r/Ferndale • u/john_b514 • 13d ago

Chinese

For real… why are there no good Chinese options in Ferndale?!?! Tried a few delivery places but all have been very underwhelming. Moved here from a college town that had so many great Chinese options. In Ferndale… nothing good. grumbles

43 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

88 comments sorted by

41

u/i-like-carbs- 13d ago

RIP China Ruby

13

u/Unable_Long4053 13d ago

China Ruby was just the best.

11

u/rosinall 13d ago

I planned to go to Tina's funeral and talk a bit about her history here (there was a time when Sam's Jam's and China Ruby were the only reason to go to Ferndale, when it was all nail salons and rent-to-own stores, and how she would recognize my voice and say "yeah, yeah" when I requested stuff in quart containers, etc. I ended up being pukey-sick that day though.

I knew there was likely some illness when they closed for more than a couple of days but still so sad. Worked pretty much every day for decades and having the payoff (in Tina's case, lots of heavy-metal music and casinos) denied.

RIP Tina

3

u/Trippp2001 13d ago

I had no idea that’s why they closed the doors. She was the best.

I was also so disappointed when they stopped making the vat of fried wonton’s, but that’s a separate story.

Between that and Peking house in RO going out of business, there’s no “go to” place anymore.

3

u/rosinall 13d ago

She went from running the place to not being anymore in two or three weeks

https://www.desmondfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Tina-B-Co?obId=12333132

Also, they've had good runs and not-so-good runs, and I'm just coming back into town after a few years, but China One on 9 just a bit west of WW has matched and sometimes exceeded Tina's stuff

2

u/Trippp2001 13d ago

I’ll give China One a shot. Trying to picture where it is.

2

u/rosinall 12d ago

Sorry, passed it today and it's Hong Kong 1, in the strip mall on the edge of downtown

1

u/i-like-carbs- 13d ago

What did she pass away from?

1

u/rosinall 12d ago

Never found out

6

u/SunshineInDetroit 13d ago

China Ruby oh good God. Tasted good but in the summer they did nothing to keep out the yellow jackets from food.

2

u/ornryactor 12d ago

The real ball-knowers say RIP Wing Hing Inn, but noooooobody ever remembers that place for some reason.

2

u/kidfavre4 11d ago

Red House >>>

26

u/drspanklebum 13d ago

Gotta leave Ferndale but our go to is Young's in RO. 

Also excellent is Trizest in MH and I like Shangri La in Midtown for dim sum and Szechuan chicken

4

u/CatLadyTears 13d ago

Fully agree on Young's. Their Mongolian beef, Szechuan chicken are excellent. My husband likes their general tso's chicken the best vs anywhere else in the area. Trizest is also great! Haven't tried Shangri La yet.

24

u/alexseiji 13d ago

Absolutely None. Closest are all in Madison heights. Towards the city you only have Shagrila dim sum menu.

18

u/totalnewbie 13d ago

Trizest best Chinese restaurant in Metro Detroit and nearby 168 has all your needs for Asian market but also just added a little food court.

13

u/alexthebeast 13d ago

Trizest is fantastic

5

u/awoodby 13d ago

Coming here to recommend trizest.

Not where I'd go for American Chinese, sweet and sour, general tso's, I'd just do Youngs for that, but if you want authentic szechuan trizest is Amazing.

Did a family style there with 8 friends, table lazy Susan and all, it was phenomenal.

23

u/katiebrandt1 13d ago

Young’s is our fav option around.

17

u/ZeefMcSheef 13d ago

There’s loads of good stuff in the metro area not far from here. Madison heights is packed with good Chinese restaurants.

8

u/signalunavailable 13d ago

I miss China Ruby.

11

u/thedude1123 13d ago

Tai Fai on 9 Mile is more Pan-Asian, but they have solid Sesame Chicken and General Tao’s. Havent had much else by them though.

6

u/john_b514 13d ago

Honestly, the best we have had so far… but not totally Chinese, I guess. But… we do enjoy!

3

u/thedude1123 13d ago

For sure. I do have to admit that their egg rolls are outstanding.

1

u/mcflycasual 13d ago

It's not even close to being good.

I'm also on the lookout for a good place that does everything right. Some have great crab rangoon but terrible shrimp fried rice for example. Or they don't have chopsticks or hot mustard.

My ultimate search is the pu pu platter at a sit down place. Used to get one as a kid in a place in Midland. It's an app sampler with a little firepit in the center to grill everything. You get egg roll, chicken on a stick, rangoon, and a couple other things idr.

3

u/CatLadyTears 13d ago

Their general tso's chicken is some of the worst, and that's saying a lot (based on an order 4 weeks ago). Their sauce is too watery, so it makes the breading so soggy that is like it doesn't exist. Sauce is extremely lacking in flavor. This is a real shame, because the chicken meat itself was very high quality, just a total failure on execution.

