Great Wall

It wasn’t too bad, but honestly, it didn’t really stand out. In all honesty though, I’ve only been here once because my truck was being serviced at a dealership nearby. Since I’m from out of town, I probably won’t be back, but it’s not their fault.

This is almost an unfair review, but I have to note it or others will make the same mistake I made. Tidewater Virginia is home to many local cuisines. One of my childhood favorites from this area is Yock. Some folks call it Yock A Mein. You can find this is generally in urban Chinese restaurants/​take out spots. The dish is noodle based spicy-​tangy dish with a choice of chicken, pork, or beef. Best describes as a cross between a soup and a pasta dish. All in all a good hearty meal. On a recent trip to Virginia (Tidewater), I went searching for this on a Sunday (Mistake #1). I saw Great Wall on my Unilocal app and quickly called to see if Yock was on the menu. She told me yes and I made a bee line for the strip mall. When we entered the restaurant there was a small crowd, which told me that their food was probably good. The service area was very clean and the restaurant was well air conditioned for all woks operating at the same time. We perused the menu and found it! AND it was less than $ 4. We got ahead of ourselves and decided to go with the chicken and pork. The woman taking our order stopped us in midst of our excitement to warn us that it was made with ketchup (and not the tomatoy, oily, spicy, etc. sauce that it is known for) and it had no vinegar in it (Mistake #2). I was clueless as to how this was even prepared but I figured that it would work if she gave me a few vinegar packs (Mistake #3). So I placed the order and figured that I would really spice it up by going next door to the restaurant to buy a few condiments to add to the dish. This is where the story should have stopped. It is clear up to this point that this Yock may NOT be the one I remember from my childhood and by the servers on admission, it probably will not be close to what I have imagined. But I pressed on, strolling the aisles of Farm Fresh for Cayanne Pepper and Vinegar. For some reason they only had a giant container of cayenne pepper, which has not brought the total of condiments more than the actual meal (Mistake #3). We then picked up out order, found a comfortable spot, tucked our napkins in the collar of our shirt and opened the containers. *Crickets* I was speechless… as spaghetti noodles with ketchup and two hard boiled eggs stared back at me. This is NOT what I remembered nor did it taste like anything. After one bite, I put the container down and came to the realization that I just wasted approx. $ 20 trying to recreate a childhood memory.
Now to be fair, this restaurant is not known for Yock and has a variety of other items on the menu. One failed item does not deserve 1 star, however, this is about Yock and at this particular restaurant. This was an EPIC fail on the cooks part! Great Wall should just remove this from their menu and stick to what they know. If I end up at Great Wall again, it won’t be because of the Yock.

Edible.
But pricey considering the complete lack or chicken in the Kung Po, and beef in the Szechwan…
Pass on the egg drop too
The hot and sour soup was good.
If you like heat and good Chinese, keep looking.
The family is nice, but the food doesn’t live up. You will leave disappointed.

I am a Chinese food snob. After 3 years we still haven’t found good food near our house. But we finally found these guys. The best Chinese food I’ve had outside of New York.

Definitely love their food. The family that owns it are all hard working and friendly. They’ve won Hampton Roads Best Chinese bronze for several years now and it’s well deserved and certainly better as well. Would highly suggest this place for people who want to get good Chinese take out for their money.

So far it’s the best Chinese restaurant in the Churchland area. The egg rolls are good.