Tsingtao House

I have been looking for an authentic Chinese restaurant in Rochester for more than 3 years. Finally I have found one!
I came here for Chinese new year because who has time to cook, and I was immediately impressed by how many Asian people were eating here (always a good sign!) They bring free jasmine tea and two small plates when you sit down. We ordered the pork buns, shredded pork in garlic sauce, and cumin lamb. All the dishes were delicious! Would definitely come again. Now I’ve finally got an answer when people ask me where to get good Chinese food!

Well I hate to burst the bubble but my experience just did, not match everyone else’s.
The peanuts and spicy slaw were a yummy start. We ordered the fried beef and onion dumplings and this Spicy Chicken.
That itself was a challenge since NONE of the menu items have a description.
The spicy chicken was good if a bit dull and one noted. It was very dry especially with the white rice it came with. A sauce of some kind was needed. The dumplings were almost inedible. The were filled with broth which gave them a slimy texture and they had some spice that my wife and I both found to be Just not good.
To top it off the service was bad in multiple ways. One they took forever to take our order, we were the only ones there at the time. Two they never checked back after the food was delivered. There were a few tables but for two servers it shouldn’t be hard. And. I mean never. I had to go up to the register and ask to pay, they never even brought a bill! Last off, totally obvious if harmless rascism. We came in, then threw Asian groups then a single Caucasian. All the white people were given water and all the Asian groups got tea. That may not be a big deal but I’m not down with any kind if racism.
I’m glad so many people like it but it did not live up to the hype.

My bf and I were here for lunch on New Years (only place that was open lol) and we are so glad we checked this place out! It’s kinda hidden on the side of a building so you can only see it if you drive a certain direction. The restaurant is the cleanest asian restaurant I’ve been to and it doesn’t smell like oil drenched food.
We had the house special soup, pork buns, chili eggplants, and cumin beef. The soup was filling, it had cabbage, dough pieces and was very good. The pork buns were flavorless as was the cumin beef. The cumin overpowered the dish, so you don’t get much of anything else except… cumin. The star of the meal was the chili paste eggplants. They were soft and sooo flavorful! I thought it was too oily but who cares it’s so good!!! White rice compliments the eggplants perfectly.
The service was very friendly. The waitress was honest when talking about menu items and very funny. I appreciate that this is not another americanized fast food chinese restaurant and would definitely be back.

Wanted to try this place for awhile but just wasn’t sure what to order then International Supper Club had an event here with fellow Unilocalers! It was great having one big group together ordering different items and everyone sampling different dishes. It was great, I got to try so many things I never would of tried before, stir fried eggplant in chili paste, curry chicken fried rice, braised sliced beef with napa, fried chicken dumplings and spicy chicken!
I really enjoyed their Tsingtao beer, nice and light reminds me of a Heineken… my favorite was the shredded pork w garlic sauce, it comes with onions and peppers… it has just enough of a spice to give it a kick… so good!

We visited Tsing Tao after reading the reviews here! It is an out-​of-​the-​way location and looks like a hole in the wall, but we forged ahead. We were greeted by a babbling fountain in the entrance. The place was deserted (it was only 4:15, but after a few minutes a woman came out, seated us, and took our drink order. We ended up ordering the cold sliced chili beef for an appetizer, sweet and sour fish, and deep fried pork. Everything was great — the sweet and sour fish was to die for — it came out piping hot, with a crispy exterior, flaky interior, and delicious sauce. No egg rolls or sesame chicken here… traditional Chinese only. Also no forks or knives were offered. Already looking forward to my next visit — this place is a winner!

Ok, a little bit of background of myself, I am big fan of Italian, American, Greek, Spanish foods and really not a big fan of East Asian foods. I am not a Chinese food expert. So to make the story short I wanted to give it a last shot before I totally give up on Chinese food. As a starter they brought us peanut and green tea. Then I ordered seezling beef. OMG! I mean OMG that was something special. The meat was so soft and juicy with fried onions. I am really sensitive to the taste of beef. It was fully cooked and taste very fresh and good. It wasn’t sweet or sour it was just a little bit spicy to my taste. Then, I ordered fried dumplings it was ok but not as good as beef seezling. The staff treated us very nice. I am happy that I tried it and overall was very satisfying experience.

