Cheong Wong

This place is closed I think?

4 star for authenticity of Cantonese restaurant and 3 star for food.
Too bad quality has gone down hill a little bit over the years. However we still have no choice but go there because it is the ONLY Cantonese restaurant in the 15 miles radius. Good for them, bad for me.
Their steamed chicken is good, and a number other dish is pretty fine too. Seriously unless you have had really good Cantonese food before this is more than fine.

despite the odd set-​up and inconsistent service (certain waitresses are quite rude) we keep going back because it has the best authentic chinese food in the fairfax area. The quality of the food is the same as what you would get in Falls Church and Rockville, but since we live in Fairfax, this is more convenient for us. The cuisine is Cantonese and our favorites are the crispy noodles with beef and Chinese greens, wonton noodle soup, kingdom pork chops, seasonal Chinese veggies and seafood soup.
The fact that it’s mostly full of Chinese people should tell you how authentic the food is. You just need to look beyond the setting.

Cheong Wong has one of the oddest set ups that I have ever seen.

It is housed in a partitioned off section (roughly, equaling a quarter of the overall interior) inside of the Malibu Steak House, located across the street from the Fair Lakes Shopping Center.

There, inside a relatively cramped space, separated simply by a crude four foot high partition that runs the length of the restaurant, Cheong Wong plies its trade as a Cantonese restaurant while Malibu Grill (a self-​proclaimed «Churrascaria») plies its trade as a Brazilian steakhouse.

While this symbiotic (or, is it schizophrenic) state of affairs might seem like a peculiar business model, it does work (at least, superficially) because, for some reason, the place was packed.
On one side, Chinese families clamored away at their tables as other guests (some who sat patiently and some who shuffled about) waited to be seated. The manager and hostess, amidst the noise and seeming confusion, both were a bit frazzled as they walked to and fro to determine which party was to be seated next and where. Meanwhile, on the other side of the partition, the Brazilian side appeared just as boisterous (as diners feasted away energetically and as their trusty waiters scurried about them with knives and skewers of meat in hand).
I didn’t know when my name would be called or when my party of five would be seated. As I peeked into the Chinese side of the restaurant, I noticed that only one large table was available (which sat up to ten people). As there was no party that large (and with a handful of smaller parties waiting along with mine), it didn’t seem very promising – in terms of being seated any time soon.
So, in a rather impromptu move, I decided to «go rouge» and abruptly recruited a party of four to join us so that we could sit down immediately at that one large table. Of course, this manner of being seated with strangers at one table is quite common in Hong Kong (especially, at crowded restaurants where diners dining alone or smaller parties often end up sitting together as a matter of practicality and as a consequence of limited space).
It really worked out well because, even though the other party that I got to join us (consisting of a lovely Vietnamese couple and their two kids) ordered separately, in the end, I got to sample more food than I would have otherwise. All it took was for us to warm up to each other and acknowledge the benefit of sharing. Unfortunately, the food, overall, was average at best. For every seeming bit of top notch execution, there were at least one or two corresponding flaws that detracted from it.

The chicken lo mein, which the kids enjoyed, was good (as was the red bean soup that was served at the end of our meal). The fish in black bean sauce was the night’s best dish. Consisting of filets stir fried with black beans, garlic chives, and julienned lotus roots, the filets were tender and the accompanying chives and lotus roots were fresh and crisp. Overall, the aggregate dish had a distinctive seared flavor (indeed, a detectable wok hei) that was very tasty.

The rest of the dishes were all flawed for one reason or another: the pork knuckle appetizer (too bland), the egg and cilantro soup (too cornstarchy), the roast duck (too cold), the beef with Chinese broccoli (too tough), the beef chow fun with gravy (too dry), and the Sichuan string beans (too raw and not spicy — oh, why did they order that?).

In the end, as a kind of way station in central Fairfax County, in a spot in the suburbs where Cantonese food is basically nonexistent, Cheong Wong definitely fills a void. Would I return? Yes… but, it’s because I am used to tolerating unexceptional Cantonese restaurants around these parts and have lowered my expectations accordingly.
However, in Cheong Wong’s case, it’s a bit of a shame because, with a full-​blown churrascaria right in its midst, it could get creative in its presentation. Perhaps, it should parade some Chinese roast pork or ginger and scallion lobster around on Brazilian style skewers just to jazz things up a bit.
Maybe, next time, I’ll drop a note in the comment box.

