Neo-China Restaurant

Love this restaurant! Been a favorite since undergrad at UNC. Great professional service at an outstanding price. Good variety in the menu as well. Personal favorites are egg drop soup, duck sauce duck and imperial chicken

I first ate here 20 years ago when there was only a Steak and Eggs on Main Street and fast food places all over Durham. I had not been here in 8 years and when I walked in this past Sunday there was no one inside dining. The décor is the same, an 80’s grey Nagel discoloration. I sat down with my BF and ordered the Orange Chicken and some Won T soup. It was a s delicious as I recall. Spicy and tasty and a huge portion. I didn’t think too much about the fact that there is no longer real chicken in restaurants like these. But come to Neo and get it to go or you can stay and enjoy the greyness.

Hmm. my food had no flavor. I ordered beef with snow peas and sweet and sour soup. The soup was ok, but the beef dish was bland. I literally put salt on mine. I’ve never had to put salt on Chinese food before.
Both of my parents got a chicken dish. I wish I could remember which one, but they both liked it. My mom also ordered egg drop soup. She really enjoyed that.

I used to come here when south square was around and the good was amazing delicious. Today I decided to give this place s try I was disappointed. The beef and broccoli tasted burnt as if it was sitting out all day. It was cold never again.
Customers check your take out food before leaving the restaurant,
So I called and talked to the manager and he corrected my issue. This time the food was hot and fresh so I will change from 1 star to 3

We highly recommend Neo-​China. The food is delicious and comes quickly. The servings are huge so there is a chance to have two meals for the price of one. Friendly service and very accommodating. Nice ambience and a pleasant experience all around. It’s been around for 24 years and there is a good reason for it!

Terrible experience all around. We have been to the restaurant before and decided to return on Christmas for dinner. Very crowded and from the get-​go a bad experience. We were seated after about half an hour, and never over the course of the next two hours saw a waiter. We had to go to the kitchen to order our drinks, the bus boy eventually took our order (after an hour) and then we decided to leave after two hours at the table. About 10 tables did the same at the same time we did. Not once did we get an apology. The guy who looked like to manager sat twiddling his thumbs as everyone got up and complained. Never coming back here. No matter how busy, this place failed restaurant 101

Excellent value for lunch
FOOD: I had ordered Marco Polo Spicy chicken which was spicy enough for my liking. The chicken was well cooked and the ingredients felt fresh. It tasted delicious. At lunch this entrée plus soup plus pork egg roll with rice on the side costs just under 8 bucks. That’s a steal. You will be full half way through your lunch. The dinner portions are even larger but everything needs to be ordered separately and is th us more pricey.
SERVICE: At lunch their service was really quick. The server was a little too fast for my liking sounding like he was giving orders than taking it but he didn’t mess up on anything and got the dishes baack in time so I don’t have complaints. The host at dinner was very pleasant though. He served with a smile
INTERIOR: Pretty good for a cheap lunch place and good enough for the comparatively pricey dinner.
OVERALL: Will be back here again

I’ve been here twice for lunch with co-​workers, large group. What I find to be most peculiar about the lunch menu is that every dish is $ 7.30
The food is good by Durham Chinese food standards. The service is incredibly rushed. The guy came over to ask us for our order about less than minute after we sat… before we even opened the menus. He brought our chicks while we were still eating. This could have its benefits if you are just trying to get a quick lunch and get back to work.

My only experience with Neo-​China is with the lunch special. The food was delicious; vegetables were fresh and plentiful in our dishes, meat was tasty and the seasoning was present. My coworker and I were very pleased with our lunches and will be ordering from Neo-​China again. It is slightly pricier than other nearby Chinese restaurants but well worth it.

When my brother went to college in NC this was the best spot for food in general. Everything was delicious at this place. I wish i lived in NC to eat everything. Service was good and the restaurant felt very cozy. I would highly recommend this Chinese restaurant.

This is my favorite Chinese restaurant in Durham. I get takeout most often but eat in occasionally. The «combination plates» that they offer for takeout are a great way to get a little bit of everything: an entrée, fried/​steamed/​brown rice, an egg/​spring/​vegetarian roll, and a small bowl of soup. I especially love the Hunan Chicken, which has just a tiny bit of spice and contains a lot of vegetables. The Imperial Chicken is also great if you want something lemony, spicy, and crispy. The lunch menu is a particularly good deal because they offer the same portions as they do at dinner at slightly lower prices. The fried rice is really good but doesn’t seem to contain as many carrots and peas or as much egg as it used to. I’m a big texture person so I miss that. Overall, I highly recommend it!

This is my family’s preferred chinese restaurant when we want take-​out. This time I decided to bring some friends and actually do a sit in.
Everything was very well done. I loved my Marco-​Polo chicken, and the proportions were huge. My friend loved his orange chicken so much I wanted to gage him, he was making so much noise. My other friend said that the beef fried rice was the second best in durham. One of my friends loved the Crab Ragoon so much he got a second helping to go as we left.
The service was quick and efficiant. Our glasses were rarely empty of our preferred beverages. The waitress was really nice and helpful. So helpful we left a large tip.
The ambiance was very pretty. I liked it, but it kind of gave a café roman feel instead of a taste of china. Though that just makes it so unique from other chinese resturants.

