House of Fortune

This place is super close to my work and I love the convenience of being able to order and pay via credit card through the Unilocal website/​app. The food is incredible and decently priced.

Authentic Shanghainese food. Great in flavors. Fair price. Friendly Service.

The owner is very nice, but my yang chow fried rice tasted a little bland. It didn’t taste very fresh and it didn’t have me craving more. Good yang chow is something that I can eat every day. However, the manager did make it even though it wasn’t on the menu. That made me feel very special. ;)

Came in to pick my order of soup and dumplings. When my order was ready the lady at the counter told me that i better not return this food. That i do it to often. When in fact i have only returned it once when my chicken and broccoli had long black hair in the chicken. But she was under the impression that i return food all the time. When I told her that it was only one time she told me I was wrong. That she tastes all the food and its always good. That I better not complain this time. After being treated like crap I reused to take or pay for the food. Because of which she told me to never come back. Which after being treated like that I wasnt coming back anyways. If your looking for good chinese food and great customer service try Mr. Ks or Asia Café. I would rather pay a little more to be treated with respect.

This restaurant has excellent dumplings! I have had both the pan fried dumplings and soup dumplings and they have rivaled what I have had at upscale dim sum places in DC.
I appreciate that they have online ordering and the ability to order ahead. It seems with online ordering though, it is best to place it immediately before you want your food, as they never seem to acknowledge if you ask for a future time. The quality of the food is worth this slight inconvenience!

DO NOT GO HERE. Read everything.
I called to place an order for 4 people.
#1 pork fried rice — VERY VERY SPICY
#2 scallion pancakes and egg drop soup
#3 Chicken w/​Cashews
#4 Soup dumplings
I called to order, placed my order and it went semi ok. She was mad every time I said something I wanted to order but figured just busy. Then remembering I wanted to order something for dessert I called back. She said the driver already left too late and hung up. For starters I called to order a big order maybe 5 minutes ago, the driver didn’t leave. I tried to call back she said too many problems and yet hung up again.
Upon receiving my food there were multiple issues.
#1 no soup.
#2 ABSOLUTELY no spiciness added to food. I don’t mean like not spicy enough, i mean absolutely zero chilis, hot sauce, hot peppers, NOTHING.
#3 Scallion pancakes were pretty raw.
#4 Soup dumpling sauce was broken and they were soaking in soy sauce making them inedible.
I called back to speak to the owner about the issues. She said not her problem about the items, that things were perfect when they left. I told her that ½ of us had major issues and nothing was really correct, and that I wanted my money back. She screamed at me, then hung up.
The next day I went in to get my money back and return the food untouched. She went insane. Keep in mind I have this on video (kind of, I put my phone in my pocket but you can hear her going off.) I was dumbfounded when she gave me her reasons.
#1. Spicy — DO NOT ORDER CUSTOM FOOD. She said order off the menu or don’t order at all, that I was lucky I wasn’t charged extra. I told her I would have happily paid extra for spicy, yet we didn’t get anything. She said not her problem I am bad customer.
#2 No soup — Screaming she says «YOU DIDN’T PAY FOR SOUP, STOP COMPLAINING.» Ok I get I didn’t pay the $ 150 but when someone orders pancakes with soup to dip, and the pancakes are raw and no soup, you screwed up, make it right.
#3 The dumpling sauce spilling was apparently my fault and they packaged it perfectly. No refund for something I destroyed. I laughed at her at this point.
She took money out of her purse, and THREW it at me telling me to never come back, and that in 40 years she’s never had a worse customer than me.
Their driver (who delivered my food,) was sitting on the counter, he was shocked to hear how the owner was talking, made eye contact with me, shook his head and mouthed sorry. I almost asked him if he wanted a different job right then and there.
For starters, I eat out frequently when I find a good place. I have never been stingy on price of food, always tip well and am always stupid nice to people, as I am in the food business. I have had some bad experiences, but NEVER in my life have I encountered such bad food, such crazy rude people, and a dirty dirty environment.
DO NOT GO HERE. Try café hong kong for soup, or mr k’s for some chinese but honestly there are no good chinese options anymore in germantown.

