A & L Chinese Food

I always pass by this small restaurant on my way to Sacramento. I have been a customer since the 90’s when it used to be called Mr. Chang’s. Food is great and prices are really affordable. I particularly like the crispy chicken, walnut prawn and shrimp chow mien. When you are in the area, I strongly recommend this place. The owner is very nice. Place is not elegant, well it is an old restaurant but the food is excellent and authentic. I strongly suggest trying this place out when you happen to be in the area.

I tried to like it. Truly. We’re new to the area and wanted Chinese. It had decent reviews so we went in. She seemed like she wanted us to order to go from the start, so we did even though we hadn’t intended to. I guess it was clean enough inside, but not enough for me. I was happy to leave. When we served it up at home, we noticed that none of it looked quite right, but hoped for the best. Not a lot of flavor, but the bonus was a long black hair cooked into the rice. Instant meal killer. We pitched it all and opted for cereal instead. We won’t be going back. Maybe we’ll try another place closer to home next time. :(

Wish we lived closer so we could go here more! It’s the same recipes as changs that use to be at the location! Food is always great! Best chow mein and the owners are so friendly and kind :)

I’ve been meaning to write a review on here for a while now. Been here a few times and also ordered to-​go quite a few times as well. Food is alright, just your basic Chinese food, nothing special. Their food is cheap, however, very inconsistent with the quality. Customer service is… Well what can I say… Old lady at the front taking orders is very rude. When asked a simple question, she answers with a sarcastic tone in her voice. Very unorganized with people’s orders. Instead of taking care of a customer one at a time, she tries to get everybody at the same time, which causes confusion. It seems like she’s always trying to rush people out of the restaurant. Location is convenient for us since we live just down the street, but we’d rather go out of our way and drive down the street to Golden Bowl, just so we won’t have to deal with rudeness and the unnecessary sarcasm.

Let’s just say, I’ve frequented this place so much that the owner actually recognizes my voice when I call on the phone. I usually just refer to what I order as «the usual» haha. No matter, I will tell a bit of back story. I moved to the area a little over 10 – 12 years ago. In that time, I’ve seen changs evolve and change into A&L today. In that transition, the same values that made changs what it was was kept in the transition. This i’m guessing must’ve been a family owned restaurant as I remember an older gentleman that used to run it but it is now run by a younger guy.
No matter, on to the review. My favorite item here is by far the Szechuan Chicken. I have ordered this non-​stop for quite a while. I often get it with my lunch special plates that I order from this place. Seriously at the value, around 5 – 6 bucks, i’m left with a good feeling and the stomach appreciates it. The chow mein is also one of the best that I have had. I’ve compared this Szechuan chicken at this place to a popular franchise that makes orange chicken and my friends have agreed. It is on par or even better most of the time. The in-​door interior of the restaurant gives the vibe of a Chinese restaurant that has been around for a while. The owners have always been nice to me every time I’ve come in to this restaurant.
When ordering, just remember to try a few things before coming to a conclusion about this place. I’ve had a great portion of the many dishes they have to offer and have never been disappointed. There are those days where the chef won’t be the same thus prompting the 4 star. But more often then not, I’m left with a great feeling every time I leave this place.

I want to give this place a really high rating but two things stopped this.
I was looking for real Chinese food – not that American-​ized stuff that is loaded with sugar. They have the salt pepper fish, as Pepper Salty Fish, for $ 10.95, which isn’t bad. Seeing only English descriptions on the menu makes it difficult sometimes to figure out what the dishes really are but whatever.
When I entered the restaurant, I found this clean, neat, restaurant with home made signs, and then, the woman behind the counter stood up and scowled at me, as though I’d ruined her business.
Her annoyed tone of voice helped matters, and I looked over the menu, and ordered the Pepper Salty Fish 椒鹽魚, steamed rice, and a Mountain Dew for $ 15.75. That wasn’t bad, if the food was good. She yelled my order twice to the kitchen – for here, as though she was really annoyed.
The table was clean and I sat down. After maybe 15 minutes, she brought the food. Since I don’t look Asian enough, I had to ask for chopsticks. I walked over to meet her halfway and she gave me some annoyed look. Truly, she reminded me of my friend’s father in Hamilton, Ohio. Every time anything happened, he told everyone about his 15 hour days. I get it. I’ve been through it. I even stopped there on a Friday or Saturday night when I was going through town to help them clean up after hours.
Okay, so the food is sitting on the table. The small rice was apparently measured with one of those paper carry-​out containers and put on a porcelain plate. There was a good portion of the salt pepper fish, but it looked tired, like the woman behind the counter.
After I let it cool down a little, there was a taste of old fryer oil. I still feel as though the oil congealed – like lard or something but not as tasty. The fish wasn’t particularly white inside the breading either. Even the jalapeño peppers didn’t seem quite right. It wasn’t bad, but clean oil probably would have made this review a whole lot happier.
Maybe, I’ll try again. She seemed much happier with the other people who entered the restaurant to take their food home, even smiling a little. I suppose I should try around lunch time.

Used to be called changs. I guess it’s under new management. But aside from that the food here is still delicious. Loved it when it was called changs and I love it now. Fair prices at good portions. Their Mongolian beef was delicious and their schezwan (sorry If I spelled that wrong) chicken is unrivaled! Definitely coming back again for the chicken

I’ve auditioned most of the Chinese places in Lathrop and Manteca over the years and I’ve settled on A & L as my go to Restaurant when I have a craving. It’s an old school place, nothing fancy about it in the facility or décor. It’s a mom & pop business in the literal sense with just the two of them working even on a busy Saturday night. They have some cafeteria style tables for a quick stop for lunch and a larger dining room available for weekends and big groups.
The food is what brings me back time and again. I like my Mongolian Beef to have a light sauce so you can taste the beef and onions and that’s how they do it here. The Szechuan Beef is crispy, slightly sweet and spicy. The spicy foods are spicy, they bring the heat, but not so much heat that your fillings melt. I’ve yet to come across a dish that I didn’t like.
There are some places in town with nicer facilities but for flavor I’ll take A & L any day, and frequently do!