Tang Dynasty

Great to have another solid and authentic Chinese restaurant in the area! Prior to eating here, I hadn’t had traditional Chinese food in quite a while so it was very refreshing and much needed. We came to Tang Dynasty mainly for the Peking duck, although we ordered quite a few other dishes as well. The Peking duck was pretty good, definitely could have been a better skin-​to-​meat ratio. There were lots of pieces of meat, which is good, but Peking duck is all about the skin. I enjoyed the thin «tortilla» like pancakes served with the duck since it’s been so long since I’ve had Peking duck with that as opposed to bao. Other dishes I really enjoyed were the spicy Szechuan crispy tofu and the steamed fish. The steamed fish was very traditional with the oily sauce and cilantro and hit close to home as I grew up eating that kind of fish in restaurants. Among the dishes that were just okay and pretty standard fare were the beef chao men and salt and pepper beef with bell peppers. At the end of the meal, the red bean fried sesame balls were a nice touch. Overall, I had a very solid meal at Tang Dynasty and would definitely return when I’m in the mood for traditional Chinese food in a nice setting.

If this place were in Chicago, I’d give it a 3.5 star. But since it’s in Champaign, it automatically gets a boost.
Ordered the peking duck. It was nice, but the duck needed more flavor. They don’t give you enough of the white chives and cucumber, as well as the wraps and poison sauce in proportion to the duck. The duck was pretty fatty, but that is just the nature of ducks. However, they could have scraped off the fat and cut the meats more uniformly. You can’t expect that level of detail in Champaign-​Urbana though. Skim was crispy. The soup that came with my order of duck was pretty bad, basically could have done without the soup. Wish they’d serve a fried rice or something with the duck.
Also ordered the sauté beef. The beef was tender, but I expect nothing less, since most Chinese places do tenderize their meats. But they did not give enough rice. The rice came in this super small bowl. Once again, they did not think it through properly on how much rice needs to go with the dish.
Our server never came back to check on us and ask us how our food was. Never refilled our water. It was hard to get her attention when we needed something. She was accommodating and nice, but at the same time she was also the only one working there. This restaurant was pretty empty for a Sunday dinner.
They also have hot pots here. What I did not like was that their aquarium of live fish, some of the fish were already dead. This is pretty cruel. All of their food need an extra kick in flavor. Not bad, a bit better than average but could be better.

Champaign, Illinois is an oasis of Chinese food (that Chinese people eat) in a midwest desert of gut busting, strip mall buffets and grimy takeout joints. Tang Dynasty is a pretty decent Chinese restaurant stuffed in an otherwise unremarkable decaying urban mall.
First: the restaurant is small. There is a «banquet» dining section on the interior of the mall while the bulk of the restaurant faces the parking lot. This is a big deal if you’re planning on bringing your entire kickball league to lunch but otherwise it shouldn’t be a problem.
The food here is really good. I’ve never eaten off the generic takeout menu but their authentic stuff is delicious and quality is comparable to solid restaurants in other, bigger parts of the midwest. Their braised pork knuckle in particular is well done and contains the richness of the skin as well as the tender pork from the rest of the hock. Another good one is their spicy fried chicken bits, which are served showered in a sea of fried red chilies. Tang Dynasty is a good choice if you like affordable and reasonably authentic Chinese food.

The price on the menu is cheated. When I argued about the misleading price on the menu during checkout, the owner became rude and personal. The owner of this restaurant doesn’t take business honesty as a serious thing. The attitude of her is arrogant and impolite. My girlfriend and I had very bad experience there.

I visited this place after a year. The quality has become much lower than what I experienced in the past. The whole plate was filled with white rice, with very little veggies and chicken (perhaps 2 – 3 spoons). I just had to eat dry rice, which were also overcooked. It seemed the management is trying to save costs by cutting the portion size, while charging the same price. Next time I will pay more at a different restaurant, which does not try to compromise with quality and portion size. I was so unhappy with their service that I did not pay tip. But later I saw that they added $ 1.00 to what I had signed on the receipt.

I love their food, but I strongly suggest getting it delivered. The service is horrible. The waiters are always very rude and pushy and try to rush you through your meal.
However, they have the best Chinese food I’ve had in Illinois.

Came for lunch, stayed for the amazing service! Came in expecting a regular Chinese dining experience (decent food, decent service) however, when I walked in, I was greeted by two very kind and polite waiters. They seated me, and my order was taken a couple minutes later after I was served an ice cold mango juice. The dishes are great. I had bao, fish, spicy mushroom combo (highly recommend) and Peking duck (highly recommend). service was great! My cup of juice was never empty, and waiters kept checking in on how j was doing every couple minutes. All in all, I will be coming back!

It was my WORST experience in my life. I wish I could gave zero star on it. I ordered a fish and it tasted really bitter. When I was complaining with my friend that the fish was bitter, the waiter heard it and said he would talk to chef and replace a new one. I was surprised about how kind he was. 5 minutes later the chef came to my table angrily and was YELLING at me in front of other customers «are you lying? I tasted the fish before it got served and it was not bitter.» I was eating with 6 friends and it was just so sudden. I was so embarrassed and almost crying into tears. I was NOT lying and your fish is bitter! I’ll never been this place ever ! The worst service I’ve ever had.

Favourite Chinese restaurant in Chambana.
I’ve tried hot pot and some other traditional Chinese food there. Sometime the food is not so impressive but definitely above average. Love the roasted duck here!

Dinner for three last night. We stuck to the authentic Chinese side of the menu, and on the waiter’s recommendation ordered one dish for each of us: half duck no bones, potatoes/​eggplant/​peppers, and spinach in garlic sauce. The duck was good though the «pancakes» were cold. The spinach was acceptable (and looked like a popular dish, considering how many other tables were ordering it). But the best thing hands down was the eggplant dish, which had the best sauce I think I have ever tasted. You will like eggplant after trying this dish! There was plenty of food for all of us, and we even took some home afterward; the vegetable dishes are large portions. Price was totally reasonable. Only real complaints are that the «hot» tea was barely warm, and that we had to flag down our waiter to bring the check, even though we’d been sitting over empty plates for quite a while.

food is okay but not impressive. The price is high. Tip is enforced no matter how the service is. I do not think it at all

It’s a great Chinese restaurant with good service. Menu is always updating and they just had a all new dec.

I can’t believe this place only has one review on Unilocal so far!
I was taken here recently for my going-​away dinner, and I was BLOWN AWAY. The food is incredible! It is in the same price-​range as Golden Harbor (which I love), but in my opinion the food here is even better.
We were a party of 13, and were seated comfortably in the large table in the side room. The owner of the place took our orders, and she was wonderfully fun/​sassy about it. She gave great recommendations, and would tell us if she thought we were making an unsuitable selection.
Cuisine highlights:
— GARLIC SAUCE, anything in garlic sauce was delicious (beef, eggplant, etc)
— Beijing duck (wraps had good texture, duck was cooked well, good sauces)
— Crispy tofu (crispier coating than from Golden Harbor)
— Fish with pine nuts (fish was battered and fried, and drizzled with a sweet sauce)
— Steamed tilapia (very tender)
— Scallion pancakes (owner served us two orders for free)
— Kung Pao Tofu (all-​around delicious)
I had been skeptical of the place because of its location in the eerily-​deserted Lincoln Square mall, but they renovated the place a few months back, and the ambience is great!
My only regret is, having gone away, I can’t partake in this sumptuousness anymore :(