Chef Peng Chinese Restaurant

Finally, we found some good Chinese food in our neck of the woods. Based upon the advice of the friendly ladies at Auburn Pediatric Dentistry, we opted to drive a little bit to try Chef Peng Chinese Restaurant in Garrett.

It takes approximately 13 minutues to get there from hospital area of Auburn. They have plenty of seating inside. I believe I saw a fish tank in there, too, to keep younger ones interested while they dine.

We called ahead, as I had picked up their take out menu a few days earlier. The woman who took my order sounded more like an Auburn native, so while a little disappointing when you call a Chinese place, it did make the order-taking process pretty simple. I was told it would be ready in 25 minutes. When I got there in about 15 minutes, it was waiting for me.

Now for the important part: the food. We ordered the Orange Chicken (Chef's Special Dinner---served with steamed rice) and then the Sesame Chicken (Combo Platter--served with egg roll and fried rice). When we ordered we were asked if we wanted mild, medium, or hot for our spicy entrees. We both got medium.

The spicyness doesn't hit you right away, so you begin to think, "Maybe I should have gotten hot." Then a minute goes by and you start to wonder, "Should I have gotten the mild?" Each of us was very happy with our entrees. I liked both the orange chicken and sesame chicken (however, they do taste fairly similar, save the sesame seed taste!). My steamed white rice was better than average, I thought. I was told the egg roll was "standard."

It was definitely hot enough to clean out the sinuses, something that the places in Auburn had somewhere between "an impossible and a hard" time doing. The total cost was around $16.50 and we each have food for tomorrow. Some day I'll have to try the lychee (Chinese fruit) for dessert.

We definitely will be going back if we have a craving for Chinese! So while, over all, I'd say "Yay! I'm a fan" 4 stars, it's definitely a 5 star "Wohoo! As good as it gets" (for Auburn!) Chinese place worthy of many return visits.

Notes:
Just know they do take Visa, Master Card, and Discover, but no personal checks. They also make their food sans MSG.