Hunan Taste – Denville, N.J.

You might be wondering a) why it has taken me three years to put up a blog review and b) why the name of the blog has changed.  Well, truth be told I do not really have an excuse for “a” other than lack of time, getting married, moving cities, etc.  Ok, I lied.  I do have some excuses.  “B” is a different story.  Since I am in public relations and and work with bloggers constantly, I realized how important it was to make sure my blog had a clear point of view.  So with that, I have changed the criteria up a bit in terms of the restaurants that I’ll be reviewing – restaurants will be considered if they have either dumplings or pasta on the menu.  If they have both, even better.  Asian specific restaurants will be rated as always on a scale of 1-5 dumplings.  Pasta specific restaurants will be rated on a ravioli scale of 1-5.  Fun, right?  In the next few weeks, you will also see other updates (think photos and graphics) so get excited and please hold me to it!  I’m well aware that as far as blog standards go there is, let’s just say, work to be done.   

So that brings me to Hunan Taste in Denville, N.J.  For those of you wondering, Chris (the hubbs) and I relocated to New Jersey about a year ago.  While I anticipate many 5 out of 5 ravioli reviews for the Jersey Italian restaurants, I have to say this state is very much lacking on the Chinese food front.  I had the pleasure of trying Hunan Taste with my sister-in-law, Michele, brother-in-law, Drew, and niece, Kennedy. 

According to a quick google search, the restaurant was hailed as “the best Chinese in New Jersey,” so my expectations were high.  And for the most part, I am happy to say it did not disappoint.  While it was no Mei Wah (don’t fret Dumpling Club), it has potential to become a regular. 

Let me take you through our order.  What I often find at Chinese restaurants is that the appetizers are the best part of the meal.  This was also true at Hunan Taste.  We started with the traditional pan fried pork dumplings and also noshed on dumplings with peanut oil (spicy), egg rolls and scallion pancakes.  The pork fried dumplings were definitely the best I have had in New Jersey to date and I would absolutely order them again.  They filled my longing for a decent dumpling in this state and the sauce was delicious.  While I can’t eat very spicy food, Michele spoke highly of the dumplings in peanut oil and I could see why those who like spice would enjoy them after taking a bite.  There is some definite heat going on.  The scallion pancakes were over fried and came out too tough, so Hunan Taste did lose some marks for those.  And while I did not have a chance to try the egg roll, since I wanted to leave room for the main meal (review fail), my brother-in-law gave it high marks. 

While I was not blown away by any of the dishes, the preparations were very solid.  My favorite was probably the beef lomein because unlike other lomein dishes I have had, this lomein was not overly greasy.  The sesame chicken also passed the sesame chicken test.  It was crisp and moist on the inside with great flavor.  The chicken and broccoli fell flat. 

For those of you looking to head to Hunan Taste, you can’t miss it.  I’d be remised not to mention that the restaurant looks like a Chinese temple in the middle of the New Jersey suburbs.  Picture an
“Epcot style” building shortly off a highway.  It’s also important to note that if you are looking to make a reservation and have kids, your table will be in the “kid room.”  As for a rating, I’m on the fence, but since I am known by some as being “tough” and I am trying to establish myself as an “elite restaurant reviewer,” I have to go with 3.5 out of 5 dumplings with the potential for a 4 based on a re-evaluation.  

Jersey, there is still room to grow when it comes to your Chinese options.