Chifa Gino’s

Chifa Gino’s is a terrific little Peruvian /​Chinese fusion restaurant located along Armenia Avenue, about a mile south of Busch Boulevard. The restaurant sits in the middle of a small strip center on a bend in the road, so it’s easy to overlook the place unless you’re paying attention.
For those who don’t know about the Peruvian-​Chinese connection, ancient Asian immigrants crossed the Pacific and landed along the coastline of South America. Many of them decided to stay and settle around Lima, Peru, and as a result there is quite the culinary fusion of Peruvian and Chinese ingredients which are prepared according to Cantonese culinary tradition. Chifa is a term used in Peru and Ecuador to refer to this style of Chinese cooking. Peruvian chefs use products which are popular in traditional Chinese cooking such as ginger, soy sauce, scallions, and a variety of other ingredients like wontons, fried rice (chaufa), and sweet and sour sauce, as a part of their daily cuisine.
One of the most popular dishes of this style is called Arroz chaufa, which is Cantonese-​Peruvian style fried rice (white rice, soy sauce, scallions, fried egg, and meat such as chicken or pork). You’ll also see a lot of Chow Mein noodle dishes, Wonton soup, and Egg Drop soups on the menus.
I was there for lunch today, and ordered a bowl of Wonton soup to start. The soup was fantastic, and not as salty as traditional Wonton soup in Asian restaurants. From the lunchtime specials menu I also ordered the Pollo Saltado, which a chicken stir-​fry made with well-​seasoned chicken strips sautéed with tomatoes and onions, served over French fries, with a scoop of white rice on the side. Very delicious, and quite the bargain at $ 7.99.
If you’re feeling a little adventurous, and you’re in the Armenia Avenue area at lunchtime, then I highly recommend at stop at Chifa Gino to try something new.

Their kamlunwantan is fantastic!!! Its a dish with a sweet and sour sauce that covers fried wontons, duck, chicken, shrimp, pork, quail eggs and Vegetables. If you like sweet and sour you will love this.

The jalea, papa la huancaina, and the lomo saltado were delicious. The chicha was also very tasty. The service could improve a bit.

Best Chaufa in Tampa, these guys know how it’s done !!! Great place to eat huge portions and the flavor is like being in Peru !!!

Drive down Armenia Avenue and in between the Colombian and Cuban restaurants, you will find Chifa Gino’s. Blink, and you may miss it.
Chifa Gino’s specializes in Chifa dishes which are a mix of Chinese and Peruvian cuisine. The most popular dish is the Arroz de Chaufa, which basically is fried rice made with eggs, vegetables, and meat. Much of Peruvian cuisine is highly influenced by the large number of Chinese immigrants that migrated there in the mid 1800s.
The ambiance doesn’t exactly scream fine dining but the food quality and large portions make up for it.
I ordered a lunch special for $ 7.99 which included a beverage (I ordered an Inca Kola, of course), fried wontons, and the Arroz Chaufa de Pollo (Chicken Fried Rice). My boss ordered the Tilapia Ceviche.
The fried wontons were light, fluffy, and delicious. The Chicken Fried Rice was even better. The portion was huge. I was able to take some home and have it for a midnight snack, breakfast, and lunch the next day! $ 7.99 for four meals for me is a steal!
My boss enjoyed his ceviche and even said it was better than a restaurant’s that we frequently dine at when we work together.
Parking is VERY LIMITED here and the restaurant shares the lot with a neighboring Columbian restaurant, so try to get to the restaurant early. Peruvians don’t normally eat until 1 – 2, or so I have been told.
I will definitely return to dine here just for the meal value and huge portions!

I have now covered every non-​chain restaurant on Armenia from Kennedy to N. of Waters, but watching several that have closed and reopened under new management. Chifa-​Gino is now the only place on Armenia offering Chifa/​Chaufa dishes… essentially Chinese dishes with Latin/​Peruvian modifications. Tried the fried wontons (wantan) with Tamarind (OK), with chicken-​fried rice (Pollo Chaufa) and Peruvian Ceviche Mixto. Both the latter were good and the ceviche had all the standard sides (sweet potato, hominy corn, puffed corn, shaved onions), but not quite as fresh as Happy Fish. Prices were a bit high compared to Happy Fish and most places along here… with no special décor or touched.
Points off for having the menu without a word of English, and a ordertaker with minimal English (could not translate pato as duck). So this is not a friendly place for those who are not fluent in spanish and some of the unique Chifa dishes are not self-​explanatory by name, e.g. Kanlu Wantan or Tallarin Taypa.