Kong Kow Restaurant

I saw KK had 4 stars on Unilocal.I ordered the highly acclaimed crab rangoon, shrimp chow mein with egg roll and shrimp fried rice. Sadly once again I was a little disappointed by what was supposed to be such great Chinese-​American food. The Rangoon had minced imitation crab and was a 2.5 star, nothing special. I have had much better at New Peking, and other places. The shrimp chow mein only had nickel sized small shrimp, bean sprouts, sauce and a packet of crispy noodles. 2.5 star. The egg roll was also 2.5 stars. Lacking the typical flavor of old-​school mom and pop restaurants. The SFR was a little dry, and needed soy sauce to moisten and flavor it. 3 stars. The lady owner was very nice, so I have found another 3 star Chinese restaurant. If I could find a 4 star, it would seem like 5 stars here in Detroit. The search continues…

Excellent food and service. affordable for lunch!

Don’t order the wonton soup, because you’ll never be able to get it anywhere else again after you’ve had it at Kong Kow. Oh, and the same thing with the Crab Rangoon. Yes it really is that good.
Nice inside, clean, the lady that owns and runs it is sweet and friendly and will start to remember you if you go there more than twice. She’s talks a mile a minute and can be tough to follow at times, but she hustles and you’ll get your food hot, and oh my God, so delicious.
I’ve had quite a few things off the menu, and haven’t been disappointed with anything, but I’m really fond of the cashew chicken and other Szechuan dishes. I haven’t seen the «Sze-​Chuan chicken» referred to in an earlier review anywhere on the menu. :)
One last thing, ask Li (the bubbly boss up front) if she knows any famous chefs — Top Chef fans might just be surprised. Oh and bring cash because they don’t do no plastic at KK!

I really enjoy going to Kong Kow, the owner Mrs Li is pretty awesome, very friendly atmosphere. Food is cheap, fast, and good! love going here for lunch. You can’t go wrong with this spot.
Cash only, so make sure you are prepared.

I don’t know why the rating is high and the other reviews are positive. This place is mediocre at best. I ordered a Sze-​Chuan chicken. They way they cooked it is very different from the ones I had at other Chinese Restaurants. The sauce is sour and the chicken is tasteless. This place doesn’t accept credit cards, which is a hassle.

Good food, portions and prices.

My boyfriend and I just moved to the area and were dying to find a good Chinese place. We read the reviews on this one and they all seemed pretty good. We ordered and went down to pick it up. It was ready within 10 minutes which is great, BUT found out after we drove all the way down there that it was cash only. Of course we didn’t have cash with us, so that was pretty inconvenient. So we got the cash and got home to eat. And the food was TERRIBLE! I got the chicken lo mein combo. The noodles were overcooked and mushy, and the chicken was dry as can be. The whole meal just did not seem fresh. My boyfriend got the general tsao’s combo and his chicken was also dry, and the inside of the egg roll looked inedible. His duck sauce was also overpowered by vinegar, so he couldn’t use it. We ended up throwing 80% of our meals out at the end of all of it.
Total waste of money. Avoid this place. If you try it anyway, don’t say you weren’t warned!

You know, I REALLY want to give this place a better review, but I’ve tried it twice and both times it was very underwhelming. Don’t get me wrong, the owners are fantastic, it’s clean, the portions are huge, and the service is great, but the food… it’s just not very good. I mean, it’s not horrible, but it’s not really very tasty. My gf and I both agree on this. We wanted to give them a second chance after not being impressed the first time, but the food was actually worse the second time. Anyway, I saw all of these fantastic reviews and gave it two goes. We must be the exception to the rule here. We’ll stick with New Peking from here on out.

While in town for a race, I Unilocaled Chinese. This place came up and the reviews were amazing. I must say they are true. The food was outstanding. Not expensive at all. It’s a small hole in the wall place. While eating here we found out that their daughter Mei Lin won the Top Chef 2015. She had some great roots to start from. Highly recommend this place. I will go back.

