I really wanted some Chinese food, so on the way home from work I stopped at Jin Wah. I had smelled it a few times, since it is located in this mall by the Beaverton Transit Center that my train goes by every day, and there happens to be a Petco also here so I had stopped there for a scratching post and this time needed a cat food refill. This third time, I couldn’t resist.
I was quite pleased that the food here was fast and delicious. They had a huge menu- sort of the equivalent of a small book here like you would get at the big restaurants in Chicago’s Chinatown, but in a place the size of the hole in the walls places like Seven Treasures is, although it does have a nicer feel (closer to the bigger Three Happiness). Besides that initial book, there was also a second menu that just had pictures (similar to what Joy Yee’s does in Chicago, but not with photos of all the dishes), I guess in case you have no idea what Chinese sausage fried rice looks like and such?
I came in thinking about chow fuun, but since my tastebuds perked up at the thought of chinese sausage, I ordered that instead…and it was pretty dang good! The veggies I also ordered, which were morning glory stir fried with garlic, was a bit on the oily side and less flavorful, but the fried rice made up for it. It is bizarre that I am raving about the fried rice, but it wasn’t the normal greasy chinese fried rice with hard rice kernals or in a puddle of oil that you would normally expect, it was fluffy and not too greasy given that there are chinese sausages punctuating the dish. The portion was huge, and I still ate that whole thing up on my own!
As I mentioned, the menu is extensive, so there is a a lot of variety to choose from. Seriously. I took a copy of the take out menu so I can order carry-out on the way home in the future, and I can count more than 200 different items on their take-out menu, and I know I saw more in the restaurant, not to mention they also have a specials board. Although I was really wondering if I made the right choice when I first walked in and saw Thai and Vietnamese dishes alongside the Chinese, and the fact that underneath the English translation of the Chinese symbols was the dish in Vietnamese…
I was comforted to actually see other Asians in the place though, the way the wait staff is dressed reminds me of the outfits at Three Little Happiness back in the 80s (and they have the same stand-offish but efficient serving style), and as I scanned the menu I immediately saw items like jellyfish and home style chicken feet in appetizers, hong kong style pork spareribs, seafood bird nest, sea cucumber with duck feet clay pot, goose intestine with black bean sauce, 15 kinds of egg noodle soup, congee, and fried chinese bread, so I forgave the entries of pad thai and the pho and bun sections. This place has got to be authentic Asian. Yeah, I am totally going back.
The prices are very reasonable, and the restaurant is pretty large to accomodate a lot of customers. It’s not a trendy or even necessarily a nice looking establishment- it’s what you would expect to see in a strip mall- but sometimes, these strip malls hide yummy treasures, and really, I admit I have always have given a wide berth to Chinese restaurants after what I’ve seen in Chicago’s Chinatown and in China.
When I got home, I decided to treat Mew and Lobo to Chinese food too. Sadly, only Lobo was interested.
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