Restaurant Review: Dynasty Chinese Restaurant - Fairfield, California

After a trip to San Francisco's Chinatown, my family and I were a little disappointed in the restaurant we went to. It was one that Rachel Ray visited on her "Under $40" television show. The food was o.k., but we expected a little more. We thought, "If we can't get good Chinese food in Chinatown, where CAN we?"
It turns out the answer to our question was five miles from my house at the Dynasty Chinese Restaurant on Waterman Boulevard in Fairfield, California. Dynasty Chinese Restaurant has been a staple of Fairfield for over a decade. We didn't really know about Dynasty because we have only been here two years and our usual Chinese food is a buffet down the road. However, we had heard the buzz about this place and decided that we would sacrifice a few dollars (this Is a RESTAURANT and not take out) for some seemingly quality Chinese food. Boy, were we not disappointed!

Let's start with the service. We ate here on a very crowded Valentine's dinner night. Fitting in two kids and a wife was not an easy feat, but they got us good seats. The servers were as quick as they possibly could be to attend us and they were short handed at Dynasty Chinese that night. It wasn't that they didn't have enough staff at Dynasty Chinese; there were just a lot of people wanting to have dinner in the same 15 minute time frame. Needless to say, our orders were quickly taken and drinks were served in a timely manner.

The decor of Dynasty Chinese was remarkable. All the tables were clean and decorated with authentic looking Chinese fans, Buddha statues and pagodas. The black-and-blood red color scheme was well balanced against the soft lighting used by Dynasty Chinese. The Mongolian barbecue was set apart from the dining area with a wall so that people who chose that meal didn't bump into other diners while preparing their bowls. And the rest rooms were immaculate-always a plus in a restaurant!

The menu was full of options beyond your standard Chinese fare. Dynasty Chinese really pushed paying for the 3 course menu combos that came with an appetizer, soup, and a main dish for between $13 and $15. You could choose the appetizers and main dishes from a select list, and the soup was soup of the day. Other than that, there were dozens of other dishes offered at fair prices. My only concern was that if you ordered something like the fried Peking Duck (which I did), it didn't come with a side. What you got was what you got. I had to order a separate side of steamed rice.

My wife ordered a combo plate of Pot Stickers, cabbage soup and Orange chicken. My kids had fried wings and egg rolls, while I stuck with my fried Peking half-duck with an additional side of steamed rice. The Pot Stickers were phenomenal. They were larger than average, not too rubbery and full of juicy goodness. There was almost no need to dip them in the soy-based sauce that was provided!

The orange chicken was also a dream meal. There was a citrus-y after taste with each bite because Dynasty Chinese actually used orange peels in the sauce rather than some sort of orange-flavored duck sauce that other restaurants try to use. The little peppers gave the tender chicken bites a tiny little kick to go along with that natural sweetness. Dynasty Chinese clearly didn't want to mask the orange chicken in a thick sauce; they wanted you to taste the craftsmanship of the chefs.

My Peking duck was not greasy as I expected. I like that duck is a little more greasy or oily than other poultry meals, but I didn't get that with Dynasty Chinese's duck. That being said, I still enjoyed it. The Peking duck wasn't over-fried, still a little juicy, and there was more meat than gristle in each bite.
The kids really enjoyed their chicken wings and egg rolls which were very lightly fried to remain crispy and tasty. Again, Dynasty Chinese tries to keep the grease out of the meals, which makes for healthier eating.

We liked Dynasty so much that we returned for lunch a few days later. This time I tried the Mongolian barbecue while my kids had the same appetizers and my wife ordered Won Ton soup and more of those filling Pot Stickers. Needless to say, Dynasty Chinese impressed me again. The Mongolian line had extremely fresh-cut vegetables with frozen fresh meat choices. There was a selection of 10 sauces to choose from for marinade, complete with three separate sauce combination recipes. I had never seen that at a Mongolian Barbecue line. And since the food was fresh, the taste was awesome. I did something I rarely do when I eat Mongolian Barbecue: go back for a second plate. It was just too good to have once!

When you are in the Bay Area, don't waste your time driving down to Chinatown in hopes to find a good Chinese restaurant. Save yourself the trouble and come to Waterman road right off of Interstate 80 to the Dynasty Chinese Restaurant. This food is far superior to any other Chinese cuisine you've ever had.