Preface: This isn’t Shangri-​la or Hong Hua. The place actually looks a lot like the interior of the Chinese restaurant in «A Christmas Story.» Don’t go here looking for cutting-​edge fusion food and judge based on that set of expectations.
This is, however, very good «familiar» Chinese. Like, really, extremely good. Huge servings, very reasonable prices, and friendly, quick service.
Fried things, even those that are sauced, come out crispy. Standard fare comes out without being over or under cooked. Everything is tasty. By that I mean actually having flavor, not just the standard strip mall «protein with something wet over it» flavor.
This is my new go-​to Chinese place when not in the mood for dim sum. What a great find.

We figured this would be standard fare because the menu is the standard «American Chinese» dishes. But holy cow, those dishes are GOOD!
You know how crab Rangoon is usually crab flavored cream cheese? Not here. Chunks of sweet crab meat (probably imitation, but still) with a touch of creaminess — they were what you always wanted crab Rangoon to be, but we’re always left disappointed. Potstickers were awesome as well.
I got the typical white girl meal — mild sesame chicken (am usually more adventurous, but can’t really eat spicy food anymore while pregnant). You expect fried, soggy little chicken chunks swimming in sauce. This was large chunks of white meat with a delightfully fried shell, served with broccoli, not swimming in mystery sauce. My hubby was addicted, he kept stealing mine (his meal was yummy as well, but apparently he really wanted something fried!).
It’s small and non-​descript, but the proprietress is cheerful and so nice, and the gentleman in the kitchen (her husband maybe?) blows your go-​to Chinese place out of the water. This place will now be in our regular rotation of restaurants! Can’t wait to eat my leftovers for lunch.
FYI it’s cash only, just so you are warned!

After 3 years of having lunchreak in Dearborn, I finally found my type of place.
I’ve been going about once a week for about 2 months.
I don’t know what I can say that hasn’t been said.
The place is a hole in the wall, but it’s absolutely immaculately clean and maintained. When we get there before 11:30am, we’re often the only ones there. Everything I’ve tried has been solid, but the Hong Kong Chow Mein is the best Chinese plate I’ve ever had (that’s spanning a 13 year career of eating Chinese). The flavors and vegetables just balance perfectly.
The thick egg drop soup is just how I like it.
Li is so nice. Always gives us her friendly greeting while seating us, and is a highlight of each visit. She always remembers my go-​to order too. I LOVE having regular status.
All in all, given the quality of food, it baffles me why a Bangkok 86 (excellent lunchtime Thai) often has wait lines at 11:30am, while the smaller but equally good Kong Kow (excellent Chinese) is empty. This really is a hidden gem.

Kong Kow was one of those random discoveries that makes me really happy to have found it. The place is small and cozy, with plenty of parking in the back. The owner Li is an absolute delight, bantering and having fun with the customers. There are loud soap operas in Cantonese during the day coming in off a satellite feed.
The food is great. My wife is from Hong Kong and this is the only authentic place we’ve tried in Dearborn. I highly recommend the Hong Kong Chow Mein — the pork in it is delicious, and it’s also chock full of vegetables. Nothing I’ve ever had there is overly salty or syrupy, which is the bane of many other Asian-​influenced restaurants in the area. The portions are great, and the value is amazing. Definitely try this place out if you’re in the area.

Found my permanent favorite dish — Spicy Tofu with Pork. Done. Winning! I’ve also found my permanent «sick» soup — Kong Kow’s Wonton soup. The wontons are huge with lots of filling. The veggie broth was homemade, and very clean and fresh tasting, not slammed by msg or salt, if that makes sense. The soup is also full of bok choy, so you’re also getting your serving of veggies in by ordering the wonton soup.

Impeccably clean. Li is a convivial and wonderful front of house presence. Good food made with love.