Small but delicious. Don’t be fooled by this restaurant’s appearance. It has the most authentic Shanghai cuisine. 正宗上海菜，别被外边蒙骗了！

Ordered House of Fortune delivery for the first time today after searching for decent Chinese food in the area for 4 years. We ordered a variety of appetizers and meals. All items exceeded our expectations. Food was not amazing, but far, far, far better than other local Chinese places. Will certainly order again.

This is easily one of the worst dining experiences I’ve had in a long time.
Ever since Peking Palace closed, I can’t find a decent Chinese place in this part of town. I decided to try this place based on other reviews and I’m sorry I did.
To start, I called my order in about 20 minutes before arriving. When I arrived there was one person working and she seemed so overwhelmed. She asked me if I wanted dumpling sauce or vinegar and ginger for the soup dumplings. When I asked if I could have both she said «no, I’m too busy, you need to pick one.» I picked the dumpling sauce and took my order home.
Virtually every aspect of the food was lacking. Hot and sour soup was bland, even after adding soy sauce (which I had in my pantry; apparently she was too busy to give me that too). The soup dumplings where deflated and soupless. General tso chicken was dry as the desert. Shrimp with snow peas was a bunch of pea pods and water chestnuts with a sad amount of shrimp.
Altogether, I feel like this place is a joke. Don’t bother.

I enjoy this restaurant because the dishes taste like authentic home cooked food. They go easy on the salt and oil so you don’t feel like you have been salted after the meal. The portions are sizable and the prices are fair. The server is always extremely friendly, attentive and helpful-​he goes out of his way to make sure you enjoy the food. He knows every item on the menu and can make great recommendations. This is definitely my go to authentic Chinese restaurant here in Germantown.

Their «American» Chinese food is all good. I tried their rice cakes with chicken the other day and both the rice cakes and chicken were flavorless. Since it wasn’t on the «American» Chinese food menu, the lady on the phone when I ordered it and then when I went to pick it up kept informing me these aren’t the rice cakes that us Americans are used to. I KNOW. It was a little demeaning. I’ll just stick to my americanized general tsos chicken, chicken lo mein, etc.

Ordered food from this restaurant on Sunday ⁰⁶⁄₂₈ with no issues.
Attempted to order again two days later, waited over an hour for the delivery. Called the restaurant to inquire about the delivery time and was told that the order was cancelled because «We only deliver in a 3 mile radius.» We also did not receive any phone calls or emails alerting us to this fact. Nope. Just sat around waiting for food that was never going to come.
I don’t understand what changed between Sunday and Tuesday to change your delivery radius from 5 miles per the website to 3.
«Estimate delivery time is 30 to 45 minutes.
Delivery fee is $ 1 in 5 miles range
We do not deliver beyond 5 miles.»
Food was delicious however so it will be sad that we can no longer order from this restaurant. Sorry Clarksburg residents. That .6 miles is just too far away for this restaurant.

Their soup dumplings (Xiao Long Bao) is best in montgomery county. Customer service is always good. The server is always very polite, but the place is kind of cold. Wonder if they turn on the heater during winter. At first I thought he was the owner, then found that he was only working there. Here are the dishes I like and we always order the same dishes over and over again.
Soup dumplings
Fried dough
Dried bean curd with chinese green
Bean curd sheets with mustard
Scallion Pancake
Pan Fired Buns
Stir Fried Rice Cakes
Stir Fried Shanghai Noodle
Dry Noodle with Scallions
I have tried their Szechuan Style Beef Noodle Soup, but I think the one at A&J is better (they make their own noodles at A&J). Won’t order it again.

The food alone probably only merits 3 stars, but the owner/​waiter was so friendly and courteous that he deserves a boost.
At first glance, this is a tiny establishment with only a take-​out counter. However, if you walk through the kitchen area, there is a dining area in the back. A party of 3 of us came at a recommendation of a friend and had trouble finding the place and were a little weirded out from walking through the kitchen area. However, the owner was waiting on us from the minute we came inside and was very attentive helping us order and seeing to our needs throughout our meal. The dining area was very empty on a Friday night — you get the sense that more people choose to come here to pick up take-​out rather than a sit-​down meal.
3 of us ordered the xiaolongbao (soup dumplings), pan fried dumplings, stir fried noodles with beef/​pork/​chicken/​shrimp, and a fish dish. It was the perfect amount for our party with a few things left over. I would not order the soup dumplings again (they were too thick skinned and didn’t have a good flavor), but the rest of the meal was decent. Our total came out to a little over $ 40 after tax and tip.
I’m not sure if I would come here if I’m in the area, as there a lot of great places to eat in Germantown. However, the owner clearly works hard running the plaec and making every guest feel welcome.

