374160 Fri Feb 23 09:06:34 -0800 2007 32 81 New Jersey 0 2322067 which is the better CP, middletown or marlboro? no website, anyone know if its BYOB? THX Fri Feb 23 09:06:34 -0800 2007 64949 nyebaby37 1 2322082 Marlboro Crown Palace is my go-to dim sum place. I've never ordered off of the regular menu and have heard that the regular menu items are not particularly good. It is not BYOB. I haven't been to the Middletown location. Fri Feb 23 09:10:18 -0800 2007 2322067 16458 jsfein 1 2322196 Since I live in Marlboro, I can respond with experience. Crown Palace is BY FAR the best chinese food in the area. They have the best hot and sour soup and lo mein/chow fun dishes. I would also reccomend the crabs in black bean sauce or the peppercorn shrimp. Another appetizer that is good is the chicken in foil. Everything is extremely tasty. I dont think I have ever had a bad dish from there. We also order chinses food probably twice a week every week for 15 years. lol Fri Feb 23 09:34:44 -0800 2007 2322067 73294 FoodDude2 1 2322225 I've commented about this before on this board. The Marlboro location is 5 minutes from our house. We tried it not long after they first opened, and the dishes we had were poor to mediocre. One was so bad that we voiced our concerns to a manager. We received an extremely nasty response. Needless to say, we've never been back. That experience was with the regular menu. But even if the dim sum were the best in the entire universe, I would never consider going there again. Fri Feb 23 09:39:42 -0800 2007 2322067 13867 RGR 2 4568903 ARGH! RGR, you are my source for all food information and now I find that the chinese which will also be 5 minutes from my house is mediocre? Say it isn't so! Sun Apr 05 08:01:19 -0700 2009 2322225 280201 GG1 1 2322371 hmmmm, anyone for Middletown comments? thanks hounds. Fri Feb 23 10:15:35 -0800 2007 2322067 64949 nyebaby37 2 2322457 I've been to the Middletown location on many occassions. My favorite food outing is Sunday Dim Sum there. I've always had excellent meals and like the fact that they also have a dedicated menu with the stuff that we Americans wouldn't normally eat. They have excellent braised dishes as well. I recommend the place highly. Yes, they have a liquor license. Fri Feb 23 10:37:21 -0800 2007 2322371 39770 JNUNZMAN 1 2323374 I have always found the Middletown location to be consistantly good. Not nearly outstanding, like Westlake, but always good. I second their braised dishes and for some reason I like their fried rice a lot too. One more thing, if you get there early enough in the day, go next door and buy some of the best roast meats outside nyc chinatown. I only go to the other location (which is much closer to my house) when dragged there by friends. Odd how two places supposedly the same can be soooo different. Fri Feb 23 13:55:01 -0800 2007 2322067 16028 seal 2 2344748 Where is West Lake??? Fri Mar 02 07:16:40 -0800 2007 2323374 79110 deepdish4 3 2344764 West Lake Chinese Restaurant 1016 State Route 34 Matawan, NJ 07747 (732) 290-2988 Fri Mar 02 07:22:53 -0800 2007 2344748 10293 val ann c 1 2323671 I've never been to the Marlboro location. I live near the Middletown location. I've had their dim sum a couple times in the past year. I found it decent, nothing special. West Lake is so much better. I agree with Seal... the Asian grocery next to Middletown Crowne Palace is worth a visit. Great assortment of asian greens, good bbq ribs at the meat counter, nice little housewares section in the back. I am addicted to the "triangle cake" from their pastry counter. Fri Feb 23 14:56:47 -0800 2007 2322067 10293 val ann c 1 2324965 Sorry, I do not care for either location. re: Middletown, one exp. that immediately comes to mind are seafood dinners..big price tag, but lacking quality shellfish/seafood. Ironically, I shop next door at the market almost weekly and always have a good experience. I can recommend: Hunan House in Middletown 655 State Route 35 Sat Feb 24 06:32:06 -0800 2007 2322067 36312 HillJ 2 2325013 HillJ -- What do you recommend at Hunan House? I live in the area. Is the take-out good? Sat Feb 24 06:55:53 -0800 2007 2324965 10293 val ann c 3 2325066 val ann - a few of my favs include the prawns with vegetables, chicken corn soup (all their soups are terrific), Buddist delight, chicken three-way, etc. Take out is good, dining in is better. Sat Feb 24 07:25:36 -0800 2007 2325013 36312 HillJ 1 2344298 I only go to the Marlboro location for dim sum, which I have found to be better than the Middletown location. The authentic chinese dish menu at the middletown location for lunch is pretty good. Last time I went I had beef with bittermelon and some kind of roasted chicken (forgot what kind) plus some chinese vegetables. Thu Mar 01 23:22:36 -0800 2007 2322067 79089 alielle 1 2344744 We go to the Middletown location about 2 times a month. Excllent food and service, far superior to Marlboro. Try the Dungeness Crab with black bean sauce, or they will also make you SINGAPORE CRAB (not on the menu) ask the girl at desk. Excellent salt and pepper shrimp, clams with black bean sauce, and even Peking Duck is very good. Fri Mar 02 07:14:43 -0800 2007 2322067 79110 deepdish4 1 2344968 