By Holly Bedard
Staff Writer

Hong Kong City is a tiny Chinese food place tucked away on Page Street in Manchester. It’s possible you’ve never heard of it, but maybe you should.

There are all kinds of Chinese joints around town. One will have great upscale cuisine, while another will be a small hole-in-the-wall type of joint. No matter which kind of place you choose, one thing is the most important of all: consistency.

That’s what I’ve found with Hong Kong City.

Since we live in the area, my boyfriend and I noticed the place right away when it opened up last year. (The spot’s previous incarnation was a pizza place.) Always looking for close-by take-out options, we stopped in as soon as we saw the “Open” sign in the door. What we found with our order that night has kept us coming back on a fairly frequent basis.

If you’re looking for some standard Chinese appetizer-like fare, such as crab Rangoon, chicken fingers and wings, boneless spare ribs and fried rice, you’ll find it all here. And it’s all good. The Rangoon has a tasty ­ but not overpowering ­ center with a crisp outer shell. The chicken fingers have a nice, moist inside with tender strips of white meat. Wings and spare ribs are cooked to perfection. Plus, the fried rice has a good taste to it and plenty of meaty chunks of your choice.

Another item I should point out is the beef teriyaki. This is something I loved growing up, but have been reluctant to order in later years. It seems everywhere I decided to try it, I got a small stick of beef that was overcooked and was very tough with little taste. Hong Kong City has changed that perception. The teriyaki is made with big strips of beef that are always tender and tasty. Never dry!

My boyfriend has really grown to like Hong Kong City, so we grabbed some take-out earlier this week for his birthday. We each got a dinner special. Mine had chicken fingers, crab Rangoon and beef teriyaki. His was boneless ribs, chicken fingers and beef teriyaki. Both meals come with a choice of rice, and at $7.75 each, are an absolute steal. We wanted a good supply of leftovers (Chinese is the best!) and also ordered two large appetizers: chicken wings ($6.25) and Peking dumpling ($5.95).

As usual, Hong Kong City did not disappoint. That’s the best part of getting take-out here: You always know what to expect.

And that’s worth its weight in fortune cookies.

Hong Kong City is located at 864 Pine St., Manchester. For take-out orders, call 668-9188.

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