Chinnie’s Kitchen: Hidden Delight With Plates Piled High

Chinnie’s Kitchen is quite literally hidden between between a veterinary office, a chiropractor, and a business park on 128th, just west of the Safeway parking lot. It is an Asian fusion restaurant complete with a dining room, a sports bar, and pull tabs. When we visited on a Sunday at opening, the building was empty, but it didn’t take long for others to start showing up to eat in or to pick up to-go orders.

Their menu offers many traditional items you would find in any Chinese restaurant, including per-person dinner combos, lunch specials, and everyday specials. In addition, there is a separate section of the menu for Asian Fusion dishes, like Thai Crunch Salad and curries. They also offer gluten-free preferences.

Since this was our first visit, we ordered an assortment of dishes: appetizer combo, pineapple fried rice, Mu Shu pork, and Szechuan beef. Our waitress was very nice and accommodating, and even though she was running the dining room and bar by herself, we were never neglected. We placed our order, and the appetizer platter came out very quickly. Shortly after receiving our appetizers, the entrees arrived. We were not expecting the amount of food that we received! The plates were piled high and even though he was eager to dig in, the boyfriend was very patient while I snapped photos. The entrees were more family-style than individual. I also noticed that rice is not included with their entrees, which is nice. I don’t like wasting food, and it seems there’s always too much rice.

The appetizer combo came with four pieces of barbecued pork and two each: egg rolls, fried crab rangoon, fried prawns, and pot stickers. We were underwhelmed with the appetizers. While the prawn was mostly breading, it was at least crispy panko-style breading, not thick and doughy like most fried prawns I’ve had. The egg roll lacked flavor, the filling really could have benefited from more seasoning, and some acid for brightness. The cute little crab rangoon had the tiniest bit of bland filling. The pot stickers had a decent filling, but the wrappers were doughy. And last but not least, the large hunks of barbecued pork were perfect. They served it with the requisite ketchup, sesame seeds, and extra hot mustard that clears the sinuses. If I were to order appetizers from here again, I would stick with the barbecued pork, with extra mustard.

Out of all of the plates, the Szechuan beef was our favorite. It had a good mix of carrots, onions, and zucchini with plenty of large, tender chunks of beef. The sauce had a really good flavor with a mild level of heat. It would have been delicious over a bit of fried rice.

Pineapple fried rice is one of our favorites and this one was very good. The plate was piled high with large chunks of pork, pineapple, and perfectly fried rice. It was what you would expect from a good pineapple fried rice so I was not disappointed.

Pineapple fried rice // Rachel Weatherholt

The Mu Shu was a massive pile of cabbage, pork, bean sprouts, egg, and carrots with a stack of fresh, warm pancakes. It was tasty but the meat itself really needed seasoning. Our waitress brought some of their house-made chili oil and while it had really good heat, it still lacked garlic, shallots or something to give it a kick.

Overall, despite the fact that I prefer lots of seasoning and spices, this was a good meal. We got a ton of food for far less than we would have paid for two medium pizzas, and we have enough leftovers for at least one more full meal for the both of us. And, the best part, we weren’t hungry again for hours after our meal! I want to eat here again, but next time I’ll be sure to ask for more heat.