Tsingtao is a quaint little restaurant. The floor feels very open and breathable. When you first walk in you are greeted by a small fountain before you walk into the main restaurant. The menu feels a little small, but I like that. You don’t feel paralyzed by too many choices, and they’re all authentic Chinese dishes. You get a different feel and flavor than one of those fast food Chinese places that you would order delivery from on a Friday night when you’re just done with the week and want something that comes with an egg roll.
My only word of warning to you is that the restaurant is a bit difficult to spot. It is around the side of the R Convenience store that is attached to it. You won’t be able to easily see the Tsingtao House name as you’re driving by on the main road. You will find the entrance to the restaurant on the side street next to the R Convenience.
If you’re in Henrietta and want a good, authentic sit down Chinese restaurant meal, definitely give the Tsingtao House a try.

I come here for some of my favorite Sichuan dishes. The wok fried chicken nuggets had a nice kick and were relatively lean and not overly greasy like those at other Chinese restaurants here.
The spicy eggplant, dan-​dan noodles and knife cut noodles were all tasty dishes with a bit of heat and a vinegary edge. They have some smaller sized portions for lunch — the spicy pork dish was just mid-​day pick up I needed!

BF and I were out running errands in Henrietta when we got hungry; happily, I remembered all the buzz on Unilocal about this place so we headed over. We had an excellent meal for a great price — the only problem we had was deciding what to order.
We started with the triple delight dumplings. Soft, savory, a perfect little bite. I had planned on eating only a few of these so I could save room for the rest of our meal, but before I knew what happened, we’d polished them off.
Next we had the «boiled fish with cabbage» which was huge — I ate two bowls’ worth, my BF ate three, and we had plenty to bring home for the next day — and delicious. The fish was extremely tender and the cabbage (maybe bok choy?) was crisp and very flavorful. The broth was also very good — the flavor was very unusual, like nothing I’ve tried before.
The dan dan noodles were not to my liking — I didn’t care for the texture of the noodles or the amount of szechuan peppercorn — but the BF enjoyed them. I could tell they were well made, just not my thing.
Looking forward to going back and trying more items from the menu! We saw several other tables enjoying a whole fish in a dark red sauce, so I’d like to find out what that was.

Had lunch here last week. Had read the reviews so we had to try this newly opened off the beaten path authentic Chinese restaurant.
We ordered three different dishes.
I have eaten all over China and Hong Kong and Taiwan so this does not come from a typical American fast food Chinglish eater.
Ordered the jaudz. (Fried dumplings) usually an appetizer but the came twenty minutes after the meal was served.
They were definitely homemade to order ! They were good if not a little on the oily side (greasy).
The Bok Choy with shiitake mushrooms was excellent!
Finally the beef noodle soup was ordinary and lacked flavor.
So a mixed bag! Perhaps we ordered the wrong choices. Perhaps not!

Holy yum, I’ve never experienced schezuan pepper corns. My tongue had an out of body experience! I was lucky to come here with a bunch of Unilocalers and tried a variety of dishes. My favorites by far were the eggplant in garlic sauce, spicy chicken, shredded pork and the noodle dishes. I can’t wait to go back.
The cumin beef is raucous with cumin seeds.
My second visit we ordered the seasonal vegetables, the plate of green beans were addictive.

This is the most delicious Chinese food I have ever had. It was beautifully seasoned, authentic, creative… I could go on and on.
The cumin lamb was to. Die. For. It was slightly spicy, perfectly cooked, tender and just life changing. It came with a side of rice and I could have eaten that for days.
The lamb noodle was yummy. If you’re not a fan of cilantro, try something different. The noodles were homemade and the lamb was ferry finely shaved. Completely delicious.
I will absolutely be back again, and again, and again!

