Great Wall Restaurant

First off, my to go order was made incorrectly. The rice is quite bland and the chicken was tasty until I but into one that had a really dark area. I was done at that point.

Meh. Food doesn’t reflect the price. The lunch special I ordered came with the barest fried rices ever had. No pork or onions to be seen, just egg and soy sauce. The garlic shrimp with vegetables I ordered with this was sub-​par as well. I will probably never order from here again.

Authentic amazing Chinese food — order from the «Gourmet Menu» (i.e., not your standard made-​for-​americans takeout menu) — amazing amazing amazing.

The bar must be set pretty low for Chinese food in the Pioneer Valley… surprising since Northampton is supposed to be one of the epicenters of diversity and (think Berkeley east) enlightened/​educated folks. Usually the eateries kind of reflect that. The unassuming strip mall was ok since I’ve had plenty of good food in sketchy locales. However the first warning was sounded. the lady who took the order sort of took a bit of lemony-​sour look to me. To the food… the «Crispy Pork w Szechuan Sauce»: there was nothing crispy about these pork pieces (apparently dusted in curry flour and fried) swimming in an oily gingery/​garlic/​chili pepper sauce with a few broccoli pieces and onions. Kind of a gloppy mess. For 13.95 also shockingly excessive for the portion size as well. When your Chinese eatery only offers the full size portions (starting at 10.95).beware. I’m not quite sure what’s happening to Northampton… seems like a lot of mediocrity is creeping in, not just here. This place really deserves no love.

To all those who are from NYC or Boston and knock our Chinese restaurants in the Valley, you have no idea how good we have it here. Try coming to Lubbock TX to find Chinese food. I was very very impressed by the Great Wall last night. It was very busy with both eat in and take out but the service was excellent and the food hot, fresh and fast. We ordered off both the gourmet and the regular menu. It was all delicious. I’ve gone to a lot of Chinese places in the valley– some have had their day in the sun and gone down hill. Great Wall is great– and much better than some of the other supposedly excellent restaurants in the area. If you are going for the standard fare or looking to try something different, try the Great Wall.

We ordered takeout this evening for the first time from Great Wall. And it will be the last time. We ordered beef lo mein, moo goo gai pan, General Tso’s chicken, pork dumplings, scallion pancakes and hot and sour soup.
First of all all three main dishes were dry and flavorless. All came with a minuscule amount of sauce to choke down the flavorless ingredients. Points for the General Tso’s being all white meat, but otherwise the meal was baffling in that there was no seasoning or other flavor to it at all. The dumplings meanwhile were almost burned and again lacked flavor. The scallion pancake was a disgusting, greasy, non-​flaky mess. Absolutely inedible. It was absolutely drenched, soaked through, in oil. Gross. The soup was okay.
And aside from the bad food, there’s the issue of high prices for lunch-​sized portions. Don’t expect to have leftovers. And they only gave us one thing of rice for all of that food.
Don’t waste your time on this place. It’s a shame because for a long time they had a reputation for being the best in the valley. Looks like they’ve decided to rest on the laurels. It’s a double shame because there’s really no alternate good Chinese in the Northampton area.

So we order from here pretty regularly, probably close to once a week. More often than not we are getting delivery because its relatively quick. But I think tonight may have been the final straw. We put up with the unbelievably rude lady who answers the phone, and the wait times that are never ever accurate, and the over priced food because the food actually is pretty good and not as greasy as Chinese food can be. But I would say about 95% of the time they screw up our order. I have even started having them repeat our order back to me and they still mess it up. These are the most recent screw ups that I can remember…
Tonight I received a Vegetable Lo Mein although what was ordered was vegetable fried rice.
…previously…
two with rices instead of a large akai rice
tofu with string beans and broccoli with no tofu
A large white rice less than half way filled
chicken fried rice with no vegetables, instead no chicken and all vegetables
Double charged for crab rangoon that was completely left out of the order and when I called for a refund it was never issued.
The list goes on but that is all I can remember for now… Clearly we are the morons for continually ordering from them and hoping for different results but its convenient. I think however, after tonight its just not worth it. I wish a better delivery place would open with better customer service and accurate orders and then I am sure that most, if not all of Florence would order from there…

