Nam Fong

We ate there for the sound time today, for lunch. The first time it was outstanding. Great proportions, and reasonably priced.
Today we ordered from the lunch specials. I had sweet & sour pork, my wife had vegetable chow mien. The vegetables were not fresh, canned, and the seasoning was very much lacking. I bad to really add a lot of soy sauce to make it taste decent.
The delicious Chinese noodles were missing also, just canned chow mien noodles (small sticks). Needles to say our experience today was not good.

I not much a fan of this restaurant I not sure we wil go back. when entering you wouldn’t know it was there its in a mall. the next thing whne we enter and she took us right away there bunch of people that are fans which that not bad. my mom and I didn’t like the lobster lauce and rice and it was big portion. the tea was not good and I had my fair share good tea. my dad didn’t like his food. maybe we try again maybe we wont. not sure

Some confusion
We decided on Nam Fong last night for takeout, my first visit. We tracked down a menu and called in our order. I believe we all liked our food, I went with their Lemon Chicken and while I would have preferred a more citrusy flavored sauce, this was fine. There was a large portion of breaded chicken, plenty of food. It looked like portion size for all of the entrees was large.
Nam Fong has tables for dining in as well as takeout, the place had a clean appearance with three rows of white tableclothed tables. There were only a few people remaining when I arrived 15 minutes before closing.
I had two issues with Nam Fong, the second bigger than the first. The first was when I arrived an elderly couple had walked in ahead of me. Even though they arrived 15 minutes before closing it was apparent they were not going to be seated. If they wanted takeout than sure, but no dining in, it was too close to closing. I found that poor, turning away customers who arrived during normal business hours. Figure out when you want to close and accept customers up to that time.
The second problem was more serious, and I’ll take some of the blame. I was given the wrong takeout order. I could have realized ‘my food’ was less expensive than it should have been by enough that alarm bells should have gone off in my head. That said, I still ended up walking out of their restaurant with the wrong bags. Once we realized we didn’t have the right food and talked with the restaurant, they asked us to being the food back and get the right stuff. They were very, very apologetic for the mistake. It was all inconvenient for us, the time we expected to save by bring food in rather than eating out was lost straightening this out.

Best Chinese food in Bradenton by far! The cash only is a bit of a downer, but stopping by an ATM first is well worth the amazing fresh food and great prices. The portions are great, always have leftovers to take home and the staff is always friendly and courteous. I make sure to come here as frequently as possible.

Since coming to the area 15 years ago, Nam Fongs is one of finest restaurants u will find in the area. I have friends that comes into town n Nam Fongs is the first restaurant that that they want to go to. For those who see the people waiting, that should tell them it must be good for them to wait. Jack Hunter

Cockroaches in the kitchen. Nuff said.
Just thought I’d put that out there since this place has 4 stars on Unilocal and people apparently go there.

Best Chinese food in Bradenton hands down! Fresh veggies quality ingredients. My go to place from now on.

Take-​Out Review: I requested beef w/​broccoli w/​brown rice. I received beef w/​broccoli w/​fried rice (apparently they don’t have brown rice). I’m not complaining because it was very good. I’m shocked at how good the food was.
Now, this place is no where near the best Chinese food I’ve ever had but it is the best I’ve had in the Bradenton area. I have yet to have «5-​star» Chinese food & I’ve actually given up on my quest. This place will do until I can get back to Chicago.

We were really in the mood for some Chinese food, and this fit the bill.
The restaurant is in a nondescript strip mall, and not fancy, but clean. The staff is super friendly but was a bit rushed. We were their first customers for the day, but the restaurant filled up really fast.
We ordered lo mein, fried rice, some type of beef dish with mixed vegetables, and the lunch chow mein. The lo mein was some of the best I had. The chicken was not the usual thin Chinese chicken, it was big chunks (both a good thing and a bad thing). The rice was not salty but pretty good. The beef was really good and a little smoky tasting. The lunch chow mein was a smaller size and dark meat. It was pretty good, but the $ 5.50 lunch menu is lacking. Only five items and they’re mostly undesirable or with dark meat. We also had an eggroll, the best we’ve had.
The chow mein noodles, tea, and fortune cookies were nice. Overall a nice place to eat.