We were primarily intrigued with Cheong-​Wong due to its location. You see it’s located inside a restaurant. A Chinese restaurant inside of another restaurant. We’re not talking about a separate set of tables where there’s a different menu. We’re talking about a full on, sectioned off, separate host/​hostess’ podium, distinctly separate menu restaurant. You see Cheong-​Wong is inside Malibu Grill, the churrasco-​style eatery off of Fairlakes Pkwy. Not only is the restaurant’s location slightly schizophrenic but so is the décor. The structural columns are dressed up to resemble tacky palm trees while mispainted walls and accents vie to equally disrupt your attention.
While the service was typical of most Chinese restaurants (sharp, curt, to-​the-​point, no fussing about), I decided to order something that wasn’t typical. Something from the «real» Chinese menu. When my crispy, spicy pork chops with garlic arrived (complete with all of its boney, fatty, salty garlic flavors), I wished I ordered from the Americanized menu. When my wife’s Hunan beef made its appearance, half of it was still ice cold from when they pulled it out the freezer. The pasty sauce still tasted of cornstarch. The complimentary dessert didn’t improve things. While the bean-​based dessert possessed an admittedly pleasant nutty aroma, the filthy bowl and the bad water aftertaste turned my stomach.
Maybe I should have just stuck with my Diet Coke.

I am torn in how many stars to give for Cheong Wong. The first couple of times I was here the food was great. Tonight the food was just okay at best. It is just too inconsistent. Tonight we had ordered four dishes ranging from REALLY BLAND to REALLY SALTY, I downed half the tea alone the rice they served was already set out so long that there were plenty of harden rice in it. FYI CHEONG WONG, IT’S NOT SOMETHING PEOPLE ENJOY EATING!
So, I was a bit surprised to see the line forming for the Chinese side of the restaurant halfway through my dinner but, then I realized why there could be. They are the only Canton style restaurant in this end of Fairfax County and when the food was right (first couple of times) it was so MONEY! So, it’s disappointing to give it such a low rating but. it’s not all because of the inconsistent food It’s also the inconsistent okay to rude service!
In the Chinese restaurant side there seems to be only two servers, that obviously can’t handle things when the peak of the dinner rush hit. Tonight our server only showed up to take our orders & bring the food out wasn’t checked up on through the whole dinner and yet she still felt deserving of a great tip! I say this because she had the audacity to vocalize to the customer how little a tip they left for her. Given that the bill last time was split into separate checks so we each tipped based on what we paid and not based our tip on the total of the TABLES check!
So if you are still willing to try this place out after reading this review please don’t go expecting great food & service. But be thankful that you did. cause it’s a total craps shoot.

3.5 Stars!
Welcome to the Bermuda triangle of Chinese food…
I found out about this place through word of mouth and all you think when you walk in is three magical letters — WTH? So apparently, it’s a Malibu grill steakhouse. But it’s also a Chinese restaurant… It’s all in one baby! Things are better in one package right? Swiss army knives, shampoo+conditioner, you really can’t go wrong! Basically, you look up at the sign on the restaurant and you see in big huge lettering MALIBU GRILL with two Chinese characters next to it. Being from a diverse area, I had just never paid attention. I just thought it was like in Chinatown where even the Starbucks and the CVS had their own Chinese translations.
So upon arrival, my party and I were treated very warmly by the Malibu grill hostess who asked «grill or Chinese?» The restaurant was divided ¾ grill and ¼ Chinese restaurant. Really no barrier between the two, save for a quintessential Panda laced glass relief. It was very clear that the Chinese side of the house was much busier than the rather depressingly sparse Malibu grill. The hostess told us the wait would be about 45 minutes, but in reality we were seated in about 20.
So we get to the table an the menu is super jumbled up. «Authentic Specials» up front-​all in Chinese. The middle section is translated in English which is basically for the «American» clientele. Then, there are the Chef Specials in English, which are also good, but not «offensive» to the American Clientele. The portion where they talk about roasted duck I think is in the back.
At this point, my mind was racing, was I up or was I down? My internal food compass was off kilter and I needed to radio in some help. Thank goodness the waitress who came by the table seemed like she was from the UN and was fluent in all the languages that my party spoke — English, Chinese (both Mandarin and Cantonese), and Vietnamese. I really think she directed us to the best dishes — the duck, the tofu + veggies, wonton soup, and the shrimp and almonds. The duck was good, but a little too moist as the meat was delicious but the skin was not as crispy as I like — a delicate balance. The tofu and veggies were fabulous and it even had Chinese medicinal herbs in it. Apparently, it had round «lucky veggies» in it and is very similar to a lotus seed, but was not. The shrimp and walnuts, although very fresh and goos, had a little bit too much mayonnaise to my liking — a personal preference as the other members of my party really liked that amount of mayonnaise. The piece-​de-​resistance for me was really the salt and butter fried seafood mix (scallops, shrimp, fish, and squid). I thought regular salt and pepper fried stuff was good, but once you add clarified butter into the mix, it’s phenomenal.
Since it was Vietnamese/​Chinese New Years, the restaurant brought out the sweet bean desserts to everyone’s table. A very nice gesture.
To be frank, though, the food is just about on par with other Chinese restaurants in Falls Church, like Vinh Kee. However, I would probably go here if I lived farther out from the district, like in Centreville.
So after gorging myself on food from the Chinese Bermuda triangle, I left feeling a little disoriented from the excitement, a lot sleepy from all the food I ate, and since I expected very little from this place, very happy I survived.

