It can be expensive eating out, especially when you are a full-time student and not working. Never fear, there are options for you other than Mickey D’s Dollar menu or Taco Bell’s Big Bell Value menu.
Hidden out of the way, in a small shopping center in north Yuba City, is a little Chinese restaurant that helps keep the buck where it belongs: in your wallet. Welcome to Full House. Located in the North Ridge shopping center off Queens Avenue and Live Oak Boulevard, Full House offers Szechwan, Hunan and Mandarin style cooking for a reasonable price.
I took one of my best friends to lunch one afternoon. When we walked in, there was a rather large carved Buddha statue in the entryway, made of a beautiful peach stone, set in front of a black lacquered screen with alabaster shell designs. Our hostess was courteous and offered us a choice of available booths and tables.
The dining room was moderately crowded. The neat little gray vinyl booths and gray Formica topped, red wood tables were scattered around the room. We chose a booth by the window, enjoying some sunshine. Once seated, we were brought a pot of hot Chinese tea and our menus. What a variety!
We had choices of chicken, beef, pork, seafood and vegetable dishes. The lunch special includes a delicious wonton soup, garnished with green onions, a choice of steamed white rice or fried rice (the fried rice is really good!), a fried wonton, an orange slice and your choice of entrée starting at $4.25.
There are combination platters available as well. They include everything you get with a special, but in addition, you get an egg roll, foil wrapped chicken and an extra entrée. We ended up getting combos. I chose a combo of sesame chicken and switched my pork chow mien to Mongolian beef, for an extra price.
My friend chose broccoli beef and sweet and sour chicken. After we had ordered, we were given our soup. It was nice and hot, flavorful and just delicious. I could have gone for more.
We ate our soup and chatted. The atmosphere was pleasant and comfortable, and the staff was not hanging all over us. Our food was brought to us rather quickly, steaming hot. It was fabulous! Just the right amount of sauces and spices, the vegetables were fresh and slightly crisp so you know they were not over-cooked.
There is definitely an emphasis on quality and authenticity. The whole experience made the meal worth the six bucks. Our final cost, including drinks and tip, was $19.00.
We opted not to have dessert, as we were rather full. Our waitress brought us to go boxes and we paid our tab without leaving the table.
All in all, Full House offers a great meal for small budgets.
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