Top’s China Restaurant

We stopped in and ordered take out for lunch. We ordered the general tso chicken with fried rice and chicken wings. The price was more than reasonable. The food looked like your typical fare. But the taste… oh the taste! The chicken was overly chewy and the sauce wasn’t even sweet! It tasted vinegary… yuck!
It was the worst chinese food that I have ever eaten in my life!

Although you need a scorecard to keep track, Culpeper currently boasts approximately 7 – 8 Asian restaurants at the moment. While «Dragon Chef» is superlative & definitely our go-​to for eat-​in dining, it’s on the other side of town from us, & when we have a sudden urge for take-​out, Top’s it is.
This is definitely a no-​frills place. While there are a small number of eat-​in tables, the majority of business is the take-​out trade. That said, I have favorites here that definitely surpass other places in the immediate area.
«Singapore Noodles» — best version of this dish I’ve come across so far. Thinner than Angel Hair/​Vermicelli pasta tossed with spicy hot yellow curry powder, shredded vegetables (carrot, celery, Napa cabbage), & small shrimp, slivered chicken, & roast pork. I’m addicted to the stuff, & they make it spicy enough to raise a sweat, unlike other places.
«Boneless Chinese Spare Rib Combination» — Self-​explanatory. Boneless bite-​size pieces of Chinese Spare-​Rib seasoned pork served with fried rice & an egg roll. Savory & delicious.
«Shrimp with Lobster Sauce» — a non-​extraordinary version, but decently good comfort food.
Place is clean, counter attendants are friendly, prices are more than reasonable, & the quantity & quality of the food are good for what they are — sometimes even better than higher priced fancier dine-​in neighbors. It is what it is. They used to only accept cash & checks — no credit cards — but don’t know if that policy is still in effect since we’ve become so used to paying cash there that I keep forgetting to check. They have a number of locations besides Culpeper, but Culpeper is the only one we’ve visited.
Worth a visit so long as your expectations are realistic.

We went up to the front counter to order, and my wife noticed that right in front behind the register, in the same fridge with their sodas were some other foodstuffs. Specifically batches of uncovered cooked egg rolls, along with containers of raw chicken that were also not covered.
My wife inquired as to why they were keeping them all in the fridge and if something wasn’t working right. The woman at the cash register first pretended not to hear the question, and then upon asking a second time she just gave us an ingratiating smile and ignore us, pretending not to understand (despite her English being perfectly fine 30 seconds before). That’s when we decided to leave and go somewhere else. We didn’t even bother to order, not wanting to mess around with improper food storage and handling.
There’s no reason to store raw meat, especially chicken, uncovered and right next to cooked foods. On top of that, in a refrigeration unit which was not suitable for it. The response of the employee was also unacceptable, instead of even recognizing that we asked the question she pretended not to hear or understand.
The only recommendation I would give for this place is to avoid it at all costs, unless of course the idea of the egg roll you’re eating lying next to raw chicken is appealing to you.