Thanks deepdish ... your post now has me jonesing for some chili crabs ...... Fri Mar 02 08:19:51 -0800 2007 2322067 31617 bgut1 1 2345519 My vote is Marlboro for regular food, Middletown for Dim Sum. Although West Lake has superior chinese food. I live in Matawan, so both are essentially equidistant. Fri Mar 02 10:18:13 -0800 2007 2322067 49232 aacharya 2 2884251 I finally made it out to Crown Palace today. It seems that I've been on a tour of sorts of Chinese restaurants in the area. I wish I had reread this post before going because I forgot to order the Singapore Chili Crab instead I ordered another preparation (I'll tell you about that later). Anyway, I was on my way up Route 18 this evening with my boys and remembered that the Marlboro location was right off the highway. As Mrs. Bgut1 doesn't eat Chinese food my boys are very willing participants. We arrived at about 6PM and while the restaurant was half full it was starting to fill up as we walked in the door. I would describe the decor as upscale Chinese (such that I was feeling a little self conscious in my shorts and sandals). Noticing the beautiful waterfall and garden, I asked that we be seated along the window to keep my kids amused and occupied. Thankfully my request was accommodated. When seated we were presented with the typical "Americanized" menu and the obligatory fired noodles with duck sauce and mustard. While my kids were happy with the amuse I was disappointed not to receive the peanuts and what looked to be pickled cabbage given to the Chinese patrons. I asked for the authentic menu and was thankfully presented with a full English version of their real Chinese menu. Here is what I ordered: pork dumplings (typical take out fare - doughy and blah), wonton and pork soup for the kids (nothing special but did the trick), a seafood chowder (it looked very unappetizing - consisting of a viscous clear liquid with white suspended matter of some sort and bits of shell fish - looks were deceiving as it was excellent), beef lo mien for the kids (standard fare - not bad - kids were happy), a whole Peking duck (disappointed that they didn't have a half order but I still wanted to try and brought most of it home - very good with crispy skin - one of the better preparations I've ever had), Dungeness Crab with house special sauce (very good - whole live crab brought to table prior to being cooked - kids got a kick out of it - delivered hacked up coated in white sauce containing ginger and onions - messy but great - a true winner - will get the chili crabs next). The kids and I took a nice stroll in the garden afterwards. A very nice meal with the added bonus of the gardens, The only caveat is the price. While I did buy a bit more food then needed, the cost with gratuity was $110 (including a glass of wine and two soft drinks). A little much but still worth it. I'll be going back and you should too especially if you like Dungeness Crab. Cheers. Sun Aug 26 20:11:42 -0700 2007 2345519 31617 bgut1 3 2885240 Good report, as usual, b.! Glad you liked it. However, if you scroll up and re-read my post, I've explained why Crown Palace will never again see a penny of our money! Mon Aug 27 08:37:08 -0700 2007 2884251 13867 RGR 4 2885358 RGR - I'm sorry about your bad experience. It must have been a horrible experience for you to not have returned. I did find the service to be a bit pushy and uinfriendly but I seem to expect that in Chinese restaurants of late. A sad but true state of affairs. If I knew you were boycotting the place I wouldn't have gone :). Mon Aug 27 09:07:50 -0700 2007 2885240 31617 bgut1 5 2885557 b., That's very sweet of you. :-) But, honestly, just because we are boycotting, I don't think anyone else, including friends, should do the same. While I eat Chinese food, it's not my favorite though Mr. R. loves it. Our daughter was with us at that Crown Palace dinner, and we all thought the food was nothing special. But there was one dish in particular that was so horrible, we felt we should complain. And we were shocked at how thoroughly nasty the manager's attitude was. If he had been the least little bit pleasant and conciliatory, taken the dish off our bill, etc., we might have been willing to give CP another try. Instead, his response went something like, "Nothing wrong with that dish. Like it or lump it!" In any event, I prefer Thai food, so I can survive very nicely without Crown Palace, thank you very much! lol However, if you and your boys enjoyed it, you should go back. Mon Aug 27 09:59:52 -0700 2007 2885358 13867 RGR 6 2887240 What about the Ruby Palace, in the Middletown/Holmdel area on Rt. 35--I've had good meals and experiences there, especially with their Hunan offerings. It's in a similar area and the food is far fresher and far less Americanized than what the Crowne Palace seems to serve. Mon Aug 27 16:20:56 -0700 2007 2885557 95065 veganish 7 3691941 I'm Chinese, so I should know...Ruby Palace is extremely Americanized, and the food there isn't too good. Thu May 15 17:56:42 -0700 2008 2887240 192629 sir panderma 3 5076824 Just wondering what they charge for the dungeness crabs Sat Oct 03 13:43:45 -0700 2009 2884251 73294 FoodDude2 1 4396389 Marlboro CP is