Hunan East gives good eats, but slips with their service
Heather Saunders - May 1st, 2008The search for decent Chinese food has left me disappointed—until now. Hunan East, located at 1926 N. 4th St., Ste 8, has proven to be the best Chinese food Flagstaff offers, which makes my experience all the more painful.
I have never received worse service in my life—period. However, I did enjoy the food very much, and I’m sure the other servers were capable and my experience does not convey the whole. Since the wait staff consists of only three individuals, the chances of other patrons sharing my encounter are high.
The interior of the restaurant is green with red accents and Chinese wall hangings. Fake red roses sit on every table and there is a flowing theme tying the restaurant together, unlike other restaurants where it’s cut and paste.
I ordered off their lunch combo menu, which came with a soup, appetizer and rice in addition to the entrée. I decided upon egg flower soup, dumplings and white rice to accompany my sweet and sour chicken. The soup came out just fine and was good; it had a slightly spicier flavor than egg flower soups I’ve had in the past, which was a refreshing change of pace.
The arrival of the dumplings, however, was the start of an issue. My waitress had misunderstood the fact that I wanted the lunch menu items. So when my dumplings came out, there was a full order of them. When I politely informed her I thought there was an error, she said there wasn’t, and stated lunch specials didn’t come with appetizers. I pushed a bit and asked her to check the lunch menu. She came back and admitted I was right unapologetically and then said I’d just have to pay for it. She didn’t want to get in trouble. After a bit of talking, she finally gave. She told me she would take the food back, but I had to say that I originally ordered it and then changed my mind, not to mention the fact that she made a mistake. I agreed, thinking she was worried about getting in trouble. However, she mentioned this every time she came back to check on me. I received no appetizer due to the confusion, but let it slide because I was so frustrated.
The chicken was breaded well so that the crispiness stayed even after soaking in sauce. There were only a few pineapples, peppers and other stir-fry items, leaving mostly chicken and rice.
I was satisfied with the meal and it had been just what I was wanting. I asked my waitress for the bill and a box or two. She dropped them off, mentioned the appetizer “bargain” again and left. When she returned with a paper bag for my boxes, she commented on how long it had taken me to pack them. “I’d let you put the boxes in the bag, but that would take another 15 minutes,” was her exact phrasing. If she was joking, it wasn’t believable.
Overall, I’d have to say that Hunan East has the best Chinese food in Flagstaff, which is frustrating, because it’s one of the last places I’ll ever want to sit down and eat at again. I was bullied, insulted and treated very badly. Maybe I’ll land on take-out.