“Ding Ho”, Cantonese Cuisine, Columbus, Ohio

What’s round on the outside, and high in the middle?  “Ohio” of course!  And when in Ohio, one must seek out a Chinese restaurant to try.  With a short list of sit-down “authentic” Chinese restaurants to choose from, one really caught my eye.  An old school, heck it is older than I am!!, Chinese restaurant, Ding Ho.  Ding Ho is located at 120 Phillipi Rd, Columbus, OH 43228.  And by the looks of the pics online, I foud just what I’m looking for.  A real old old-school Chinese restaurant.  Walking in, there was the Tiki Bar.  Yeah mon!  

The restaurant is split down the middle with two dining areas.  The only thing I could tell that differentiates the sides is that the bar was on the other side.  My loss.  But it wasn’t too far away to order a Mai Tai when the waitress came around.  One thing I did notice, on either side, and in the parking lot, the restaurant was PACKED!

Dining with me this evening was my new friend, Mee Juul Ya.  It was her first time eating there too (and she is way way younger than the restaurant).  Considering she was born(?) and raised in the Columbus, Ohio area, it is a bit shocking. But, that wasn’t the biggest shock of the evening.  Hint, it wasn’t the bill either.

A little disappointed not to see a Column A, nor B on the menu, that disappointment was only exceeded by the Mai Tai.  Sad to say after the first sip, the drink went flat (not carbonated flat, but the taste seemed to shrivel from it.

Finally pressed to order, as we were the last patrons to enter before they closed at 9:00 PM, when push came to shove, we ordered:

Shrimp with Cashew Nuts:  Except for the fact that this dish was pretty darned salty, the cashew nuts were good.  Hope springeth eternal in our second dish.  It was served in some gravy, which was more like broth, which was quite salty.  It was, however, served in those really cool metal serving dishes.  You just don’t see those too often.

Shrimp with Broccoli:  The broccoli was good; The shrimp ok.  Was it salty too?  It was too salty as well.  It was served up properly though.

…

OKayyyyy, we weren’t very original here, and perhaps should have tried a non-shrimp dish.  Next time?  You know what they say, “in Ohio you go large, or you don’t go at all”. That said, shrimp was a poor choice on more than one level 😉

As mentioned earlier, the bill was reasonable.  And not worth its weight in salt 😉

At least I got to sample Chinese food on the trip.  Will I be back to Ohio?  Most definitely!  Stay tuned!!

Humbly submitted for your consumption,

—Mee Magnum  (“Chop!  Chop!”)

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