Eastern Walk has a bit of history with me. It used to be the Asian Garden, a very well liked restaurant in Morgantown. But it closed, and another restaurant opened in its place: Eastern Walk. Melanie and I went here when it first opened - the very first day. The service was crazy, things were all out of whack, but that's to be expected on opening day. Some time had passed, and I decided to take Chris there for our second date. We wanted Chinese food, but a buffet on a second date isn't too classy. This is one of the few sit-down places in town, and it was a great dinner. The portions were huge and tasty.
I decided to try it again with a friend. Eastern Walk is located on University Avenue, past Patteson, in a plaza near the hibachi restaurant. It's housed in the same plaza as Albasha Sweets & Fox's Pizza. Ample parking and pretty easy to get to. Also, it's just slightly out of the main stretch so very accessible, yet not overly crowded.
We walked in, and the hostess/waitress seated us. I noticed it was fairly warm inside - maybe from the kitchen or maybe the AC wasn't working well, but I was definitely on the warmer side. We were handed menus, which were much different than I remembered. They were just one sheet, with a few various options: vegetable, chicken, beef, pork and shrimp dishes. This, I realized, is only the lunch menu. Interesting. At the top, it states you get soup and a type of rice. I'm not a fan of soup, but I opted for the hot and sour. I ordered general tso's with white rice. This is my go-to, in case you haven't figured it out.
Our soup came out first, and I knew the odds were stacked against this. I tasted it - hot and brothy. But I had no interest in it, really. I tried it a bit - some things were floating around inside that I was unsure of. It just tasted like liquid beef - yeah, not appetizing.
Our main dishes came out soon after. I had two huge scoops of white rice and about six small pieces of chicken and a little bit of broccoli. This really isn't that much. What happened to the huge portions? Are those dinner only? Okay, I thought. As long as it tastes good...
Grade: C
I decided to try it again with a friend. Eastern Walk is located on University Avenue, past Patteson, in a plaza near the hibachi restaurant. It's housed in the same plaza as Albasha Sweets & Fox's Pizza. Ample parking and pretty easy to get to. Also, it's just slightly out of the main stretch so very accessible, yet not overly crowded.
We walked in, and the hostess/waitress seated us. I noticed it was fairly warm inside - maybe from the kitchen or maybe the AC wasn't working well, but I was definitely on the warmer side. We were handed menus, which were much different than I remembered. They were just one sheet, with a few various options: vegetable, chicken, beef, pork and shrimp dishes. This, I realized, is only the lunch menu. Interesting. At the top, it states you get soup and a type of rice. I'm not a fan of soup, but I opted for the hot and sour. I ordered general tso's with white rice. This is my go-to, in case you haven't figured it out.
Our soup came out first, and I knew the odds were stacked against this. I tasted it - hot and brothy. But I had no interest in it, really. I tried it a bit - some things were floating around inside that I was unsure of. It just tasted like liquid beef - yeah, not appetizing.
Our main dishes came out soon after. I had two huge scoops of white rice and about six small pieces of chicken and a little bit of broccoli. This really isn't that much. What happened to the huge portions? Are those dinner only? Okay, I thought. As long as it tastes good...
It tastes like watered down BBQ sauce. The great thing about general tso's, if done correctly, is the seamless merging of tangy, spicy and sweet. This sauce was, dare I say, almost bland. Which is really disappointing, because I remember it being good! It wasn't awful - I ate it. But the sauce was very disappointing. And the quantity was disappointing. Even the chicken wasn't of the best quality - with some chewy, stringy dark pieces.
This meal was very average - I paid less than $10 including tip, so it wasn't a huge loss. Maybe the lunch is lacking, and dinner is better. Maybe it was an off day. But I hope to see what I saw before.
Grade: C