Char Koon

My family's favorite chinese resteraunt!  We often go here, takeout or eat in.  Before me even, my parents ate here.  You can ask them to make food not on the menu- we love it here!  For very reasonable prices you get a lot.  However if you eat in, the space is pretty small.  Service is friendly.  We have gone here countless times and will continue!

This was pretty good. I stopped in there after having coffee next door (best coffee I've ever had on the East Coast!), and I ordered some take out.

After having read the tips, I saw that the shrimp and melon dish was highly recommended. My stomach would never forgive me for eating shrimp, so I asked if I could get it with chicken instead. The man shook his head no and laughed and said there are no substitutions and something like chicken only going with vegetables and not fruit? ("No substitutions" was easy to understand. I am unsure on the rest of it.)

I ended up getting the honey chicken. It was prepared very nicely with fresh ingredients. It was ready in like five minutes! The flavor was very bland, but the appetizer I got was super flavorful, so maybe that dish is supposed to be bland.

They were quick and friendly; so I might go back and try again and order differently. It's hard to eat Chinese gluten-free, as I really would love to get General Tso's but can't. Af for take out, this place was really nice. My veggies were not overcooked, nor was my food over salty as many other places do.

There were ten or eleven tables in the restaurant. It was decorated nicely and felt quite comfortable for dining in. There isn't a waiting area for take out, so I stood next to the aquarium and read their newspaper article from 1995 while I waited. I will say, I am not an animal right's activist or anything, nor do I have a soft spot in my heart for fish, but I did feel a little sad for these very large fish with so little room to swim in their small tank. I would love to see this place get a giant koy pond for them. :)

We've been going to Char Koon for years (for example, my daughter's baptism lunch was there and she's in college now).  First of all, this rating is for take out.  The food cannot be beat in the opinion of me and my family.  The quantity for the price is a bonus.  We live nearby and order out at least once per month.  This isn't pure Chinese, it also has Malaysian and other Southeast Asian tastes.  We visit Chinese restaurants in virtually all our trips to major cities.  Most aren't quite comparable to Char Koon, there have been a few, such as Mr Chu's in Los Altos.  Most are disappointing in comparison, even in the Chiatown's.

You can order dishes that are not on the menu or make other special requests.  We can feed 6 for about $70 and still have leftovers (again, take out).   Ordering take out takes 20 minutes, I've rarely experienced a delay.  Whenever we have a mediocre meal for the family of $90 or more, we say "shoot, we could have had Char Koon for less'.  Eating there is different, the experience can be hit or miss, taking too long, or poor service.  Usually not, but it can happen, thus some of the reviews seen here.  Also, the place is very small, you may be cramped.  Furthermore, you get significantly more food when taking out.  Encouraging take-out by offering more food works for them because they don't have the space for more people to stay and eat there/