Hunan Cafe

HUNAN IS GONE. RIP.
Not a great chinese place, but you could get some cheap chinese staples. and it was very conveniently located.

i had the Gen. Gau’s and i won’t try it again. The chicken didn’t taste fresh and the dish lacked crunch, spice, and was overly doughy.

As a long time resident in the Old Greenwich/​Riverside area I have been to the Hunan Café many times. Each time I dread going. Something memorably bad happens. From getting extremely undercooked chicken, to extremely rude service, all the way to peering into the kitchen to find the disturbing sight of seeing a cardboard floor and one of the cooks with his shoes and socks off with his feet up on the counter in front of a fan. It was disturbing to say the least. Although the food can be quite tasty, I can never enjoy it because of the experiences I’ve had there.

Hunan is a grimy, sticky Chinese joint that, despite its outward appearance, does have some value.
I am impressed by the Szechuan spicy tofu ($ 6.55 for a large portion) which, while not really spicy, is still flavorful. The portion size is good and for the price, it’s a great deal.
The Chinese eggplant with garlic sauce ($ 6.55 for a large) is also excellent: roasted eggplant in a savory sauce made of garlic, perhaps some cooking wine, and soy sauce. It’s fragrant and melts in your mouth.
I’d also recommend the Hunan tofu, which isn’t technically on the menu, but which they’ll make for you if you ask. The sauce on this one has some whole black beans and lots of spice, both of which I like.
Similarly, you can ask them to make a «Thai style coconut curry» with tofu (it’s normally made with meat, on the specials section of the menu) and it’s a great, savory version of a Thai classic.
Unlike most cheap Chinese take-​out joints, Hunan doesn’t overload its dishes with cornstarch so you never end up with gooey sauces that congeal and look and taste gross.
The portion sizes are great: ordering two large dishes totals under $ 14 with tax, but lasts me three meals. In other words, eating here comes out to about $ 4.70 a meal.
They also have scallion pancakes, which is something you don’t see often, but is delicious nonetheless (think deep fried dough filled with green onions served with a soy dipping sauce on the side).
I also love that they offer brown rice as an option. You rarely see that at most Chinese restaurants.
I’d get delivery or take-​out from here, but would avoid dining-​in, given the grim interior. That said, I’ve always had friendly service.

SUPER CHEAP takeout, free delivery (minimum $ 10). The dumplings were excellent and covered in a sweet/​spicy sesame sauce unlike many other restaurants. Generally greasy, just like Chinese food can be.

The best cheap Chinese around, much better than Imperial Wok, which is the other place that delivers to the hospital. Like most cheap Chinese places, get stuff to go, I’ve eaten inside once, no AC and a little sketch. Feels like a drug front, but the food is great.

Your typical overgreased, «chowed,» food. Its lack of real vegetable and use of poor meat made it unchinese. The taste is all in the salt. I would not recommend for anyone to come here if they are looking for fine cuisine.

Your standard Americanized-​Chinese food.
I once got 2 huge orders of Hunan chicken and broccoli beef delievered to my hotel in Long Wharf at the Première Suites. It came within 30 minutes which was pretty fast. Chowed down while watching Tropic Thunder. Its pretty good fast food if you’re just damn hungry and I guess not picky!

Cheap, fast, and decent service. We ordered three dishes (chow fun, szechuan tofu, and shrimp/​broccoli). The tofu and the shrimp were pretty good, especially for the price, but the chow fun was… confusing, to say the least. No discernible noodles, and the consistency of a blended smoothie. Stay away from the chow fun, but everything else is good for the price!

Definately an above average Chinese takeout place. Flavorful (smoky) fried rice and properly made General Tso’s Chicken. Finally found a good dirty Chinese restaurant in New Haven near my apartment!

I’ve eaten here twice in the past week due to my stay at yale hospital and i have to stay that the second time was totally out of convenience. Had their seafood delight, triple delight, crispy shrimp with honey walnuts, and the general tso’s chicken. The food was ok to stay the most. Reasonably priced but not memorable. I have had better take out food on the street carts in front of yale.

