tongue, it doesn't spoil the flavor of the chicken. Â The veggies are crisp and crunchy, and the chicken is cooked thoroughly, and without the baking soda wash most Chinese restaurants commonly use. Â And I've never had a meal that disappointed when I've gone to Casual Chinese.
Unfortunately you sometimes see detractors such as Dan M. who throw out unfounded claims based on stereotypes. Â Having been a customer for years, I can attest to Casual Chinese getting their foodstuffs from reputable and reliable sources. Â Just last week I saw one of the owners dropping off a load of fresh produce from a well-known local produce wholesaler. Â Everything was name-brand grade A produce as good as you'd find going into the kitchens of a Perkins on up to The Golden Lamb. Â
So you won't find any food of questionable origin here unless you bring it in yourself. Â Its no wonder they've won awards for having the best Chinese takeout in town.
Everything about this place is great except the food. Â My friend adequately described it as "crappy Chinese food of questionable origin." Â Sometimes you want that sort of Chinese. Â I almost never do. Â They'll fry you up a gloppy General Tso's or cook up some beef & broccoli, but it will be very Americanized.
Bottom Line: I'll stick to one of the good Thai places instead of diving for Americanized Chinese.
I love Casual Chinese--found it by accident about 8 years ago when I started venturing out of Covington during lunch. Â As other posters have mentioned, there is an extensive daily lunch menu, where they offer 5-6 choices per day, all at $4.50 base price (otherwise it is visibly listed) and then just this endless list of "OTHER" lunch specials priced at a base price of $4.60 (and otherwise referenced if more). Â There is not a day I don't come in that there wouldn't be something I'd want from the menu. Â
Yes, they are clean--very, very clean. Â And the nicest folks at the counter--they have many regulars--a lady today showed one of the clerk's that she'd gotten her nails 'finally done" and then she asked if the clerk was feeling any better. A very friendly place. Â They had some difficulty running my debit card (the magnetic stripe works about 90% of the time) and I asked them to simply "key it in" but was told they weren't supposed to anymore because customers then call their banks and say they never authorized the sale! Â Are you KIDDING me? Â I can't imagine doing that to these nice folks, but nothing surprises me anymore. Â
The food is fresh, it's fast, it's tasty. Â Since the only "service" is that they bring you your food, they refuse tipping. Â I hate that you can't tip them because it's one of the few Chinese restaurants around that I love to go to and actually feel they deserve a little extra than what I'm paying because the prices are VERY reasonable!
Casual Chinese is perfect if you are looking for tasty, fast, and cheap Chinese. There's a pretty large menu selection and the staff has always been very friendly. The bulk of the restaurant traffic is for take-out, as the dine-in space is small. If you ask for extra spice, they will give it to you, which I love! Nothing fancy, just great portions for a great price!
Review Source:I went there the other day with my grandma and we plain on going again today! Last time I ordered general tso chicken and chicken lo main. The general chicken was very good and a bit spicy.It normaly comes with veggies and fried rice.But I dislike veggies so I got with out and I got white rice instead.The food was very good.But I tryed to heat up the lo mein the next day and...well it wasnt so grate.It was very soft and i'm not realy into that.As a lunch place the prices are grate and I'm a fan.
Review Source:MR says ... i ordered "Pad Thai" because my cincinnati mentor had it :)
MRS says ... typical chinese food. cook to order. reasonable, affordable cheap lunch meal. great take-out and delivery. chicken basil is yummy. fried rice not so yummy. good portion though. service is excellent worth four-stars. open late.
I've lost my appreciate for Chinese food, but if sick wife wants sick wife gets. Â For her Chinese is the surest way to bust a cold. Â So I took down what the family wanted and headed over there with a book to get a little reading down while I waiting.
This is your typical strip mall fronted take out. Â No one usually sits. It's probably 90% take out. Â The chairs and tables are bolted to the floor in two parallel rows. Every place has these. Â It was late on a Sunday. Â What took me back was how clean the place was. Â The only thing I could find on the floor was an ice cube that had just recently fallen. Â It wasn't just swept but scrubbed. Â
Kitchen looked the same way. Â Clean, Clean, Clean.
This hasn't always been the case with Chinese places I've experienced before. Â Especially if run by the Chinese owner like this place seemed to be. Â Their standards are not our standards. Â I'll leave it at that.
But this place was great. The order taker was quick. Â The food serviceable.
Very convenient for me coming from work in Mt Auburn across the river and the quick service doesn't hurt either! I love the reasonable prices and the generous portions. The staff are quite friendly and are good at what they do. I recommend the Pad Thai (a personal favorite that I try anywhere I can get it). Eating in can be a gamble as there aren't many seats and if you end up in a seat by the door in the cold weather months, be prepared to shiver. The bathrooms could use a little modernizing but are generally clean.
Review Source:Hidden away behind Remke's and Sears in Carothers Road shopping center. Friendly owners, and the food is not bad at all. Delicious won-ton soup, good eggrolls. I didn't think the Szechuan chicken I ordered was very spicy, but it tasted good nonetheless. Reasonable prices. Sporadic delivery with $20 minimum, which frankly is a deterrent never to have food delivered. (NKY desperately needs a Chinese take-out that delivers good food for a reasonable price.)
Review Source:This is classic Chinese takeout food, reasonably priced and good as long as you stick to the menu items you would see in any Chinese restaurant like sweet and sour pork, egg rolls, fried rice etc. The other items like their Thai dishes do not look or taste like anything out of a good Thai restaurant. They have some great lunch specials, a good place place to go after shopping in Newport.
Review Source:I hope it was a fluke, I really do, but as of mid-2008 I was served the worst damn Chinese food I've ever had.
We ordered pan-fried dumplings and pad thai. Â The dumplings were totally weird and different - normally they are thick-doughed, hand-crimped, porky and well-fried. Â The plate that was slammed down on our table had these withered, thin, greasy, barely fried things sitting on them. Â It was so unexpected that my dining partner and I literally looked at each other with our mouths hanging open. Â The meat inside the dumpling was darker than normal, almost beefy - and most certainly didn't taste like any Chinese dumpling I've ever had.
The pad thai was totally and completely without flavor. Â I wish I were exaggerating. Â It was a big heap of rice noodles that had been lightly fried in some oil with chicken breast and green onion. Â Nothing else. Â At all. Â Just that. Â
Hopefully Casual Chinese had a hiccup. Â Otherwise, avoid at all costs.
This restaurant serves cheap and delicious Chinese food in Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky just south of the Ohio River. Â It has the best Pad Thai I've ever had--even better than some Thai restaurants... Â The owners are also really friendly. Â The husband often wears a Cincinnati Reds cap.
It's located in the far left of the shopping center. Â There's a Blockbuster Video and Remke Supermarket in the shopping center, I believe.
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