This review is for the lunch special ($ 8.25 after tax).
Includes:
1. Entrée — tried the Beef w/​Veggies (boring oyster sauce flavor and slightly salty; somewhere between sub-​par and average) as well as the Shrimp with Lobster Sauce (generally one of my favorite Chinese take-​out dishes; the one here is alright, again a little salty but serviceable… they give you a ton of food though: 2 huge scoops of brown rice + the SwLS over pan-​fried Hong Kong style noodles)
2. Egg Roll — American style with cabbage and ground pork, dry and bland
3. Soup — tried the hot and sour, pretty decent, had better and had worse
4. Bag of Chinese fried dough chips — super oily, didn’t eat
Other comments:
Staff was friendly and the restaurant looked clean.
Verdict:
Have had a lot worse so I’ll give this place 2 stars.
Only really worth the visit if you’re trying to load up on carbs/​fats. I’m sure the lunch special was well north of 1000 kcal.
Sub-​par /​barely average taste.

Holy Shanghai! For lunch, this place offers speedy Chinese food with seemingly very fresh ingredients. Prices for lunch are higher than most local Chinese restaurants, but if you can add a couple of bucks to your lunch budget, then this place may be worth the visit. Nice selection of entrees; not outstanding by any means, but if you are in the neighborhood it may pacify your Chinese food cravings or not.

Had a decent meal about a year and a half ago. Tried it again twice recently and it’s been pretty bad. The Marco Polo Chicken seems to be a confused mess of a dish. It’s just generic, fried chicken strips with mixed vegetables in an ambiguous brown sauce. Bland, boring, lame. Last night I had the General Tso’s chicken and it was probably the worst version of that dish I’ve ever had. Soggy, over-​breaded chicken in the most bland General Tso’s sauce I’ve ever had. Chicken was also very chewy. The broccoli tasted old and was saturated with oil. Also, their combination plates are huge and cost $ 12. It’s enough food for 2. They should cut down the portion and price and focus on executing better tasting dishes. There’s really nothing good about this place. I won’t be back.

Solid neighborhood Chinese dine in or take out joint. Not great but not disappointing. Good enough to satisfy that Chinese food craving but not good enough to leave you wanting more or excited to eat the leftovers.

March yourself in to sit for a good meal. This restaurant does a very good General Tso Chicken, Mongolian Beef, Kung-​Pao Chicken & Pork Lo-​Mein. The wonton soup is also very good. The wait staff is attentive and speedy. I will agree with other reviewers that the décor is outdated. It would be a good idea for them to change the carpet too.
Staff A
Décor D
Food B
Location B
Health Rating 97.0

We were in town for a few days and decided to try Neo-​China. My sister had been here before and wanted to revisit. Immediately walking in, I felt an 80s vibe with the black and gray décor. It was very quiet. There were dark purple drapes at the windows. I’m not sure if there were windows. It would be a great place to nap it was so dark. I joked with my sister and said it looks like a nightclub in here. It just needs neon lights on the ceiling (so 80s). The artwork was refreshing as it’s not common. It’s great to see art is still appreciated, purchased, and displayed. The waiter was an older gentlemen. He was very professional, calm, and easy to order with.
I got the hot and sour soup and mogolian beef. I remembered seeing hot and sour soup on the web when looking for something new to cook. It was really delicious. I think it had sheared tofu in it and mushrooms. My parents and sister had egg drop soup which was a little bland. My mongolian beef was cooked well although a little shiny/​oil. I think it’s excellent that they had the choice to order BROWN RICE! that is unheard of in any restaurant. A++ for that. The paired my mongolian beef with a spring egg roll. It was huge and they had traditonal duck sauce (apple sauce kind). That’s so much better than packaged duck sauce. It’s sweet. I took my left overs home to eat for later and warmed it in the microwave. A lot of oil came from the meat onto the plate.
I would come again if in that area. I would defintely get the hot and sour soup and something spicy or try the honey chicken I was going to order.

+ lunch prices are better than the dinner. It comes with a decent amt of food for around $ 7: soup, egg roll, carb of noodles or rice, and main dish.
+ house tofu was pretty delish with a wide variety of veggies: mushrooms, broccoli, squash, carrrots, etc.
— food is a bit greasy.
— service seemed a bit abrupt, but it wasn’t bad.
— the food isn’t quite like the stuff that you’d get at an actual Chinese place: like the egg roll skins were a bit thick and not crunchy (like they froze and refried them) and won ton skin was thick and not thin and silky.
Caveat: I grew up in a panda style Chinese restaurant and know that faux-​Chinese can be good. It doesn’t have to be super greasy and egg rolls are crispy and won ton skins are still delicate.

Some of the dishes are pretty good but this is standard chinese food. Don’t bother ordering ice cream or dessert. you are better off going to an ice cream shop or getting a cake at the grocery store.
Most of their standard chinese dishes are very good. Nice tofu options.
They are open on christmas day, which is a plus! (but make reservations)
lunch prices are better than dinner. watch out for the grease. feel free to ask for less oil in the preparation. they might honor your request. service is not bad but not terrific either.
i have been going here since 2000. the art work has not changed. some of the wait staff is the same. i suppose that is a good sign.
all in all… it is a good option but not the best of the best. i would suggest Grand Asia in Cary as a better tasting meal.