Chung Ching

My favorite neighborhood go-​to when I don’t feel like cooking. I’ve eaten in the restaurant and have taken it to go as well.

After reading all the good reviews this place had, I was excited to give it a try. I placed an order for pickup, and when I arrived, it took several minutes before someone came out to assist me. They failed to let me know they were out of an item I had ordered, and half the order was incorrect. They were nice about fixing it, but it was rushed, and it reflected in the taste. Maybe they were having an «off» day, but I won’t be giving this place a 2^nd try.

Best Chinese food in the city. The Szechuan pork and BBQ pork with snow peas are both incredible dishes. Joyce is the sweetest – I absolutely love this place and highly recommend it!

Excellent food and service! Best Chinese food I have had in Cincinnati. Joyce was so nice was very helpful answering questions about the menu. They’ve been here for over 30 years. I highly recommend the Governor’s Chicken with vegetables but everything is authentic, homemade Chinese food. Delicious egg rolls too! We will definitely be back.

Absolutely the best chinese in Cincinnati. I have been eating here for over 35 years. If you have not tried Chung Ching, you are missing out!

My husband and I have been going to Chung Ching for years now. As soon as we walk in the door, Joyce gets our egg drop soup (best in the city) and crispy wontons ready. Then, depending on our moods and appetites, we’ll decide between our three favorite dishes:
— BBQ pork (again, best in the city) lo mein with Chinese vegetables (but no mushrooms!)
— ginger beef
— mala chicken
Great food and personal service at reasonable prices. Love it. :)
Tip: If it’s packed, come again later, or be prepared for a slow meal. There’s literally just Joyce and her husband and one wok, haha! Most of the time you’ll be fine though.

Some may call this a «hole in the wall» and totally mean it in a good way. I call it homey. Chung Ching is an «old school» Chinese restaurant with dark walls and typical décor, so don’t go in expecting anything fancy schmancy. This probably won’t be found on any Zagat list, but once you try it, you’ll think it should.
Joyce greets each customer with a friendly yet down-​to-​business demeanor, and as you sit there, you’ll notice a constant barrage of take-​out customers coming in to get their dinners for the night. But amazing part is that she calls all of them by name. Chung Ching has been in this College Hill location for over thirty years. EVERYONE knows Joyce and she know just about everyone. It’s a great neighborhood eatery that just happens to serve some of the best Chinese food in town. In fact, I’d be hard pressed to recommend any other Asian restaurant before Chung Ching. EVERY dish I’ve tried there so far (and it’s been quite a few), I’ve loved!!!
This is truly one of Cincinnati’s best kept secrets.
Note: There is parking around back where the entrance is not very well marked except by some hardware store bought stick-​on letters on the door. Don’t let this intimidate you. Go right in and meet Joyce. You’ll be glad you did.
Note 2: Be aware that they only take Master Card and Visa. No Amex or Discover.

Chung Ching isn’t anything fancy but the food and service is always top notch!
The restaurant is located on Hamilton Ave. it can be tough to find because it blends in. It’s between Cedar Ave. & LaRosa’s. They have street parking & parking behind.
My husband I usually get sweet and sour chicken, shrimp fried rice & egg rolls. All are delicious! The sweet and sour chicken is crispy and fresh and not overly greasy. The shrimp fried rice is SO good! It’s my favorite! The rice is cooked perfectly & there’s actually a decent amount of shrimp included. The egg rolls are so full, crispy and fresh. Their portion sizes are generous.
The couple has owned this restaurant for over 30 years and you can tell they put love into all their dishes. This is a great local spot. If you’re looking for some great Chinese food, check out Chung Ching!

This place was super good! It was very unique flavors, but still familiar. And the woman knew who I was when I walked in to get my carry-​out order even though I’d never been there before and hadn’t even said anything yet. We got both the Chop Chop and the Governor’s Chicken. The Chop Chop was good, but not what I was looking for that night. The Governor’s Chicken will keep me coming back FOR SURE! It was like Gerneral Tso and Orange Chicken had a delicious love-​child with fresh ginger and it became a governor. SO. GOOD.

Hidden secrete in Cincinnati. Parking is around back but the entrance is not well marked. The owners van is almost always by the door!

The Chinese food here is just amazing. I love the szechuan pork, but there are a lot of amazing things on the menu. If they say spicy, they mean it, so beware!
Joyce is in the front of the house, and she has a mind like a trap. She remembers everyone’s name and what they order, so if you come here often she won’t even take your order anymore, she’ll just know.
Some things to watch out for: the dining room is not that great, so this is not the kind of place you go to for a nice meal. It’s more for take out or a quick lunch. Also, there’s only ONE COOK in the back (Joyce’s husband), with one wok. So you may have to wait a little while for your food. But trust me, it’s worth it!
Also, this place is super cheap. Definitely worth a try!

