Northern Kitchen

This is more of a traditional/authentic style Chinese restaurant tucked away into a shopping center. We had a little difficulty communicating with the wait staff, but ultimately got all our food out and were satisfied with most everything we ordered. The food is definitely not the American style Chinese food you might be used to so be careful what you order. My Chicken with Szechuan peppercorn was nothing like I expected. It was icy in the middle and hot on the edges and was basically a whole chicken (it also came out after everyone else had finished their meal). I didn't like it, but everything else at the table was absolutely scrumptious. I will be back.

Skip the fast food and support your local Chinese spot! This little hole in the wall local Chinese restaurant has a name that will throw you off, Massive portions, and excellent service! We felt transported to the culture by delicious Tso's chicken, egg drop soup and shrimp and tofu soup. Be mindful when you get into the plaza that the entrance to the restaurant is a little hard to see, look for their sign in the window! The service was excellent and we will most definitely be back again! We had to box everything up because we were only able to get through half the platters. SUPER GOOD!

I gave good review at the beginning of Grand opening, but since then , the quality of the food not as good as then .The missing advertising and signage , in my opinion , hurt the operation , their business not as good as potentially should be , as lacking of customers will cut the quality of the food .

First experience here. Ordered from the lunch menu and had hot & sour soup followed by Mongolian beef, both outstanding in every respect. White rice accompanied. My server, who I suspect is a member of the owning family, provided me and my son all of the appropriate containers to take home what was left of the generous portions. Although I'm not a slave to culinary authenticity in re to original recipes, it's nice to know one is getting the real deal. That said, I've no complaints about those "Chinese" restaurants that serve Cantonese-American fare in an effort to please the American palate. After all, we're not eating culture. We're eating food.

Love that Bloomington now has another great Chinese food option! I didn't even know this restaurant existed until a random Yelp rec showed up and I'm glad it did. I came with a group of 4 and ordered: peppercorn fish, green beans with garlic, Chairman Mao's pork, salt & pepper squid, and golden fried corn. The food reminded me of being at a friend's house and having wonderful homemade Chinese food! Service was also kind. I've been searching for peppercorn fish in restaurants near the city and finally found it here. It was my favorite dish, flavorful with a kick, not extremely spicy, highly recommend it! Golden fried corn was okay, I didn't know what to expect. It's not something I would get again. Same with Chairman Mao's pork and salt& pepper squid. While the flavors were there, I think it was a little underwhelming.Overall, I enjoyed all the food. I hope to try other dishes there as well because it seems like there are authentic dishes that I may not know about.

First time here; if I hadn't known for sure that the restaurant was tucked into the "Relaxing Healthy Center" at the north end of the strip mall, I might have missed it. (I have not asked what services are offered at Relaxing Healthy Center.) The obscure location is part of what I consider the perfect ambiance for a great Chinese restaurant. They put their resources to the food, not a swanky address or fancy decor.Everything was delicious! Our party of five (three adults, two kids) started with potstickers--a.k.a. fried dumplings--at the request of my grandson. I didn't get one, but they looked good. Other dishes included House Spicy Beef (Shui jiu niu rou), Spicy Pepper Chicken, Triple Vegetables, and Cumin Lamb. Portions were generous and everything came to the table piping hot, fresh out of the wok. The Cumin Lamb was the best I've had in town--better than Grand Szechuan in my opinion--a generous amount of lamb combined with cilantro and shreds of red onion, definitely not "saucy" but not overly dry as it can sometimes be. I thought the House Spicy Beef was a little less of a hit, but still very good. Often this chicken dish (it also appears on menus as Chongqing Spicy Chicken) is light on chicken and heavy on the peppers, which you can't really eat...but Northern Kitchen's version was super-flavorful and had enough to keep us all happy. Triple vegetables is essentially the same as the Eggplant in Garlic Sauce that's on the menu, but uses eggplant, potatoes, and jalapeños. It was also good, but I give the edge to Grand Szechuan for the flavor of the sauce. Service was prompt and really friendly. Our waiter made sure we were comfortable and checked in with us a few times during the meal, and the proprietress came out and chatted with us for about five minutes when we were done. I will be back, eager to try some of the dishes I couldn't get to this time.

Unbelievably fresh, delicious and flavorful Chinese food.Had all vegetables and they were amazing and cooked perfectly

Hands down my new favorite Chinese/cantonese restaurant. I ordered sesame chicken and fried veg rice and I couldn't decide which I liked more. You can always tell a good Chinese restaurant by its fried rice. If you beside ur self on which place to choose come here you won't be disappointed:)It's a very relaxing and open environment plenty of room to stretch your legs. And the service was excellent and food came quick.

This hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant is a hidden gem, which is difficult to find, but it's in the part of the strip mall next to where the lettering on the building says RELAXING HEALTHY CENTER. Be glad that you did go to the effort of finding it. It's a small restaurant owned by an elderly Chinese couple & if you're Chinese, this must be like what going to dinner at grandma and grandpa's house is like. The portions are amazingly large, even for what you think might be an appetizer. Because I'm trying to eat vegetarian, I had the fried corn, the eggplant in garlic sauce, and the ma po tofu. I specifically chose to order the ma po tofu, because I know it is difficult to do well & not every Chinese place can do it, but they totally nailed it. The couple who own this restaurant must not be getting a lot of traffic, because of the bad location, but they treated me exceedingly well. And I found that they also do takeout. Yelp doesn't have the link to their website (https://www.northernkitchenmn.com), but you can now order take out from them.

Stellar food - best Chinese food I've ever had outside of San Francisco's Chinatown and Hong Kong. For example, many restaurants serve pan fried dumplings - but these have a fresh, delicious filling that elevates them to a far better tier. The green beans w/garlic were simply perfect. And the crispy, glazed shrimp is so fresh it melted in my mouth. (Btw, the golden fried corn is a unique & yummy side dish.)