On a hot summer’s night… (cue Meatloaf), who wants to cook? The tradition of eating Chinese food on Friday night goes back to my childhood days, so on a recent Friday night it was CHIGO for us. If you are a long time Westchester diner you may remember Tung Sing or South Seas from your youth. There were only a few Chinese-food spots where you could also take out food. Forward a few years (wink wink) and there are a plethora of spots from which to get your dumpling fix, but none that compare to CHIGO. What makes this delivery only spot in Hawthorne different is the quality of the ingredients that make up each delicious dish! 

A bit of background before we get to the eats will help you to appreciate the thoughtfulness that has gone into this brand. This is the latest incarnation from the brains behind WUJI - pure fresh Chinese; LULU - classic Chinese healthy ingredients; and CHINA WHITE - homegrown organic Chinese. If you have ever dined at any of these restaurants you understand the high level of service and the superior quality of the food.

Focusing on take-out and delivery only is what makes this business model succeed. The quick turnaround from “app” or personal phone order to the delivery or curbside pickup makes for an easy-peasy experience, all making your meal taste even better. The premise is that the CHIGO kitchen is not competing with itself by trying to accommodate dine-in patrons, so the take-out orders can be executed efficiently and with the level usually reserved for in-house dining. Our experience was both expedient and pleasant.

The delivery arrived in record time, and each take-out container was chosen especially for that dish. It looked so appetizing in the to-go boxes that we quickly took some pictures for the gram with no need to re-plate our meal. Our biggest challenge was holding the kids back with their chopsticks at the ready. It was tricky limiting the number of items in our order as we wanted to try the whole delicious menu.

What is unique about this brand is their bill of fare is derived from the freshest ingredients - the vegetables are organic and locally grown, the wild fish is line caught, the natural beef is humanely raised, the chicken is organic free range and the pork is vegetarian fed. Not many restaurants can make these claims and it shows in the plates they are putting out. Quality take out is more difficult to achieve then dine-in as the travel time and containment of the food effects the dishes in both texture and flavors. We were impressed with what they are furnishing in each take-out order. 

Here is what we tried for our first time and we cannot wait to try the rest of the selections: 

In the appetizer section the firecracker spring rolls contained organic chicken pieces, big enough to be identifiable, along with fresh veggies tucked into a deep fried flaky crust with little bubbles making it crunch when you bite into it. Served with old school Chinese spicy mustard dipping sauce, it is sinus clearing. It was reminiscent of the hot mustard and duck sauce table served with fried wide noodles that we used to dip into while waiting for our order to arrive on a busy Friday night. Thankfully CHIGO thought of everything and includes with every order complimentary fried noodles (just like we remembered), brittle and not greasy. We dipped them into their thick, fruity “duck sauce” and let the kids in on our memory of this traditional pre-meal treat that we still love.

A scallion pancake’s mouth feel is a very personal thing.  Much like your preferred Italian restaurant’s tomato sauce, it is very subjective. Memories of your favorites beckon you as these crisp triangles hit the notes for light and flakey, not easy to for something that was deep fried a half hour before we consumed it. They arrived still crisp from the fryer, therefore they traveled well.

A fun surprise were the spicy fried chicken Bao buns as they resonate similarities to a “Hot Nashville chicken sandwich” that is currently all the rage. We admire the crisp exterior of the Panko crumbs while keeping the chicken moist and tender. Set inside a fluffy pure white mini bun and drizzled with spicy mayo gives it just the right amount of heat, so as not to overpower the chicken. Winner winner…

A delicious sweet and spicy dipping sauce is the added bonus to the perfectly formed classic crab Rangoon filled with a cream cheese crab filling just waiting to burst out of crispy little purses. These are well executed morsels and a great beginning to our Friday night feast.

Known for their delicious soup dumplings, “on a hot summer’s night” we opted to try some of their other dumpling options. The filling in our Berkshire pork dumplings had a nice firm texture, not overpowered by the ginger or scallions, and the “skin” was far from doughy. What we loved about CHIGO’s steamed shrimp & chive dumplings were the distinguishable pieces of shrimp, not ground into a paste consistency, so they still had toothsome bits. They were so light we could have eaten dumplings for days with the chives as a perfect match to the flavorful shrimp.

Although we were pining for more of the delicious honey plum (Hoisin) glaze, the Chinese BBQ pork was a beautiful thing. The Berkshire pork was simply excellent and we surmise that it must have been slow cooked all day to achieve such tender and juicy pieces. As it was a generous portion, happily, there were a few slices leftover for breakfast with runny eggs.

For our vegetarian friends we ordered the Szechuan Mapo tofu which was one of our favored offerings with its silky soft organic tofu picking up the spicy fiery chilies perfectly. A must try dish even for carnivores. 

We were excited to see our favorite lobster fried rice dish that we know and love from the other restaurants in their group has made it to this to-go only menu. We love the flavorful morsels of lobster still perfectly executed, and not over cooked in a way that usually makes it rubbery or dried out and salty. They are light-handed with the use of soy sauce so as not to drown out the flavor of the lovely lobster.

All the “classics” can be ordered as a half or full order so we ordered two half orders of sesame chicken “for the kids”, since sharing is not their strong suit. Thankfully they let us steal a few bites of this perfectly executed, retro American-Chinese dish. The lightly battered and fried organic free-range chicken was truly delicious - adorned with a sweet and tangy vinegar sauce. I do not know how they achieve it but we were impressed that this dish traveled so well. It was not gummy on the outside from the batter steaming in transit, but arrived crisp and flavorful with ample toasted sesame seeds adorning each glistening bite. As well as another classic dish - tangerine beef with this rendition having tender natural beef slices spiced with actual pieces of tangerine peel and plenteous dried chili peppers without being very spicy.

Loved that our Singapore rice noodles with added chicken were packed full of flavor and many types of fresh vegetables. We marveled at the fact that the very thin rice noodles having absorbed all its flavorful sauce were not at all mushy from travel. 

Although much of the menu is “classic American-Chinese” that we have come to love, while still evoking familiarity, each rendition feels renewed due to its elevated ingredients. This is not the same old Chinese take-out that you have accepted without having better choices. We can noticeably identify the use of fresh, organic and superior ingredients making the quality of the food “head and shoulders” above the rest. We applaud the effort to make a higher quality Chinese take-out with great service known now as CHIGO, serving take-out in Westchester and Fairfield County. 

So get ready CHIGO as we relive our childhood memories of take-out Chinese on Friday nights. Care to join us? Chin Chin! #DonnaDishes 

CHIGO

58 Saw Mill River Road, Hawthorne, New York

914-495-3323, www.eatchigo.com

IG @chigo_chinese