Mandarin Chef

Came in here today around 5:30pm and I will never be back, the food was very disgusting, beef and brocolli had no flavor, the cream cheese wontons tasted like they used bad cream cheese or they had been sitting there for hours before being put on our plates, none of the other dishes tasted anything resembling the things they were supposed to, and the staff tried to argue with us when we said we werent paying for it and basically saying we were stupid and didnt know how the food was supposed to be. It felt as if they were giving us bad service on purpose when we did nothing to these people to warrant the attitude we were getting. NEVER EAT HERE WASTE OF GOOD MONEY!!!

Do yourself a favor and go somewhere else. I hate writing a bad review to a small family operated business, but these guys just don’t know how to run a restaurant.

I really had high hopes for this place. Which is why I gave it a second shot. I ordered takeout for lunch on a Thursday afternoon. When I walked in, the place was empty. They weren’t busy so there really is no excuse for what I’m about to tell you. I ordered the chicken fried rice and egg rolls to go. The chicken fried rice was very bland. It didn’t taste like it was made fresh either. I’m almost positive it was leftover from the night before. I’m Vietnamese, I have eaten at many Asian spots around San Diego county. When I tell you this is the worst friend rice I have ever tasted, it really is. I am not exaggerating by any means. The egg rolls are just as bad. There was nothing in it besides cabbage!!! If they wanted to serve this to customers, they should’ve put vegetable egg rolls to give customers a fair warning. This is not your typical egg roll. Save your time and money and go elsewhere.

DO NOT EAT HERE. WORST FOOD. AND RUDE STAFF Now if only I can give no stars. Doing this review while I am eating the food. The egg drop soup was not even hot, warm at best. Bland and no taste at all. The sweet and sour pork was just a mess of sauce and crap. The pork was over cooked and bland. Bits of pork covered in batter that was over cooked. Sauce tasted like it was out of a can. Onions were bitter and foul tasting. I could not even eat the dish after that. I told them about it and the owner came out and told e I was dumb and had no idea what I was talking about. Had them change it for the peppered steak. The peppered stake was just bell peppers (told them to hold the onions) and steak. The sauce also tasted like it was out of a can. Worst place I have ever tried.

Delious delious delious, I come here for the sweet and sour pork and the vegetarian stir fry that has snow peas, tofu, two types of mushrooms and carrots. I love bringing my grandma to the restaurant because she is never picky with ‘their’ food.

I really thought I have left a review on this place before, but apparently I haven’t and that makes me angry! The reason that makes me angry is because of how much I enjoy eating here. The food is good and the service is very quick. It seems like a family-​run business that has not changed at all since they first opened. The lunch specials are a great bargain and come with A LOT of food. My friend ordered the orange chicken meal once in front of me and I don’t really like ordering orange chicken as a meal because some places simply don’t know how to make it the proper way and they just pack on the sweetener. I will say, this place has my top 5 favorite orange chicken ever.
I really enjoy this restaurant, and it is truly a hidden gem in Rancho San Diego. Support a small business that has been around for many years, you won’t regret it!

It had been a loooooong time since I’ve been craving Chinese food. Excited for something «authentic» I ordered take out from Mandarin Chef. Beef with broccoli and Kung pow San Shen. I wish I had something good to report… Beef with broccoli should have been on the menu as «a bunch of broccoli that smells like fish and a few pieces of beef that don’t taste like anything. Sadly, the Kung pow wasn’t any better! Very little other than onions and peanuts.
The same center has a pick up stix and a Panda Express. Do yourself a favor and flip a coin between those two. You’ll notice, all pix of this place show an empty restaurant. That’s not a coincidence.
You may ask «then why 2 stars?» The fried rice was ok and I didn’t get sick after I finished my dinner. Needless to say I won’t be giving them another try!!!

My favorite restaurant in east county, a place I always take visitors and family to. I visit it at least once every two weeks. The lunch specials are great and the Sunday buffet always leaves me pleased and stuffed. The kung pao chicken is my favorite and I have traveled to many restaurants and yet to find its equal. On Sunday the walnut shrimp, egg rolls, and cream cheese wontons are mindblowing.

WAR WONTON SOUP is a must! The service here feels so homey and we treated ourselves with some egg rolls. We also asked for the Chinese Bok Choy to balance out our meal. Beautiful family! Beautiful restaurant!

I say best Chinese food I’ve had in a while. Everything was freshly made. Not like other places that food is just sitting there. Had the cashew chicken and fried rice and the salt and pepper wings. Great place.

This place was packed on Christmas Day for late night dinner. They were open until 9:30pm and basically the only place open in Rancho SD besides the movie theater.
We called in our order to go and just wanted a smaller hot meal for the evening. I guess everyone else had the same idea since we pulled up in front of the restaurant, others were picking up huge to go orders in boxes and bags. The dining room was packed with large families and parties at tables. The lady said they were very busy because they were the only place open.
The décor is a little retro but the food was hot and perfect on a cold winter night. Ordered wonton soup since the sweet and sour soup was all out, egg flower soup, Kung pao chicken with the peanuts, and the brown rice. It was packed into a recycled box so we could take it home easily. The food tasted great. I recommend it for family style eating or sharing since it’s a large quantity of food.

