Restaurant Review: Chen's Restaurant - Wakefield, RI

60 Old Tower Hill Rd., Wakefield, RI

Looking for some huge portions of delicious Chinese food? Try Chen's in Wakefield. This unsuspecting location for a Chinese restaurant with a slight Hawaiian flavor serves some of the best chicken wings around. Of course, those looking for the best hot wings have come to the wrong place. Here the wings are covered with a deliciously sweet oyster sauce served piping hot. The only real down side to these wings is that the high sugar content makes them impossible to handle without burning yourself when they come out of the oven. At $8.40 for a large bowl of wings, it is worth the risk of burns.

The beef teriyaki (8 skewers for $8.20) added on to this would have made a good meal if paired with some fried rice. Instead of stoping with the appetizers, each member of our foursome selected a meal choice. My father-in-law chose the Dye Ten Chicken, at $9.10, and my mother-in-law selected the Cashew Chicken Ding for $9.05. Both were deemed good, although my father-in-law was dissappointed that the waitress didn't inform him that the portion sizes were so large. He felt that his food alone would have been sufficient for 2 people.

My wife couldn't decide whether to have the standard General Tso's Chicken or venture out and try the Shrimp With Garlic Sauce. As a fortunate circumstance there is a menu item called the Dragon & Phoenix which combines the two options for $12.80. She felt that the shrimp were small and the garlic sauce was somewhat bland, but the General Tso's was good and satisfying which made her whole meal experience good.

Finally, I chose the Szechuan Ma Po Bean Curd, at $8.70, with a small side of Shrimp Lo Mein for $6.35. Overall, I felt my meal was excellent. The only thing that kept it from being absolutely perfect was the overly large pieces of tofu. I don't dislike tofu, but their large size prevented them from absorbing the very flavorful sauce.

The syling of the resturant is a traditional "red on red with some black". Unlike most typical take-out style Chinese restaurant, there is more than enough seating to accomodate many parties, which is a welcome change to be able to sit and enjoy the company of family and friends.