The Transplant's Guide to the Twin Cities: Shuang Cheng Chinese Restaurant

It seemed safe to assume, from everything I had read, that Shuang Cheng was unofficially the best Chinese restaurant in the Twin Cities. This was a high calling, but the restaurant sits in the heart of Dinkytown amidst worldly college students and, so, I was not prepared to dismiss it. I had to go out of my way to dine at Shuang Cheng, but the weather was gorgeous and there seemed no better day to be impressed.

I wasn't. First, though, I took the advice of some of the online reviewers and looked to the white "Specials" board on the back wall. The dishes listed, mostly spicy and seafood dishes, were a bit exotic for my taste. Had they not been, though, they would have been a great bargain: a main course served with egg roll and fried rice, many for under $10. Instead, I was faced with a very sad realization: Shuang Cheng offers no combination meals outside of its specials. Without that much appreciated convenience, I was forced to choose an order of egg rolls and an order of pork fried rice, a meal that was most likely meant to feed two. But, these two dishes alone usually set the tone for the quality of the entire restaurant and tell me, right away, if the place is worth a second visit.

While I waited for my meal, I sipped the complimentary Chinese tea. The last time I had done such a thing, I was sitting in my family's favorite Chinese restaurant in New Jersey and I was around 11 or 12 years old. That quaint, authentic eatery closed several years ago and I thought the custom had gone with it. In that sense, Shuang Cheng was a pleasant dose of nostalgia.

Immediately, I was excited to see my rice and egg rolls come to the table. But one bite into the egg roll brought with it a bit of disappointment, not so much because of the quality, but because of its failure to live up to what I had imagined. Inside a pastry that was much less flaky than I prefer, was a filling of more meat and less cabbage than I am accustomed to. There was one thing that made this egg roll interesting and it was a distinct, almost floral taste. The rice, not sticky or overwhelmingly oily, had a delicious roast pork flavor and was overflowing with meat. The bean sprouts were an addition I was not used to, but, with the crunchy white onions, were barely noticeable.

In the end, I decided that Shuang Cheng was not worth a second visit. I would much sooner trek all the way to the Mall of America for my all-time favorite, Panda Express.

Score: 6 out of 10
Address: 1320 4th St. SE, Minneapolis MN