Sun Palace

Why 2 stars? Ask me 6 years ago and I would have given this place 5 stars because it was my favorite Chinese restaurant — excellent food, wonderful service, plenty (cannot stress that enough) PLENTY of booths and tables to actually sit down and eat many plates of their wonderful a la carte dishes. I went back a few years ago RIGHT AFTER they remodeled. Both first and second floor had been converted into a bar. All the great booths and tables and warm atmosphere were ripped out and replaced with a more modern, club-​like style. They kept 3 booths but that was it. The food was still great but no such luck in finding seating now that they got rid of that. This is why I knocked down my rating to 2 stars. They took the one thing that made them stand out which was their food and got rid of it completely.
I am not surprised that this place is just serving drinks, no more food. After their remodeling, that’s where it was heading. Too bad. I had hoped one day they would go back to being a real restaurant instead of a bar. Looks like it is gone for good. I have found a new place to be my favorite Chinese restaurant in another town closer to me. It makes no sense to me why a restaurant with such great food would get rid of that and become like every bar around. They really excelled at their Chinese cuisine and I’m sorry to hear they got rid of it.

the place closed down … they just serve drinks now, kitchen is closed.

no longer serving food!!!
rest in peace sun palace… you will be missed.

I called and asked if they use Canola oil, and the person proudly said yes. I’m allergic to Canola oil.

used to be friendly and had great delivery. Last few times I tried to call the phone rang and rang with no answer, took several calls before they picked up. Then they answered with a really bad attitude and I was told 1 ½ hours for delivery. So I said no thanks.
Tried again about a week later, same deal with no one answering. Then what I ordered was not available, and over an hour wait.
Sorry but they are off my list

I got my first restaurant job was I was 14. It was in a strip mall. I was a short-​order cook at a midwest greasy spoon when I was 17. Couple years later I was working at James Beard and Michelin star winning restaurants in New York City. I’ve got a pretty solid experience of them as a customer, cook, busboy, server, you name it. I’m laying out the bio because tonight I paid $ 15 for raw chicken from a frozen bag of Chinese food and I want the following fecal storm to be taken with zero grains of salt. Zero grains of salt is also the preferred seasoning for this sphincter with a parking lot.
I’m staying in the area. I just wanted some cheap Chinese food. Anywhere else in the world that seems like an easy request. Give me a corner joint with roaches on the floor and a box fan. Give me a hole in the wall with like 45 people in there sweating over a battery radio. Give me the shittiest Americanized Chinese restaurant in North America, and I will eat with glee. But this place? Here, in what I’m told is a city named «Glendale» (Sidebar: Is Glendale a third world city? Wait, no. of course not. Developing nations boast incredible flavors, humble cooks of great skill, markets with affordable and delicious foods of all types!) Good lord why did I not just drive further! This the most offensive sack of non-​potable excretion I’ve ever seen in my life.
I wanted crappy Chinese food like I get anywhere. Chinese takeout. It’s pretty common, bro. It’s delicious and cheap and a terrible habit that everyone has because shut up. I’m not looking for authentic Szechaun, I’m not looking for some classic Cantonese stuff, I’m looking for good olé end-​it-​with-​an-​orange-​slice, duck sauce packet Americanized Chinese food takeout. I go to this stupid place.
They won’t answer the phone so I drive over. I enter into what looks like a hip 90’s teen center. I’m standing in a completely empty bar for 5 minutes when this Problem of a Woman walks out eating a plate of crap with a fork. I should have left right then and gone to Subway and eaten the bread air. But… YOLO. Let’s order. I’ve thrown up a lot in my life, what’s one more?
I order some hot and sour soup from a bag, some egg rolls from a freezer, and *removes lid of silver chafing dish* the «Kung Pao Chicken» and then I start the clock for when I need to be near a toilet.
I’m gonna overlook the crappy egg rolls and awful soup because they were just lame, uneventful Sysco crap (though it must be noted, both were atrocious, over-​priced and have been done infinitely better, cheaper, still-​frozen and from a bag, by a million other places). But, but! But this chicken… man. Let’s talk chicken.
The thing about chicken is… after a while, it starts to decompose. That’s because it’s organic. Before it got breaded and nuggeted, it was actually a bird. And when birds die, they decompose. Their meat starts to get a little slimy, it develops a film, it starts to stink of rot and the flesh begins to soften into a sort of half-​chewy, half-​rubbery mess that feels and looks like it’s covered in a layer of saliva. «That’s $ 15, hon!»
I’m going to go out on a limb, one that seems to be referenced here already, and say that when a place changes it’s name, upgrades to «Lounge» status, and starts gunning for live music, a cocktail menu (oof) and a new paint job, that it’s the beginning of the end. Something smells corpse-​ish. And it would be the chicken.
How do you infuse frozen food with Salmonella? How do you charge $ 15 for what your menu calls «Kung Pao Chicken?» Why did I not walk out when the only person there emerged from the kitchen eating a plate of food herself? This place is like the Mos Eisely Cantina but with a worse health rating.
I don’t understand. Why are you doing this? Please tell me you’re running drugs somewhere? Or this is for tax purposes as a write down? Or someone’s grandfather owned it and now you guys are keeping it as like, heirloom status? Why does this place exist? If you’re waiting to torch the place for the insurance money, get on with it before somebody’s kid dies of e coli from your spicy pork. Seriously.
I don’t like it when terrible, unhealthy, disgusting, dangerous, overpriced restaurants exist in a country that has stealth fighters jets and Chipotles. I’m not mad about my experience, I’m mad that anyone else is ever going to have to go here. Whatever the name of this place is.
Please file for bankruptcy and end it honorably. Then hopefully some people who give one ounce of a tiny turd will move in, raze your filthy kitchen, chop your prices in quarters and give Mordor, sorry, «Glendale», some «good, cheap, Chinese takeout.»
Shame on anyone who gave this place a star.
Sent From My Bathroom
Also, just gotta add that methinks these very brief, 5-​star «reviews» smell about as fishy as the beef. I wish I could swear on Unilocal.I would use a word at this place.

