Readers share favorite Chinese restaurants, places for sticky buns
A reader’s sadness last week over the closing of the longtime Szechuan Restaurant on Kirkwood Highway in the Apollo Shopping Center near Marshallton, now a South Indian restaurant, sparked a flurry of letters about favorite places for Chinese food.
We also have follow-up ideas on where to find mini sticky buns. Got a food/dining/beverage question? Email me at ptalorico@delawareonline.com.
A “really great meal” at Kenny’s in Bear
Thanks for the mention of the Szechuan Restaurant. We have been going there for at least eight years. [Former owner] Victor Wu was there when we first started and he was a very personable and thoughtful man. When new family owners started, we continued to go. The new chef followed all the recipes so the food would be the same for old customers. Chef came up with an authentic menu to accompany the American-Chinese menu. This authentic menu was really fabulous. This menu went with different regions in China, rather than usual American-Chinese dishes we are used to. I gave up the buffet for dishes from the authentic menu. I never realized what real Chinese food was like. Then when we went there a few weeks ago, Szechuan wasn’t there and I was very sad and couldn’t believe we wouldn’t have any authentic Chinese food again.
At Kenny’s Pan Asian Cuisine & Sushi Bar, the menu items were really different. They have Asian food items plus sushi. We started with take-out and we were thrilled. Next, we went to the restaurant and had a really great meal. We had a seafood tempura with vegetables. Wow is all I can say. We also had a Thai-basil beef dish that was equally as good. We are going again tomorrow.
My mouth is watering just thinking about it. Kenny’s Restaurant is on U.S. 40 in the Governor Square II shopping center in Bear. We are so glad we found this place. Have a great day.
Kenneth Brownson
New Castle
Best Chinese food is in Pennsville, N.J.
Just finished reading the article lamenting the loss of the Chinese eatery. We can help you locate one of the best Chinese restaurants. The Orient Chinese Restaurant, 414 S. Broadway, Pennsville, N.J., just across the Delaware Memorial Bridge, first exit. Phone number is (856) 678-4021.
We promise [you] will enjoy wonderful Chinese food.
Jean Brennan
Another diner misses Szechuan
Count me as one who will miss the Szechuan restaurant. When it first opened, it was by far the best Chinese restaurant in the area; the shredded pork in garlic sauce was to die for. The Americanization of the dishes and the introduction of the buffet took away some of its excellence, but my last meal there, scallops in garlic sauce and baby eggplants, also in garlic sauce, was very good.
We tried Godavari, which advertises itself as a South Indian restaurant and took the spot occupied by Szechuan, last week and were thoroughly disappointed, starting with them being out of Kingfisher beer. The menu is extensive, but most dishes are drowned in a very hot spicy curry. We specifically asked for mild, but were served nothing of the sort. Two of the people in our party could not eat their dinner.
Godavari has been open two months and I certainly hope things get better. They were fairly busy for a Tuesday night, most of the clientele were of Indian origin.
I will give them another chance, but first I will give them some time to hit their stride.
Saurabh Srivastava
Hockessin
Yi Palace offers ‘authentic’ dishes
I tried Szechuan a few times for lunch and was disappointed to see that it had closed
The best place in the area is Yi Palace, 4435 Concord Pike, Concord Square shopping center in north Wilmington. I’m not Chinese, but the food seems authentic and is fantastic. Service runs from spotty to OK, which is a shame.
Andrew Lesser
Rehoboth’s Confucius is better than ever
Read your column where you mentioned how good Confucius Chinese Cuisine is in Rehoboth Beach. Well, it’s gotten even better.
[Owner] Shawn Xiong changed the menu to include even more wonderful entrees. Nobody makes pork belly like he does. New to the menu plus a wonderful noodle dish with wide Chinese noodles and beef. The restaurant serves not only the best Chinese food in the state, but it’s my favorite restaurant in Slower Lower. Thanks for your heads up on all things that makes a foodie smile.
Come on down and enjoy once again what owners Shawn and Danielle Xiong offer.
Louisa Watrel
‘Friendly and fast’ service at The Crownery
I read your column and would like to say I’ve been a customer of The Crownery in Hockessin’s Lantana Square shopping center ever since it opened. It’s been there a long time. I wouldn’t go anywhere else.
They’re always friendly and fast. I’ve never had a problem getting seated no matter what day of the week. They do a lot of takeout. They also have buffets during the Chinese New Year which are excellent and give it folks a chance to try dishes they might not otherwise try. If someone’s specifically looking for spicy dishes, they have quite a few and they’re marked accordingly on the menu.
J. Richard Creekmore
Wegmans ‘mini stickies’ worth’ the drive
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A query about where mini sticky buns prompted readers, such as Ann DePace Keen, to suggest Bing’s Bakery in Newark. Keen said the bakery “sells what they call Bunker Hills, small sticky buns, with or without nuts or raisins. They are delicious.”
Margaret Kenney also suggested Bing’s, but she said “get there early because they disappear fast!” Dorothy Sterling likes Sweeney’s Bakery in the F&N Shopping Center, 2068 Naamans Road in Brandywine Hundred. And more readers suggested Wegmans:
Look no further than Wegmans at 100 Applied Bank Boulevard in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania. It has stunning world-class mini stickies. They are small, flavorful and are sold individually or in a package of six. Wegmans’ mini stickies come with raisins, or with nuts, or plain. The store is just over the state line into Pennsylvania (Wilmington-West Chester Pike) and is well worth the drive.
Nancy J. Wolf
Talleyville
‘Miss Betty’ likes Wegmans
My neighbor Miss Betty and I have discovered the best sticky buns are at the new Wegmans in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania. They offer plain, with raisins (my favorite), with walnuts , and with both walnuts and raisins (Miss Betty’s favorite).
They are a wonderful treat!
Justine Larison
Contact Patricia Talorico at (302) 324-2861 orptalorico@delawareonline.com and on Twitter@pattytalorico