Fong Fine Asian Dining

UPDATE: Fong Fine Asian Dining has moved, but their address online is current!

When I went to web to find somewhere to eat this week, I found Fong Fine Asian Dining in Pleasant Grove, on State Street. By the account of a few customers, I was to expect great food... but there were some things that they told me that would paint their personal opinions on the restaurant. I was told that the Thai food was to be avoided at all costs, with no specifics on the reason. I was told to set aside 2 hours at the least to eat there, because of the slow service. I take all amateur restaurant reviews with a grain of salt, because they usually base the whole review on whatever experience took them by surprise during their visit - If the noodles looked disgusting, but tasted surprisingly good, they'll base their review on that, and probably rate the place a 4 or 5 out of 5... completely neglecting to acknowledge any other part of the visit. If the meat was too spicy for their taste, they'll base their rating on that, and give them a 2 or 3, forgetting every other part of their visit.

There are two things I'd like to emphasize in this review.

The first: Keep food in perspective. At your favorite Chinese restaurant if you didn't think about the rice, then the rice was good! It served its purpose... which is usually a filler, or in the case of fried rice, it was a side dish, and usually not the cook's favorite part.

The second: Communicate with your service. They have more first-hand experience with the food you're eating than 100% of the reviewers online. Their opinion is valuable, and it could save you from heartache or heartburn.

The Atmosphere:
When I got to the restaurant, there were around 6 people total, at 2 of the 10-or-so tables in the restaurant. There's no doubt in my mind that Fong Fine Asian Dining is a single location, family-owned restaurant. If they have another location that I don't know about, I'd be pleasantly surprised to hear about it. The atmosphere is very personable, and it's definitely not used to mass-service. The food was made to order for the most part, and each food had its own unique taste, unlike many other Asian food places you'll visit. The restaurant itself is in the same building as an ice cream shop, but definitely has its own following and customer base. On the inside of the restaurant, it gives the impression that it's an older building that was rebuilt or refurbished in the past 10 years. It's a black and white color scheme, and the moldings around the windows look nice, and give the place a little character. There are two televisions, one on either side of the room, and the day I visited, they were playing sports. (I couldn't tell you which sport, as they all lump into one in my brain for some reason.) By the time I left, there were about 15 people in the restaurant, and being young adults for the most part, the 2-person dining staff had their hands full, and were visibly flustered.

The Service:
Though they seemed like they were kept on their toes the whole time, I was never without the drinks I  needed, or a friendly face updating me on the preparation of my food. When I complain about service, I complain about the person who communicates with me and waits on me... the person who doesn't actually cook my food. There were two people in the dining area, and it seemed that they were both equally in charge of how things were going at my table. One of the employees, a young man, gave us 120%. He wanted to make sure that we all had what we needed, and he communicated the process to us very effectively and efficiently. That was his job... That's what he does to make his money. Now what amazed me was his politeness. This was a teenager, who was definitely working a rather demanding after-school job, and he bypassed the norms, and what was to be expected, by looking me in the eye, smiling sincerely, and establishing a real, personal, and professional connection. You don't see that often, and that was refreshing. The other worker was also high school age, and did their job, but didn't really try to do anything further - which is fine, except when they neglected to pick up the checks for quite a while. Granted, they took a phone order, and waited on other tables in the mean time, but they also checked their cell phone, realized they had a text, and took care of that before looking towards the table to retrieve the payment.

The Thai food:
By suggestion of the waiter, I ordered the coconut curry.
Taste-wise, this was one of the best curries I had ever eaten. It was rich, and they didn't skimp and use sub-par ingredients with too much oil. It was a well rounded, slightly spicy with a good amount of chicken in it. They did put just as much chopped onion in as chicken, however it was cooked thoroughly, and didn't ruin the other tastes, but rather added another layer of flavor with the sauce and spice. I ordered it in a Bento Combo, with fried rice, a spring roll, and chow mien. The fried rice went very well with the curry, and the spring roll was very freshly prepared, with fresh veggies, and hot as a spring roll could ever be. The chow mien was a shade of red... different from the chow mien that I'm used to. (the picture makes it look a lighter red than it actually was.) It seemed to me that the sauce that they cooked it with was slightly spicy, as it had just a hint of pepper to the taste. It had a pleasing, unique taste, with just the right amount of substance provided by the veggies.

Altogether, the very best part of the meal was the curry, and the best part of my visit was the food.

I'd suggest you go to Fong Fine Asian Dining and try some out for yourself. It's worth the visit.