Bethlehem on a Monday night is sleepy. Bethlehem on a Monday night after 10 PM after a few hours at the casino is dead. We searched online and drove around trying to find something. Anything. When it seemed like our only option was a Perkins, we did one more search and found a nearby Chinese takeout joint called China Star. We placed and order and picked it up, figuring we would just eat it back at the hotel. Justin and I were already in the mood for Chinese food.

While at the Sands, we saw a Chinese restaurant. But their prices were astronomical and ridiculous. Nearing $25 for chicken and broccoli, and if you wanted to share a fried rice with that, it was an additional $18. No thanks. It would have been over a hundred bucks for us to eat…without anything to drink. While I’m not a fan of takeout on vacation, it was a welcomed sight.

I ordered a broccoli and garlic sauce combo while Justin got sesame chicken. We asked for both with white rice instead of fried. Both combos came with the usual egg roll and we added a couple of wonton soups and an order of crab rangoons. This ended up being decent Chinese food. Surprisingly so for this area of Pennsylvania. Neither meal was greasy. My broccoli still had some bite to them and the sauce was not overpowering. Justin’s chicken was crispy and smelled good across from the tiny table we were sitting at. The egg rolls were pretty run-of-the-mill, but at least they too were crisp. As for the crab rangoons, we both agreed they were the night’s highlight. They were ever-so-lightly fried and crunchy. The red sauce with them was not too sweet.

This was great drinking food, as I sipped a vodka tonic and Justin had a Wild Turkey and cream soda (gotta work with what you have) which we had picked up from a nearby liquor store. The only downside was the wonton soup. The wontons themselves were average I suppose, but the broth had a layer of oil across the top that had begun to separate. It was not pleasing to look at and not remarkable in taste. But overall, China Star gets a solid 3 out of 5 stars from me.

China Star is located at 827 Linden Street in Bethlehem, PA.

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