Ming’s more authentic Chinese dishes really shine

Our Chinese friend thought that all Chinese food in Middle Georgia was the same — sweet, sour, and not authentic. He had even tried Ming’s before and was not impressed. But this time, when we knew what to order, he thought Ming’s was a beautiful thing.

While we were waiting for our order, the place was popping. Most customers came in to get their to-go orders, but if you want to go in your pajamas there’s a drive-up window. We chose to stay and eat inside and by early evening, the small dining room was full.

So many dishes that Americans think of as Chinese are just American takes on Chinese dishes. Order lo mein, General Tsao’s chicken, and even beef and broccoli in China and you’ll get a blank stare. While Ming’s has all of these tailored to American tastes, where they shine is the more authentic dishes that allow the real Chinese ingredients to shine.

We started with the steamed pork dumplings, six for $5.75. The fried version is good as well, but these steamed bundles contain fragrant pork and vegetables and are served with a high quality soy sauce. The pu pu platter with egg rolls, teriyaki chicken skewers, ribs, sweet and sour shrimp, crab rangoon, and chicken wings for $9.95 was too fried and sweet for my taste, but were fine compared to similar appetizers in the area.

The very best dish we tried was the hot and spicy chicken, recommended by the cashier. For $8.75, we got a huge Hunan-style serving that lasted for days. While it’s not the most authentic, the moo shu pork was a filling dish with tortillas instead of pancakes for $7.95. The barbecue spare ribs for $7.75 were too sweet and red for our taste, but some may find it appealing.

As a rule of thumb, go with dishes that don’t have sweet and sour sauce — unless that’s your thing. Lunch is only about $5 and comes with enough food to last into dinner. Kids meals are only $3.25, and the wings are some of the cheapest in town at about 60 cents each. Top your meal off with fresh fried donuts for $3.75, and you can’t go wrong.

This story was originally published December 12, 2017 at 3:33 PM with the headline "Ming’s more authentic Chinese dishes really shine."