I hate writing unfavorable reviews and impressions, because I don’t want to deter people from trying it on their own and forming their own opinion. Even in this case — order up your favorite dishes, and go from there. However we’ve been having consistent ho-​hum experiences and it finally propelled me to write something.
We primarily order delivery or carry out, can’t speak for dine-​in, and the delivery service (with only one exception) has been on-​time or sooner over the past year. Drivers is always polite and have had no hiccups with our orders.
By far my biggest gripe is the place is way over-​priced for what you get. They are SO SKIMPY with the rice! Never have I run out of rice with Chinese, in fact usually it’s the complete opposite: you end up with a lingering white container in the fridge until you finally give in and throw it out. Every time you open a container it’s 2/​3rds full, and every time we say, «is that all the rice?». Maybe this is a case of impressions being everything — put it in a smaller container and stuff it full!
Food taste/​quality is subjective, and I don’t think it’s fair to knock a business simply because they put their own ‘flavor or spin on a dish that you don’t like. Mostly everything has been OK to good, but I will say (only because I doubt they are hand-​made, rather likely purchased) that the fried dumplings are pretty bland –very doughy tasting and unless you drown them in sauce, they’re not very passable. They offer a ‘Gourmet’ menu for significantly higher prices, but that just irks me — what does that say about the «normal» food you order? Should be consistent quality across the entire menu.
All this would be just fine, I don’t have high food standards, and I’ll eat plenty of just-​OK food. But for what you pay… A good example — I decided to stop in Springfield on my way home and pick up a carry out order instead. Two entrée’s, fried dumplings, came to $ 21. This same meal from Great Wall would have easily been $ 35.
There are very few options in Florence for late-​night delivery, so we often turn to this place for last-​minute indulgences, however that’s the *only* reason we continue to eat here.

This place has a nice atmosphere; however, when my dumplings came, there was something questionable on the top. I could have been a bug, a brush, or a skeleton of sorts. Although, I would go back because everything else we had ordered was fine.

I was visiting a relative in the area and figured I’d stop somewhere local and get some take out so no one had to cook. I called in the order on the way figuring traffic would be thick on a Friday night and was told it would be either 20 or 40 minutes, I couldn’t deceiver which one she said. The lady was borderline rude, but I figured it was just a busy Friday night. I ended up getting there before the time and was prepared to wait, I was told it wasn’t ready yet so I stepped to the side and waited. To my surprise, about two minutes later it came out and I paid and went on my way.
The wonton soup was ok, the chicken dish looked good as I unpacked it. The rice– well they don’t even carry brown rice so apparently white is the only option– it was standard run of the mill rice however I got the burnt pieces from the bottom of the rice cooker… But what alarmed me was when I opened the beef and broccoli… It was a clump of beef stuck together in a thick pasty goo (I will not even call it a «sauce» because it was nowhere near a sauce) and placed on top of plain steamed broccoli in the box. I wish I’d taken a photo to post– I’ve never seen anything like it! And by NO stretch of the imagination was it even close to a «beef and broccoli» dish! There were red markings in Chinese on the top of that one box only. I wish I’d also taken a photo of that to be deciphered. Was this because I showed up early? I would rather wait for good food than have one dish thrown together. It just seemed too coincidental to be a fluke.
But anyway– so we ate the food, the «Amazing Chicken» was ok, but certainly did not live up to the status it’s name promised, and the clump of beef with steamed broccoli could’ve been equated to dog food, in my opinion. Mostly stems of broccoli, very few florets, the beef was tasteless and the brown paste it was in was thick and just not good. For $ 30 I think I’ve been seriously ripped off!
Oh– and it was so laden with MSG both my relative and I had been extremely drowsy and thirsty all night and the following day! Never ever again will I go there!!!

