My wife and I went to this Chinese restaurant Friday night. The place had a nice vibe, perfect for a quiet night out. We started with Crab Rangoon, which was crispy and creamy, and came with sweet and sour sauce 😋 For our main courses, I had Hunan Chicken with steamed rice. It was spicy and flavorful, but you gotta add peanuts to really make it pop! 🌶️ My wife had the Shrimp Fried Rice, which was seasoned well and had big, juicy shrimp. 🍤 The Hot-and-Sour Soup was a good mix of spicy and sour 🍲 Overall, China Cottage was a good spot for food and atmosphere. Oh, and you gotta check out the fish tank while you're there! 🐠

I really wish you could break ratings down farther into quarters. I would most likely rate this establishment a 4.5. So there are several China Cottage restaurants in the Dayton metro area: Centerville, Kettering, Trotwood, and rumor has it they may be opening on in Huber Heights. This review features the Trotwood location. As I get older, and my palette becomes more discriminating the China Cottage locations are still at the top of my list, and preferred "go to" when I'm in the mood for Asian cuisine. This visit was for supper on a Saturday evening. My husband always orders the same item, no matter which Asian restaurant: Moo Goo Gai Pan. I order the fried eggplant and we shared a Pao Pao Platter. I will focus on the items I indulged in. I first had the fried eggplant at the Kettering location and totally enjoyed it. So since I like the dish at one of their locations, I decided I should try it at another to see if the dish was consistent at differing locations. I was not disappointed. The fried eggplant was mixed with water chestnuts, thinly sliced garlic, green onions, thinly sliced carrots in a brown sauce. I am not a person who can handle spicy foods and the first time I tried the dish it was at the "2 pepper" heat level which was too much for me. This time I requested it non-spicy. Removing the heat from the dish did not take away any of the flavor. As with the majority of meals you also have your choice of rice to complement it. Portion sizes were more than ample. I took half of home to enjoy at a later time. Of course, part of that could be due to partaking in the Pao Pao platter. The appetizer could easily be shared with 3, maybe 4 people. The Pao Pao is fun due to how it is presented. Includes a mini heat source for further grilling the meat scures. The crab ragoon is one of my favorites as they add finely chopped onion and imitation crab meat making for a flavorful filling. The seaweed chicken rolls were wonton wrapped chicken with a small band of seaweed around the middle of the roll on the outside. This was good dipped in sweet-n'-sour sauce. The shrimp rolls were okay, but not my favorite. Maybe that was by they time I tried one they had started to cool off. I might have to try them again for a second take. The meat kabobs were tender, and I loved that I could reheat them on the mini grill to my taste. My husband feels China Cottage has the best Moo Goo Gai Pan of any Asian restaurant he was eaten at. They do not have a soda fountain, but offer Coke products in 20 oz. bottles. They also have hot and iced tea and a range of alcoholic beverages. Service was great. They were attentive without being over intrusive. The decor is dark and starting to look a little worn. Bringing my rating score down from a 5. The tropical fish tank is clean and looks well cared for adding a nice calming touch to the atmosphere. I still feel the China Cottages in the area are consistent in their service and cuisine. I will definitely continue to revisit these locations when craving an Asian meet.