East Café in Dunkirk MD was recently voted Calvert’s Best Chinese restaurant. I haven’t tried any of the others yet, but I won’t argue with that. This was the first Chinese restaurant I tried in Calvert County, and I haven’t felt compelled to seek out another…yet. I will get around to the other places eventually so I can compare for myself.
I recently ate lunch at East Café for the second time while I was running errands in Dunkirk. The first time, I tried the sesame chicken. I was very pleased with it because many Chinese restaurants can make it overly sticky and cloyingly sweet, but their sesame chicken was neither of these things.
For my most recent lunch here, I ordered sweet and sour chicken. (Though in hindsight, I should have gone with something a little less familiar. I was intrigued by the crispy eggplant with garlic sauce.) The chicken pieces were crispy without being greasy, and the sauce came on the side, so I could add just the amount I wanted. The serving was generous without being gargantuan.
The only thing I really missed was the sliced carrots and other vegetables that sometimes accompany this dish. The veggies at least make me feel a little less guilty about eating fried food. I won’t even count the shredded vegetables inside the eggroll (which, by the way, was also not greasy).
One thing I like about eating here is that there are tubs of wet wipes and bottles of hand sanitizer at every table. This is handy, because some of those sauces can be pretty sticky if you get them on your hands. Additionally, there are several newspapers and magazines available in case you are eating alone (like me) and need something to distract you.
East Café offers a nice variety of chicken, seafood, pork, and beef dishes, in addition to vegetarian offerings. The service is also very friendly and I didn’t have to wait long for the food both times I went there. I definitely plan a return visit or several. Next time, I will try the crispy eggplant.
Don Butch Brown says
It’s all pretty good
Don Butch Brown says
There crab Rangoon are the bomb also their fried pork wontons are wonderful .
Linda Kildow Colvin says
orange chicken
Your Calvert says
I like orange chicken too!
Terry Bowen McKeaver says
Pad Thai!!