La Chinita's Restaurant Permanently Closed
Chinese · 1012 Avondale Ave, San Antonio, Texas 78223
★★★★★ 1 review(210) 534-8010
Menu Items
Reviews
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Best Mongolian Beef I've Had. Amazing Egg Rolls.
I've been eating at La Chinitsas for decades, and while some items on the menu have varied a little of the years, others have remained longtime favorites. My favorite item here has to be the Mongolian Beef, which is a lunch special on Thurs & Saturday.
La Chinitas is interesting because they serve both Mexican and Chinese food, but I only go there for Chinese food myself. In addition to the regular lunch menu, there are daily specials, which are dinner entrees offered at a discount for lunch, and theres 2 each day, that rotate weekly, with all of them available on Saturdays. Lunch specials are served with soup if you dine in, and a crab rangoon.
My Mongolian Beef on my most recent visit seemed to be a bit less flavorful. Hopefully it was just a one time occurance, becuase the mongolian beef is what keeps me coming back. The meat has a char grilled flavor, cooked along with dried red peppers, and onions that are soft, but still retain some crunch without tasting oniony. The whole mixture is served over a bed of crispy noodles, which add a nice mix of textures. If you order to go, the noodles will be soft within 10 minutes.
Now about the egg rolls. These egg rolls are pretty thick, the skins are crisp, the filling moist and almost steamed. The cabbage inside tastes super fresh, is peppered and has a bit of meat mixed in with it. These are some of the best egg rolls I've had anywhere. The sweet & sour sauce here just adds to the flavor and makes them awesome.
I've only found Mongolian Beef with a similar flavor one other place, which was in Colorado and recently closed.
The rice served with meals here is a bit different as well, its a semi-standard egg, carrot and pea fried rice, yellow in color, but also contains small cubes of ham. I personally like the fried rice here better than many other restaurants.
The owners are super friendly, and work in the restaurant, keeping everything running up to the standards they have kept for years. The staff is generally attentive, but it can get pretty packed at lunch time, so be prepared for a little bit of a wait if you dine in right around noon. I generally visit around 1-2pm when the rush has started to let up a bit. Orders generally take about 10-15 minutes, but I have had waits of up to 25 minutes on super busy days.
As far as other items I recommend from here, the egg drop soup is good, the sweet and sour chicken, and the garlic beef which is a Monday special.
La Chinitas is one of my favorite Chinese restaurants anywhere. The portions are large, the food is cooked fresh to order, and theres several items on the menu that have flavor that I've yet to find anywhere else. Definitely worth a try when it comes to Chinese Food.
**Lunch Specials**
Monday - Mongolian Beef, Beef & Garlic Sauce
Tuesday - Kung Pao, Hunan Beef, Sesame Chicken
Wednesday - Garlic Chicken, Chicken & Black Bean Sauce
Thursday - Mongolian Beef, Hunan Chicken
Friday - Kung Pow Beef, Shrimp & Chicken w Mixed Vegetable
Saturday - All Above
Signage
Mongolian Beef (Dine In)
Egg Roll & Crab Rangoon
Egg Drop Soup - Crispy Noodles - Egg Roll
General Chicken (To Go)
Sweet & Sour Chicken
Dining Area
Chinese Food - Lunch Specials
Mexican Food - Lunch Specials
Chinese Food - Lunch Specials
Mexican Food - Dinner Menu
Entrance
Mongolian Beef
Mongolian Beef - Lunch Special
Lunch Special - Mongolian Beef (To Go)
Lunch - Mongolian Beef (To Go)
— Paul