The Prime: Chinese Restaurant was the first stop on my quest to find Asian restaurants around the Phoenix area. Here is the breakdown—
Authenticity
The Prime receives a 2 on my authenticity scale because it contained a mixture of Americanized Chinese food and traditional Chinese dishes. Although there were a couple of Americanized Chinese dishes such as broccoli beef and egg rolls, the Prime also offers heavily Chinese influenced dishes.
Here are some dishes that I tried…
Moo Shu Chicken
The Moo Shu Chicken was wrapped in a tortilla, which is strange for a Chinese restaurant because traditional Chinese dishes use lettuce leaves or thin wonton wraps instead. This confused me a bit, but the dish was delicious. The moo shu chicken was mixed with vegetables such as carrots, bean sprouts and mushrooms. Then, it was wrapped tightly in the tortilla, which kept the sauce and flavor in and made your mouth yearn for more after every bite.
Mango Chicken.
Photo by: Evie Carpenter
This dish was spicy from the chicken, yet sweet from the mango. The mangos were sliced into semi-bite sized pieces, which were then mixed with chicken cooked in a spicy sauce. I’ve never had fruit in an entrée before so this dish sounded like a weird combination. But the fusion of flavors created an explosion of deliciousness in my mouth.
House Special Fried Rice.
Photo by: Evie Carpenter
Fried rice is a commonly known Asian dish throughout the United States (as well as China). While you may think this dish is easy to make, think again. Putting taste aside, my dad taught me that authentic fried rice is when the pieces of rice do not stick together—they should be individual pieces. The Prime’s House Special Fried Rice falls under that category. The rice did not stick together or form any clumps of rice balls at any point in time.
Atmosphere
Walking into The Prime, the atmosphere it exudes is very different from most Asian restaurants. It had both family-style table settings and booth seating. Most Asian restaurants have a few small, rectangular tables for small parties and a few big round tables for large family gatherings.
The Prime had two big round tables in the middle of the restaurant, while booth seating surrounded it. It was on the quiet side where customers talked quietly and kept to themselves. The restaurant had a modern look and had an airy feel to it with lots open space between the tables.
Overall Recommendation
I would give The Prime four out of five stars because truly authentic Asian restaurants seem rare in the city of Phoenix (or rather, in almost any city in the United States if it’s not a part of a Chinatown). Each dish that I tried had its own unique taste due to the different types of herbs, spices and sauces used. It had a wide variety of Americanized Asian dishes as well as traditional Chinese cuisine.
The Prime is located near the corner of West Camelback Road and North Central Avenue in Phoenix.
Know of any good dishes The Prime can serve up? Leave comments, suggestions and feedback below!
