Guan Dong Restaurant

Guan Dong Restaurant

Cupertino Village
10851 N Wolfe Rd
Cupertino, California 95014
(408) 253-3398

Vitals:
cash only
prices: $4-10
opens late (around 12)
kid friendly/good for groups

This is a Chinese restaurant serving Northern Chinese cuisine that deserves its place amongst the many Chinese restaurants in the Village. The cuisine has been influenced by its surrounding areas (Russia, Korea, Mongolia and China) as there is a good mix of flavors and different meats than what is typically seen (such as lamb).

The prices are pretty cheap and the portions are generous. There is a certain advantage to going with a person that speaks Chinese as the waiters can give recommendations on what the most popular dishes are or can give you an idea of what dishes complement each other.

Dishes that I’ve tried have been pretty good. The Guan Dong tofu was a memorable dish. The tofu was silky and firm and had pieces of tender pork and green peppers and it was covered with a black bean sauce that wasn’t overpowering. We also tried the steamed flounder, which was was soft and garnished with curls of green onion. The fish didn’t taste fishy, so I know it was fresh.

Under the section entitled "Guan Dong Specials" are dishes with corn cakes. The corn cake dishes come in a wok that hold an impressive amount of food. We ordered the chicken with mushroom. The chicken was stewed in an aromatic sauce made with soy sauce and ginger that had just a hint of anise, which made the chicken soft and flavorful, but I could do without the corn cakes, which were hard and bland and the noodles, which were mushy.

The mongolian beef is another memorable dish. The beef is tender and had a great peppery taste that was complemented by the copious amounts of green onion and onion.

Generally, the food here is tasty but on the oily side. The lines tend to be pretty long, so either come early or later to beat the crowds. You can’t beat the price here. For our table of six, we were able to go away stuffed for $47 without tip ($7.83 each). Just be prepared to be packed in like sardines. Sometimes I felt as though I couldn't move otherwise I'd hit the person behind me with my chair or arm or leg, or any other appendage.

There is a bit of inconsistency here though, and there were certainly dishes that didn't impress, such as General Chicken (I think that this is supposed to be General Tso's Chicken). The pieces of chicken was covered in a thick sweet and sour sauce that made the pieces of breaded chicken soggy. Also, the breading on the chicken was so thick that the pieces of chicken were barely noticeable.