I hope this is hilarious! Pop corn ready
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The food was actually quite good. Took a picture of the bar but it came out blurry. No dust though. 
I will say, when I first walked in and before I knew what to expect, āNever Gonna Give You Upā by Rick Astley started playing and I thought to myself, āGee, some reviews really do write themselvesā.
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Thereās NO NEED TO HATE ON RICK ASTLEY!! 
You were saying?
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Alright, here it is. I will skip ahead to the food because my opening is pretty much the same as my initial post on this thread:
Anyway, Justin and I stopped in today to finally try the food. I tried to take it all in: the bar with enormous handles of liquor that probably never get poured, bar mirrors and beer signs on every wall acting as decor, and very appropriate ābowling alley carpetingā. The service was not as snippy as on that first visit. The waitress was pleasant and did not rush us. I got the feeling she was one of the owners. She was attentive and brought over hot tea to start us off. On my way out, I stopped to ask how long the place had been there, to satisfy my curiosity. She said, ā25 yearsā before pausing with a smile, āTime to retire soonā. I truly believe the room which now holds this restaurant was a party room for the bowling alley until the early 90ās when it switched over. It takes some contemplating now to decide what I truly felt about how this place looked. Drab as it may be, the dated atmosphere gives it a certain charm.
But you donāt go to a restaurant to stare at the walls. How was the food? We started with the wontons in hot oil. They arrived in an impressive portion and covered in coriander. They had a similar look to the glorious product Sichuan Cottage puts out, but they just were not the same. The wontons themselves were flavorful and chewy (in a good way). I think maybe they were steamed earlier and then reheated in the sauce. Unfortunately it was not very spicy. However, the addition of the herbs on top really gave it an entirely different taste than what I am used to. That seemed to be the theme throughout this meal: coriander on almost everything. Is this what separates Chinese from Taiwanese cuisine or is it just a quirk of the restaurant? Either way, it provided a unique burst of flavor with each bite.
Next to arrive were bowls of complimentary soup and kimchi. As most of the menu was not in English, I was not expecting this. The soup was like a hot and sour soup, with mushrooms, tofu, scallions, and tons of black pepperāit was actually spicier than the wontons because of this. I thought it was delicious. For meals, we decided to share three things. The first was advertised on the menu as a ādeep fried meatballā. This piqued our interest and for only $5 we figured we had to have whatever the hell a deep fried Chinese meatball could possibly be. In addition to that, we ordered pork and mushroom sticky rice along with the chicken cutlet with minced pork sauce.
When the meatball came we quickly saw that it was two meatballs. Another enormous portion. Rather than being what most would think of as a āmeatballā, they were instead over-sized steamed pork buns which were probably flash fried and then covered in a sweet sauce with finely chopped peanuts and you guessed it, more coriander. This simple dish managed to cover a range of flavors and textures: there was sweet, salty, savory, chewy, soft, tender, and crunchy. It was probably my favorite item of all that we ordered. As someone who has eaten my weight ten times over in Asian food, I had never seen such a thing before. I would get it again next time.
The pork and mushrooms with sticky rice was my least favorite. It was not bad, but when it came I immediately recognized what a āsafeā order this was. I guess I was not expecting essentially a fried rice dish that used sticky rice instead of regular white rice. I figured there would be pork and mushrooms in a sauce with the rice on the side. I was wrong, but it still tasted fine and the stickiness made it super easy to eat with chopsticks. I would not get this again just because there are so many more interesting items on the menu. Justinās fried chicken cutlet ended up taking home the award for most interesting. The cutlet appeared to be a thigh with the bone removed and then hammered out. It was crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside. The seasoning was salty without overdoing it. The fact that this cutlet was mainly dark meat added to the flavor. The rice on the side came with a wonderful minced pork sauce. The pork melted away in my mouth. Also included were some steamed bok choy and a preserved egg which did not really taste like much.
Overall, we found ourselves thoroughly satisfied and stuffed to the point of having leftovers. I had to ask myself, āIs this good food or just good food for a bowling alley?ā The answer is no, this was actually good. The prices were low, the portions large, and the quality was there. Six tables were taken for this lunchtime meal, all Asian except for one other customer. Thatās a good sign. Almost everyone else had soup as a meal, so that is probably the direction I will go next time (more than half the menu is soup-based).
I will add that eating at China Palace is a bit tricky because of their hours. They are open from 11:30 am until 2 PM and then close until opening again from 5-8 PM. This was not fine cuisine but given everything mentioned above and how close this is to my house, I will certainly swing by if we feel like a quick, cheap Asian meal in a restaurant rather than takeout. I cannot say the quality was any lower than the pricier House of Chong or Crown Palace. Sometimes looks can be deceiving. If you told me Iād be giving a positive review to such a place, I would have thought you were crazy. Give this dive a chance and have yourself a 90ās bowling alley-themed food adventure. (Never thought such a sentence would ever be written on this blog!) 3.5 out of 5 stars.
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āAh, haā moments can be sublime.
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The only meatballs Iāve ever had in a Chinese restaurant are āLionās Head meatballs,ā which Iāve generally only seen during Chinese New Yearā¦ I wonder if thereās any connection?
@seal to the courtesy phoneā¦ 
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I make Lionās Head meatballs, and these are the right size, but mine are mostly pork. Iām not quite sure from the picture what those meatballs are made from. The sauce looks similar to the brown sauce I usually make with mine. I was told that stewed meatballs are very popular in many regions of China so I donāt know about the New Yearās connection.
Speaking of New Year, weāre almost there. Anyone got any interesting plans? Remember our HODown at Sichuan Cottage one year?
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But what did you bowl? (Nice review)
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I suddenly want to watch Big Lebowski yet againā¦
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Thank you. Too stuffed to bowl.
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And in case you ever forgot you were in a bowling alley, drinks came in these sick retro cups:
And @corvette_johnny, hereās your bar. Sorry it came out blurry.
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is that some sort of drunk filter for your phone?
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You know, I actually thought about that. I didnāt notice it was blurred until I got home. I had to just shake my head and say, āIt wasnāt meant to beā.
I like it, really makes me feel like I was actually at the barā¦
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Ha!
I wonder if they can be trusted with a Mai Tai? Had it been dinner, I might have chanced it. I donāt know what to expect. There is no drink menu, they donāt ask if you want anything to drink, and Iām not even sure those beer taps are connected by the looks of them. Considering beer is what people order most with Chinese food AND bowling, this entire place is nothing but one mindf-ck after another.
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Well Iām glad you had a better experience than I did 
Nice review Greg.
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Lol. You posted this as I was writing. That last line is classic lol. I told you this place was bonkers! You could make a movie out of this joint. I watched bad times at El Royale the other night. I think they need to make ābad times at the China bowling alleyā 
As for a a drink, I think the rum may be pleasantly aged!
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Yes, this could be the setting for a book or movie. Now just imagine a buffet component with @NotJrvedivici eating his 20 pounds of shrimp and polishing off a bottle of vodka to the sound of bowling pins getting struck in the background.
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Unfortunately I donāt see any Stoli n that bar so itās already one strike, errrrrr gutter ball as the case might be, against them!!
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