Tsingtao House is spectacular. It is probably the most authentic Chinese food I think I’ve had ever, outside of comparable stalls in Chinatown in NYC and Chicago, and it’s apparent from every angle of their menu. Unlike most American Chinese joints, their menu is focused mainly on pork, seafood, and vegetables, and includes countless dishes that showcase what people would consider offal way moreso than the standard cuts of chicken and beef we’re so used to here in the US. And it has flavor — truly such incredible depth of flavor with every dish I’ve tried in my mere two visits so far.
Of all of the dishes that I’ve enjoyed at Tsingtao, I have to say that the eggplant for me was probably the best. And I’m an omnivore! I absolutely crave poultry, meat, and seafood all the time, but my God this eggplant was nothing short of a masterpiece for the taste buds. It was soft, not at all rubbery, it absorbed all of the flavor of the thick spicy-​and-​vinegary sauce/​paste that coated it, and it just paired perfectly with the soothing starchiness of the perfectly cooked white rice that came to the table. Truly a dish that any vegetarian, let alone meat eater would die to have.
Outside of the luxury of the eggplant, I do have to say to that their meats really are worth noting as well. Although I’m not the biggest fan of the grilled bun part of their pork buns, the filling is actually simply amazing. It’s finely diced pork cooked down with Szechuan peppercorns, five spice, black vinegar, Shaoxing wine, cilantro, and other spices I couldn’t quite detect and it is an absolute umami flavor bomb for your palate. The filling just melts away on your tongue and down your throat, all the while providing these salty, spicy, savory, and sour notes that will set your taste buds ablaze. Everything was in balance, and it’s as if their perfect combination of spices and liquids only sought to enhance my sense of taste as I quickly devoured it.
So the long and short of it is, is that if you’re reading this review, you absolutely must try Tsingtao House out. It’s actually a little bit hard to find since it’s nestled away behind a convenience mart on Rt. 15, but it is absolutely worth the search. This is not your takeaway or food court Chinese that we’re all so used to — this is actually what real Chinese food is supposed to be. Dive in and take a taste, I give you my word that you won’t be disappointed!

Tsingtao’s was a perfect little lunch date stop on a damp day.
We drove past it at first, you have to turn onto the side street just before (or after depending on your direction) of the KFC. It is attached to the R Convenience storefront.
We ordered the triple delight dumplings, and the beef noodles (it came in a soup form).
The dining room was nice and comfortable. You could go there with a group of people and they have a decent amount of seating. Our waitress gave us a small plate of pickled spicy veggies and peanuts for a complimentary appetizer.
If you would like a beverage they have traditional teas, cans of soda, Budweiser, Heineken, and Tsingtao beer.
Our food arrived in a decent amount of time. The dumplings were steamed, and came out first along with two sauces. They were very delicious, and everything I could have hoped for.
The beef noodles were delicious, and it was a very large, hearty bowl. We ended up taking half of it home. I think I have been spoiled by some of the Phở places around Rochester, and prefer the spiciness of those dishes. With that comparison, I think that this was a little bland.
Other than that, it was a successful meal! And it costed less than $ 20 with leftovers. Win-​win.