HORRIBLE! If I could, I would have given it negative 5 stars.
We eat out several times per week and try out new restaurants on a daily basis. We also travel often and have tried restaurants and street-​side stands in several countries. I say this because I want you to understand how much meaning the following statement has…
This is the WORST restaurant we have EVER been to!!!
When we have a bad experience, it’s usually either the food is horrible or the service is horrible. This place gets the award for both being horrible.
The list is long as to why, but here are some examples.
— The waiter took forever to come to our table.
— The waiter did not know the menu whatsoever.
— Our drinks were screwed up.
— Our order was screwed up.
— The food was horrible looking, tasting and smelling
— The waiter didn’t care that everything was screwed up.
And the list goes on…
We barely ate anything, left starving and went to Wendy’s across the street — Wendy’s was 100 times better than this place.
There are lots of Chinese places around the area so save yourself the money and grief and have Chinese elsewhere.

I don’t know what happened to this place but our food today was terrible :(
First off, we walk in. Where is everyone? No host or waitress was there to greet or seat us! We walk in further. The owner and waitress was chit-​chattin’ at a table amongst themselves and it wasn’t until we sat down ourselves that they took notice to us.
Second off, the tofu & fish hotpot entrée we usually order went up from 16.95 to 22.95! Why the sudden price inflation? We ask the waitress and she told us all the seafood entrée prices went up and she mentioned something of catching fish in Alaska? Didn’t quite understand her to be honest.
We ordered the wonton soup ($ 7.95), fish stirfry with XO sauce ($ 13.95) and the fish fried rice ($ 10.95). The wonton soup was way too salty! The vegetables were lacking and the ones that were in there tasted bitter.
The fish stirfry tasted SO bland! Where was the XO sauce? It was like they forgot to add any spice in there. No taste whatsover that we asked the waitress to take it back to add more flavor. For the price, I at least expect for the food to be consistent. Every time I come to this restaurant, the food is a hit– or miss. Terribly disappointing today :(
The fish fried rice was more like chicken fried rice b/​c every bite I took had a piece of chicken. Where was the fish?
Their free dessert was green bean soup (?). I took one bite and my immediate reaction was «UGHH». Definite sugar overload! Jeez louisee, whoever is adding salt or sugar into these entrees have a heavy hand or none at all.

Just to confirm last week’s visit, I went back again last night. Had another very good dinner. The salt and pepper ribs were just right, with light batter and the right balance of flavors. The steamed chicken (one of their specialties since almost every table ordered one) was done very well. Along with an order of Singapore noodles and the Onchoy with fermented beancurd, the bill came up less than $ 50. A very good deal indeed. The place was packed from 7 – 8 pm. We had to wait 30 minutes for a table. Even the Malibu Grill side was pretty busy. They do need more help with the waitstaff since it was so busy. But at least I know this place is pretty good and reliable on a weekend night.

I’ve been here twice now, and have been satisfied on both occasions. I’d say it’s the best place to go for Chinese food in the west fairfax area. The chef is Cantonese (which, for my husband, is a good sign), and both times I’ve been, 90% of the patrons have been Chinese.
Tonight we ordered snow pea shoots/​tips — really good; singapore pan fried noodles — I’d never had this before, but husband said it had more curry in it than usual but he still really liked it; and pepper steak — really good!
After hearing so many good things about this place from my friends, I’m actually quite surprised to see so many negative reviews here. Overall, we were really happy — so much so, that husband says he no longer needs to go to Maryland for Chinese food. Except for Dim Sum! (My idea is that they ditch the Malibu Grill side and put a Dim Sum restaurant there instead :)).

