"My favorite Chinese of 25+ years closed due to owners retiring, the hunt was on for a new replacement and I couldn 't be happier with my first experience at Joyful Chinese. Take out only for now, we ordered the ma-po tofu, almond chicken, gourmet vegetables, shrimp with lobster sauce and sizzling rice soup. Vegetables were fantastic; crisp yet cooked, flavorful but not too saucy, nice variety. Almond Chicken tasty with a higher quality vegetables than commonly found in similar dishes elsewhere. Didn 't try the shrimp but told it was good (but not New York style sauce, if thats your preference. Was accidentally given wrong soup received egg drop soup, but still tasty. For me, the star of the show was the ma-po tofu. Unlike other 'brown gravy ' versions offered elsewhere, Joyful 's dish was chili-oil-based. DELICIOUS. Not spicy at all, just flavorful. Tofu was great quality, large pieces that didn 't fall apart in the sauce, just the right amount of crumbled pork, and just the perfect hint of diced seasonings (green onions, garlic etc. . This dish was reminiscent of authentic Chinese cooking vs Americanized versions. Portions were appropriate and a good value. First visit, yes. But on a packed Friday night (no dine-in available as of this posting due to current situation , service was friendly, order prepared and ready in the 20 minutes quoted and I 'll definitely be back. Heads up, they 're busy (but manageable and you may need to call a few times to get through to place your order. Based on todays visit, its well worth the effort."
