China King

6816 22nd Ave No
St. Petersburg, FL 33710
(727) 381-9588

A non-descript store front Chinese food take-out restaurant, China King of St. Petersburg, Florida, isn’t all that easy to find. It is in a small storefront wing of a shopping plaza, across 22nd Avenue from the Tyrone Square Mall. You either have to have driven past it on some other errands or received one of their menu-brochures in the mail to know it is there. There are many like it in the St. Petersburg area. They all feature almost identical menu selections and the food presentations are carbon copies of one another. Not all of the similar take-out restaurants have fared as well as China King which speaks of a satisfied clientele. China King does bill itself as New York style but I have found that is not always a good thing.
Let’s get it out of the way, my personal peeve about New York style sweet and sour chicken. I expect sweet and sour chicken to be a stir fried dish with breaded fried chicken, stir fried vegetable to include onion, Bell pepper and pineapple, all tossed in a thick, usually clear red, sweet and sour sauce. I guess that would be Chinatown style, whereas the New York style (and all of the local area New York style take out shops offer the same commodity) is like some old chicken McNuggets and dipping sauce from the local drive-thru. No real comparison, sadly, it is not really sweet and sour chicken (beef or pork). That being said…
The China King offers a full menu of ala carte and combination dinners. Although there are a few tables and chairs, most people elect to take home rather than eat in. Most often we take advantage of their luncheon menu, (Monday through Saturday, 11AM opening to 3:30PM) an entrée served with a choice of white or pork fried rice, a can of soda or an egg roll. It is a lot of food for $5.09, and with the exception of the aforementioned sweet and sour chicken, all of the entrees we have tried so far have proven to be very good and we keep going back for more.
Their sesame chicken is exceptional and one of our favorites. I was thoroughly satisfied with a recent sampling of moo goo gai pan; a few more mushrooms would be nice but otherwise excellent with large pieces of white chicken meat.
The staff has always been courteous and when someone at the front counter is busy, someone from the back will come forward to try and help. They all work well together. Even when they are busy, the orders are prepared to order in a surprisingly short time. Short on time? Stop in and they will have you on your way in short order with a tasty lunch big enough for two to share. China King also offers local area delivery with a minimum $10.00 purchase. Cash, Visa and Mastercard are accepted, sorry, no checks.