Lucky Chinese Restaurant

It’s a dive. Came to Johnson while thru-​hiking the Long Trail. Was hankering for Chinese food and was in luck — Johnson’s Lucky Chinese Restaurant.
Shabby exterior, forlorn looking patio area (I think there’s one chair out there?) Inside — not much better. Giant ‘Hello Kitty’ decal on the wall above a pile of soda boxes stacked on the floor in one corner. Walls & windows are dirty. Two employees playing on their phones and watching a really loud Chinese movie.
Order at the counter. They seemed un-​used to dine-​in guests. Definitely intended for take-​out. Service was pleasant and speedy enough. Ordered steamed dumplings, szechuan beef, and kung pao chicken. All were adequate, though under-​seasoned and bland. A bit disappointing. The furniture was filthy — the table hadn’t been wiped down in weeks. Very sticky.
Food’s adequate, if you can get over the cleanliness of the place it’s coming from. Do NOT dine-​in — yuck.

I stopped in to get some lunch as I hadn’t had Chinese in a while. The place while not horrifically dirty didn’t really look clean, or maybe it just looked run down. There was also no one inside eating there. Also either the owner, or a person that works there, was sitting down and playing on their phone in the dining area. That just doesn’t look professional to me. The person who took my order was friendly and went right to work. I ordered chicken chow mein, which I like and normally how I judge a Chinese restaurant. What I received was actually mu goo gai pan. I could tell because of the use of water crest, pea pods and mushrooms which typically are not in chow mein dishes. I like mu goo gai pan so I figured what the heck. It was flavorless. I tried adding soy sauce to see if it was a matter of no salt and it didn’t really help it. I tried the chow mein noodles included and they were stale. I stopped eating at that point. The only reason I’m not voting one star is that the service was friendly. I however cannot recommend this place based on my experience.

This restaurant just opened after the previous Chinese restaurant occupying the space closed. No Vermont town is complete without a Chinese takeout restaurant!
I placed an order on one of their first days open. The man at the front desk was very nice and even offered me a soda on the house while I waited. Nice touch! The wait was rather long, but I am sure they will only get better in this area.
I appreciated the option of buying beef teriyaki by the piece, rather than the typical 6 at a time. The beef teriyaki actually looked like beef! While it wasn’t my favorite, it had a decent flavor and texture (which can be an issue other places). The lo mein had fresh vegetables, as did the fried rice. The rice was soft, not hard and dry like typical fried rice. It looked and tasted like they actually battered chicken for the sweet and sour chicken, and the sweet and sour sauce was the good, thick type. It was definitely a step above other Chinese takeout in other places!
I hope they continue to improve, and I look forward to trying the food again!
I absolutely recommend Lucky Chinese. It is the best Chinese around!
(Just don’t say «Let’s get Lucky tonight»)