Sandwiched between Boulevard of the Allies and Grant Street in Downtown Pittsburgh sits Chinatown Inn, which according to the sign outside, is the last remnant of Pittsburgh’s Chinatown. My first impressions of the location weren’t good. I imagine for the place to have existed since the 70s, the area around the restaurant had to change a lot. I mean, I don’t exactly consider myself a city girl, but walking down the street and getting cat-called isn’t pleasant.
Although inside was better, walking in, the decor and set up reminded me of every other Chinese restaurant I’ve been to. Low red lighting, blossom decor and the smell of disinfectant. The lady behind the counter asked me if I had a takeout order before offering me a table. It was around three in the afternoon and I was one of three people eating in the restaurant.
After leaving and coming back, my waitress brought me a glass of water and a kettle of tea without asking. With the small white teacup, I tried some, pouring a bit on the table without paying attention.
The tea was black and although it was unsweetened, it wasn’t bitter. The kettle gives the customer the opportunity to choose if they want tea, and how much. It also keeps it warm for the entire duration of the meal.
After putting down the menu, my waitress came back and took my order for a chicken vegetable roll and General Tso’s white chicken, marked with spice. For some reason, this was a dollar more than the regular chicken. Although it’s marked on the menu as “Yee’s first recommendation,” I wanted to choose something basic to compare to every other restaurant I’ve been to. The menu was large and it was noted on the placemat that it used to serve a solely traditional Cantonese menu, but now offers Szechuan food and Hunan dishes. I didn’t exactly know which was which but I did notice that they have a nice variety of vegetarian options.
After a while my massive egg roll came out. It was like three egg rolls in one. I thought that the large size might make the center cool, but it was warm all the way through. I expected the egg roll to be something average, but this thing could have been my whole meal because the circumference was around two inches. Although the bill was a bit out of my budget range, I would come here again for just this item which cost around $3.25.
After I was halfway through eating it, the Tso’s chicken, at $16, came out on a large blue and white plate with a small bowl of white rice. The rice was dry, but I could blame that on the time of day I ate there. I asked for chopsticks and began eating the chicken. Biting into it, the skin broke apart in my mouth like a crisp piece of chocolate and the inside was tender, having a good juicy taste. For the most part, it was consistent piece to piece until I tried a smaller and harder piece that was below the rest of the chicken. The smaller piece was surrounded by steam which caused it to not be quite as tasty as its counterparts.
The sauce the chicken was coated in was clean and sweet. Having just been cooked, the chicken was still crispy, but had a really nice texture balance with all the juices involved.
Overall, the meal was an enjoyable one. Although their meals are a few dollars more than all you can eat in the dining hall, I think that they have a good quality with what they’re serving, minus the really dry rice. The black tea was really great, I might need to dine in again sometime just for that. I know that when I’m tired of making ham sandwiches in The Globe office, I’ll be heading over for an online order in between class, but just for the egg roll.
Chinatown Inn was a nice experience, I would recommend eating there with some friends. I had enough food left over that I took back to the office and ate the next day for lunch. It wasn’t nearly as good microwaved, but it served its purpose to fill my stomach.
