A Chinese Restaurant With a Long History in Kinnelon

Kit Hong Restaurant Owner Cun Xiu Jiang took over the restaurant May of 2010, but he has been a big part of the restaurant since before last year. Jiang, the cousin of the previous owner, has been the head chef at Kit Hong for about 20 years.

Walking into the dining area for my first experience at the restaurant, I noticed that it is quite large and that the front of the restaurant is busy with take-out orders and seating dine-ins. The menu holds a number of different items that you would not find at your typical Chinese restaurant, such as Shrimp Toast ($5.95). We decided to eat in on this night, and for an appetizer, my guest and I ordered the Mandarin Dumpling ($5.50) and the appetizer special, Crab Ragoon ($4.50).

When the appetizers came, there was a large amount of water with my dumplings, the dumpling dough was a bit too undercooked for me, but the meat had a wonderful flavor so I picked out the meat and left the outer section of the dumpling. Both my guest and I also had Wonton Soup with our meal ($1.95), which also had a great flavor, although I wish it was served a little hotter.

For our dinner, I went with the Sweet and Sour Chicken with Pineapple ($8.95) and my guest ordered the General Tso Chicken ($10.95). The prices are a bit higher than your average restaurant, but the dish is served with a bowl of white rice to share. The fresh pot of tea that was brought to our table was served hot, however the actual tea pot was very dirty with stains on it. When I grabbed the salt, I got a sticky hand as the salt shaker was extremely dirty as well. When spending more on a dish, I expect the restaurant to be a little cleaner.

The Sweet and Sour Chicken with pineapple was average, the General Tso Chicken my guest sent back as it was very chewy and overcooked. The waitress called someone over so we could explain the problem and she was more than happy to take it back and offered to make something else instead.

The couple seated behind us turned to us before leaving and said that next time, we should try the Chicken with Red Peppers and Ginger or the Chicken Moo Shu, which they said is very good here.

I have heard some wonderful things about this restaurant and many people enjoy it. I am not sure if it was an off night for Kit Hong the night we went, or if we made poor decisions ordering, but I felt it was a bit pricey for the quality.

Kit Hong is located at 25 Kinnelon Road in Kinnelon, behind theMall.For take-out or more information, call (973)838-3257. This restaurant is BYOB.