We'd eaten once before from Spicy Home Tasty. At the time it lived up to the initial hype and Newsday review. Today was a different story. Chicken Corn Soup - super thin and watery, overflowing with fat. Tiny hint of corn flavor, otherwise just tastes of grease. Reminded me of high school 'chicken soup'. If you want a good Chicken Corn Soup, go to FAN in Deer Park. Scallion pancakes good flavor but burnt and greasy. Spring rolls - decent, a little tough. Chicken wings - very good. Pan fried noodles with beef - oily but very tasty. Chicken Fried Rice - little to no flavor. Moo Shoo Duck - duck was very, very tough. General Tso Chicken - Most of the chicken pieces very heavily breaded but sauce only at bottom of container, leaving it flavor free. Needs a better ratio of chicken to breading, and the pieces need to be well soaked in the sauce. Chicken Eggplant with garlic sauce - also flavor free. If this meal shows where this eatery has gone, it should no longer be highly rated unless they clean up their act. They need to taste their own food just as we did so they can tell what's wrong and fix it. We love 'chinese' food, and were looking forward to seeing how this place was post reopening, but were very disappointed. Also, more expensive than other chinese eateries in and around Commack.
DrMindyG
This was our first visit to Spicy Home Tasty. The food was excellent. The service was great, very attentive and quick. My only issue is the parking is not great. They have a very small, awkward parking lot and the lighting is not great. That said, I will definitely return for the food!
JMEEHANIII
We love this restaurant! Super delicious food and excellent service. Try the Chili oil dumplings! Absolutely delicious. They make great garlic sauce. We have thoroughly enjoyed every meal we have had here! Best Chinese. Food that we have found on Long Island!
Lou R
Only got take-out but my Shrimp with Lobster Sauce was excellent - thick with actual small pieces of lobster.
Wandering_Freee
Another night of amazing dumplings. I can't say enough about the dumplings. The entrees are great too. This is the best Chinese food around the flavor and quality of the meat. They are always busy so you know the food is fresh.
TomGNorthport_Ny
I want to preface my review by stating that I REALLY wanted to love Spicy Home Tasty (let's abbreviate the restaurant name as SHT). I grew up here on Long Island and fondly remember the very first Chinese restaurants to introduce Long Islanders to Cantonese and then later, Szechuan cuisine. I am not a food snob but I do consider myself a pretty good judge of Chinese food having eaten amazing Chinese food all over the world and so it was with great anticipation that I ordered $100 of the more popular dishes at SHT hoping to become "a believer." Sadly, I must report that SHT did not live up to even average expectations. Let me begin by saying that while the menu at SHT has some really interesting offerings, most of the finished dishes we sampled were lacking in depth of flavor. Heat AND depth of flavor are a hallmark of Szechuan cooking and the complex flavors are amplified by spices front and center. Even if my dishes had been prepared with more chili oil or Szechuan peppercorns most of it still would not have had the flavor of some of the same dishes at my regular Chinese takeout haunts. It goes without saying that the greatness of a proper Chinese restaurant can be measured by their wonton and/or hot and sour soup. The reviews I read about SHT's hot and sour soup made it sound like it was something special. Not here. Mind you, the soup was definitely not heavy with cornstarch but the flavor was really, really bland (hot and sour soup for folks who have never had hot and sour soup, I guess). The soup broth lacked the "sour" KICK that is a much appreciated aspect of this soup. It desperately needed more pepper and maybe a teaspoon of sesame oil. It also was under-seasoned and while definitely not salty, a splash of soy would have helped. The soup ingredients were all there (although I could have used larger chunks of tofu and more shredded pork). The search for GREAT hot and sour soup continues (made me long for the good old days of SHANGHAI CAFE at Broadway and 125th street in Manhattan - now, THAT was hot and sour soup, ladies and gentlemen). SHT's scallion pancakes were good and not doughy. Other than that, nothing that my local takeout place couldn't match. The cold cucumbers appetizer was basically a nice/refreshing quick pickle that would have been a home run had it featured MORE garlic, a few extra splashes of Chinese vinegar and more pepper. Moo shu chicken: Good sized portion and a decent melange of shredded chicken and veggies. SHT included a very small cup of hoisin sauce that wood have been great for only 2 small pancakes (good thing that I have a jar in the fridge). Unfortunately, the menu does not indicate that one must purchase moo shu pancakes separately! Buyer beware ... order pancakes along with the dish. Shredded Pork in Garlic Sauce - OK version but again, very bland! Chengdu Shrimp - good but wow, the shrimp were very mushy (P.S. I picked up my order within 2 minutes of being phoned that the order was ready). Shanghai cabbage - baby bok choy nicely sauteed - good (hurray). Eggplant with Garlic Sauce - ho-hum, very bland. The finale (a handful of individually wrapped commercial fortune cookies) were inedible. These cookies were not crispy upon opening the plastic wrapper - they were instead very dull tasting and obviously exposed to a humid environment - ugh). A few final observations: on a Saturday night this place was REALLY hopping ... the small parking lot is a major headache and take the advice of others: try to BACK INTO a parking space! The folks at the counter were very efficient (I got a phone call when my order was ready to pick-up). This is not an inexpensive place - ingredients are of good quality but the head chef needs to get the staff to use a heavier hand all-around with spicing and flavor. Maybe I'll give it another shot but until then - there are other places to try and there are always my local haunts ... sorry SHT!
