Chinese Cuisine in Motown

Top China One

Location: 3750 Woodward Ave. Detroit, MI 48201
Phone: 313-832-1111
Offers: Take-out, Catering  
Cuisine: Americanized Chinese Cuisine
Signature Dishes: General Tso’s Chicken, Sesame Chicken, Szechuan Beef, Sweet & Sour Chicken, Egg FooYoung
Year of Establishment: 2009

Although Chinese takeout restaurants have become just as popular, if not more, than McDonald’s, high quality ones are a still a bit difficult to find. However, if you are in or near Detroit, Michigan, you are in luck.

Located on Woodward Avenue, Top China One is a quality take-out restaurant that uses fresh ingredients and provides friendly service. Serving the local community with unceasing dedication and speed, Top China One is an icon of efficiency and taste. It has already established itself in the Detroit dining scene and is known by many as the one of the premier take-outs in the city.

The dining space is a modest 1500 square feet, speaking to the restaurant's focus on providing quick and tasty take-out. Like many Chinese restaurants, Top China One focuses more on the food and not the interior décor. Its décor is rather simple but also refreshingly direct. Customers will feel at home when they step into the brightly lit yet welcoming waiting area. There are even a couple of tables there for customers to sit at while waiting for their orders. “My restaurant is an ordinary Chinese restaurant that offers Americanized Chinese cuisine. Sesame Chicken and Sweet and Sour Chicken are the two best sellers". But while the menu doesn’t break new ground, the owner, Cundi Chen is an expert in the restaurant business and knows how to serve classics in a way that still surprises even the most experienced foodie.

The Food

Top China One serves Americanized-style Chinese cuisine centered on Hunan, Szechuan, and Cantonese dishes. The offerings have been mostly Americanized to cater to the locals’ palates. At Top China One, diners have more than 100 choices on the menu, giving them an opportunity to explore a vast array of time-tested dishes.

Traditional favorites like General Tso’s Chicken, Sesame Chicken, Szechuan Beef, Sweet & Sour Chicken, and Egg Foo Young are the top dishes at Top China One. If you sample 1,000 Chinese restaurants in the United States and ask them what their top seller is, the answer will likely be General Tso’s Chicken. Chefs mostly use regular brown sauce in preparing the entrée, but the cooks at Top China One take a creative approach to preparing the dish. Instead of using brown sauce, they incorporate a unique homemade sweet, sour, and spicy sauce along with some fruit juice to give it a distinctive fruit flavor.

The Szechuan Beef is another best seller at Top China One. This dish is flavored with peppers and seasonings giving the dish a tangy yet not overpowering aftertaste. However, the beauty of this dish lies in the tender and chewy beef slices. Chen always chooses quality ingredients, making sure to only choose the juiciest flank steaks possible. Even a mystery diner who went to Top China One was impressed with its Szechuan Beef and commented, “The Szechuan Beef was appealing in a brown sauce with many vegetables.”

The clamor for “healthy dining” across the country has received an enthusiastic response from Chinese restaurants around the US. Top China One is one of those restaurants and takes great pride in its health-conscious meals. Highly trained chefs primarily use vegetable oil rather than regular oil in their cooking preparations, therefore decreasing the amount of grease. Instead of relying on stir-fried or wok-fried items, Top China One has diversified itself by offering a large selection of steamed dishes. Although steamed food does not taste as vivid as fried food, customers adore it because of Chen’s strong commitment to providing guests with healthy food selections.

This small take-out establishment is ideal for the city of Detroit since people enjoy dining at home rather than out. With the tremendous popularity of take-outs in the community, Chen has helped distinguish the restaurant by offering a wide range of selections. Guests are appreciative of Top China One’s weekly specialty dish because it gives them the opportunity to taste new creative dishes created by Chen himself.

The Service
Chen’s philosophy on service is detailed and well-thought out: “First, we should chat with the customers…and get to know more about their preferences. Then, we must introduce the kind of dishes to them that they are looking for.” According to Chen,  special care needs to be taken to make sure it doesn’t take too long to prepare dishes. Time is of the essence in the restaurant industry, it only makes sense that customers would consider preparation times when deciding where to dine.

Chen runs a clean and tight ship. It’s a challenge for restaurants to make a vivid first impression that will attract and keep customers. Chen finds the answer is to maintain a clean and immaculate setting. He believes that a clean restaurant is a prerequisite to offering a good dining experience. And so, he makes sure the staff keeps every corner of the restaurant spic and span. The tables, chairs, floor, glassware, utensils and condiment containers are all kept spotless.

As a take-out restaurant, impeccable food is obviously essential to a restaurant’s success. But the restaurant also needs efficient service to stay competitive in today’s challenging market. Customers receive their food within ten minutes of placing their orders. The staff members at Top China One are well trained in offering amiable and efficient service and are all equipped with a strong sense of customer service.

Although Top China One is a humble eatery with a short history, its tasty food and speedy service has helped it quickly accumulate a large following. Mystery diners love this restaurant as well; one mystery diner from AboutFace gave the restaurant a score of 100 on Top China One’s mystery dining report, reflecting the restaurant’s excellence in sanitation, food, and service.   

Message from the Owner

Everyone has his own style of running business. I just do it my own way, trying my best to cater to customers’ needs.