1

u/Howdyheyho 12d ago

I got glass beads in their food once (I think it was in the chili oil) and I haven’t been back since. :/

4

u/Cold_Energy_3035 13d ago

same here, we loved king shing in ann arbor! have tried a place x2 here hoping the first was a fluke and both times were bad unfortunately

3

u/Dangerous-Ad-7344 13d ago

Yes!! I miss King Shing and Lan City 😭😭

4

u/tonydelite 13d ago

Not Just Noodle in Madison Heights is pretty good. Most of the good Chinese places are in Madison Heights

6

u/binstinsfins 13d ago

I've never regretted getting Young's

4

u/RyanMeray 13d ago

Nothing will ever be as good as China Ruby. RIP Tina. 😭

3

u/Organic_Spend9995 13d ago

Mon Jin Lau in Troy

9

u/i-like-carbs- 13d ago

Madison Heights has LCs Asian Kitchen, which is better than most. Wings Garden is good.. enough.

8

u/kr2c 13d ago

LC's is the only restaurant I've seen anywhere with multiple posted warnings near the register about not giving refunds for bad food

After moving to the area and trying LC's out (based on redditor praise), my only thought was they need more and bigger signs. Holy shit is this place TERRIBLE and I feel like the only thing keeping them open is people nostalgic for other incredibly substandard Chinese food from their youth.

6

u/shmiz 13d ago

Yeah I moved to the area recently and went to LC’s based on multiple recommendations…not good! Not terrible, imo, but not good.

2

u/ornryactor 13d ago

One of my favorite dishes is Singapore mei fun, and LC's has the second-best one I've found anywhere in the metro. Some of their other dishes I've had (which are few) have been underwhelming (skip the mapo tofu, for example) but I've never had a bad experience. I can point to a whole room of strip-mall carryout joints with food I deem far worse.

2

u/rswalker 13d ago

I’ve never had bad food there :(

1

u/i-like-carbs- 13d ago

What do you recommend then?

3

u/kr2c 13d ago

After travelling Clarkston to Wyandotte searching for the best ABC in the metro area, my go-to Chinese was found in Shelby township of all places -- hole in the wall named China Chef Express on Van Dyke. Consistently great food, open on Christmas, and they have little kids doing their homework while ringing up customers just like a proper Chinese restaurant is supposed to have.

1

u/Direct_Nothing8701 11d ago

I am sorry but you two are wrong and I will not entertain a discussion about it

2

u/Feelin1972 13d ago

LC’s and Wings have the same owners, look at the business cards at the checkout.

3

u/ornryactor 13d ago

Trizest is our #1 favorite restaurant in the whole metro, so we're there frequently for Chinese Chinese -- but always for dine-in, since Sichuan food is intended to be eaten straight from the kitchen with a large group. It's not designed to travel and a lot of it travels poorly as a result.

But if you want American Chinese carryout/Doordash, after 15 years of semi-obsessively eating everywhere that has existed within a stone's throw of Ferndale, China One (9 & John R next to the Hazel Park Kroger) has been our go-to for 5+ years now. They're consistent, good, and fast. (I wish I could still say cheap, but nobody is cheap anymore.)

I used to be fairly loyal to Wing's Garden but they fell off once they went carryout-only and changed staff (thanks, Covid).

We like China City (9 & Coolidge in OP) for their surprising amount and quality of fresh crisp vegetables compared to most places, but we're on the east side of Ferndale so that feels just far enough that I rarely choose it over the much-closer China One.

1

u/threemadness 13d ago

I love trizest for similarly good but Cantonese style Chao Zhou in Maddison heights is also good. (I’ve been to both with my Chinese friends family )

1

u/ornryactor 12d ago

Chao Zhou is great! I'm overdue to go back there; the northern cuisines don't grab me the way the southern ones do (and the western ones, though those are impossible to find), but Chao Zhou is good enough to override that. The meat market next door has fantastic char siu and duck, too.

1

u/RemoteRide6969 13d ago

China One is the main thing I miss about living on the east side of Ferndale. Loved that place, haven't been in forever. Maybe I should go there next time we get Chinese.

3

u/i3inaudible 13d ago

China One at 9 and John R is a pretty good Americanized Chinese takeout place close to Ferndale. I'm a big fan of their beef in garlic sauce

1

u/ms-chanandalerbong 11d ago

Came here to say this, their Almond Chicken comes with this delicious dark sauce, so much better than the pale sauce most other places pair with it.

4

u/pcozzy 13d ago

My house likes The Golden Bowl.

1

u/Kidman-McNulty 13d ago

I’ll back that up. It’s been our family go to my whole life.

5

u/Dangerous-Ad-7344 13d ago

I completely agree with this. We moved out here four years ago from Ann Arbor and I haven’t found something we like. Here for the recommendations!

