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China House, along West Main Street in Whitewater, sits in the city’s most visible retail district. It’s a restaurant with both take-out service and eat-in seating.
It’s not an easy establishment to review, and part of the reason is that China House is really only one kind of establishment – a take-out restaurant. The menu accurately describes China House as offering “TAKE OUT & EAT IN” fare, but the dining room is secondary.
If I were reviewing only the take-out service, I would have rated China House more than three of four stars: it offers a full menu of well-prepared Chinese cuisine. There’s a rule that good restaurant have limited menus, but that guideline doesn’t apply to Chinese take-out: the menu is supposed to be large, as many of the items are easily and quickly prepared.
That’s true with China House: you’ll find several selections from among each of the expected categories (Appetizers, Soup, Fried Rice, Chow Mein, Chop Suey, Lo Mein, Egg Foo Young, Moo Shu, Pork, Chicken, Beef, Seafood, House Specialities, Combination Plates, and Lunch Specialities).
There are, I’d guess, about one-hundred menu fifty items in all.
They’re well made, by this key requirement: there’s not too much sauce. The easiest way to disguise a meal of meat and vegetables is with too much sauce, slathered over the ingredients to obscure underlying deficiencies. At China House, meat and fish are tender and flavorful, and vegetables are soft without being limp.
That’s just as it should be. Nothing overpowers, nothing conceals: one can taste each ingredient, in the proper combination of each. Portions are generous, too, by the way.
Near the kitchen window, to the right, there are all the take-out items one might like (extra sauces, chop sticks, napkins, plastic forks). I don’t think you’ll need or benefit from extra sauces, but they’re there if you’d like.
My favorites – Beef with Broccoli and Moo Goo Gai Pan.
As a take-out place, it’s a good one. As an eat-in restaurant, I’ll suggest plainly that the dining room, in design, furnishings, and atmosphere is simply an afterthought. Although the menu proclaims both take-out and eat-in options, the eat-in experience is disappointing, in a plain and dining room with no table service.
But, really, I don’t think China House is an eat-in establishment, despite what the menu proclaims. I’d guess most people see it as a take-out place,a and so they don’t care about the dining room – for them it’s a waiting room. Fair enough, I’d say.
There are two suggestions that would help China House.
First, why not start taking cards – they’ve a no credit/bank cards policy that’s silly. Any merchant should be able to set up an account with something like Square, after all. That card-processing company offers a “[a] card reader, simple pricing, and smarter business tools [that] make it easy for merchants to do what they love and get paid.” Square can even process credit cards while attached to a merchant’s smart phone.
I brought cash for the occasion of my visits, but like others I’d rather not carry cash except for emergencies, as it’s easier to keep track of electronic transactions.
Second, why not deliver? Pizza shops do so easily; China House could do the same.
Still, as a take-out establishment, where food matters and atmosphere simply doesn’t, I like China House.
Recommended.
Enjoy.
LOCATION: 1128 W Main St, Whitewater, WI 53190. See, Google Map and directions embedded at the beginning of this review.
(262) 473-9788.
OPEN: Monday – Saturday 10:30 AM – 10:30 PM, Sunday 10:30 AM – 10:00 PM.
PRICES: Meal & soda for under $10.
RESERVATIONS: Unnecessary.
DRINKS: Coffee, tea, juice, sodas.
SOUND: Light – no background music.
SERVICE: No table service.
VISITS: Two (both supper, as takeout and seated dining).
RATING: Recommended.
RATING SCALE: From one to four stars, representing
the full experience of food, atmosphere, service, and pricing.
INDEPENDENCE: This review is delivered without
financial or other connection to the establishment or its owner. The
dining experience was that of an ordinary patron, without notice to
the staff or requests for special consideration.