Weekly Bite of Boulder: Ping's Favorite

Pings satisfies craving for fried wontons and tangerine chicken

Finding the right Chinese food at the right price is no easy task.

For students who already have their favorite Chinese dining place in their hometown, many have probably been discouraged with the selection of Chinese restaurants in Boulder. Slim pickings based on my experiences.

However, I decided to give Chinese food in Boulder one last chance. Tucked away in a corner of a shopping center on 28th Street was Ping’s Favorite. From the outside, the restaurant is hardly noticeable. But you cannot judge a book by its cover.

Inside Ping’s friendly staff and a large golden Buddha statue greeted my companion and me. The restaurant is mostly green and white inside and there are lots of mirrors as well as some beautiful, iridescent framed prints on the walls.

There were not many other people in the restaurant since we went before the dinner rush, so we had our pick of where to sit. The one thing that seemed strange about the table was that we were given silverware instead of chopsticks. This was somewhat disappointing because part of the Chinese food dining experience should be using chopsticks.

For an appetizer, we ordered fried cream cheese wontons ($3.95) and hot and sour soup ($1.50). The wontons were crunchy and had enough filling, however, they did not have enough flavor. Though they came with two different sauces for dipping, the wontons were still somewhat bland. The texture was great, but the wontons needed another ingredient to spice things up. The soup though, was strikingly good. There were plenty of ingredients in it, not too much broth, and the balance between being sweet and sour was perfect. Not too sweet and not too sour. I had never had hot and sour soup before, but I think I will have to order it with every Chinese dish I have in the future.

While waiting for the entrees to arrive, I checked out the Chinese zodiac on our table. I was happy to learn that I was born in the year of the rabbit: the luckiest of all signs.

For the entrees, we ordered tangerine chicken ($9.95) and Mongolian beef ($9.50). Out of the two, the chicken was definitely the better choice. The chicken was crunchy, the pieces fit perfectly on a fork instead of being too large and the hint of tangerine flavor was just the right touch to set the dish apart from other sesame chicken dishes.

The Mongolian beef was not great. I wouldn’t order it again or recommend it because the tangerine chicken is such a better option, but it wasn’t bad. For me, there were too many vegetables on the beef dish. There were red and green peppers and onions heaped onto the beef. The vegetables themselves were good, but there were too many and such a lack in variety. Had the dish mixed in some carrots, mushrooms or corn, anything really, to add something different into the mix, the dish could have be amazing. The beef was tender, flavorful and delicious. There just needs to be more variety in veggies in this dish. The Mongolian beef is a definite no-no if you are out on a date and want to receive a goodnight kiss.

The best dessert is the fortune cookies. Hoping mine would predict I would meet my prince charming, it came as a big disappointment when it said, “Failure is a feedback. And feedback is the breakfast of champions.”

Oh well. Dream guy or not, my experience at Ping’s Favorite Chinese restaurant was one that will bring me back the next time I am craving Chinese food.

Ping’s also offers free delivery and for more information visit .