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China Phoenix Restaurant
7090 N. Oracle Rd.Tucson, AZ
(520) 531-0658
Just about all travel web sites have very good reviews of China Phoenix, but when items such as
honey walnut shrimp and General Tso's chicken are recommended, it is hard to tell if it serves real
Chinese food or a very good Americanized version. Its location in a strip shopping mall did not
give me the greatest hope
that I would find the "real deal" here, but in a desert Southwest city such as Tucson I am not sure what
other options the restaurant would have for choosing a good location.
China Phoenix offers dim sum from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, so this in itself was a
good sign. Along with Gee's Garden, these are the only Chinese restaurants in town to serve dim sum,
so this has to be an indication that these restaurants are not strictly Americanized.
Dim sum is one of the traditions of Cantonese cuisine from southern China, associated with eating
snacks or a light meal for breakfast or lunch. There are a few items on the menu at China Phoenix with
stars indicating that they may be spicy Hunan or Szechuan style dishes, but the majority of the menu
lists Cantonese dishes that in almost all cases are not spicy. Curry chicken is a traditional Cantonese
style dish, but in almost all cases this style food uses different blends of spices and fresh ingredients
to provide the flavor rather than simply trying to make it "hot." I suspect that China Phoenix would be
able to prepare spicy Hunan and Szechuan dishes that were equally good as the Cantonese food, but I
usually try to start out with the cuisine in which the restaurant specializes.
The section of the menu that seemed to offer the most authentic Cantonese food was the listing
under "House Special Dishes." I would advise looking through all the sections since the "Fowl"
section lists crispy fried duck and the "Pork" section lists deep fried pork chop with spicy salt, both
of which are dishes I associate with Cantonese cooking. Clearly it is more important for customers
to get something they like than something "authentic," but ordering from the "House Special Dishes"
menu seems to be a very good way to explore the world of Cantonese cuisine and try things that
are traditionally not found apart from West Coast or large city Chinese restaurants.
One of my favorite dishes, but one which is hard to find at many restaurants, is Cantonese or Hong
Kong style hot pot served in a heated metal or clay pot dish (the correct term for this dish would
probably be "casserole" since "hot pot" generally refers to a large pot with a burner underneath). I
generally prefer tofu hot pots, but I ordered the Seafood and Bean Cake Hot Pot at China Phoenix
with the hope that the seafood would be of a high quality that matched the restaurant's appearance.
Everything about this dish turned out to be superb including the way the tofu was cooked, and
most of all the sauce. China Phoenix uses a white sauce as the broth for the hot pot, but it had a
slight brown color that made it more flavorful than other white sauces I have tried. The seafood
was not only fresher than I expected, but I thought it was better than many I have experienced on
the west coast. Even the squid passed my "freshness" test by having the right flavor as well as not
having a rubbery texture. The whole thing was just about the best seafood hot pot I have
eaten, or any Cantonese style hot pot for that matter.
We also tried the Steamed Fish that was Chilean striped bass at the time (the restaurant
uses whatever is available from the market). This had the classic ginger, scallion, and soy sauce
dressing that brought out the flavor of steamed fish. The menu did not indicate, however, that this was
a huge dish and could probably feed two people by itself. The fish did seem fresh but I will admit
that I was not as impressed with the Chilean bass as with the seafood in the hot pot. If others are
contemplating ordering the steamed fish, I would say to share it among at least three or four people
and order other things to balance out the meal.
The hot tea was very high quality and also more expensive than at most restaurants. The food
itself seemed expensive to me, but it was even more so for the "House Special Dishes." I thoroughly
enjoyed the food, though, and next time will try to order something more economical than the steamed
fish (I hope to have many next times at China Phoenix).
I do not know if I am rating the restaurant correctly based on a small sample of the food, but I know
that what I tasted was among the best Chinese food I have sampled. I have no doubt that other dishes
are just as good, or even better.
Steamed fish and seafood hot pot
RESTAURANT DETAILS
RATING: 24
Cuisine: Chinese
Cost: $$$
Hours: Open Daily
Accessible: Yes
Tea: Jasmine (loose leaves)
MSG: No
Smoking: No Smoking
Special Features: Dim Sum Sat. & Sun.
Most Recent Visit
Nov. 6, 2007
Number of Visits: 1
Best Item
Seafood Hot Pot
Special Ratings
Seafood Hot Pot: 
Steamed Fish:
Restaurant Web Site
China Phoenix