Come savor a savory meal at 123 Restaurant. They are open after-hours on Tuesday and are reachable by car. The neighboring area is notable for its parks.
Order 2 combo plates - lemon chicken, fried rice and chop suey. The lemon chicken was so dry that it was chewy. Rice was dry too. The only plus was the young lady who took our order was very friendly. Food quality was terrible.
Returned here to friendly smiles after being far away from the area for 15 years.
Since 123 was established in 1998, it has clearly and consistently maintained a very high standard in the skill of their chefs and serving simply superb and delicious traditional/popular new world Chinese food.
123 isn't a restaurant and perhaps that is in its favour as a take out and away service where the emphasis is entirely on the food and the quality of the cooking. So, as far as 'atmosphere' goes, it gets a 5 star rating for not having one! Place your order and it is filled efficiently and on time. They deliver in Cobourg but it's also no wonder that people drive in from all around to pick up. This place is that good.
I cannot ever recall a dish from 123 that was disappointing. If there is a weakness, (that might be considered a strength from a business perspective) it might be in the limitation of the menu where one might not find a dish or two that is commonly found elsewhere. Still their success is obviously in providing enough variety in key Cantonese, "Hong Kong", Szechuan and new world dishes to satisfy the majority of people.
If you are used to ordering 'off menu' and asking for favours in combinations of things, you won't find that at 123. Perhaps if one was to get to know the chef personally after several visits and face to face that could be done but that's not a part of their formula.
Of course, a necessity in Chinese cooking (and anything outside of a crock pot) is the freshness of ingredients and here is where 123 delivers. The veggies crunch, the wraps and breadings are crisp and the meats are tender. Nothing soggy as in so many other places. The crispy fried won ton are incredible. They're big and fresh and crunchy!
The Lemon Chicken is presented in little thinly breaded chicken bites that can be lifted with your chopsticks and dipped into the delicious lemon sauce. We loved the spicy curried Singapore Rice Noodles, the Happy Family (a combination of meats and veggies) as well as the San Goo Guy Pan and Beef with Chinese Green. The honey garlic ribs were fresh and tender; not 'stringy' or tough. The fried rice is outstanding.
This place and the people who make it happen deserve the custom they receive. What a pleasure.
Placed an order for delivery. Their menu is very limited for vegetarians, so I asked if they could do one of their veggie dishes in a black bean sauce, curry, or szechuan sauce and they said no. In my experience, most Chinese takeout places are willing to be a bit inventive in the kitchen to accommodate vegetarian diets. We ordered anyway, and everything pretty much tasted the same. OK, but not exciting. Too bad. Won't be back.
Take-out only. Always well packed and piping hot when you get home. Remember to ask for fortune cookies and chopsticks if you use them. We go there at least once a month and although the counter staff varies, the food is always predictably good. We always order a serving of Singapore vermicelli (curry rice noodles with shrimp, BBQ pork, egg, green peppers, and sprouts) plus we get them to add in an extra 20 shrimps so that we can enjoy it the next day along with the rest of the order. The best Chinese food in the Cobourg/Port Hope area.