Its ok… typical stuff.

I went here once and the food was inconsistent and their service was friendly but painfully slow. The apps came out quickly but the scallion pancake was burned. There were 5 in my party and our entrees all arrived separately. The meat in my sesame chicken was quality white meat but it had way too much breading and was incredibly bland. Don’t think I’ll be going back, although it seemed like the «gourmet menu» may offer better options.

I didn’t know food so bad could be so overpriced! I got takeout from there once, and only once because I am afraid to try it again. This is sad news as my studio is right across the street and it would have been really convenient. I ordered crab rangoon and hot ans sour soup. I know my hot and sour soup was reheated in the microwave from frozen state, because it was a nauseating light grey color, really runny and the tofu texture was super crumbly. Needless to say I couldn’t eat it. I don’t know how you mess up crab rangoon but they did. Waaaaaaaay too sweet and also kind of grey instead of the usual golden brown. I’ve had people tell me stay away from that place but I thought they just had high standards … NOPE, it’s that bad

Mediocre food, bad service, and depressing décor. There are much better choices nearby.

Very good Gluten free Chinese food. I had the pineapple chicken sauté and white rice and I would definitely be back! The owner was very nice and the staff was very knowledgeable of the food. Awsome tea to start! Kind of a hole in the wall but well worth the stop or delivery!

Arguably the best Chinese restaurant I’ve ever eaten at. The hot & sour soup is absolutely the best. Their dishes using local seasonal greens are incredible, and the scallion pancake appetizer is delicious… but by far, the best dish I’ve had here, and by extension at any Chinese restaurant I’ve ever eaten at, is the savory aromatic roasted chicken. Not fried, but as tasty and juicy as any fried chicken I’ve ever had. Try it.

I lived in the Pioneer Valley until 2008 and Great Wall was my go-​to Chinese place, and I always ordered from the «gourmet menu.» Visiting Easthampton tonight and offered to cover take-​away dinner. Happily ordered six items from grumpy phone answerer. Out of delivery range so zipped over to pick up. Clara at counter. Barely able to look up from balancing checkbook to attend to me.
Food was grim to me, ok to good for my guests. Nothing like I remember. Did not seem fresh. Stuffed tofu like rubber. Salt and pepper pork had good flavor but no crunch and too chewy texture, accompanied by undercooked elderly broccoli. Beef Mei Fan good. Shanghai ribs ok. Cold sesame noodles lacked sesame or any other flavor. Scallion pancakes flavorless grease bombs.
I’m sad because my hope of good Chinese in western MA slips away. My non-​discerning guests were ok, though, even having seconds. One star from me plus one for each of them.

In short, Great Wall is good, used to be better. In fact it used to be great. Some dishes are still great. The ribs a few nights ago were not so good — needed to be braised longer (though we took them home and cooked them a couple of hours in stock and they were fine). Dishes are sometimes too salty, sometimes not. Inconsistency is a problem here. We only order off the traditional menu, because the «tourist» menu is blandly chinese /​american. Scallion pancakes are still excellent. The other day, aromatic roasted chicken was delicious if a bit greasy. Ginger lamb was tasty but not easy to eat as it was full of cartilege and fatty.

I ordered take out the other night. I was not impressed. The service bordered on rude and the food was nothing special: dry chicken wings, mei fun lacked flavor and was clumpy.
I don’t think I’ll go back considering the better options around.

The gourmet menu at this place is actually not bad — the takeout/​delivery options however are horrendous.
You never know if your whole order is going to arrive. If you are lucky enough to actually get the food you ordered it will come in a leaky Styrofoam container, probably inside a clear plastic bag with sauce sloshing around in it.
I’d be happy to order from them again if they got their shit together and didn’t behave as if forgetting an entire dish was just the cost of doing business whenever they deliver. Updating their take-​out containers wouldn’t hurt either. Until then, no thank you.