The House of Chen
- Thread starter Tarbox
- Start date
Oh, so it is where DaVinci's used to be? Yeah, I know where that is. I miss DaVinci's though. 
I got turned around before.
I got turned around before.
Nuts, I wasn't sure about that. I've only heard about the place, and knew it was one half of his name or the other. 50/50 chance.
You're thinking of May House. It's a blue building right next door to Family Video. Yeah, it is very good, particularly their Szechuan and Thai dishes. It's the same family that owns Cocost. In fact, the Cocost menu is just a heavily stripped-down version of the May House one. The dishes that are only served at May House are your key to success! I've yet to go wrong with any of those. There is one in particular that I don't remember the name of, but it had beef, chicken, and shrimp in a heavy, spicy brown sauce with thin lo mein noodles on top. I eat a LOT of Chinese in one sitting, but I was barely able to put all that away. It was $8 or $9 for that, but very worth it as an occasional treat. It's my second-favorite Chinese in Ames. I'll have to try House of Chen; I've heard a lot about it.
House of Chen is really good.
The chicken and broccoli lovers in my household claim HOC is the best anywhere.
The Sa-Cha Beef is really good too.
Personally, I love HOC's Pho Soup, which I first encountered at HOC as a special item, but can be ordered upon request (it is not on the menu, but should be!) It is kind of spicy in Iowa terms, but really good. It might help telling them how spicy you want it when ordering. I sometimes order it substituting vegetables for the rice noodles for a low carb version.
I also like their chicken Pad Thai noodles - another off menu special item.
Although I would take a pass on their mushroom focused dishes (Beef & Mushroom, chicken & mushroom, etc.) due to the mushrooms being canned instead of fresh, everything else has been really great.
The sizzling rice dishes are also some of their best. (In either soup or main dish form)
It's not exotic "signature dish" Premium top tier chinese, like as is found, at much higher prices at a few restaurants in some larger cities, but it is great basic chinese food done well at a reasonable price. It is, without a doubt, one of the best Chinese restaurants in Ames and is, in my experience, much more consistantly good than CHC, which I find spotty in quality across the menu, and better seasoned, higher quality ingredients and bigger portions than Little Taipei. (But LT is indeed good, and it's price points are lower if comparing dinner menus - as it is student targeted)
As a side note, if you like spicy stuff, be sure to ask for a little spicy mustard for your egg rolls (which are made with chicken and beef at HOC). But beware, it is a in-house made mustard that is really hot (from a hot mustard heat perepective) and opens the sinuses aggressively. When I eat it, it kind of sets a tingling fire to my sinuses and then the sensation travels back to my scalp making every hair follicle feel alive. Wow! But yet, even though its kind of uncomfortable to eat, it is simply great and strangely delicious and addictive. But if you really don't like spicy stuff - steer clear of this additive.
But I haven't noticed any stimulation of hair growth on my head from eating it though. (Rats!)
Anyway, House of Chen is a great family owned Chinese restaurant that is, IMO, definitely worth a try if you love Chinese food like I do.
BTW, they are not open Sundays and are open for lunch from 11:30-1:30 and for dinner from 5-9pm, and till 10pm on Fri and Sat. They also don't deliver (as far as I know.) It has also been my experience that they sometimes close a bit early if the night is slow similar to some other restaurants in Ames. So you might want to call ahead if you are trying to catch a bite to eat after a movie and are pushing toward the 9pm closing time on a Wednesday night.
House of Chen Menu
The chicken and broccoli lovers in my household claim HOC is the best anywhere.
The Sa-Cha Beef is really good too.
Personally, I love HOC's Pho Soup, which I first encountered at HOC as a special item, but can be ordered upon request (it is not on the menu, but should be!) It is kind of spicy in Iowa terms, but really good. It might help telling them how spicy you want it when ordering. I sometimes order it substituting vegetables for the rice noodles for a low carb version.
I also like their chicken Pad Thai noodles - another off menu special item.
Although I would take a pass on their mushroom focused dishes (Beef & Mushroom, chicken & mushroom, etc.) due to the mushrooms being canned instead of fresh, everything else has been really great.
The sizzling rice dishes are also some of their best. (In either soup or main dish form)
It's not exotic "signature dish" Premium top tier chinese, like as is found, at much higher prices at a few restaurants in some larger cities, but it is great basic chinese food done well at a reasonable price. It is, without a doubt, one of the best Chinese restaurants in Ames and is, in my experience, much more consistantly good than CHC, which I find spotty in quality across the menu, and better seasoned, higher quality ingredients and bigger portions than Little Taipei. (But LT is indeed good, and it's price points are lower if comparing dinner menus - as it is student targeted)
As a side note, if you like spicy stuff, be sure to ask for a little spicy mustard for your egg rolls (which are made with chicken and beef at HOC). But beware, it is a in-house made mustard that is really hot (from a hot mustard heat perepective) and opens the sinuses aggressively. When I eat it, it kind of sets a tingling fire to my sinuses and then the sensation travels back to my scalp making every hair follicle feel alive. Wow! But yet, even though its kind of uncomfortable to eat, it is simply great and strangely delicious and addictive. But if you really don't like spicy stuff - steer clear of this additive.
But I haven't noticed any stimulation of hair growth on my head from eating it though. (Rats!)
Anyway, House of Chen is a great family owned Chinese restaurant that is, IMO, definitely worth a try if you love Chinese food like I do.
BTW, they are not open Sundays and are open for lunch from 11:30-1:30 and for dinner from 5-9pm, and till 10pm on Fri and Sat. They also don't deliver (as far as I know.) It has also been my experience that they sometimes close a bit early if the night is slow similar to some other restaurants in Ames. So you might want to call ahead if you are trying to catch a bite to eat after a movie and are pushing toward the 9pm closing time on a Wednesday night.
House of Chen Menu
That's a dealbreaker for me. 97% of my Chinese food meals are Sunday dinner. Too bad; I'll definitely have to give it a shot sometime. Maybe Finals Week. Great review, though. Too bad the place is waaaaaay out in the creepy industrial boonies on the opposite edge of the city; that really sucks.