Consumerista
Finally I don't have to travel to Flushing to get authentic Chinese home cooking, and the many Asian families I always see dining here must agree. Food is fresh, seasoned to order, servings are generous, and service is friendly and efficient. Wish they delivered!
Brenda D
We stopped here for lunch mid week based on a TripAdvisor review. The place was packed for a midday lunch. Our food was terrific and the portions were very generous. The staff were efficient and very pleasant. Definitely a great lunch place.
maries939
I would highly recommend this restaurant for excellent food. The dumplings, soups, seafood,pork, beef, lamb dishes are all authentically prepared and served as you like them. They can be made extra spicy or mild depending on your tastes. We enjoyed a string bean dish with spicy pork sauce that was excellent along with a scallion lamb dish which was very good. Take the time to try different dishes on the menu. We will be back.
mamaleids
Authentic Chinese restaurant as you can tell by the number of Chinese people dining there. This location has been the home of many failing restaurants but this one is a winner. All dishes are made to order so if you want less spice you can get it. Try their dumplings in chili sauce as an appetizer.
We'd eaten once before from Spicy Home Tasty. At the time it lived up to the initial hype and Newsday review. Today was a different story. Chicken Corn Soup - super thin and watery, overflowing with fat. Tiny hint of corn flavor, otherwise just tastes of grease. Reminded me of high school 'chicken soup'. If you want a good Chicken Corn Soup, go to FAN in Deer Park. Scallion pancakes good flavor but burnt and greasy. Spring rolls - decent, a little tough. Chicken wings - very good. Pan fried noodles with beef - oily but very tasty. Chicken Fried Rice - little to no flavor. Moo Shoo Duck - duck was very, very tough. General Tso Chicken - Most of the chicken pieces very heavily breaded but sauce only at bottom of container, leaving it flavor free. Needs a better ratio of chicken to breading, and the pieces need to be well soaked in the sauce. Chicken Eggplant with garlic sauce - also flavor free. If this meal shows where this eatery has gone, it should no longer be highly rated unless they clean up their act. They need to taste their own food just as we did so they can tell what's wrong and fix it. We love 'chinese' food, and were looking forward to seeing how this place was post reopening, but were very disappointed. Also, more expensive than other chinese eateries in and around Commack.
This was our first visit to Spicy Home Tasty. The food was excellent. The service was great, very attentive and quick. My only issue is the parking is not great. They have a very small, awkward parking lot and the lighting is not great. That said, I will definitely return for the food!
We love this restaurant! Super delicious food and excellent service. Try the Chili oil dumplings! Absolutely delicious. They make great garlic sauce. We have thoroughly enjoyed every meal we have had here! Best Chinese. Food that we have found on Long Island!
Only got take-out but my Shrimp with Lobster Sauce was excellent - thick with actual small pieces of lobster.
Another night of amazing dumplings. I can't say enough about the dumplings. The entrees are great too. This is the best Chinese food around the flavor and quality of the meat. They are always busy so you know the food is fresh.
