J & K Chinese Gourmet
Rating: 
We live in a developing area in Gilbert, and there aren’t many restaurants around yet. So when I spotted a grand opening sign for a Chinese restaurant right next to our house, we decided to try it immediately.
J & K just opened this week. They are so new, they don’t even have their sign up yet. The decor is simple, but tasteful. The service is rather charming; even better than I would expect from a new restaurant. It appears to be all family run, so they are genuinely concerned about your experience.
We each ordered a lunch special (served daily from 11-3), which comes with soup and an entree with fried rice and egg roll or crab puffs. Our soup came out very quickly. You have a choice of either egg drop or hot and sour soup. The egg drop soup was okay, but was essentially just corn and egg. They should use less corn and add other vegetables. The hot and sour was the more flavorful of the two.
When the entrees came out, I was pleasantly surprised at how nicely they were presented in fancy rectangular box-plates. I ordered the Cashew Chicken ($5). They used quality, fresh vegetables and chicken. The sauce was a bit salty for me, and it was a little light on the cashews, but it was a good dish. The fried rice wasn’t greasy at all, in fact, it appeared more like steamed rice. The eggroll was to my liking–lightly wrapped, crunchy, and tasty. They give you both sweet and sour and horseradish sauces and some fried wontons, which I liked. Finally, the plate was garnished with a small salad drizzled with ranch.
My wife got the Mongolian Beef ($5) with crab puffs. The beef was tender and had just a hint of hot pepper. It was tasty, but I wish they had wok’d it a bit more so as to carmelize the beef and onions more. My wife and Mama both loved it. I wasn’t as enthusiastic as them, but I thought it was good. My wife liked her crab puffs, too.
Mama ordered the Island Wok Shrimp ($6.50). I’m not a big shrimp eater, but I thought it was the best plate. The shrimp was battered and stir-fried with green peppers and onion in their house sauce. I thought the sauce was excellent. It was sweet, smooth, and tropical tasting. This was more of a Hawaiian-Chinese offering.
J & K Chinese has an extensive menu. It is undoubtedly Americanized-Chinese food. I wouldn’t call it gourmet, but it would certainly be fair to call it “budget gourmet.” You can’t beat the value of their lunch specials considering this isn’t one of those Chinese places that serves up heaps of greasy, subpar food. Given their location, I could end up being a “frequent flyer.”
Note: J & K’s menu offers about 10 vegetarian dishes, and has a “Weight Watcher’s” section too, which features steamed entrees.
J & K Chinese Gourmet
2540 South Val Vista Drive #106 (Map)
Gilbert, AZ 85296
phone: (480) 821-8484
hours: M-Th 11-9, F-Sat 11-9:30, Sun 11-9
We love this restaurant. The food is good and the people are so friendly and know us by name. This is a great place to take your family young and old!
Wonderful!! We’ve been waiting for a good Chinese restaurant in the Gilbert area and this is it! We’ve been eating here since it opened. The Island Wok Chicken is the best! Very fast and friendly. Worth trying.
i LOVE the orange chicken!!