My girlfriend and I had planned to order delivery from August Moon this evening, but we were notified that they would not deliver to us any longer, as we are now out of their delivery radius.
As we were dead set on eating flavorful and inexpensive Chinese food, we searched the internet for local recommendations; after reading several reviews for Hunan which mentioned that the prices were reasonable and the food was amazing, we headed downtown with high hopes.
As soon as we arrived, I began to feel a bit apprehensive about whether or not the food would actually be affordable, and upon perusing the menu, my suspicions were confirmed. There was not a single entree for under $11.95, and the appetizers seemed to be inordinately pricey as well. Regardless, without thinking too hard about the price, we ordered two entrees (General Tso's Chicken, Sweet and Sour Chicken), an order of pork fried rice, and two bowls of won ton soup.
The service was relatively quick for a restaurant with such a bourgeois atmosphere, which is likely a selling point for some people; in this instance, I am inclined to believe that this means the food was not in fact prepared to order, though with the prices as high as they were, I would have expected it to be fresh.
The won ton soup cost $2.50 per cup, and was fairly insubstantial and flavorless. There were two won tons in each bowl, which was excellent, but there was almost no meat in the won tons, and the broth tasted like vaguely onion-flavoured water.
The General Tso's chicken was delicious, but was unrecognizable as General Tso's chicken. It was not spicy at all, did not come accompanied by broccoli as General Tso's usually does, and was portioned in a way that made me wonder if they had given us a lunch special at 9 PM.
The Sweet and Sour chicken was also rather tasty, but not what I look for in a Sweet and Sour chicken dish. Instead of a plate full of delicious morsels to be coated in sweet and sour sauce, I was presented with a half-plate of shredded chicken bits and a half-plate of what appeared to be garnish, all pre-slathered in sauce. Like the General Tso's chicken, this dish appeared to be sized for a lunch special.
The pork fried rice was legitimately some of the better fried rice I have had, though the fact that it cost $8.25 for a portion sized (again) as if it were part of a lunch special is a definite downfall.
All in all, our bill came to $42 and change, which could have bought us at least twice as much (and likely more) food at August Moon, or two weeks worth of staple groceries.
If you have a lot of money burning a hole in your wallet, enjoy food that is expensive for its own sake without being particularly noteworthy, and really want Chinese food but don't want to feel like a college kid or a bachelor, go ahead and go to Hunan.
Otherwise, skip it and save your money. You can feed a family of 4 and have leftovers at other places for cheaper than you can eat for two at Hunan.
more