Find out which restaurant is another contender for best Chinese food in Albuquerque

The field for best Chinese restaurant in Albuquerque shrunk a little this year with the loss of two favorites.

In February, Budai Gourmet closed after a 15-year run in the Northeast Heights. More recently, the much-loved Chinshan Chinese Restaurant shut down while it purportedly relocates from its former spot on Wyoming Boulevard.

Even without those two, the debate over the best Chinese food in town has plenty of fodder. For every diner who treasures the diminutive Chopstix on Lomas Boulevard, there’s another who swears by the venerable East Ocean on Carlisle Boulevard. Lucky Wok on Fourth Street is the place, some say. Others claim Fai Wong on the West Side.

Rising Star Chinese Eatery is one place I’ve never tried that comes up often in these debates. Its accessible menu offering big portions at reasonable prices has made it a mainstay in the neighborhood between Albuquerque Academy and Paseo del Norte.

Rising Star opened in 2014 at the end of a strip mall on San Antonio Drive, the road that climbs eastward from Interstate 25 and is distinguished by the large paired electrical towers that line the wide median.

We visited on a Saturday evening to find the parking lot crowded with cars. Approaching the front, I noticed something I hadn’t seen before at Chinese restaurants in town: a drive-thru lane on the side of the restaurant. Throughout our meal, I watched servers carrying bags and boxes of food out through a set of sliding doors to the cars idling there. At one point, four cars were sitting out there waiting.

Rising Star’s small dining room was also bustling in the serene glow of the early evening light that filled the space. A banquette lines one wall, booths another, and a few four-top tables occupy the middle of the room. We grabbed the last table that was open.

Classic Chinese American preparations like Kung Pao, General Tso and Sweet & Sour are well represented on Rising Star’s menu. The bulk of the menu is divided into four protein groups: Beef, Chicken, Pork and Shrimp. There are also sections for Fried Rice, Noodles and Veggie Dishes.

Ten appetizers costing $3 to $8.95, plus a shareable Pu Pu Platter for $16, lead off the menu. I ordered the Scallion Pancake ($5.95), a popular Shanghai breakfast item and street food that’s more like flatbread than what we Americans think of as pancakes. The golden brown pancake was cut into triangles with crisp edges and chewy centers marked with dark flecks of scallion. Its oniony flavor got a punch of umami from the homemade soy-based dipping sauce. The large serving, hot and tasty, set the tone for the meal. I had to remind myself to stop eating it before I completely spoiled my appetite.

Five soups are available in 8- or 16-ounce servings, all for under $10. A small bowl of the Egg Flower Soup ($1.75), also known as egg drop soup, was an arresting sight, the beaten eggs suspended in the thick yellow broth like strands of silk. The broth, however, was a little pallid.

On the back of the menu, alongside a display of Chinese astrological symbols, is a list of lunch and dinner combinations that provide great value. The lunch versions come with an egg roll and fried rice for $9.95. The dinner combinations cost $11.95 to $12.95 and pair a common Chinese dish like Orange Chicken with a side of Fried Shrimp or Sweet and Sour Chicken. Dishes marked with a chile pepper can be ordered in mild, medium or extra-hot.

My selection, the Pepper Steak with Sweet and Sour Chicken ($12.95), came with a choice of soup, so I ordered the Hot and Sour. The deep brown broth, thick with water chestnuts and swirls of egg, was served with a small bowl of crispy noodles. In stark contrast to the bland Egg Flower Soup, this was electric, tingling the lips and opening the sinuses.

The entree followed in quick succession. A heaping pile of sliced steak glistening with a soy-based sauce filled one side of the plate, mixed with triangles of stir-fried onion and green bell pepper and pieces of baby corn for added crunch. The other side of the plate was given over to a few irregularly shaped pieces of battered white meat chicken. I preferred the chicken to the soft, chewy steak, especially when dipped in a sweet and sour sauce with a swirl of hot mustard that provided a kick of heat. A smallish, shatteringly crisp egg roll redolent of five-spice powder finished off the dish.

Rising Star is that all-too-rare Chinese restaurant that offers numerous options for gluten-free diners. We tried the gluten-free version of Moo Goo Gai Pan ($11.95), a dish normally made with a simple white sauce of broth and sugar thickened with cornstarch. Rising Star’s version was presented as a heaping pile of sliced white-meat chicken and halved white mushrooms on an oval-shaped dish. Snow peas and sliced carrots added some pops of color. The server told us that Rising Star’s gluten-free version substitutes water for broth, which might explain its lack of flavor.

Service was prompt and attentive, and the food came out very quickly.

A week later, I decided to give the takeout operation a try. Ten minutes after I placed a phone order for General Tso’s Tofu ($10.95), I arrived at the sliding glass doors. A server materialized immediately and brought the food out a minute or two later. The dish was thoughtfully packed into different containers to prevent the tofu and veggies from getting soggy in the sauce. The tofu was terrific, its crisp coating giving off a pleasing, nutty flavor. The thick, dark brown sauce, almost like a glaze, tasted of hoisin sauce cut with soy. It was quite sweet, with no heat at all.

A meal at Rising Star shows why it’s been a popular neighborhood haunt for more than 10 years. The ingredients are fresh, the portions large and the prices reasonable. It’s another star in the city’s Chinese restaurant firmament.

Another contender for best Chinese food in Albuquerque