East Palace

Okay, so my husband and I are ardent Grand Sichuan Eastern fans for our Chinese Food fix. But today we were getting back from work and the rainy-​chilly-​gloomy weather forced us to get food which was warm and quick and close to our apartment– and we zeroed in on East Palace which is a minute from where we live. This place should not be judged by it’s Green shabby billboard and interiors which are minimalistic and usually don’t have many people dining in (a reason for my initial hesitation to go here). We got two hot and sour soups «to go» and for $ 2.55 each I would say the portion was pretty good. By the time we got home, the soups were still piping hot and I was pleasantly surprised with the flavor– perfect hot and sour balance and the accompanying crisps added a little something something. I also realized that the reason for the seeming lack of people in the restaurant is because this place is mainly for take-​out or delivery. I am looking forward to order food from here the next time we plan to eat Chinese although for dine-​in, Grand Sichuan Eastern is still my preferred choice. Also, the proud «NO MSG» signs everywhere add a sense of reassurance that the food you’re getting is made from good ingredients.

From good to so-​so to really awful. When I first started ordering from this place it was fantastic and fresh. After dealing with a ridiculously rude delivery person (more than once) I took a break and came back. The delivery guys have been fine but the food is now god-​awful. RUN AWAY.

Ok… You kidding me with the portions? The chicken and Broccoli is a lunch special portion but with dinner prices. Order pork dumplings and my fiancé hot shrimp which he’s allergic too!!! Yea thanks for a fun night!!! Ridiculous.

TRANSPHOBIC & HOMOPHOBIC—
I understand Chinese so when these rude people say little smart comments while handing the food to their customers — I understand them.
Sometimes after work I would stroll into this disgusting looking place for a quick Chinese dinner to go– and since I’m trans, I dress kind of feminine and my hormones make me look androgynous. In the beginning, they would whisper little things like, «那個人來了» aka «That person is here.» And I know exactly what they mean by that. As a trans person, i do get little comments like this quiet often so I didn’t pay much attention to it.
It was only until a couple days ago while I was there, looking more feminine than usual, the girl who handed me my food said out loud to her co-​worker, «他是不是很娘？ 不男不女» aka «Isn’t he a sissy? Doesn’t look like a man nor a woman.» … I pretended I didn’t understand what they said but when I came home, I felt miserable and defeated. i don’t know if it was my paranoia kicking in, but I felt like they had probably spit or do something nasty to my food.
It was a very bad experience and I will not be spending my money at this «restaurant» again. And if you guys think this is a LGBT issue, think about the things they probably say about you in Chinese that you don’t understand… it IS borderline racism. Please beware.

Crazy arrogant insane delivery guy!!! Somehow my apartment number didn’t show up in my order. I got a call after 10 minutes, answered a question about my apartment number.
Then a senior Asian man showed up. Right after I opened the door, he had started to complain angrily (his lexicon was limited with words «call-​phone-​apartment — all words he knew). It looked like I stole his car, burned his house and killed his kids.
He was in rage, he was completely out of his mind. I apologized few times, I explained that it was glitch, but he was like a broken hydrant full of crap! And it all happened in front of my kids.
After 5 minutes of yelling I lost my patience, yelled back and send him out.
I really don’t know whether their food is good or bad, but what I really don’t want — to Lose my face in my kids’ eyes because of lost apartment number.

I had been on a quest to find a good Chinese restaurant that would cater busy season dinners and not disappoint me. East Palace has become my go-​to. The staff always calls to confirm my Seamless Catering order, the food arrives on time with delivery people happy to help me set-​up everything, and the food has been consistently good. My only complaint is that they do not bring serving pieces (scoops and tongs) with the order, despite my requests, but otherwise I have been pleased.

Rice is flavorful. Fresh. Beef is tasty, mushrooms are fresh and crisp. Broccoli is delicious. Great lunch special. I’ll be back again.

This place is awesome. Been coming here for the past 6 years whenever I’m around that area. The employees are always friendly and nice. Food comes out quick and tastes good. I usually get the beef and broccoli with rice. Good amount of serving, enough to fill me up.

