Somewhat hidden in Winchester center, off the main roads and to the back of other businesses, China Sky has been around since 2005, serving an extensive variety of Chinese and Japanese dishes. With over twenty years in business, they're a good-sized restaurant, with multiple dining areas and a bar. They have a full alcohol menu, with many classic cocktails, from Mai Tais to Scorpion Bowls (for one or two). You can dine-in or get take-out/delivery.
I've dined there many times over the years, although I hadn't been there for a few years, mostly due to the pandemic. I'd always enjoyed my meals there and decided to stop there again a couple times recently and I wasn't disappointed. The quality of the food hadn't diminished, and I acquired a new appreciation for a couple of their dishes.
I strongly recommend this restaurant and want to highlight a few items from my recent visits.
I love Sweet Potato Maki ($5.50), and frequently order it whenever it's available. This was a tasty dish; the nice crunch from the tempura, the slight sweetness of the potato, the mild tang of the sauce. A good example of how this maki should be created.
The Chicken Soong ($11.95) is a dish of minced chicken & vegetables served with lettuce leaves and hoisin sauce. With an ample amount of chicken, the mix was flavorful, and the lettuce leaves were fresh and crisp. This may be a more healthy dish, but it's still tasty.
The stellar dish of my visits though was the Crispy Sesame Chicken ($15.65), "white meat chicken with lightly fried lotus flour batter and tossed in bright sweet, smokey and savory sesame sauce." Frankly, this is the best iteration of this dish that I can recall eating in many years. I enjoyed it on both of my recent visits and it was consistently delicious on both occasions. Why was it so damn good?
First, the lotus flour coating was crispy and thin, not the overly thick coating you often encounter with this dish. Sometimes, you find that the coating is thicker than the amount of chicken within. Second, the chicken was moist, tender and ample. There was much more chicken in this dish than you commonly find in similar ones at other Chinese restaurants. Third, the sauce was fresh, flavorful and complex, not the thick, goopy and overly sweet sauce you find at other spots. All three elements combined to create a delicious and compelling dish. Highly Recommended!
Now, I need to return to check out the Crispy Sesame Beef!
Have you dined at China Sky? Your thoughts?
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