Location and Hours:(602) 253-7848
27 W Madison St
Phoenix, AZ 85003
Sunday-Thursday 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Friday-Saturday 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. ★★★★
Recommended Dish: Vegetable Chop Suey
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What we had in mind for our venture to Sing High Chop Suey House, quite literally, outweighed our hypothesized expectations. By “outweighed,” we simply mean that the amount of food we ordered was well over the portion size you’d need to feed a family of four … twice.
On the corner of Central Avenue and Madison Street is Sing High Chop Suey House, one of the oldest businesses in downtown Phoenix, dating back all the way to 1928.
Sitting in the shadows of the Maricopa County Superior Court building and the Luhrs building, and just down the street from the leftovers of the historic St. James Hotel, Sing High has bore witness to its fair share of Phoenix history.
From the 1870’s through the 1940’s, Phoenix’s Chinatown existed approximately where the U.S. Airways Center now resides, with the Sun-Mercantile building being the last physical reminder in that district. Outside of the district, the venerable Chop Suey House has survived the destruction of Chinatown, and serves up a healthy dose of history along with its affordable and satisfying American Chinese food.
Wanting to achieve a full range of flavors, we started with the Rumaki, spiced chicken livers and water chestnuts wrapped in bacon.
For those not raised in liver-eating families, liver takes spice especially well, but comes with a grainy texture that can be difficult to get used to. I, however, am not a stranger to the various organs of a chicken and dove right in. The crisp bacon and water chestnuts paired nicely with the softness of the liver. Add a layer of spicy mustard and the plate develops from a well-spiced and unique dish into an appetizer for the open-minded masses.
Although not traditionally a lover of chop suey, Amelia and I thought it would be sinful to not have some while in a restaurant named for the dish.
Contrary to what late night food history shows might have you believe, chop suey was not invented in America. The ancient dish loved by Cantonese farmers was popularized in the United States during the building of the transcontinental railroad, a portion of which happens to cross directly through Phoenix.
We decided on the vegetable version with the hope that it would balance out the pork-centricness of the rest of our meal. Staying true to its origins, the dish was simple farm vegetables — bean sprouts, bell pepper, bok choy, onion and celery — mixed into a thick, buttery sauce. The flavor is difficult to describe — people who dub themselves foodies might call it umami — but I will just say it was delicious, and certainly worthy of being the restaurant’s signature meal.
For the main courses, Amelia indulged in the Moo Shu pork and I tried the “combination number Four,” which included a healthy serving of pork chow mein, sweet and sour pork and an eggroll the size of my clenched fist.
The full range of Moo Shu dishes landed on America’s East coast in the 1960s, hailing from the northern portion of China, and quickly became an obligatory item in American Chinese cuisine.
Given the seeming omnipresence of Moo Shu in America, I was not expecting anything too exciting. The Moo Shu pork at Sing High, however, proved delicious and accessible, as it resembled a make-your-own burrito dish. It was made in above average fashion, as the sliced pork, veggies and a tangy-sweet homemade hoisin sauce combined in a flurry of flavor punches delivered in a convenient package.
As far as the combination number four goes, the chow mein was good, but nothing out of the ordinary (although it did taste mighty fine as a cold midnight snack). The sweet and sour pork was also average, but I definitely appreciated that they used their barbecue pork as the basis for the dish, which provided an extra flavor burst.
The only questionable portion of the meal was the overpowering flavor in the fist sized egg roll. More strange than bad, I would have to try another one to form a complete opinion.
More than just the food, Sing High Chop Suey House is a beautiful anachronism. The life of the restaurant comes from its 1990s vibe and timeless vaguely Asian decor. In the same way the classic diner breakfast holds sway in American society, the affordable, working class American Chinese restaurant will always hold a place in my heart.
Nothing on the menu cost more than $9 and the location is out of the way enough to escape the bustle of downtown, while still being walking distance from campus.
If you need something unpretentious, affordable and delicious, it would be a mistake not to satiate your Chinese food cravings at Sing High Chop Suey House.
Contact the reporter at gabriel.radley@asu.edu