Great Food! This place is now called the 818 lounge it has live music and a game room

The food was o.k. Typ. Chinese food for white people.
The exterior was very un restaurant like and the inside was dark as expected. Had a ‘70s feel to it. Very «redneckish» for a Chinese place.

Great prices
Great food
Never had a bad meal here.
Thanks!

We ordered the lemon chicken, shrimp lo mein, large side of fried rice and won ton soup for one. The food was delivered about 30 minutes later which was exactly the estimated time.
The total came to about $ 29. A little steep when the soup was listed at $ 1.75. So if each food item was $ 10 I guess the delivery was a couple bucks. They don’t have brown rice which was a real bummer.
The soup was yummy. Shrimp lo mein was a little breaded and sauce a little greasy. Would have preferred a little healthier version. The lemon chicken is fried chicken that comes with a side of lemon sauce. The white meat chicken is premium and tender but we wished it wasn’t deep fried chicken. Def is the Korean version of chicken. Fried rice was okay, nothing great.
Would I order again? Probably not. But then again there aren’t too many options in this area for Chinese delivery.

This place is great! The dishes are around $ 10 each but large enough for multiple people. The two of us got the Mongolian beef and curry chicken, both of which were delicious, and only managed to eat about half of it all. Friendly service and good food-​you can’t go wrong!
–Renee

This is our go to Chinese food place.
The four stars is for the fact that most of the time when we order we have to call 3 or 4 times (minimally) to get someone to pick up the phone. Despite this, we still order from here and call the 3 times.
The food is great and they are usually pretty fast. Price is decent as well.

Our favorite place for delivery! The staff is really cool and it’s great Chinese in our area especially for the price! Haven’t been disappointed yet

It WAS a great restaurant until they pretty much lost their mind. They changed the whole restaurant to a lounge and now there is only three booths in the bar area to actually eat at. I’ve been about 5 times since the remodel and each time the whole back area is dark and not being used. If there are just three other people eating, you can’t get any food. I’m not sure what they are trying to to do here because they were the best chinese place around. Now it’s a want –to– be hipster– lounge that does not fit in the area of Montrose. On the plus side… the food is still fantastic. It’s truly a tragedy on what happened to my favorite chinese restaurant.

This is my first post and I’m glad it’s a positive one. I’ve been craving good take out Chinese since I moved here a few weeks ago and I’ve finally found it. Well, Unilocal helped me find it. The food was great. I ordered Kung Pao three flavors and Ma Po Tofu and Hot and Sour Soup. The order was for pickup and was ready when I got to the restaurant ten minutes later. Needless to say, it wasn’t that busy but it was still nice that it was ready so fast.
Now to the food, it was so tasty. The Kung Pao was flavorful and just the right amount of spicy. The kicker, for me, was that the beef, chicken and shrimp were all just that, beef, chicken and shrimp. Not the mystery meat that I usually get at take out Chinese. The beef was relatively thick cubes of steak with great texture. The chicken wasn’t that gelatinous crap other places serve and the shrimp was cooked perfectly and tasted like high quality shrimp. I know I’m focusing on that but I was so shocked. It’s hard to find that in take out Chinese.
The Ma Po Tofu was good. Definitely needed to be spicier but it had everything else on point.
The only real disappointment was the hot and sour soup. That’s usually how I initially
judge a Chinese restaurant and theirs was lacking, I’m sorry to say. The broth was good but that was all there was. No crunchy items or pork. But, the other food made up for that little hiccup.
The prices aren’t what I would consider cheap, since most dishes are about ten dollars or more but definitely worth it because of the quality.
That was my first order there, so I hope the rest are just as good.

