By Mary O’Connell
Staff Reporter
The Fairfield County area boasts many Asian dining options, all of which are frequented by Sacred Heart students.
LC Chen’s, a Pan-Asian dining restaurant located in Fairfield, serves a wide and unique variety of Asian cuisine ranging from chinese food, southeast asian food, thai and sushi.
The style of the restaurant was contemporary with distinct touches of Asian flair all around the restaurant. Along with a vast amount of seating, there was also a modern bar and sushi bar. These touches make the space feel classic yet modern and laid-back, which is perfect for a relaxing dinner or night out.
Walking in, the atmosphere felt warm and welcoming upon seeing the friendly faces of the staff ready to seat us right away.
Despite the welcoming atmosphere, there were not many people at the restaurant besides a group celebrating a birthday. Although the restaurant was slightly empty, it is clear that it can accomodate larger groups of people.
My group was seated right away and the hostess was quick to bring out drinks. I ordered edamame as an appetizer and an entrée of chicken and broccoli with sweet potato veggie rolls. Most sushi and rolls came to about $4.75. Plates and entrees ranged from $8.95 to $15.
All the food was brought out to my table unexpectedly fast.
The edamame was a perfect appetizer to share thanks to its heaping size and the sushi rolls and entrees generously matched that. A bowl of rice on the side was included as well.
The only downside of the larger rolls was that they were a little difficult to pick up and eat with the chopsticks. As someone who is, shall I say, lacking in chopsticks skills, I like being able to easily pick things up with them. Chopsticks aside, they were some of the best sweet potato rolls I have eaten so far around the Sacred Heart University area.
The chicken and broccoli was also delicious, but there wasn’t much besides the size of the plate that made it stand out amongst other chicken and broccoli plates I’ve previously had. This is not necessarily a bad thing. It can be difficult to make such a classic dish stand out amongst others.
Therefore, I do think that the size of the meal really mattered in this case. All in all, it was still delicious as it was filling.
When it came to the quality of the food, it is clear that they do not sacrifice quality for size at LC Chen’s. Both the sushi rolls and entrée of broccoli and chicken were satisfying. By the end of my meal, I was completely full.
Fellow Sacred Heart students were also pleasantly surprised with their experiences at LC Chen’s.
“The food was really good and came fast. I liked how the chicken was in bigger pieces than normal and everyone was extremely nice,” said junior Brianna Sullivan, who ordered an entrée of sesame chicken.
With the atmosphere, service and food all in mind, LC Chen’s offers an above average Pan-Asian dining experience. It is perfect for having a small dinner with friends, a drink at the bar or even a small celebration.
I would also highly recommend this place to any student looking for a bang for your buck type of place. Given the quantity of the food that was served, coming to LC Chen’s was worth my dollar. I definitely think that it is a restaurant that more college students should know about.
LC Chen’s is located at Tunxis Hill Cut Off, and is open seven days a week.
For more information on their hours and their menu, visit their website: http://www.lcchen.com