I ordered two lunch specials which was an entrée, egg flower soup, steamed rice, egg roll and wonton. Egg flour soup was luke warm and had no flavor. Kung pao was bland and had chunks of chicken fat in it, Sweet n sour chicken was crispy and flavorful but chicken was over cooked and chewy. Coke was flat. I had lunch on a Thursday around 1215. There were only a few people in the restaurant. I’ve been here before for dinner and the food was better. Maybe lunch time is when they serve all the leftovers from the night before…

Eewww. Worst Chinese food I have ever eaten!!!
I normally leave my bad experiences to my self but this place was nothing but eww.
We originally went because we wanted to try the Sunday Buffett that was supposed to be until 2:30. We got there well before 2 and it was already broken down. For the two of us to have lunch was $ 50. A combo fried rice, a bbq pork noodle, soup and egg rolls. The food was flavorless. No matter how much soysauce was added. Ewwww.

I ordered takeout last night and the food was absolutely sensational. It was ready in 10 minutes and although the price was a little high, $ 22 dollars for an order of salt-​and-​pepper wings (10) and vegetable fried rice. The portions were enough to easily feed two people and you get what you pay for most definitely. Mandarin chef is by far better than panda express.

I have been going here since I was a child. I no longer live in the area, but whenever I do visit and I am craving Chinese it is my go to spot. The atmosphere for me is home. The entire staff treats everyone as if they are family. The food is amazing and I can’t ever seem to get enough of it when I do go. I miss Rancho San Diego only for this restaurant and one other. Both serving different kinds of meals.

I dunno what to say really? I really hate writing reviews based on the experience versus the food I just ate, if that makes any sense. So we came here last week in the mid-​week maybe Tuesday or Wednesday. My wife, son and I ordered few things to get started with like their sweet and spicy soup, egg rolls, and some fries for the kid oh and drinks for everyone pepsi no alcohol at this place. First impression it seem awkward and just your real true typical Chinese restaurant, where all the employees are just looking at their few tables with families and waiting for his or her order as they chat and hope for a big order.
Any-​how, we then placed our main dishes, I ordered their orange chicken, and eggplant chicken. The wife got the spicy vegi noodles. The order came fast and it had the flavor and taste of quality in them all. So I really can’t complain on that part of the services. Our total was $ 67.80 which maybe thats how much it cost based on the menu pricing (which it really came to a surprise for me and the wife) but I just simply would not go back for that reason. I mean their prices are way too high for an average RSD dine-​in restaurant that its inside the Ralphs shopping center.
Way too expensive…

My family has been coming here since I was a kid, but I’m not going to say how long ago that was. The food isn’t cheap, greasy Chinese if that’s what you’re looking for, but it is high quality and fresh which is reflected in the cost.
I’ve tried a number of other places over the years, but none of them quote measures up to the dishes my family loves here. Our favorites are the Beef with broccoli, Chef Special Shrimp, War Wonton Soup, and the Egg Foo Yung.
The décor of the restaurant is a bit dated, it’s looked the same as long as I can remember. Although I can’t blame them for leaving it alone since the bulk of their business is take out.

The best Chinese food
Ever. I have been eating here ever since they opened. The broccoli and beef and the house fries rice are just the best. It’s hard to eat anywhere else. It is always hot and fresh.

Authentic Chinese food!
I’m not much of a Chinese food girl, but when I do eat Chinese, it’s gotta be good… My friend knows the owner and we were able to special order some authentic Chinese food (as oppose to the Americanized menu). We got all sorts of things that weren’t listed!
–Lobster with a slight breading, fried and then sauteed: awesome, love how this lobster is done, if you are expecting butter you won’t be getting any here! It has enough flavors so you’re not drenching it in butter, and that’s more of an American thing to do.
–T-​bone steak (Chinese steak) flash fried and then cooked I believe. It was really tasty and flavorful. It was cooked right!
–Kung Pao Chicken: Good kung pao chicken for the white boys with us who were to scared to try anything else…
–Garlic Chicken: Good play on «Yu Hsian Chicken», a bit oily but had good flavors
–Walnut chicken: they messed up on this order, it was supposed to be walnut shrimp, but it was okay, still tasted decent.
–Hot and Sour soup: I liked the soup, could be more spicy/​hot
–Seafood Fried Rice: Fried rice is fried rice, had good chunks of fish and meat!
–Pu pu platter: a lot of chicken items, but all cooked differently. Didn’t know so many ways to make chicken.
–Whole chicken: Good flavors, the white meat portion was a bit plain (but that’s white meat for you) the wings and drumstick had good flavor.
–Sauteed bok choy: Love love the garlic pieces on it, sauteed bok choy is the route to go for a veggie dish
Overall the food was good for a Chinese place not on Convoy. If you are heading to Sycuan or in Spring Valley, this is a good option if you are looking for both Americanized Chinese and authentic! They do cater to their demographics surrounding, but if you special request, they’ll accommodate that as well! Friendly owners and staff. It was pretty pricey, but we did order a shitload. I saw their unlimited champagne special and will probably be coming back for that!

This place is kind of pricey.
We always tend to go because it’s close to where we live and it’s convenient.
They have large portions and many options.
Dishes I’ve tried and enjoyed…
— Cream cheese wontons
— Egg flower soup
— BBQ pork fried rice
— Salty pepper chicken wings (make sure you ask for wings!)
— Soft noodles
— Almond cookies
I tend to come back! The location can easily be missed, but it’s in the center with Ralphs near the Dairy Queen. Find it! Try it!