New Fu Lin’s: Best bet for Chinese food in Morrisville

I have loved Chinese food for as long as I can remember. It has always been my first choice of food when eating out, and I never turn down an invitation to go out for Chinese. So when my friend asked me if I wanted to tag along to New Fu Lin’s in Morrisville, the answer was obviously yes.

The first thing I noticed as we walked in was that this was a bit different from any other Chinese take-out restaurant I had been to: a waitress greeted us at the front counter and sat us down at a table with laminated menus.

Already I was a little impressed. That, coupled with the fact that my friend had told me that they only use fresh ingredients, made the anticipation of the food even greater.

We first ordered drinks: two Pepsis and a water. For the soda, the waitress gave us cans and a plastic tumbler with ice.

After much deliberation of the menu, I ordered my go-to meal for any Chinese restaurant: a combination plate with General Tso’s chicken, crab rangoons, and pork fried rice. The price came to $6.45, about the average price for a Chinese food combination plate. My two friends ordered a pu pu platter for $15.95.

The most expensive item on the menu is the pu pu platter. The combinations range from $5.49 to $6 for lunch, and from $6 to $6.45 for dinner. The chef specialties are all between $9.45 and $12.95, with appetizers ranging from $3.20 to $6.50.

As we eagerly waited for our food to come out, we talked and my eyes drifted around the restaurant. The walls had a rough, bumpy texture and were painted over with deep red. Colorful oragami mobiles hung all around the ceiling. The most eye-catching thing was the mural painted on the back wall.

Our food came out within 10 to 15 minutes, in large enough portions for three meals each. Everything was piping hot and smelled delicious. While letting my other items cool down, I tried my pork fried rice. It appeared to be made with brown rice, and wasn’t cooked to the point where it was too soft. The vegetables in it, which included peas and carrots, had a pleasant crunch that indicated freshness.

Next, I went for my General Tso’s chicken, which had cooled down slightly at this point. The sauce was sweet without being too tangy, and biting into my first piece of chicken revealed that the breading had just the right amount of crispiness. The chicken itself was delicious as well, and wasn’t too dry, a problem I’ve noticed in some chicken from other Chinese restaurants.

The time had come to try a personal favorite of mine: the crab rangoon, the make-or-break for my opinion of a Chinese restaurant. I took an excited bite and wasn’t disappointed. The fried shell was crispy on the edges and softer towards the middle without being soggy from the filling. As for the filling itself, the dominant flavor was definitely the sweet cream cheese mixture, with a hint of flavor from the scallions. This was perfect, in my opinion, as I prefer my rangoon to be sweet rather than savory.

I devoured some more of my food, and was feeling stuffed after eating roughly a third of it. However, I couldn’t resist the urge to try a couple items from my friends’ pu pu platter. I picked up a piece of boneless spare rib, which was sweet and juicy and just barely crispy on the ends.

I also tried a piece of a chicken finger. The breading was a little greasy from being fried in oil, and was lightly crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. Again, the chicken wasn’t overly juicy but also wasn’t too dry and overcooked.

We all had plenty of leftovers, so we requested to-go boxes and the check from our waitress. She quickly brought them over with three fortune cookies.

We were all very satisfied with our food, and brought our receipt up to the counter to pay. I left a generous tip, and we left the restaurant with our stomachs (and takeout containers) full of food.

New Fu Lin’s is located at 30 Fairground Plaza in Morrisville, near Hannaford. It is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 12 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday.