Hunan Manor

I've been eating here ever since they moved to Wedington Drive.  I'll admit to not having eaten at a lot of Chinese restaurants in Fayetteville, but that's because for the past decade, in 4 different cities, pretty much every Chinese restaurant I've eaten at has been bad.  I mean bland, and Americanized to death.  The Super Buffet has killed Chinese food.  The first restaurant I tried in Fayetteville was typical (and went out of business right after that).  Luckily, Hunan Manor is the exception!

Their food tastes different from other Chinese restaurants, in general, because their sauce is black bean based (according to Frank).  This gives a darker color and taste to their food.  I rarely eat in, but the drive-thru is usually fast, even when the line is long.  The inside has a small buffet, with tables and a high ceiling.  The ambiance isn't too bad.  I would stay away from the buffet and order off the menu.

My favorite dish is the Hot Crispy Beef.  It's a little spicy, and very crispy and totally yummy!  It takes a little while to cook, so order it ahead of time if you use the drive-thru.  The General Tso's Chicken is also good, but it tastes a bit strong to me.  Other semi-spicy dishes that are good are the Double Cooked Pork and the Hunan Pork.  If you want something milder, try the Pork with Spring Onions.  No spice (except the onion) but lots of flavor.  (Can you tell I love pork?)

For appetizers, I'm partial to the Beef Teriyaki.  You get 4 skewers, and it's pretty good.  The egg rolls are a bit generic though.  Frank says the Steamed Dumplings are good, especially the ginger-soy sauce they come with.  I only had the Fried Jumbo Shrimp once, and it seemed somewhat generic too.

Hunan Manor also has Vegetarian dishes and Fried Rice, Low Mein, and Chow Mein.  The Low Mein is just spaghetti noodles, like most Chinese restaurants nowadays.  I'm not too fond of their Fried Rice.  Frank likes the Pork Fried Rice, but not the Chicken - too generic.  I tried the Shrimp Fried Rice, but I couldn't eat it.  It had an odd taste to it, the shrimp and the rice.  I guess I just don't like whatever spice they put in there.

This is a hard restaurant for me to review, star-wise.  I mean, it's one of my favorite restaurants and I use the drive-thru all the time.  But there are some items that are kind of generic.  In the interests of fairness, I guess I'll have to say 3-1/2 to 4 stars.