This is the only Chinese restaurant that I go to in Cincinnati. Joyce and her husband have been cooking here for the past 25 – 30 years. And it shows. The place probably has the same decorations that they opened the restaurant with. But that doesn’t matter to me as they invest all of their efforts into the food and service. Every person that i bring with me to this place, Joyce memorizes their name and spice level. Amazing. I wish my memory was just as close. I typically come to the restaurant 2 – 3 times a month. I usually order between the shredded tofu, beef with celery, governors’ chicken, szechuan green beans, jia zhang tofu (fried tofu with vegetables), ma lai chicken, bbq pork with snap peas, beef/​tofu soup, and crispy shrimp. But everything on the menu is great. Don’t go in expecting something opulent but the place is very comfortable and Joyce will make you feel right at home.

This place is great, the veggies are fresh, sauces are excellent, inexpensive, this is my new favorite restaurant near northside (I just discovered it but she’s been running it for decades I guess). The recent 1star, 1 sentence review about poor service couldn’t be more wrong, the owner is very nice, and I would recommend you check it for yourself.

When we lived in Northside, we started going to this restaurant and fell in love. Someone from work also frequented there, and she gave us all kinds of recommended dishes that weren’t on the menu, and we became even more hooked! We’ve not lived in Cincinnati for about 4 years, but when we return we visit Joyce at Chung Ching!
We almost always get Chop Chop which is DEE-​li-​cious! We usually get it with chicken, but it’s just as great as a vegetarian option. And, of course, we get egg rolls and won ton soup – both are some of the best – if not THE best – I’ve had. Joyce gave us the name of the vegetable used in Chop Chop, but to date we haven’t been able to locate it. We even took it with us into China Town in Philadelphia, but no luck :(
Service can be a bit slow; it’s just Joyce and her husband, but everything is FRESH! Just enjoy some hot team and appetizers!

I got some takeout dinner here late Sunday night. While the place is really divey and the wait was long, the good was really good!
I’ll start by saying I learned the hard way to call in advance for a takeout order. I waited just over 50 minutes for my order, but at least I knew they were making it fresh. In fact, the woman in the front of the house often informed people that things like egg rolls and wontons had run out — generally a mark of making things fresh right? I ordered cheese wontons and she gave me $ 2 cash back because they only had 5 left out of the 6 that should be in an order. They were delicious all the same!
I also ordered the Hong Kong chicken. It was basically fried chicken pieces in a brown sauce with lots of veggies (cabbage, carrots, mushrooms, bamboo shots etc.). It came with regular steamed white rice, which was waaaay over cooked unfortunately. The chicken was very tasty. With the sauce and veggies, it was very light. You can’t say this for most other Chinese restaurants. I just wanted to keep eating!
Also worth noting for takeout: they put the fried chicken pieces on top of the sauce in the takeout box. This meant that the chicken stayed crispy in transit. I love this attention to detail!
Overall: I’ll definitely be going back and trying something new next time. I’ll just call first.

We got carryout here. The food was really good, perhaps the best Chinese food I’ve had in Cincinnati. The wait was a little long, but I think there is only a staff of like 2 here. I would definitely go back, maybe we will eat there next time.

This little hole in the wall has the best Chinese food ever, and I used to live in Atlanta, where there are tons of really good Chinese restaurants. The twice cooked pork and Szechuan tofu are amazing! The only thing is that the food takes a little while so don’t go if you’re in a hurry, but it’s definitely worth your time.

Authentic Chinese. Don’t expect much from the dining room. Expect a lot from the food. The owner lady was awesome. Gave us a history lesson on General Tsos chicken and let us know why you should never eat it. They do a great job and I would highly recommend.

The best Chinese food in Cincy. Large diverse menu, great shareable portions, small prices and small home like feel. Anything is great on the menu with the exception of the fried rice, stick with white rice.

I was tipped off by my husband’s friend that all his co-​workers from China go to Chung Ching. It’s a little hole in the wall in North College Hill that you might miss if you aren’t looking for it. There’s parking in the back and meter parking in front.
The food was delicious. We really liked the crispy duck and the schezuan string beans. The beef with scallops and black mushrooms with bamboo shoots were good too– tasted a lot more like dishes that I would have at a potluck with all my mom’s friends. Mmm. I want some more, now. All at a very reasonable price: for four dishes, rice, tea, beers and eggrolls for $ 50. The four of us cleaned out all the food.
My only misgivings were that it seemed like a lot of the dishes were somewhat generic Americanized Chinese (though I’m sure they taste great, if our meal was any indicator). Someone tell me I’m not crazy: don’t a lot of Chinese restaurants have the secret Chinese menu that has stuff that most American’s don’t order? I swear I’ve been able to pull the Mandarin card and get that menu. Anyway, I asked the server (who I think was the owner’s wife?) if there was a Chinese menu and if there were any special dishes (I meant Chinese vegetables, but probably said it wrong), and she got really offended. And told me that there was Chinese on the menu. I think she forgave me afterward, but I felt pretty awkward. Hopefully she forgets about that conversation next time.
Anyway, the food was worth it– I just wish it weren’t so out of the way for me! It’s pretty much what you want to find in a Chinese restaurant outside of the bigger cities: small, nothing fancy, cheap, and tasty!