I can’t believe people are giving this place a 5 star rating. The food is mediocre at best. Canned mushrooms, frozen vegetables, flavorless sauce. The fried rice is a joke. I would NEVER wait in a line to eat here! The only positive comment I can give this place is the portion size. If you like large portions of mediocre food.

There was such a buzz about this place, great reviews, long line to get in, people outside spontaneously raving that it was the «best Chinese food» they’ve «ever» had. High praise, I know. But I got a little excited. Thought I might’ve found the perfect dive! And then, the canned mushrooms, flavorless sauces, odd rice, and unfortunate tofu all hit me like a ton of bricks. I get it, I’m from nyc, so I shouldn’t have such high standards for food outside the city, but I swear I would’ve been satisfied with cheap, real food. But alas, I think I’ll cook for myself till I get home… I’d recommend you pass.

We are from the Northeast, recently moved to the Sarasota area. We discovered Nam Fong completely by accident. My hubs and I were shopping in the plaza and smelled cooking garlic. As we were both starving, and there is only Nam Fong and a Firehouse subs in the plaza, we identified the source of the smell as Nam Fong. It looks like a dive from outside, really unimpressive. We opened the front door and it was packed with people, so we figured, how bad can it be?
Well, we were more than pleased. It did take awhile to get a table and it wasn’t prime dinner time, maybe around 4:30 pm. However, the staff was extremely nice and did a great job getting us seated as quickly as they could. There isn’t much standing room, so you may need to wait outside. They are very quick and efficient servers, so you probably won’t wait too long.
We ordered the wonton soup, which was a healthy portion of homemade soup with homemade wontons. We both found it quite tasty.
For an appetizer, I highly recommend the beef teriyaki. It’s a unique flavor, with a touch of curry. We loved it. Wished it was a touch larger.
Check out the «special plates.» They are a very good size portion of the more popular Chinese fair, served with fried or white rice. The beef with broccoli is super yummy and it’s a great price (between $ 5.50 and $ 6.50). So far, everything we have eaten there has been very good, tasty and fresh.
Side note: I have a serious shellfish allergy. They are always very careful with my food, however, I can not eat anything fried there. They deep fry their shrimp in the same spot as their egg rolls. :(
For this area, it’s great Chinese food. Very reasonably priced and always fresh.

Very good Chinese and very consistent. We do take out as the restaurant is small and usually very crowded. Cash only.

Best Chinese I’ve ever had. The sesame chicken is excellent and so it the fried rice. Tastes really fresh, chicken is always tender, rice is always perfect. I eat from here weekly and carryout. Great portions for the price. Definitely recommend.

Went here for a second time last night and it was sooooo disappointing. The veggies in the egg rolls were soggy and they were overall tasteless. We also ordered the spare ribs, they were half the usual size you’d expect and they were EXTREMELY dry, kind of like beef jerky. I ordered the orange chicken. It was over fried so again tough chewy meat and the flavor was over the top orange thanks to too much orange extract, I had three bites and then gave up. Our daughter ordered the sesame chicken, again over fried and chewy but the sauce was good. Hubby had the Nam Fong egg foo young, he said it was a 4 out of 10. I guess we will have to continue to trek down to Yummy House in Sarasota for good Chinese food.

Bring cash!!! (We went and got cash back at the dollar store after purchasing one item)
We stopped in on Friday night, and were seated immediately. The décor could use some updating, and the ambiance would improve greatly with a new coat of paint, and a bit of color. It isn’t the prettiest looking spot for a meal.
Owner/​staff is excellent. Very warm and friendly, and addressed several regulars by name.
The egg rolls are unique, and worth a try. They’ve been battered, and fried, so are extra crispy. We’re having a really hard time finding great egg rolls in the Sarasota/​Bradenton area, and these so far get the highest marks out of the four or five spots we’ve tried.
Extraordinarily weak hot tea. Worst I’ve had in a Chinese restaurant. We may have just gotten a lousy pot.
Nam Fong soup was very well liked by my fiancé. It has pork and shrimp in it (two meats I am neutral about– so to me it was just meh). The egg drop soup wasn’t good. Bland stock.
Not a very large selection on the menu. We tried sesame chicken and General Tso’s. The two dishes tasted pretty much the same with the General Tso’s having a tiny tiny amount of spiciness. Food is spot on average, but the prices are great, as is the service, and I think that’s why this spot is popular.
Good portion size, and our waitress kindly gave us some extra fried rice to take home with our leftovers.
The lunch special is awesomely priced, so we’ll definitely go back some time to try some other items on the menu.