I have known of this place for awhile now but never really stopped by. Saw this back in May and for the longest time I kept thinking «why is this convenience store putting a beer advertisement sign far away from the front door and to the side?» Every now and then I would pass by this place and see a car here and there. I finally concluded it was a restaurant but «how good/​authentic» would have to wait. Summer means I go to Seattle and get away from Rochester.
As I came back from Seattle and drove by this place several times and scouted Unilocal,I realized more people have shown up. The Unilocal Intl Supper Club made plans as well but I couldn’t go due to office matters. I put this place on back burner again, not thinking much of it until I drove past by it again tonight.
What caught my attention as I was turning to find parking, was not the lights of the restaurant but the cars parked in the parking lot. I saw at least one of the following a) luxury car that was either Audi, BMW, Benz b) couple of chinese intl students at the corner smoking. Now to the ordinary eye and to the politically sensitive you may be thinking «what does this have to do with food, and why is your post ignorant?» My answer is, no I am not being ignorant, you are ignorant for assuming and not seeing tell-​tale signs that this place is AUTHENTIC, soooo I would like to say to you 你滚！Now if you have spent some time in China, (ahem…7 yrs here in the capital and in Shenzhen), can say «hey I am straight from the mainland!» or related to people from the mainland (my 哥们 tend to be 东北人 (north easterners of China), and 山东人 (shandong people), and other northerners), then you know what I am talking about with the past statements of tell-​tale signs of authenticity.
So where was I with my off-​post tangent, oh yeah I saw these tell-​tale signs of 九零后 (post 90s generation of China) students of UR/​RIT I can safely assume, I said to myself «yeah this place has all the signs that reminds me I am about to get some food as if I was back in the mainland being a true Chinatown gangsta O.G.!» As I parked my truck blasting Toby Keith’s American Ride… one of the rare Asian-​American breeds that deep down has some redneck in him… I started getting giddy for what I was to expect.
I walked in soaking wet from the rain, and immediately took a seat. At the end of the restaurant were 10+ Chinese students with various dishes that made me open my eyes and say «hey I haven’t seen those type of dishes in a long time!». The table in front of me and behind me all had various dishes in front of them that reminded me of true northern Chinese cooking, or 鲁菜 (Shandong cuisine, one of the eight cuisines of China). Here’s a very short and «crash course» on cuisines from the north of China, they tend to be simple, very hearty, have a strong flavor and make you full, this differs from southern Chinese cuisine that most Americanized Chinese dishes have their pedigree based of (yes I ended my sentence in a preposition. Colonel O’Neill is very much displeased… High 5 to you if you get that joke).
Anyways I took my seat and talked to the waitress, and immediately was served with cooked peanuts and 泡菜(pickled vegetables). For a moment I looked at the small plates wondering «why am I being served this?» and that’s when my mind did a time travel to the past as I reminisced of eating at countless northern cuisine restaurants in Beijing and Dalian and this is exactly what they do! These two simple dishes were foreplay to my tastebuds, I couldn’t wait for the main course (see it’s not that difficult to write harlequin novels). I quickly summoned the waitress for my order and made small talk. She said to me «you can speak in English to me» to which I responded «很长时间没说中文,不好意思» (haven’t spoken chinese in a long time, sorry about that. Ouch… With my pride a bit hurt, I thought it’s fine you are 纯爷们 (a man’s man) but the ego bruising needed to be comforted with food that could make my belly happy… and that’s when I saw 羊肉砂锅 (lamb casserole). Now when I think of lamb dishes, I usually think of inner Mongolia, and the NW of China, but I knew this was a hearty northern style stew/​casserole that I have not had in a long time… I immediately ordered it and waited with excitement.
As soon as it was served, I plowed through that «happy meal» like a fat kid loves cake.
Now you may be wondering after reading this review «wait, so you had one dish but give it 5 stars, you as fake as Drake!» Hold on there for a moment, because as I was eating I also observed the other tables around me and saw dishes that I have never seen before except for in big city Chinatowns and in the mainland. There was a girl left of my table cleaning her 麻辣烫 (how do I translate this???), other tables with 油泼鲈鱼, 酱爆茄子，水煮肉片, etc. I knew I was in an authentic place, and know that in the future this will be a staple while I still live in Rochester. No 土豪/​煤矿老板 paid me for my review, this is from my heart.
‘Murica!

Loved this place! I’ve driven by it numerous times without even a thought. When I received a notice that the Unilocal International Supper Club was planning to meet here for dinner one night I jumped at my chance to try some «non-​americanized’ Chinese food.
I’m glad I went with a group. I was able to try everything that the 18 of us had ordered.
Shredded Triple w. Garlic Sauce = Excellent
Stir Fried Eggplant in Chili Paste = Excellent
Spicy Chicken= Good
Cumin Beef= Good
Curry Chicken Fried Rice= Good
Steamed String Bean with Chicken Dumpling = OK (but wont order again)
Szechuan Double Cooked Pork= OK
Also, only one kind of beer was offer, but not advertised.
I’m hoping to go back next week and try some other different items. The Ox tongue and Maw with roasted chili vinaigrette was recommended to me by our server. Also, the sweet and sour pork tenderloin look amazing on the table next to us. Lastly, the special was cumin lamb. I might have to try that too! Looking forward to going back, soon.

