A friend of mine told me recently that he’d just had the best Chinese food dish of his life. I immediately assumed that he’d been to a very fancy—and very expensive—restaurant. He assured me that this was not the case—Emperor’s, he said, was in the range of a student budget, so my wife and I naturally decided to pay them a visit.
The single most striking thing about Emperor’s is the menu. There are over 200 (yes, two hundred) entree selections available. Many of these are variations on familiar Chinese dishes, but there are plenty of unique items as well—would you expect turnips to appear on a Chinese menu? I certainly did not, but the chicken and white turnip curry stew sounded intriguing enough for me to order. My wife went with braised duck with Chinese mushrooms, and we ordered an appetizer of vegetarian dumplings as a benchmark.
The first measure of any Chinese restaurant is its tea, and here Emperor’s is mildly disappointing—they serve a basic black tea that is not particularly impressive. The dumplings, though, were quite tasty; they were made with a different sort of dough than most others that we’d had, lending these a different texture that was pleasing.
Our entrees, when they arrived, were quite impressive to look at despite their simplicity—the chef clearly has an appreciation of aesthetics. The taste lived up to the appearance. The duck was prepared with at least three different types of mushrooms, giving it excellent flavor, and it was very tender as well. The curry stew was also delicious, and my only complaint was that the chunks were a bit too big for my tastes—it was obviously prepared with chopsticks in mind.
Prices are comparable with other sit-down establishments in the area. Entrees range from $8-20, with most in the $11-14 range. Our meal came to $40 exactly, including tax and tip. The service was adequate, with no particular merits or faults.
Decor is the biggest detraction from the dining experience. While the restaurant is clean and spacious, to me it still has the feel of a cheap takeout place, albeit one with a large crab and lobster tank at the entrance.
This flaw is easily overlooked, though, in the face of the outstanding selection and food quality. It’s not the best Chinese food I’ve ever had in my life, but it is the best I’ve had in this area so far, and I will guarantee that there will be something on the menu that you will like. Go try Emperor’s next time you’re in the mood for Chinese, but make sure you have a lot of time. It might take you a while to decide what to order.
Emperor’s is located on Wolf Road, across from Colonie Center. To get there, take Route 7 west out of Troy to the Northway. Take I-87 south to exit 2E, which is Route 5 east. Immediately get as far to the left as you can—the first traffic light is Wolf Road. After making the left onto Wolf Road, Emperor’s is almost immediately on your left. Instead of making a direct left turn into the restaurant, you may find it easier to go past it and come at it from the other direction.
Editor’s Note: If you have a restaurant you would like to see reviewed in The Poly, contact us as restaurants@poly.rpi.edu.