Okay, this was a bleh experience from beginning to end. I will mention the two good things here — fresh ingredients and amount of food. Fresh veggies in the soup & entrees, fresh tofu, fresh rice, and all the chunks are sliced big so you can really see that they are fresh. They give you a lot of food, especially that giant soup that comes with the lunch deal. And a full take-​out Chinese food box of rice for the lunch combo!
Now on to all the blehs… The space is spartan, typical fast-​food Chinese setting. It is not very clean, to a point where you almost question the sanitary level of the kitchen. The menus overhead look old, hasn’t been updated in years I think. the counter folks are all business, not rude by any means but basically emotionless. Food takes a bit to get ready, I would say longer than your typical fast food-​y Chinese.
Once you get the food, the blehs continue: Spicy Hunan style is not spicy at all. I mean, I love spicy food but can’t handle it very well, and this place I didn’t have to handle it at all. My Jumbo Shrimp Hunan Style was pretty bland, both from spice and flavor standpoint. Just kind of ho-​hum. Same goes for the hot and sour soup, bland on both fronts. My co-​worker mentioned the same thing about his Curry chicken.
So, if you are hungry and on a budget (about $ 8 for the lunch deal), insist on fresh ingredients, and okay taste is fine with you, this will be a place you will have no issues with. If you are one who like to pay a couple more bucks to get the quality, skip this place and keep wandering around NYC in search of that elusive, good Chinese food.
Table-​for-​1 Factor: Another reason you might like this place — no one will look at you twice sitting by yourself.

I had the sesame chicken with white rice. Price is reasonable for Manhattan, the lady at the counter was friendly more friendly than the ones I deal with in queens and Brooklyn. A little odd to have Mexican food with Chinese in the same kitchen, but hey expansion works. Now the sesame chicken was fresh crispy but the flavor of other Chinese restaurant was not there. Or maybe I’m use to a certain type. Anyway I will recommend this place for a quick bite

Average chinese and chinese tex-​mex food. It’s definitely not healthy but the food is good. It can be a bit pricey but it’s not bad. I have never had a problem here but it’s nothing I would rave about. They are fast to get you your food even if you go in to pick it up. I have only been here later in the evening.

So slow. Don’t bother ordering lunch from here, it took them more than an hour & a half to deliver mediocre food. Never ordering from this place again & I would not recommend you do either.

So vile I had to write my first Unilocal review ever. After the snowstorm, I found this place and tried it in desperation. I ordered the orange chicken, and paid an extra $ 1 for white meat. I carted it back to the office and guess what I ended up with? 100% stir-​fried breaded chicken skin — SKIN (at least I hope that’s what it was). So disgusting that I need to find a way to purge what I did eat. Gives a nasty new meaning to the expression «mystery meat». So awful that I’ve spared giving you a photo of it.

It’s a run of the mill Chinese takeout that also has inauthentic Mexican food
OVERPRICED
ONLINE MENU as follows
All Chicken dishes 11.85
All Beef dishes 12.75
Pork Fried Rice 9.35

Wanted Chinese on lunch break. I never rate on Unilocal but I felt like I needed to do this.
Got the lunch special. Chicken was bad and possibly raw, I’ll find out soon. Rice was bland. Soup was basically a thick sauce. I had 2 bites of everything and that was all I could take. God I want Chipotle now.

Great place. The food is good compare to other places around town. Fast delivery and always fresh, never cold. Their sesame chicken is incredible

Ordered shrimp egg foo young and General Tso’s chicken for delivery. The egg foo young was greasy gross tasting and the gravy was tangy (not appealing). The chicken was «ok» but def not worth a repeat.

Very quick service and delicious food. I had the General Tso’s chicken and the hot and sour soup. The portions are huge and very reasonably priced. I will definitely come back next time I am in NYC to try more things.

The staff here is nice and the service is very quick. The lady behind the counter always remembers what dish I had from my previous visit here. It’s a typical pick up and go place, although they have a few tables on one side of the restaurant (tables that unfortunately are not always very clean).
The portions are quiet big and their lunch special is one main dish with rice and soda or soup for 8 dollars. That’s a pretty good deal to me and most options in this area will be more expensive. I wouldn’t say it’s among the best Chinese food I’ve ever had, but it’s good enough for a solid filling lunch meal.
I’m still contemplating whether or not I should try the Mexican dishes at the Chinese restaurant…

Fast and inexpensive. That sums it up. Not the tastiest or best, but hey if you are looking for lunch and tired of waiting on a line that wraps around the building to pay $ 13 for a salad, you may consider picking up Chinese food that day (or tacos– though i’m not quite sure how those are justified on the menu and I haven’t tasted them). There are a few tables, but no table service. I consider this to be a pick up and go spot.
I ordered a lunch special and it was enough to have for lunch 2 days along with the help of the handy office refrigerator. Thanks! Food wise. It’s pretty standard NY chinese fast food restaurant options and the food tends to lean a bit heavy on the greasy factor end, but it can work when you are having a craving for chicken and broccoli and pork fried rice– you know if you’re into that kind of thing. Yes I am!