Finally, something different in Chinese food!
The Chinese locally ranges from terrible to pretty good, but rarely do you get anything this different. A lot of people are calling it authentic, but I can’t speak to that. Never been to China, no chinese friends who cook for me. However, on the night I went, the place was packed, and me and my family were the only people speaking english in the whole place.
My wife got some kind of tofu that the server recommended, and it was amazeballs. I couldn’t even begin to tell you what it tasted like, nothing to compare it to. Just a lot of incredible flavor. No veggies, which is weird. But still. Yum.
I got a huge bowl of fish, cabbage, and broth. Clearly it’s meant to be shared, but I couldn’t tell that from the menu. But holy balls, so delicious. The broth, salty and savory, the cabbage pickled and tangy, and the pieced of fish so tender it was like eating hot pats of butter.
My son got the pork buns, also delish. They were different than what I’ve come to expect. The buns were slightly browned on the outside, as if they’d been baked rather than steamed. The texture of the bun was almost like a biscuit. A really good, tender biscuit. The pork filling was incredibly flavorful.
I was dying to come home and give this place five stars and complain I couldn’t give it at least six, but that was before we waited an hour for the check. That’s not cool when you have kids and the place isn’t air conditioned. There was only one server, and the place filled up as we ate. The poor woman was working her ass off, but it was too much work for one person. Maybe someone called in sick, who knows. They were very apologetic at least.
So I dinged then a star for service, so what. This will be my new favorite place to get takeout. Because the food is so damn good! I like the atmosphere, but I can’t count on the service. If you are getting a little bored of chinese, go here and fall in love all over again.

Probably one of the best Chinese meals I’ve had in Rochester. And I believe authentic too! I won’t go on about authenticity given than my experience with Chinese food is overshadowed by Americanized take outs and sweet oily chicken but this tasted different and much better than any other Chinese I’ve had.
Complimentary roasted salted peanuts and celery once you are seated. The peanuts are really really good and were warm like they were roasted just then and there (they might have been). I asked for a second helping.
House Special Soup. An amalgamation of egg drop soup with vegetables and some seafood. Honestly I’m not even entirely sure what all went in to this thing but it tasted quite good. Not the best soup I’ve had and on the more «viscous» side but I’d order it again. The order is a big bowl fit for 3 or 4 people so order accordingly.
Steamed Chicken Dumplings. Delicious and steaming hot! Almost burned my mouth devouring this devil. Filling comprised of minced chicken with great spices and a hint of green.
Kung Pao Chicken. Generous serving. Just the right amount of spice and excellent taste. Done with peanuts, celery and mushrooms. The peanuts were fried in with the chicken and the peanut taste didn’t stand out much. The celery I could do without since it didn’t really complement the taste of the chicken. Despite this I really enjoyed the Kung Pao and had plenty left over for another meal.
Shrimp and Yams: Meh. This was very bland and flavor less. Like steamed or boiled shrimp and yams which is what it probably was. Needed sauce for flavor.
The service was over all attentive but my entrée came out before my appetizer and then everything just all together which was a bit disappointing. I also needed to scope out the waiter to get my water refilled. This is when there were only one or two other tables occupied in the restaurant and they weren’t busy at all. Taking away one star.
Based on my experience with the shrimp I would advise going with the «spicy» items (printed in red on the menu) as I’ve noticed that spicy for the Chinese means flavored for myself.
Will definitely be back.