I hadn’t been back to Hunan Café in 20 years until yesterday, but based on the meal I had, I won’t be back. My wife ordered hot and sour soup which she claimed smelled like manure. Her shrimp dish had a few shrimp that were past their prime. And my chicken with broccoli dish was not only extraordinarily salty, but had a strange texture. After-​effects: The food sat in our stomachs like lead, perhaps the result of an overabundance of oil. Sure it’s inexpensive, but not worth the toll on the stomach.

Given that it’s Chinese takeout, you could probably already guess that Hunan Café is quick, inexpensive, and (sometimes more than a little) greasy. Nevertheless, I have to emphasize how much better the food here is than at most other Chinese restaurants in New Haven. I prefer the veggie dishes — the eggplant and tofu is excellent, as someone pointed out earlier — but the rest of the menu is good as well, and the brown rice is always delicious. An added bonus is that whenever I’ve requested a menu item extra spicy, it comes out that way (anyone that likes hot food knows how irritating it is to basically be ignored in this regard).
I definitely recommend giving their food a try if you haven’t already; it might even end up replacing your current favorite hole-​in-​the-​wall Chinese place.

We live very close to Hunan Café and there was a period when we’d pick up dinner on the way home more than once a week. While I am not too proud to admit this, it is a testament to how much we actually like the food they offer. Their brown rice is indeed excellent, as the other reviewers mentioned, but the hot and sour soup is our all-​time winner. We can only comment on the vegetarian dishes, among which eggplant with garlic sauce is a favorite, and from the noodle options, chow fun in any combination. My boyfriend who likes cold sesame noodles a lot, prefers those of other Chinese restaurants though. They deliver quickly, accept credit cards for over $ 8 bills and you can find their menu here:
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Totally above-​average take-​out, cheap and fast.
Nice plain «Diet Menu» steamed items. Hot and Sour soup that is exactly that and not overly-​gelatinous. Cold sesame noodles with hot sauce that is also exactly that — and hot enough that I ate it slowly and yummy enough that I kept coming back for more. Fresh, chewy, nutty brown rice. The eggplant and tofu is a reliable standby and tastes delicious cold, the next day.
I’m one of those people whose hands often swell up uncomfortably when I eat Chinese take-​out. But every once in a while my husband requires a large vat of Hot and Sour soup. Sometimes he just buys one and eats it. Sometimes he wants dinner to go with it and if I’m feeling particularly digestively-​able, I’ll join him.
Anyway, after Hunan take-​out, my hands stay un-​swelled. Menu promises no MSG (but I’m not so sure. .. not that I mind MSG, per se, and once I read this really interesting, and persuasive food article in Vanity Fair magazine about how the chemical compounds in MSG are identical to those in parmigiano reggiano. .. but that’s a little beside the point…)
So I always hope that when my husband’s Hot and Sour craving hits, it’s before 10:30 PM (Weekdays) or 11:00 PM (Fri-​Sat). ‘Cause Hunan Café closes a *little* early. And we’ve had disappointing beef dishes. Sometimes, they also give us a styrofoam box, labeled FREE, full of something rather hushpuppy-​esque. .. that’s fun.

Greasy Chinese is greasy Chinese. But in any moderately-​populated area, you’re going to see plenty of greasy Chinese food joints springing up and you’re going to have your favourite. Granted, the selection of your «favourite» will probably be at least mildly arbitrary, as… well, greasy Chinese is greasy Chinese.
But, in the New Haven bubble of Chinese food offerings, this one is my chosen. It’s a good location in case I want to pick up food, but they will also deliver over $ 10, and credit card charges are $ 8 minimum. I collect take-​out menus and I like to peruse them (study them, more like…), and if cost is a concern, Hunan Café is probably the cheapest (by a whole $ 0.30ish a dish!!!). But what I really like/​love about Hunan Café is that they offer brown rice. I love brown rice! It’s so chewy and grainy. I’ve ordered brown rice from another take-​out place, and NEVER AGAIN. They failed to mention that they used the term «brown rice» loosely to define «fried yellow rice.» Um, no, sorry, that is just not even remotely acceptable.
Anyway. Take what I say or leave it, as most of you have already settled on a Chinese food spot to call your own, be it out of convenience or quality or a real connection with the delivery guy. And if you don’t have one, you should find one, because everyone needs their greasy Chinese food fix every once in a while.