This was my first time ordering from this Chinese food place. I’m always skeptical ordering from new places because I’m a big fan of pork fried rice in most places don’t make it very good. Not only is their pork fried rice amazing but everything else is amazing as well. I highly recommend you give this a place a try.
Oh, and their delivery is crazy fast!

I just recently found this place. The place isn’t fancy, but they have really good food.
So far, my husband and I have tried the meatball stew, Shanghai pan fried noodles, ma po tofu, General Tao’s chicken, radish cake, pan fried buns, and dumplings. They are all really good. They have American and Chinese menus. Try the Chinese one.

3.5 stars
This place looks like a carry-​out place when you walk in, but they actually have a dining area in the back. You can either enter a door from the side of the building or walk through the kitchen. Yes, WALK THROUGH the kitchen!
They make pretty decent and authentic northern Chinese food. My parents like to come here. We ordered their dimsum dishes– cold, salted duck; stir-​fried rice cakes; pan-​fried steamed buns; and scallion pancakes. All are pretty good, but the pan-​fried buns are on the oily side.
We also had the Xiao Long Bao (soup dumplings) here. They’re okay, but not as tasty as the ones from JDS Shanghai in Gaithersburg.
It’s located next to a zumba studio so you will hear loud music and a lot of thumping.
Check in on Unilocal and get 10% off your meal if it’s over $ 20.

I have a love/​hate relationship with this place… the new owners are from Xin Ya café, which used to be in a little Chinese grocery shop in a shopping center near Travilah. I always come here on weekends in the morning to get fried dough (you tiao) and other assorted dim sum items. The food itself isn’t bad, but is a little overpriced for the portion size. One piece of fried dough will set you back $ 1.50 and the rice/​noodle dishes are all around $ 8 – 9 for only a small container.
During my most recent visit, the service was horrendous. It was apparent that the new cashier had not been properly trained… she had no idea how to manage orders, use the credit card machine, or interact with customers. I may have been more understanding had it been busy but there was only one other customer waiting with me. On top of that, the manager was standing on the side trying to direct her… but it was really only making things more disorganized.

Best Chinese food in Germantown!
I ordered combination fried rice, wonton soup, and chicken and broccoli. It was perfect! I think they use a really good quality of meat, unlike the other Chinese food restaurants in Germantown. There was plenty of meat and shrimp in my rice. The wonton soup was delicious and pretty standard. The chicken and broccoli was fresh! They use chicken breast and not cheap thigh meat like some others and the broccoli was fresh and had a nice crunch to it.
The new owner is very friendly. She said the Master Chef has been cooking since age 16 and is from Taiwan.
I also appreciate the fact that as a customer I can SEE the kitchen and chef preparing the food.

I have been ordering takeout from this place for 10 years. It’s always fast and the food is good. They have an American and a Chinese menu (both with English versions) and a wide variety to choose from.
From reading the Unilocal reviews I found out that they have XLB! They call them Steamed Juicy Pork Buns on the English translation but they call it XLB when they put the order in (Soup Dumplings!) They were very good. Plenty of soup and a nice pork meatball in there. 8 to an order for $ 6 and I was psyched to find out that this new food discovery of mine is available locally via take-​out! Sweet.
Another reviewer mentioned that her food came in a styrofoam container. Maybe they just use those for the lunch combos because mine always comes in plastic containers or paper.
The Hot & Sour soup is usually pretty good. At some places it is too bland but House Of Fortune’s has a good flavor. The food is all what you’d expect. Full Containers with good flavor. Not any greasier than I’d expect it to be and the price is better than the full service restaurants in the area that also do takeout.
I haven’t ordered from here in a while so I looked at several restaurant reviews before ordering and have determined that nobody is happy with any of the Chinese places around. I guess Chinese takeout is like pizza in that everyone likes a particular style. The fact that this place has two menus and I see Chinese people ordering takeout from here as well, must show that it isn’t too Americanized.
Anyway, don’t be afraid to order from here. It’s good.