I would tell you about the illegal activities that tstarlight & I got up to at this place, but I’m worried that you’d Tsingto the cops, tso I won’t. I might end up in Tsing Tsing Prison if I do. So let’s just say, my kitty and I had fun waiting for our food. And no I have no idea who vandalized the building tsite next to the restaurant. Hmph.
What to get: Amazing tspicy Chicken dish (Kung Pao Chicken)
What else: Pork Buns, Dan Dan.
Tso I dunno if I ever told you what I do for a living. I’m a Tsinger.
The wonderful things about Tsingtao:
— The food is absolutely delicious. It’s heavenly. It’s wonderful.
— The food is authentic Chinese all the way, to the extent that most of the customers are Chinese and the owner lady barely even tspeaks English.
— The owners and their tson are absolutely wonderful people. Tsome of the friendliest restaurant owners in all of Rochester, in fact.
— The décor is lovely and homey and clean and comfortable.
— They will give you free tstuff like peanuts and tea while you wait, even if you ordered to go.
— It’s new and locally owned and deserves your tsupport.
— The prices are competitive and tsome of the items on the menu are dirt cheap, especially considering they are authentic.
— The menu is extensive tso you’ll never run out of things to try, and the tastes are all over the map.
— There are very few authentic Chinese places in this region, tso take advantage of it and help keep it in business.
— It’s right up there with Peking Quick One (Tonawanda, by Buffalo) in terms of WNY Real Chinese. But it has much better tservice and is much more comfortable.
My fave type of tsewing machine, by the way, is a Tsinger.
About the dishes specifically…
Kung Pao Chicken — the tstar of the menu (tso far). Delicious pieces of tspiced fried chicken, tsauteed in and mixed with other various tspices, onions, chili peppers and all tsorts of delights, tserved over rice. One of the best Chinese dishes you’ll try in the area, if not the best. Reminds me of the «Garlic Pepper Chicken» at Buffalo’s Koreana.
Dan Dan Noodle — warm and filling and rich and powerful and extremely tasty, just like the others tsaid it would be on Unilocal.It was my first experience of Dan Dan and it was absolutely fantastic and amazing value for money.
Pork Buns — I’m not a big fan of buns in general, but these were delicious and fluffy like arepas, and better still, they were filled with amazing cumin and pepper and chili tspices. Totally amazing and dirt cheap as well. Make sure you give them a try.
I don’t know if I’m doing a very good job tselling this tsuff, but let’s just tsay that if you come here and try these tsensational tspecialties, you’ll be both tsatisfied and tstuffed. So please do.
All in all, you will not find many better Chinese restaurants in the whole USA than Tsingtao. You will not find friendlier owners either — anywhere. And it’s easily one of the top 10 meals in Rochester. Also it’s brand new, tso it’s underrated. Be the first of your friends to try this «real Chinese food.» Come here, bring everyone you know, enjoy it, love it, rock it. Tsing about it to the whole world.
Anyway now that we’re all bursting at the tseems with tsensational Chinese food, I was wondering if you’d like to tswing by my place and maybe have tsex with me? You would? Tseriously? Alright then. Tsweet! Tsee you there!

Tsingtao just served me the best Chinese meal I’ve had in Rochester. Fair warning, at Tsingtao you will not find sesame chicken, general tsos, orange chicken, cream cheese stuffed wonton abominations, or any of the other such dishes which are too often synonymous with Chinese food in much of the US. If you’re looking for cloyingly sweet chunks of fried chicken served with a side of yellow rice and a fortune cookie, stick to your local takeout joint.
Their dan dan noodle is as good as any version I’ve had. Their version leans on a sesame paste (pretty sure) based sauce rather than the common chili oil intensive versions and includes (I think) black vinegar, minced pork, chopped peanuts, szechuan pepper, and a little green onion for brightness. Your tongue will tingle with a gentle and numbing burn. Its amazing. You need it.
Pork burger comes two to an order. Lots of chilies, cilantro, and tender braised pork served (and probably other things but I finished mine before I thought to look) on what can best be described as China’s answer to the English muffin. Spicy, bright, fresh and very good.
Our server spoke little English but they manage to bridge the language barrier with clever use of a smartphone, QR code, and an online menu. We received what we ordered, so I have no complaints. Specials are listed in Chinese so I’m now accepting applications for more mandarin speaking friends.
Dan dan, pork burger, and a dozen dumplings for $ 20 is a solid deal too.