where i always get my chinese food. The food must be better than the one in Middletown Sat Feb 07 13:14:18 -0800 2009 2322067 264156 DH23 2 4396420 We only go to CP in Marlboro for the Dim Sum Buffett on Sat & Sun 11-2pm...... Wang Sushi Asian Fusion restaurant is our new favorite in Toms River YUMMY! Sat Feb 07 13:28:13 -0800 2009 4396389 181892 Tapas52 3 4397217 I have always liked the marlboro location Sat Feb 07 19:45:24 -0800 2009 4396420 244314 beentheredonethat 1 5064638 Had two dinners recently at Crown Palace - Marlboro. I am from Hong Kong and recently had a newborn son and I needed to to host a "Welcome Newborn" party for about 40 people. The 2 Chinese restaurants in the area that I know of and are suitable for this occasion are Sunny Palace and Crown. I have used Sunny Palace in the past and they always do a fine job. However, they were all booked on the date I want so I went with Crown Palace this time. I have often go to crown palace for dim sum and always thought they are okay. Never really have dinner there until recently. I had to drop off a deposit for the banquet a couple weeks ago, so I had dinner there along with my family. The food and service were both below par. First thing is that for a Chinese/Cantonese this size, they don't offer any live fish which is shocking to me. We ordered a salt and pepper pork chop and you can barely taste the salt and pepper. Overall, the dinner was quite bad. Half of the dishes were okay at best and half was bad. Anyway, it was too late to switch location for my party since we sent out our invitations already, so we were hoping for best this past weekend. Well, the food actually was passable for our party. It was better than the dinner I had a couple weeks ago. The service was okay although it was weird that the first few courses (out of 10) came out and then we waited another 30 min or so before the next course. It almost seems like they don't know how to manage a banquet which again surprised me for a restaurant this size and has been doing business this long. Also, the fried rice and noodle should come out at the end but it come out mid-dinner. All in all, I found Crown Palace dinner offerings no better than some of the take out place in the area; I am quite disappointed with there food and service. I think I would still go there if I have a craving for Dim Sum and don't want to take the extra 15 minutes drive to Sunny Palace or Wonder Seafood in Edison. Mon Sep 28 13:06:37 -0700 2009 2322067 140422 yCf 2 5064671 I find the Middletown one so-so also. I've done take out there a few times. Passable, but nothing special. Others are better. And it is best to avoid seafood dishes there. Every time I've ordered one it is horribly overdone. The sealegs (at least that's what I think the crabstick really is) are always like rubber, inedible. Scallops overdone, shrimp palatable, but still overcooked. Many far better choices. Mon Sep 28 13:13:57 -0700 2009 5064638 126422 cantkick 3 5064843 I live really close to the Middletown location, so that's usually where I go. I find most of it just okay, but Peking Duck was great. Moist meat, cracklings, and a nice fresh plate of cucumber & scallion to add on the pancakes. Westlake tho, is far superior! Mon Sep 28 14:01:11 -0700 2009 5064671 1111272 fiona501 4 5065315 Ok as an aside to previous post, yes the market next door has some great offerings - spareribs, duck...but their frozen section has a wonderful sampling of dumplings (I can''t get enough). Some of the frozen selections are the heavy, doughy thick kind of dumpling that we're used to at myriad asian restaurants, but some of them, and I can't think of the brand, are light, thin and OMG so delicious if you prepare them well. We love them for dinner with some scrambled eggs & scallion. Simple people, simple food! Mon Sep 28 17:27:37 -0700 2009 5064843 1111272 fiona501 1 5086335 Crown Palace in Middletown has been my go-to for Chinese/American for quite some time. Lately though it has slipped quite a bit. My last visit, which was take out. The good: the bbq spare ribs were excellent. Unlike many Chinese restaurants these ribs were more like St. Louis cut ribs, with alot of meat & nice fat content. Often times spare ribs in Chinese restaurants are small with little substance, not the case - this time anyway. I also oove that dim sum is available anytime, not the Dim Sum Brunch, just the pork & waterchestnut dumplings, topped with oyster auce. I love these, and it is probably one of the main reasons I go to Crown Palace, it's not on many menus that I've seen anyway, The Bad: every thing else from practically inedible Moo Shu Porh, fishy tasting, obviously because of dirty oil. We also ordered crispy shredded beef. It was deep fried strips of beef, with a cloyingly sweet sauce. I've had this dish before, and enjoy it, just not this time. I also notice that both dished are printr=ed in red, with a little chile pepper next to them 'denotes hot & spicy' - never does, if you advertise heat, I sugest you bring it, like Thai restaurants often do. With all that said, I'll probably still go back, because when they get it right it's usually pretty good. Wed Oct 07 13:45:12 -0700 2009 2322067 1098920 LarryLg