It’s been raining on and off all day long; 24 degrees Celsius, overcast, and mostly drizzling… kinda reminds me of some Vancouver days during the summer. We’re usually partial to al fresco dining but because of the rain, Eron and I have been trying to come up with a covered-seating restaurant for dinner – yeah, I know; first-world problems. We finally decided on Chin-Gon Asian Flavors. It’s located on Lázaro Cárdenas, three blocks southeast of our condo. We last ate here in 2016; from what I could recall, their food was pretty decent.

Chin-Gon occupies the ground floor corner of the building it’s in. The kitchen is inside with a small number of tables outside on a covered patio. There are not a lot of tables. So, much of their business is take-out. Since the rain seemed to be keeping everyone else indoors, Eron and I were the only customers when we arrived. However, by the time we were finishing up (around 8:30 PM), all the other tables had filled up.

Tonight, we ordered two dishes to share plus a glass of wine for Eron and a cola for me. First up was Chin-Gon’s Chicken and Shrimp Pad Thai. Their Pad Thai was not particularly complex on the palate with a mild pepper heat and, because of their Tamarind-based sauce; a tendency towards a vague vinegariness. As well, the shrimp were just on the verge of being over-done. However, the noodles were cooked perfectly, the vegetables crisp, the peanuts crunchy, and the chicken pieces cooked properly. All in all, a credible and quite edible interpretation of this dish… only next time I’d ask them to make it a little more spicy.

Chin-Gon’s Chicken and Shrimp Pad Thai.

The other dish was Chin-Gon’s Yellow Curry Chicken on Jasmine Rice. This dish had a wonderfully fragrant curry aroma that preceded it’s arrival at our table. The Jasmine rice was just a touch too moist for my preference but by no means badly done. As stated previously, the curry sauce was appetizingly fragrant; it also held a slightly sweet curry flavour with a mild-plus level of heat. The chunks of chicken were well cooked and the vegetables retained their crispness. This was our favourite of the two dishes although both were  decent takes on the respective Asian classics.

Chin-Gon’s Yellow Curry Chicken with Jasmine Rice.

If you have a hankerin’ for Asian-inspired food in the Bucerias area, definitely make your way to Chin-Gon. Just be aware that during the “high-season” it may be difficult to get a table. But when you do get a table, you’ll receive quick, friendly service. In fact this evening, just as we were getting into our taxi to go home, our waitress came running out to hand Eron a to-go cup with the remainder of the wine that she had left in her glass at the table; that is service! Their price-point is in the mid-minus category with two entrees, two glasses of wine, a soft drink, and two desserts bringing our total to 655 Pesos (just over $45 USD). There is a lot of local competition at this price-point. However, with it’s funky little retro Chinese takeout containers and the ability to fill them with good Asian-styled dishes, Chin-Gon has a good lock on a niche-market in the Bucerias culinary scene.

Chin-Gon Asian Flavors
Lázaro Cárdenas #108, 63732 Bucerías, Mexico

01 329 298 1324

https://www.facebook.com/ChinGonAsianFlavors/