Alright, I totally hate inconsistency.
I have been here multiple times and I mean MULTIPLE times and I always get the same 3 things: wonton soup hong kong style, crispy salty pork chops, codfish and tofu casserole.
All three on a good day is absolutely delicious and a wonderful combination together — especially if the wonton soup comes out first (as it always should).
So what’s wrong? there are days when I get my wonton soup AFTER the main entrees have come out (and I mean much later after we are halfway finished eating our casserole and porkchops), there are days where my wonton soup is soooooo bland it tastes like water with a very light taste of chicken soup. Other days (actually encountered this twice) the tofu in my tofu and codfish casserole is SOUR. A terrible sign because this means they are keeping tofu longer than they should be out.
Service is always only okay (especially if I don’t go with my mom) but just as expected for chinese restaurants mostly (unfortunately).
This restaurant can range from a 2 star to a 4 star depending on how «lucky» you get that day. I hate that sort of feeling and not knowing whether or not you will have an amazing experience or just a horrific one. The only reason this place is still packed with chinese people is because there are no other chinese restaurants in fair oaks/​fairfax, unfortunately. I probably will only go back very rarely, if at all.

ill give the place the benefit of doubt and give it a 4 star rating, even though i feel like its more 3.5 stars.
i came here specifically for their chinese food after hearing the reviews. It wasn’t packed, but business seemed good. all these chinese people in ffx that i never knew existed! the quality of food was typical of what ive had elsewhere. we ordered standard dishes like snow pea tips, salt and pepper squid, pork chop, chicken and pan fried noodles with veggies, etc.
the service wasn’t bad and the place is well kept. somehow they manage to seperate the brazilian bbq and chinese food well. id come back mainly because its close to where i work and easier for some than going to falls church.

It’s unfortunate that my fellow reviewers didn’t like this place. I’ve had good experiences, whether I’m dining in or getting carry-​out.
I try to order the more authentic dishes on the menu because I don’t like the Americanized stuff most Chinese restaurants make. I like the Hong Kong specialties they have here. The portions are usually decent and the food is better and less greasy than your average Chinese take-​out place.
There have been a few times that I’ve been here when it’s so busy that the Chinese restaurant customers have been seated in the steakhouse section. It gets a bit hectic but eh, it happens, whether it’s here or at PF Chang’s.

My wife is Chinese and so I often go out to many of the more authentic Chinese restaurants in the area with her family for dinner. They heard about this place so they decided to give it a try.
First off, it is VERY weird that this place is INSIDE of Malibu Grill. The right hand side of the Brazilian churrascaria is partitoned off, and this is Cheong Wong.
The food is not very good. Having been to other Chinese restaurants, the food here is not very up to par. They have both Americanized dishes and the proper Chinese/​Hong Kong style dishes. We ordered a special dinner for 10, and the quality was just not there. Some of the seafood dishes were lacking in flavor. The soup had no flavor. The red bean dessert had rice in it… huh? Overall, it was quite bad. Don’t go here.

Word on the street is that Chinese people bought out Malibu Grill and therefore? decided to add a separate Chinese restaurant to the space. Because that is obviously the next course of action after acquiring a Brazilian steakhouse.
In any event, I was part of a group celebrating a rather last minute auspicious occasion. We had a large party so they just gave us a bunch of tables in the restaurant. I can’t tell if they would normally separate Brazilian steakhouse and the Chinese menus into different seating sections, but we were seated pretty close to the Malibu Grill buffet.
The set up is not really ideal for a large, multi-​course Chinese feast. Square tables were combined into long rows rather than having the normal circular table and there were no lazy Susans available. Making room for all the dishes and passing food down the tables was interesting.
If they’re going to go into the Chinese feast business, they probably should have some tableware that fits the banquet set up a little bit better. Granted it was pretty last minute when the dinner was set up, so maybe they have the capability to shift things around with enough advance warning.
I’m not sure if it is a factor of what we ordered or how they set up multi-​course dinners since I had no say in the matter, but it seemed like a weird mix of «scary» Chinese-​y dishes (jellyfish, deep fried pork intestines), standard Hong Kong dishes (fish mau soup, poached chicken with scallion-​ginger oil, steamed fish) and Americanized stuff (some crispy fried beef? thing, a sort of boring noodle dish). The Chinese menu looks pretty standard with the normal Americanized dishes, but it does have a page of Hong Kong specialties at the end.
Preparations were pretty good overall. I’ve definitely had better and worse Chinese food before, so I suppose it was middle of the road satisfying. Perhaps it is more a function of the order placed rather than the restaurant itself, but after all the courses, we must have left the restaurant with at least six boxes of leftover food.

It’s not often I wish for a restaurant to go out of business without even eating there but this is one of those places. I stopped by to this abomination of a restaurant (somehow sharing a dining room with Malibu Grill) this evening with family. Upon arrival it was a madhouse. There were at least 10 people in the waiting area wondering when they would be seated. The owner/​host paid no attention those waiting and when approached offered no information on seat times etc. It was very apparent things were not going well. We finally seated ourselves at one of the open tables only to have dirty plates/​tea cups given to us. In the ten minutes we were seated nobody came to take our order. We ended up getting up and leaving to go elsewhere. Curse this place.