A Return to MOONSTONE Chinese Restaurant

A Second Look & Review

When I first visited and ate at Moonstone Chinese Restaurant, located on Northern Blvd in Great Neck, just east of the Queens border, I had a terrific time, probably as much due to getting to meet and greet the characters of The Chinese Quest, as for any other reason (although the wine helped!). My wife (aka Mee Pee Wee C) came back from a mini – vacation, and suggested going there for dinner. So, of course, Her wish was my demand!

We came armed with out 20% off coupon that had appeared in Newsday, and perhaps as somewhat of an omen, were informed that the coupon had expired and therefore could not be used (although there was no expiration date on the coupon). As someone with years in marketing consulting, I considered this to be an unwise decision on the restaurant’s part (especially since it was not crowded), but, in and of itself was not a deal – breaker.

The place is lovely to view, and clean (even the bathrooms, something I learned was perhaps a little too important to the Mee’s), and one is greeted in a friendly, professional manner. The service is still quite good and consistent, which is always a plus!

However, unfortunately it was somewhat downhill after that! We ordered an Appetizer for 2 that included: Boned and boneless spareribs; an egg roll; chicken curry puff; shrimp toast; and beef puff. Again, while presented nicely, it just did not have any great taste! The boned spareribs were overcooked and greasy, the boneless ones were in far too much gravy and too salty. The egg roll was greasy, tasteless and overcooked. The shrimp toast looked and tasted too much like a corn ball and had no taste and little shrimp inside. The beef in pastry came in a pastry that fell apart and had nearly no meat. Mee Pee Wee C gave a Thumbs Down review to the chicken curry. NOT a great start!!

We then ordered the signature Beijing Duck dish that I raved about the first time I was here. It was just OK this time, with far too much Hoisan sauce, and dripping when one tried to eat it. It was still tasty, but no longer anything to rave about.

The best dish we got was the Black Prawns, which is a Shrimps in Bean Sauce dish. It was tasty, but certainly not exceptional nor worth the price. But not bad!

We got a pot of green tea that was tasty, but not worth paying extra for. Tea does not come with the meal, nor does even a Fortune Cookie. My re- Review: Atmosphere- 3.5; Food only a 2.5 (out of 5)

–Mee Rich Yee   nee Richard Brody

(MM: To read other articles published by our guest author, Richard Brody, please click here)