Hunan Harmony

My uniform tests of Chinese restaurants is simple: order szechuan wonton and general tso's chicken and see how well they do. These two dishes are probably the hardest in the Chinese cuisine to get right (regardless of ease of preparation, expense ... more

My uniform tests of Chinese restaurants is simple: order szechuan wonton and general tso's chicken and see how well they do. These two dishes are probably the hardest in the Chinese cuisine to get right (regardless of ease of preparation, expense is a factor as well). Everything else is just an added benefit.
Hunan Harmony, despite the name, is a fantastic restaurant - at least for takeout.
Looking for a new Chinese takeout joint around my office, I came across Hunan Harmony. Not wanting to take TOO much of a chance, I ordered szechuan wonton ($4.50), roast pork ($5.95) and sesame cold noodles ($3.95). While two of these dishes are relatively easy to get wrong (too much sugar, peanuts, et cetera) they're very hard to ruin.
The results were astounding. Not only was the woman who answered the phone extraodinarily courteus and helpful, but she also arrived exactly when she said - and even called me when she got close.
The food? Well, first off, they sent along real mustard and duck sauce with the fried noodles, not the over-processed crap they squeeze into small tubes. This was a wonderful appetizer for my appetizers.
Following the noodles, I pulled out the wontons. They were REAL wontons! All too often in areas like Norwalk the restaurants don't bother to use real wontons, they just use dumplings. Not only were these wontons real, but they were drenched in sesame oil and sesame seeds with only a touch of peanuts.
The cold sesame noodles were the same - tons of sesame, very little peanuts. And, perhaps even better, the noodles were thin and udon-style (Japanese, yes, but similiar enough to Chinese to be noteworthy).
The roast pork was equally suprising. Sugar was almost totally absent from this dish, only slightly adding to a delicious roasted pork flavor (it's rare).
The verdict? It's assisted by real tea, great fortune cookies, great service, and of course - the food.
Four stars - maybe more if their Japanese food (yes, they serve Japanese food) and dining quarters pan out. less