Jim and Nancy do not disclose the fact that they will review a restaurant before they attend, ensuring their reviews are unbiased and uninfluenced by their position with the Sun Day.
It’s been a while since Jim and I had Chinese food and sometimes our bodies start craving MSG. Anyone can find a Chinese takeout restaurant, but it is much more difficult to find a good Chinese dine in restaurant. While driving through Crystal Lake to buy some donuts, we spotted the Kirin King-Asian Cuisine and decided to drop in and check it out.
Kirin King-Asian Cuisine
446 W. Virginia Street
Crystal Lake 60014
(779)220-9344
kirinkingcuisine.com
Directions: Take Rte. 47 North to Rte. 176, East to Virginia Street, South to restaurant.
Estimated Travel Time: 23 minutes
The site is an older building and has housed several different restaurants during the past years. When walking in, there was a gigantic fish tank with lots of salt water fish swimming around (their sushi must be really fresh). There are a lot of steps to get into the restaurant and also into their dining area, so obviously this restaurant is not handicap accessible.
We were seated and given a menu which contained items from every Asian cuisine known to man. We started off this afternoon with (6) Pot Stickers ($6.50) and (6) Crab Rangoon ($6.50). Jim’s pot stickers were unusual. Normally they are lightly browned and then steamed. These were deep fried. They did, however, have a lot of filling and were tasty. My crab Rangoon were just on par with most Chinese restaurants.
After chowing down on our appetizers, we went back to take a look at their huge diverse menu. Being the trained professionals that we are, and also being cheap senior citizens, our eyes were drawn to the lunch specials. Every entrée included wonton soup, an egg roll, and steamed or fried rice. We were surprised that there wasn’t an upcharge for the fried rice.
Nancy ordered the Shrimp Kung Pao ($10.75). This was shrimp, baby corn, water chestnuts, carrots, celery, chiles, and peanuts in a spicy Asian sauce. It was spicy, and a tasty dish with eight large shrimp. The fried rice was on the bland side. Her meal made her mouth start to sizzle.
Jim had the Mongolian Beef ($10.25) which was strips of beef with onions, green, red, and yellow peppers served in a hot and sweet brown Asian sauce. This meal registered about an “8” on Jim’s rapidly growing sweat head meter, and was very delicious.
Our bowl of wonton soup was loaded with wontons and our egg roll was a full-sized egg roll, not a spring roll which we were, again, surprised to see. The egg rolls were very good and we took those home with us for the next day. Sorry Rosie, I know you are half Shih Tzu, but no doggie bag for you today.
Things were going along so well until Nancy wanted to salt and pepper her fried rice. As she grabbed for the pepper, her fingers stuck to it. The same was true for me when I grabbed the bottle of soy sauce. That was the deal breaker. They were all “sticky” and covered with schmutz!!! Is it so difficult to wipe them down when cleaning the tables?
We loved the food, and we took half of it home with us, but the “sticky” bottles and shakers on the table was unappetizing. Too bad one small detail could ruin our experience.
The price for our “sticky” lunch was $43.23, having to pry our fingers off the bottles, bummer…
Jim’s take: The lunch specials are an incredible deal, but bring a wet wipe with you.
Nancy’s take: I was so enjoying my meal until I grabbed the salt and pepper shakers.
Have comments or restaurant suggestions for the Dining Duo? Send them an email at thediningduo@gmail.com