After hearing my friend boast about how good the food and service was at Kong Kow I had to check it out for my self. I took my friend to get some Chinese food and we checked this place out. the first thing out of the mouth of the lady at the front desk was a loud and exciting «Hello! how are you doing!» She is the nicest lady I have ever met. the food was amazing and the service was awesome. I loved the atmosphere I felt as if I was eating at a friends house not at a restaurant and the lady working up front was very talkative and enjoyed conversing with you.
The one thing that did surprise me was that the Restaurant only accepted cash this did not bother me however, it did take me by surprise. their food was very cheep and the size was not so bad either the quality and size of the food is makes the prices more then fair. overall I would highly recommend this Restaurant to any of my friends or family.

Almost nothing but 4 and 5 star reviews for this place should tell you something. It’s one of those classic hole in the wall spots that rely on great quality food and large portions to keep people coming back. It’s a legit hidden gem.
Another reason why almost all Unilocalers rate this place so high is the owner. Li runs the front of the house and she takes real pride in her restaurant. Her focus is on making you happy and she’s loud, boisterous and a whole lot of fun while she stuffs you full of great Chinese food. Their portions of Hunan, Schezuan and Cantonese foods are very generous and they arrive at your table steaming hot. Their food is a great value for your money.
Her husband keeps the back of the house humming. He’s a master of his craft when it comes to Wok Hei or «Breath of the Wok» which is that special, time honored, artistry that gives Asian foods those wonderful flavors and aromas. When they sit that dish down in front of you and that steam hits your nose and inside you think «Oh yeah. This is going to be good!». That’s Wok Hei. Are you feeling me on this? If you know the difference between good and great Chinese food then you understand Wok Hei.
Like I’ve said before, if you haven’t taken the time to come here (*Ahem. Liz W., Pauly G. and Rahul M.*) it’s your loss and that means food more for me. And yes, I will be happy to drive up and eat your lunch for you.

This is a great local Chinese restaurant. I visited with Mike G.‘s recommendation and haven’t been let down.
They have an extensive menu with all sorts of dishes. You’ll find your standard Americanized meals but you have the option to order more authentic meals with varying degrees of spiciness.
The owner is a doll. She makes silly jokes but is really friendly. She even remembered our orders even though we’d only visited once before a couple months prior. I love restaurants that remember customers!
They accept cash only, so bring a couple bills. Meals run anywhere from $ 8 to $ 11, depending on what you order.
Got a hankering for some fresh Chinese? Give Kong Kow a visit next time you’re in this part of town.

Went for the first time for lunch last week. Li was hilarious as other reviews mention. «You never here before! » «where you work? «
Got the crab rangoons which were great. Lumps of crab meat and not too much cream cheese. Fresh, not greasy. All the other reviews are true. Came in & left through the back door — right through the kitchen! The man working was cleaning a load of fresh pea pods. Kitchen was clean. Hole in the wall place but great food & friendly staff. You should try it out!

Maybe 4 stars is stretching it just a little bit, but Kong Kow is definitely worth trying at least once. The waitress, Li, is a real character. She is an adorable older lady with lots of sass and sarcasm, but is also incredibly sweet and welcoming and genuinely cares that you enjoy your meal. The décor doesn’t look like it has ever been updated, which only adds to the charm. Despite being extremely old-​school in appearance, the restaurant is very clean, kitchen included.
Like the ambience, the food is also classic American-​style Chinese. What sets Kong Kow apart from other places serving this type of food is the freshness of the ingredients. Veggies still have a bit of life left in them, and the chicken was of much higher quality than I expected; no hard or gristly bits, even in the breaded & fried pieces. My only complaint is that the food is a little bland. Despite being made from good quality ingredients, I wish the sauces were more intensely flavorful. I ended up dousing my entrée in plum sauce and soy sauce, and considered asking for some chili oil, too.
I would probably come back if I happened to be in the area. The food was decent and cheap and didn’t leave me feeling ill afterward like fried food often does. There were not many patrons while we were there during peak dinner hours on a Saturday night, so I bet they could use the business, which they certainly deserve.