Waterloo Star

There are quite a few Chinese restaurants along this strip mall to choose from, so it's hard to know which one to pick. After having a look at several, I settled on the Star and was impressed. I had the roasted chicken and it came skinless and served with a nice portion of the ginger relish I love. Especially considering the price, it's rare these days to get such exceptional value and for $10.49 you can choose from several classic Chinese plates. Plus, the fountain drinks are free. There's a big crowd of UW students which also vouches for both the authenticity and value for money.

I have been here a couple of times now because I like to give a restaurant a fair chance at making delicious food, but Waterloo Star has failed every time I have gone. I could be ordering the wrong dishes, but even if I am the food is always super greasy, it's usually a long wait to get your order in, and it's pricey compared to what else you can get. Once you order your food it does come really fast (which is the only good thing at this restaurant). You will be waiting a while to be served so make sure you flag the waitress down to come serve you. The servers are really nice so you won't have a problem there. Overall though, I wouldn't come here. You can find cheaper, more delicious, less greasy food somewhere else. I would recommend SOGO if you want great Chinese food.

As much as I enjoy the food at this restaurant, I've been short changed by their staff on several occasions. Last night, I ordered a noodle dish for takeaway that was 7.49, and it should come out to 8.46 with taxes in. Usually they short change me by 5 cents (they don't know how to understand the rounding rules), but this time I paid $20 cash and only got $11 in change. Yes, food is authentic, quick and fresh, but I prefer not to feel cheated when eating my food.

Well, maybe we just picked the right dishes but oh boy were they ever delicious! Based on the reviews we tried the Xin Jiang chicken which apparently is actually called Dapanji and translates to Big Plate Chicken. Yes! ! When the platter (not plate platter) arrived OMG there must have been an entire chicken on it! It is one of the delicious chicken dishes we have ever enjoyed and there was a full take out box to take home. I assumed they made an error and ordered the large size, but no, on our bill we were charged 11.95 for the dish. Unbelievable!! We also ordered the eggplant with garlic sauce. I loved every bite and it was hard to stay away from it. My partner found it just a little sweet being used to a spicier and more savory eggplant dish. Still it was a really great dish. I highly recommend trying this place, especially if you are getting the Xin Jiang Chicken What fantastic flavor in this dish! Service is excellent prompt and very attentive wait staff. Decor is casual. We are not Chinese and don't speak the language and we had no problems at all with the service. This could easily become one of our favorite places.

The first time I came here I was not impressed with the service. It was extremely slow but I wanted to give them another chance. Literally just walked out because my family and I were sitting there for 30 mins and no one came by once. I even tried to flag a waitress down but they were all too busy chatting by the cash register. The food here is inexpensive and not awful. And comes out pretty quickly if you ever get to put in your order. However I was starving and ended up leaving before ordering. The wait staff barely speaks English. But what really got to me was the fact that they don't care at all about customer service. Even if the restaurant is practically empty it takes them forever to even realize that they are at work and have things to do and customers to tend to. will never come here again. I do not recommend it for anyone.