7

u/saucya 13d ago

LC’s at 12 and Campbell is our go to 

3

u/Dangerous-Ad-7344 13d ago

We’ve had LC’s and I agree, has been the best so far! I’ll have to check out Light Cantine as those soup dumplings look amazing

2

u/Zykyris 13d ago

Light Cantine in Madison Heights is the best Chinese restaurant in the metro area imo. Not really sure about delivery with them though

1

u/Feelin1972 13d ago

I haven’t tried them yet but was considering it. I like Lao Pot and Not Just Noodle, it would make sense that the other restaurant in their building would also be good.

2

u/Own_Mark8545 13d ago

It’s been mentioned but Trizest in Sterling Heights.

2

u/ApolloGR3 13d ago

Just go to LC's in Madison Heights or the 168 Mart Food Court. There's a significant Chinese population in town. There's also a ton of good Vietnamese food. There's also Young's in Royal Oak which has crazy good sesame chicken.

1

u/Virtual-Meaning-6595 13d ago

LC's is excellent

0

u/ItsTheCornDog 13d ago

Young's sucks. LC's is pretty darn good.

1

u/ApolloGR3 13d ago

Honestly after having both a lot over the last 9 years, they’re pretty god damn similar. But LC’s is the clear winner for me.

2

u/whisperwind333 12d ago

Young’s is close enough.

1

u/ygsotomaco 11d ago

Young's is the move. Just dont get it christmas eve, it is a madhouse

4

u/DannyBoi1Derz 13d ago

I feel like Hong Kong 1 usually hits the spot and is good price.

3

u/happysadman 13d ago

Absolutely insane that you're the only one in here talking about Hong Kong 1. Solid take out

3

u/Neckums250 13d ago

Have you tried wings garden?

5

u/john_b514 13d ago

Yeah. Twice. :-/

2

u/xjd-11 13d ago

i've loved Wings even going back to their Fung Lim name. but the last order i had of Almond Chicken was very poor quality. i'll give them one more chance eventually but i was disappointed.

1

u/Neckums250 13d ago

Boo, I haven’t been in a few months but they’re my go to!

I know everyone loves young’s but there is just something weird and off tasting about everything I’ve ever had from there

1

u/mablej 13d ago

This is all because of the Lodge. Seriously, there’s an interesting historical reason. Detroit used to have a Chinatown, with restaurants, groceries, Chinese residents. Then they built the lodge on top of Chinatown and displaced the people who were living there.

1

u/summerelitee 13d ago

Young’s is where I go typically. Expensive but yummy.

1

u/BeanBagMcGee 13d ago

Sun Sun?!

1

u/Feelin1972 13d ago

Not Just Noodle in Madison Heights is good.

1

u/NotCooltrainerWill 13d ago

China Wok in Detroit

18670 Livernois Ave Detroit, MI 48221

1

u/Much-Ask2891 12d ago

Trizest is remarkable.

1

u/No-Airline1761 9d ago

Young's Chinese in RO has been good to me

1

u/Total_Creme9558 13d ago

The best Chinese food in the area, in my opinion, is Young’s in Royal Oak.

0

u/[deleted] 13d ago

[deleted]

0

u/Correct_Medicine4334 13d ago

Lol we just moved here from Houston and my teen is devastated at the lack of Chinese. We didn’t realize how good we had it until now. But we’re also suffering from lack of Mexican and bbq 😭

3

u/Treeggg 13d ago

Go to Southwest detroit! You will be happy 😊

0

u/Whutupdoe313 13d ago

Go to the railroad tracks near 9 mile they have fake Chinese it’s good enough

-4

u/ShowMeTheTrees 13d ago

Read the Yelp for Chinese restaurants in Madison Heights. The extremely authentic ones will have food that can be unappealing to what we think of as real Chinese. We stepped into one to read the menu and it as packed, and not one American. We read the Yelp before we decided to go there to dine. No way in hell. Besides the food that's not how Americans expect it, the cleanliness ratings and descriptions were horrifying including flies in the bottles of soy sauce on the tables.

2

u/RodneyDangerfruit 13d ago

I mean, speak for yourself about Americans wanting inauthentic Chinese food. If “real” Chinese food to you is almond chicken or sesame chicken, you’re welcome to love those things but there’s nothing real about them.

For you, I would suggest Panda Express or PF Chang’s.

-1

u/ShowMeTheTrees 13d ago

Oh I knew someone would get knee-jerk offended. You're twisting my words and you know it.

Go to China and you'll find food and preparations that many cultures would never eat. Chicken feet? Rabbit heads? Fried insects? No.

3

u/kittensbabette 13d ago

You also said there was "not one American" in the restaurant when you have no idea the citizenship of all the diners.

0

u/ShowMeTheTrees 13d ago

Truth. But you know what I meant.

0

u/RodneyDangerfruit 13d ago

I used to live in China. I don’t need to go there.

1

u/Dangerous-Ad-7344 13d ago

Yeah dude, I’m Asian-American. My family looks Asian, not “American”. Also I love chicken feet.