I want to preface my review by stating that I REALLY wanted to love Spicy Home Tasty (let's abbreviate the restaurant name as SHT). I grew up here on Long Island and fondly remember the very first Chinese restaurants to introduce Long Islanders to Cantonese and then later, Szechuan cuisine. I am not a food snob but I do consider myself a pretty good judge of Chinese food having eaten amazing Chinese food all over the world and so it was with great anticipation that I ordered $100 of the more popular dishes at SHT hoping to become "a believer." Sadly, I must report that SHT did not live up to even average expectations. Let me begin by saying that while the menu at SHT has some really interesting offerings, most of the finished dishes we sampled were lacking in depth of flavor. Heat AND depth of flavor are a hallmark of Szechuan cooking and the complex flavors are amplified by spices front and center. Even if my dishes had been prepared with more chili oil or Szechuan peppercorns most of it still would not have had the flavor of some of the same dishes at my regular Chinese takeout haunts. It goes without saying that the greatness of a proper Chinese restaurant can be measured by their wonton and/or hot and sour soup. The reviews I read about SHT's hot and sour soup made it sound like it was something special. Not here. Mind you, the soup was definitely not heavy with cornstarch but the flavor was really, really bland (hot and sour soup for folks who have never had hot and sour soup, I guess). The soup broth lacked the "sour" KICK that is a much appreciated aspect of this soup. It desperately needed more pepper and maybe a teaspoon of sesame oil. It also was under-seasoned and while definitely not salty, a splash of soy would have helped. The soup ingredients were all there (although I could have used larger chunks of tofu and more shredded pork). The search for GREAT hot and sour soup continues (made me long for the good old days of SHANGHAI CAFE at Broadway and 125th street in Manhattan - now, THAT was hot and sour soup, ladies and gentlemen). SHT's scallion pancakes were good and not doughy. Other than that, nothing that my local takeout place couldn't match. The cold cucumbers appetizer was basically a nice/refreshing quick pickle that would have been a home run had it featured MORE garlic, a few extra splashes of Chinese vinegar and more pepper. Moo shu chicken: Good sized portion and a decent melange of shredded chicken and veggies. SHT included a very small cup of hoisin sauce that wood have been great for only 2 small pancakes (good thing that I have a jar in the fridge). Unfortunately, the menu does not indicate that one must purchase moo shu pancakes separately! Buyer beware ... order pancakes along with the dish. Shredded Pork in Garlic Sauce - OK version but again, very bland! Chengdu Shrimp - good but wow, the shrimp were very mushy (P.S. I picked up my order within 2 minutes of being phoned that the order was ready). Shanghai cabbage - baby bok choy nicely sauteed - good (hurray). Eggplant with Garlic Sauce - ho-hum, very bland. The finale (a handful of individually wrapped commercial fortune cookies) were inedible. These cookies were not crispy upon opening the plastic wrapper - they were instead very dull tasting and obviously exposed to a humid environment - ugh). A few final observations: on a Saturday night this place was REALLY hopping ... the small parking lot is a major headache and take the advice of others: try to BACK INTO a parking space! The folks at the counter were very efficient (I got a phone call when my order was ready to pick-up). This is not an inexpensive place - ingredients are of good quality but the head chef needs to get the staff to use a heavier hand all-around with spicing and flavor. Maybe I'll give it another shot but until then - there are other places to try and there are always my local haunts ... sorry SHT!
Finally I don't have to travel to Flushing to get authentic Chinese home cooking, and the many Asian families I always see dining here must agree. Food is fresh, seasoned to order, servings are generous, and service is friendly and efficient. Wish they delivered!
We stopped here for lunch mid week based on a TripAdvisor review. The place was packed for a midday lunch. Our food was terrific and the portions were very generous. The staff were efficient and very pleasant. Definitely a great lunch place.
I would highly recommend this restaurant for excellent food. The dumplings, soups, seafood,pork, beef, lamb dishes are all authentically prepared and served as you like them. They can be made extra spicy or mild depending on your tastes. We enjoyed a string bean dish with spicy pork sauce that was excellent along with a scallion lamb dish which was very good. Take the time to try different dishes on the menu. We will be back.
Authentic Chinese restaurant as you can tell by the number of Chinese people dining there. This location has been the home of many failing restaurants but this one is a winner. All dishes are made to order so if you want less spice you can get it. Try their dumplings in chili sauce as an appetizer.
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