House Of Chow Restaurant

Came here handful of times a year and yet again for Valentine’s Day arrived for a meal. Contrary to other people staying food poor are wrong it’s high end priced Asian food and this place has lasted over 20 years in Adelaide for a reason it delivers good food. Tonight the place was full with great atmosphere all round all I have to say if not tried give this place a good at least once

I really didn’t know Chinese food until I visited the House of Chow. OK, I’ll admit it… I’m a bloody yank. Our knowledge of Chinese food is limited to P.F. Chang’s or the local take away with lumps of fried meat drowning in a sause (misspelled for you Richard & Steve). However House of Chow is probably more like China. OK, in the interest of disclosure I’ve never been to China, so hope this is China coming to Adelaide.
This is one of those places you take someone visiting from out of town and that’s how I found the place. I now live here and found myself bringing friends who came into town visiting our family. We took them to ‘Chow’ to have a fun night of sharing and chatting over several hours.
Everything is, as us Yanks call it, ‘family style’ with plates made to share on a lazy susan and its best to sample several dishes per person. My favorite is the salt & pepper pork chops, and ANYTHING with the brown gravy (salt & pepper chicken, and I can’t remember the other).
Expect a few hours to eat and make reservations if arriving on the weekend.
Enjoy!

We got a groupon for 2 for $ 39 so for what you get thats a 5 star deal right there. 2 entrees, 2 mains and either 2 beers or wine. Its traditional take away chinese in a beautiful setting. This reminds me of all the chinese restraunts growing up for those special family dinners in the 90s.
The mains are quite decently sized and the atmosphere is quite pretty. There is a big fish tank down the middle that you can see outside at night. I really enjoyed it. Its quite intimate for a big restraunt. They dont make you feel silly for using a coupon either like most places do in fact they have a menu specifically for groupon to stop the confusion.
The food is good, like I said its takeaway typical chinese but the ingredients are quality.
The staff are friendly and don’t hassle you by asking you how your meal is every 3 seconds.

Got invited to a small group causal dinner about 2 years ago at house of chow.
I remember they have a lot options for dinner, and most of them will fit the western appetite very well like honey chicken or something similar to that. So, wine list of course and mild, fancy but less exotic food in here since it basically face to the local group market.
The dishes we had were not excellent or unforgettable but okay.
What excellent and unforgettable was the huge tropical fish tank beside us when we dine, I still remember it after 2 years. It’s almost amazing.

For ‘Aussie Chinese’ this place does an excellent job — the food is freshly made and delicious. The pricing is a little bit higher than you’d expect for what is essentially a high quality, dine in Chinese Takeout experience, but if you’re craving some Westernized Chinese food then this place will fill you up in an enjoyable manner.
The restaurant area is nicely appointed, the staff are gracious and friendly and the food is, again, very good for what it is! Nothing has been subpar on the multiple occasions I’ve visited, and all the dishes I have tried have been of solid to above average quality.
Highly recommend the Special Fried Rice!

House of Chow surpassed my expectations as I found myself mesmerised by the wonderful atmosphere and great food.
The options on the menu didn’t jump off the page however there was enough variety to satisfy. I ordered classic dishes of spring rolls, Satay Beef skewers, Mongolian lamb and Chilli Chicken-​Szechuen style. These all tasted great and were brought out in an acceptable time frame.
The staff were extremely friendly and able to cater to any request we asked.
The seating is well placed as I didn’t feel like the people sitting next to me could hear every detail of my conversation
Both the outside and inside are extremely visually appealing. The ‘Finding Nemo’ replica aquarium is a great asset as it really brings the restaurant to life. Be careful not to sit too close though as the tank can be quite distractive. I found my date to be more attentive when watching the fish swim than when we engaged in conversation. But maybe that says more about my date than the restaurant.
I will return. However next time it will be with a group of mates for a lively food-​filled banquet instead of another date.

Nice meal yet again with our friends on our last trip

Eating at House of Chow was a 3 hour long stroll through memories of Chinese take-​away I had eaten as a child 15 – 20 years ago.
It included 80’s classics such as; spring rolls with ‘mushy’ indiscernible filling, fried rice so bland I’d prefer just straight up basmati, and chicken and sweet corn soup thickened with gelatin.
I wouldn’t rate any dish as bad, of poor quality, or foul/​off however nothing left any impression, at all.
There’s clearly a market for the safety-​net Chinese cuisine on offer here though, the place has been running for years. I was left to try and explain this to colleagues from interstate when they voiced the same opinion (s) as I have above.
If corner store Chinese take-​away is your thing give Chow a try as a once off. I’d head over to Gouger Street otherwise.
Disclosing up front; this was a work-​paid dinner.

The scene of many a business deal has been witnessed by many patrons dining in this Chinese resturant. This is my first impression of House of Chow, a place where business men go for the ‘free lunch’ as there are suits galore during this time frame. And the second is the lobster fish tank at the front entrance, the unsuspecting victims of gluttony.
Dinner time is better as it doesn’t feel so businessy! My family and I have been here several times and found the service to be good and the food also but it doesn’t send my taste buds into orbit. I like the fried duck and the lemon chicken dishes the most and tend to stick with those when I order as I know what I’m in for. The fried rice can be improved upon instead of not bothering to give it the flavour it deserves, otherwise may aswell just order plain rice.
They may have grown tired and bored with the whole thing and the customers do keep coming back in dribs and drabs, but I think they could improve and get back to the glory days when they ruled the Chinese food kingdom. A time when you had to make a booking a month or two in advance!

House of Chow underwhelms me each time I eat there. I know not to expect anything incredible or super fantastic, but really, come on, change it up a bit. The menu feels like it’s been the same for the past 30 years.
The food is alright, but considering their location and the premises, so much more could be done with this place. To me it feels like House of Chow pulls its trade just from being there and having been there for years. People go there in hoards. I didn’t even rate the Peking Duck. It was bland.
The service is good and consistent. The waiting staff are kind and attentive, but it doesn’t bring it up to the standard of any of the other great Chinese places we have in Adelaide.

House of Chow: it’s not groundbreaking, it’s not fancy — it’s simply laid back, home style, delicious, hearty Chinese food.
Resembling a huge, somewhat ramshackle house, the ambiance is quaint in an old-​school ‘80s kind of way and slightly kitschy (it has a huge aquarium wall, I mean c’mon): but it’s always busy, with staff buzzing around and often a short wait at the bar. Booking is definitely recommended, especially on weekends.
There’s a reason it’s always pumping: not only is it a icon on the Adelaide scene, the food is consistently good, and well priced: I shouted a group of 3 and paid less than $ 100 for dinner. Including drinks. Bam.
I particularly encourage everyone on earth to order the Peking Duck — perfect for groups, and easily one of the best dishes on offer at HoC.
Adelaide has no shortage of cheap, delicious Asian food — yet I return to House of Chow on a regular basis, and I think that’s saying something.

This place is one of those places that seems to divide people along very strong love it/​hate it lines.
To be fair, it’s been open for a long, long time, and in the restaurant business, that means something.
Of course, that long term success seems to have made the menu a bit stale in terms of selection. It’s very, very old-​school. It feels exactly like what it is — a Chinese place from the ‘80s. I find it very comfy. It’s not a sophisticated place, but if you want to eat Chinese exactly like what it was like when you were a kid (provided you were a kid twenty five years ago), this is a good place to relive that culinary experience.
Now, I really do like the place. No, like I said, it’s not fine dining. It’s not going to set your palate ablaze with new eating experiences. But it’s good for what it is. The service is pretty good.