The food here is always great! Delivery is reliable and quick. I’m not such a fan of the wannabe hipster remodel, but as long as they stay yummy, I’ll keep ordering from them. :)

Had I written this review a year ago, it would have been 5 stars.
My in-​laws would drive to this restaurant from Chatsworth in the 80s and 90s just to eat here. (They knew the original owners.)
I went on my first date with my husband here.
We were regulars for a while, until he moved from the area.
We drove 85 miles each way to eat here for one of our anniversaries.
We went again for Mother’s Day dinner this year.
I recommended this place to lots of people.
And WE’RE NEVER GOING BACK.
The food was still okay. So, if you’re local, go ahead and order out/​for delivery. Don’t eat there. They don’t even have soy sauce on the tables.
It’s not a restaurant anymore. It’s a club — complete with all sorts of hipster trendiness. Music coming from upstairs is LOUD. You can’t have a conversation in the bar downstairs.
They have three booths left over from the restaurant. All the other booths, tables were gone. And the remaining booths have been reupholstered in silver crocodile pleather. After a while, my food started tasting metallic.
I wish them luck. I hope that it works out for them, but like I said: We’ll never be back.
(We weren’t the only ones — when we walked in a group of 8 people looking like three generations grandma, mom and kids were standing there deciding what to do. They didn’t have any place for them to sit. And there was an older couple that looked really uncomfortable in the next booth.)

Well, you can’t expect much with Chinese food in Montrose. This is my go-​to place for delivery and takeout on those nights where I don’t feel like cooking. They’re quick and they never get my order wrong.
I’ve never eaten at the actual restaurant, so I can’t really speak for the waiter service or ambience.
The prices are what you would expect in going to any Americanized Chinese restaurant. Dishes seem to be anywhere from $ 10 – 14.

From the outside, it looks like a one star hourly rate motel even though the sign indicated it was a restaurant. I was yearning for some decent Chinese Food. So I approached with cautious ears and eyes. And, thankfully it was a restaurant. It’s unusual appearance wise because the Montrose shops and restaurants on Honolulu street nearby look nice. .
It was raining hard outside, and the motel like underpass was a handy way to dry off before entering. You walk into a lowly lighted and warm four booth bar area with a big screen TV. The owner, bartender, and waiter seated me immediately in the rear dining room with about 8 booths. The lunch menu wasn’t very big, but it had most of the more popular dishes you’d expect to see. Some might say this is Americanized Chinese restaurant. But call it what you will, I liked it. As usual, my first time in a restaurant, I usually order sweet and sour chicken ($ 8). They have a bigger menu at dinner.
The waiter immediately brings out the small bowl of soup (either hot and sour or egg drop with a lunch entrée) immediately. The soup was typical and was more warm temperature wise that hot. It hit the spot on a rainy day. In about 10 minutes, my sweet and sour chicken arrives. It was a perfect portion for a hungry guy. I chose white rice over fried, and it came with a freshly cooked too hot to touch egg roll. At least it wasn’t sitting around like many places before serving it to you.
I really like the sweet and sour chicken. It came out piping hot., The sauce was sweet but not more than usual. I still wish places wouldn’t put food color in it. The coated breast of chicken pieces were still slightly crispy despite the glaze. I don’t like this dish when it sits around too long and the coating gets mushy. The green bell peppers and onions were still crisp but definitely cooked long enough. No cause of onion breath due to uncooked onion.
The waiter returns to make sure everything was OK. By then I was halfway done inhaling the food. He did refill my coke. It was a good and surprising find. Now that I was sated, it was time to get the heck out of this beautiful foothill town. The houses up the hill were being evacuated. But I have my priorities — eat, and then evacuate.

My boyfriend and I are never in this area. We happen to come here for a private party… to celebrate a friend’s birthday.
Driving down Verdugo and eyeing the restaurant I was under the impression it would be just another Chinese restaurant. Walking in definitely proves you wrong. The restaurant is very clean and has a nice style to it. It’s very dim providing you with that romantic dinner setting.
Upstairs is another story… it’s a sports bar. 3 40″ (I think) flat screens and a coin pool table as well as a full bar. It’s got a nice lil vibe.
Must try… Mandarin Chicken. It was compared to orange chicken, but better. It has that glaze like orange chicken, but it isn’t as tangy and tart. It was the right amount with making the chicken soggy either… outside batter of the chicken was still very crisp and crunchy.
There was another dish brought out as the same time as the Mandarin chicken, but i’m not sure what it was called. It was shrimp with a light red glaze… very good too! I was told one of the ingredients in the glaze was ketchup!