It’s been a hectic week in the home of the Fat Man and his growing family. Now that the population of two-legged beings in this house has increased by one since last week, going out to eat poses more of a challenge than normal.
Doable? Yes. But at present, sleep is at a premium and we’re trying to reduce potential headaches before they spring up. Therefore, takeout was in order toward the end of the week.
When you think takeout, one of the first cuisines that pops into the mind, and stomach’s eye, is Chinese. Any type of Asian cuisine really—(can someone open a Thai restaurant here locally please, seriously—will do, but in this house, Chinese food is generally what comes to mind.
The greater St. Clairsville area has some decent options in that regard. That further opens up if you’re willing to travel greater distances, say, to Wheeling, Steubenville, Moundsville, or even Cambridge.
I was trying to limit our driving, as well as the time spent waiting to eat said food, so we opted to stay in the city. And since we were going takeout, we decided to go with our old Chinese takeout standby in Zhuzi Chinese Restaurant.
That’s not to say we never eat at Zhuzi in person. We do. But given Zhuzi is in the same plaza as Starbucks, and Starbucks forever has a line wrapped around the building for its drive-through, it makes parking a headache at best.
We also could have gone full lazy and ordered Zhuzi through DoorDash and had it delivered. But, as someone who occasionally delivers food for DoorDash, I’m glad the public is willing to pay those upcharges. Because I’m not. They are a bit much.
So I went to Zhuzi’s online ordering portal, found here, and decided to pick it up myself. You can also call ahead and order that way. Either way works. I’m just people-averse, so the less talking I must do, the better.
The Food
The girlfriend is pretty standard in her ordering when it comes to Chinese takeout. She’ll want an order of Sweet & Sour chicken or pork, coupled with either fried rice or occasionally an upcharge for a side of lo mein noodles.
The sweet and sour sauce she uses to dunk her egg roll. The chicken? She prefers ketchup. Yes, I know. But we all like what we like.
She’ll also want an order of fried dumplings for us to share. Twist my arm, right? That’s a definite order.
I don’t vary too much either, truth be told, but at Zhuzi I’ve slowly worked to try some of its different options. On this occasion, I went with General Tso’s chicken and fried rice. I will say this, it’s my second favorite menu option at Zhuzi. To me, there is nothing better than order a quart of Kung Pao chicken (no veggies, but including the peanuts), mixing that into the generous helping of fried rice, and feasting.
The Kung pao provides a nice wee kick to the flavor profile. You won’t be running for a glass of water to dull the burn. It’s not that kind of hot. But it’s subtle and enjoyable.
The General Tsos chicken is also tasty. Each Asian food eatery locally I feel puts its own little twist on this classic dish and, if you’ve enjoyed it long enough, you can pick out which restaurant has made it.
Zhuzi’s General Tsos isn’t the best I’ve had locally, but it is good. I’d definitely order it again and have. That being said, I must revisit and state Zhuzi’s Kung Pao is the best I’ve had in the area. If I am in the mood for Kung Pao, it’s the only place to go.
The friend dumplings were also pretty tasty. The GF and I are both in agreement that, in the Asian-style restaurants locally, the dumplings at Golden Chopsticks are tops, followed closely by Osaka in St. Clairsville. Zhuzi’s dumplings fall just below that top tier, but much like the General Tsos, are a worthwhile addition to your order.
What sets Zhuzi apart, in terms of takeout, is it tastes just as good when you get hit home as it does in the store. Can’t say for sure why, but it doesn’t seem to lessen the flavor.
That’s why when we opt for Chinese takeout, we head to Zhuzi.
Zhuzhi is located at 67800 Mall Ring Rd. in St. Clairsville, right next to Starbucks.
