King of the eggrolls

Jim and Nancy do not disclose the fact that they will review a restaurant before they attend, ensuring their reviews are unbiased and uninfluenced by their position with the Sun Day.

Our kids have grown up and moved on, our house is too small to have them return, therefore, it’s just the two of us. Because of this, where is the logical place for us to go grocery shopping? Sam’s Club, of course. We can stock up on such necessities as the five-gallon jug of mayonnaise, the giant drum of nacho cheese sauce (both of which turn blue and fuzzy before you can use them up), and the giant log of processed American cheese which has a shelf life of…forever. After loading up the mini-mobile with our treasures, we headed home with the hatch back dragging on the road behind us.

After looking at giant containers of food this morning, we suddenly remembered a restaurant that has Sam’s Club sized egg rolls and had to have one. We made a quick turn into Chen’s Chinese Cuisine in Crystal Lake.

Chen’s is an average sized contemporary Asian restaurant. They have booths that line the outer walls and tables of all different sizes in the center of the dining room.

First things first. Satisfying our “king” sized craving by ordering a King Egg Roll ($2.50) for each of us. These are without a doubt the biggest egg rolls you have ever seen in your life. They are awesome and a must have appetizer. They also have medicinal properties. This came to light when Nancy poured the hot mustard sauce on her egg roll and took a bite. Her sinus cavities cleared out instantaneously and her eyes welled up with tears. She exclaimed, “boy is this good” as she continued to pour on even more hot mustard sauce.

Jim was perusing the lunch specials and spotted Egg Foo Young. So, he ordered Pork Egg Foo Young ($10.75) and he had a choice of either steamed or fried rice and he chose fried rice. The lunch specials come with a spring roll on the side. His entree had 2 large patties of the Egg Foo Young and lots of fried rice. Even though it was a lunch special, half of it came home in a doggie bag. It’s definitely a keeper in his mind.

Empress Nancy decided on the Empress Shrimp ($12.95). This was jumbo shrimp (isn’t that an oxymoron?), served sweet and tangy with a hint of hot oil. She also chose fried rice and half of her meal came home in a doggie bag.

Jim and I love pan fried noodles ($4.95) so we ordered it to share and sprung for the green onion addition for a 50-cent upcharge. These noodles are addicting.

Chen’s lunch specials are fantastic. The food is great, and the portion size is not skimpy in the least. I even got a good fortune in my cookie, it read, “you’ll be hungry again in an hour.”

Dining Duo Tip: Order an extra egg roll to go with your leftovers, we did! They crisp up nicely in an air fryer or place them on top of crinkled aluminum foil in a 450-degree oven.

FYI: This restaurant is handicap accessible.

The price for our “king” sized lunch with two extra “king sized egg rolls” was $49.20. Getting another meal out of a lunch special, priceless…

Jim’s take: Their egg rolls are the best and the pork egg foo young was delicious.

Nancy’s take: These are my favorite egg rolls of all time!!! Whenever we drive by Chen’s, we always order a few egg rolls to go.

Have comments or restaurant suggestions for the Dining Duo? Send them an email at: thediningduo@gmail.com

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