What a surprise. The proverbial «hole in a wall». The food was excellent, service very attentive and all at a great price :-(. We will be back for sure.

Yesterday was my first visit to Nam Fong, and it was a wonderful experience! I was cordially greeted quickly given a table. My server brought some water and tea and gave me a few minutes to study the menu. A shrimp and vegetables with mung bean threads (Xia fen si — 蝦粉絲) caught my eye, because I used to have the same dish often during the years that I spent in Taiwan. The meal was delicious! It was as I remembered. The large shrimp were perfectly done, the bean noodles were just right, and topped with fresh, authentic straw mushrooms (Caogu — 草菇) and fresh vegetables. The meal came with vegetable fried rice. I plan to return soon, and next time I will try their famous Spring rolls, soup, and a new entrée.

In less than 2 weeks we have been here 4 times! Good every time!

This place is HILARIOUS:
#1 — It’s a Chinese restaurant in Bradenton, FL
#2 — Train of gray hair express out front at all times, they seriously need to rope it off (it’s that bad). You would think it was a NYC nightclub for senior citizens.
#3 — This place is cash only folks!
If it is Asian, in my hood, family owned, and an hour wait; you know I HAVE to go there. Especially to find out what the big deal is, I am determined. I did not find out until my third attempt of actually getting a seat and eating there what all the hoopla is about. I know, I have issues.
First time we went there, line out the door– did not eat there.
Second time we went around 8:00pm and were able to eat there. I had the Nam Fong Soup with choice of chick or thin noodles. Which is a delicious bowl full of egg noodles covered in sweet and salty chicken broth with slices of gai lan leaves, scallion, char tsu pork, shrimp, and bean sprouts on top. It is pretty freaking good for Chinese American style food in Bradenton. Also had Lemon Duck, chunks of rubbery fried duck floating in beige tasteless gravy. I seriously think their steamed rice is Uncle Ben’s by the long grain and the way it falls apart.
Third time, I went with a friend and got there at 11:15 AM for lunch. Line out the door again! How many people eat lunch that early? I warned my workmate and we even left early. The people in line in front of us were talking up the egg rolls, which was a hunch. Waited fifteen minutes and went to another place for lunch.
Fourth time, I was shopping with my husband in the same plaza and saw that Nam Fong did not have a line out the door. «We HAVE to eat there, there is no line!» ***
I just had to try the eggroll. Finally found out what the big deal is. The Eggroll ($ 1.25 for one), is a little larger than average and is made in house. It is filled with ground pork, ginger, scallion, small amount of cabbage, garlic, carrot, onion, broccoli, and other seasonal vegetables that they have left over at the time.
It is wrapped with a light crispy thin pastry and then BATTERED and deep fried.
Located the source of the wait!
Then, I turn around to notice that all of the customers are also eating 2 – 3 of these precious egg rolls each.
Aside from my single eggroll, I had the Mongolian Beef which tasted homemade and was quite good, aside from being loaded with celery. Chicken with Broccoli, the chicken had hand shredded white meat so it was dry.
Lunch Combo ($ 4.75) and Dinner Combo ($ 4.95−5.25) come with steamed or fried rice, no free eggroll.
They specify no sharing; I guess there was a huge problem with people eating off of each others plates in the past.
I have been back a couple times since, always right at 11:00 AM, or after 7:45 PM to be able to sit. The food tastes like homemade and can have less concentrated flavor due to this, since it is not loaded with MSG or dark soy. By no means is this place authentic, or as good as any of the wonderful places in Tampa like China Yuan or Ho Ho Choy, not as good as Lucky Star in Bradenton. The décor and building reminds me of a basement Chinatown NYC restaurant, without the authentic flavor. Try the egg roll with the spicy mustard, and decide for yourself if this place is really worth the wait.
***Even had meat defrosting at home.