Little Tokyo

Teriyaki chicken was good but the woman working was rude and on her phone the whole time. Also, a guy came up for a drink refill ($ 0.50) while we were paying for our food and she didn’t charge him BUT when I went up for a refill she charged me… interesting.

Service First:
Okay, Lady working was not up front when I arrived and when she did come out front to wait on me was so TIRED looking. You could see she’d seen happier days, so despite the little bit of a wait, I understood, I’ve been in the food service industry for many a year in days gone by and I was totally fine with this. it was a cold and rainy night, not many customers roaming around. Once she was out front and waiting on me, a total sweetheart. I felt bad, they were out of all the different tea they normally carry. I know for a fact this was a company issue, she kept apologizing profusely and seemed horribly embarrassed. I got that as well: Slow business= shoe string budget.
Final Judgment: Sweet lady, genuinely cared about my order and what I wanted and did everything she could to fill it. Love her!
What I ordered: Sesame Chicken with noodles and vegetables
I’d had some very precarious stomach issues in the week previously and was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to find anything happy for my stomach. You know what I mean; something that would go down good and STAY down good. I should also mention that I live in Calhoun, which is easily a 1 – 2 hour drive away, depending on traffic. I had to go for an optometrist appointment and the food court was my one and only food option at the time and I was BEYOND nervous about having to eat something that far from home.
There was Bourbon chicken, a spicy chicken, teriyaki chicken and sesame chicken. Some of the hotel pans of food looked more used than others, meaning some nearly empty, some not touched much. The noodles caught my eye because they had the texture and look of hand pulled noodles, a taste treat for sure. The sesame chicken looked fresh and oddly enough, full. No one had sampled as of yet. The vegetables intrigued me because at first they looked like those boiled New England Dinner vegetables that are pallid and wasted, with no flavor, yet as I looked a little more realized they looked like I needed to dig deeper and give them a go.
Final Judgment:
Sesame Chicken: Light and crisp rice flour batter, natural and straight up that was achingly sweet with rock sugar, garlic, onion and ginger and yet savory enough that the balance was incredibly spot on. I wanted to face plant in it and smear it on my face it was so damn good.
Noodles; As I suspected. Hand pulled, obviously not on premises but still hand pulled beauties that had chew, texture and flavor that I had only wished I could sample in day to day life.
Vegetables: Despite my first misgivings with their appearance, they were light, crisp and were flavored delicately with garlic and sesame.
Overall Judgment:
A+++++
The thing is this: Know what your looking for: (Your dining place) don’t judge the messenger: (The wait staff, your in a food court. You should already be thinking outside the box, so cut them some slack)
Lastly: Really LOOK at this food. Hidden gems are EVERYWHERE.
In my case, I wasn’t pleasantly surprised.
I was stunned. It was pure quality, pure enjoyment and my stomach has never been happier, not to mention more well adjusted after my meal. :)

Some of the worst food court faux Chinese I’ve ever had. Very few options and overpriced for what you get.

Update on my review from over a year ago. There are now several more dining options at and around the food court. But I found myself still sticking with Little Tokyo for it’s convenience, easy menu, and apparent quickness.
Well, the quickness part didn’t really apply on this particular occasion. I waited in a small line, and for whatever reason, the people in front of me took what seemed like forever, even though there’s not really a whole lot of options to choose between. I believe the person in the front was sampling food. So they should have served the next person in line while he was sampling his food and taking his time deciding what to get. That was a small annoyance since my family was hungry and waiting on me, and we chose this place expecting to get our food quickly.
Once I reached the front though, it seemed to go a little smoother. The special again was the chicken teriyaki. I’m thinking that it’s not a daily special, but rather a permanent special. In which case it’s not really a «special», but rather a highlight of the menu. I noticed that the kids meal now comes in a smaller container than before, but still comes with a drink. Overall I was satisfied with my meal and prices are reasonable. Would most likely come back next time.

This was ok chinese mall food. It was a little oily but had a decent taste overall. The guy in the grill area was cross contaminating the chicken and beef with his tongs which was grossing me out and costing them a star. They were also out of several items. The portions were quite large.