Old Thousand Ii Dope Chinese - Austin

We visited on a Friday night around 8PM. We waited at the front for a solid 5 minutes before I went searching through the restaurant to try to find someone to seat us. Once we sat down, we had to wait another 5 minutes for menus. To be honest, if I wasn't starving.. I would have left. After taking a look around, we noticed there were only 2 servers and lots of full tables. The service honestly is awful. Luckily, the restaurant got slower but unfortunately, the service never improved. But the food is amazing! The general Tso's chicken is amazing. Perfect crunch and spice. The brisket fried rice was also spectacular. We also really enjoyed the pork and shrimp dim sum. Shoutout to the chefs! Hopefully some effort is made to greet guests upon arrival and be more attentive to tables while they were eating. We were a little put off that we had to ask for a second round of drinks, water and utensils.

I visited on a Sunday morning and took advantage of the Sunday Brunch special. My group ordered several dishes, including Mala Fried Chicken, Brisket Fried Rice, Cantonese Scramble, Chicken and Waffles, and General Tso's Chicken. The Mala Fried Chicken was excellent and reminded me of the crispy fried chicken from a traditional Sichuan restaurant. The Brisket Fried Rice was also a hit and enjoyed by everyone in our group. While the General Tso's Chicken wasn’t anything extraordinary, it was still decent. The stars of the meal were definitely the Chicken and Waffles and the Cantonese Scramble. The waffles were bubble waffles, reminiscent of what you’d find in a Hong Kong dessert shop, and they were simply amazing. Crispy on the outside with a soft interior, they paired perfectly with the fried chicken for a delightful sweet-and-savory contrast. I was genuinely surprised by how much I loved the Cantonese Scramble. Interestingly, my Cantonese friends didn’t even know what it was! The eggs were scrambled beautifully, and when combined with rice and the provided chili sauce, it created a fantastic sensory experience. I’ll definitely need to order that again if I come back!

Wow, the food here is absolutely incredible! I can't stress enough how fantastic the mapo tofu is! It’s not your typical version, as it features crispy fried tofu cubes instead of the usual soft ones. The spice level is flavorful rather than just hot, and it’s packed with mouth-numbing Sichuan peppercorns. Plus, it’s loaded with hearty mushrooms instead of pork, making it vegan by default! I can't wait to return for happy hour!

I believe they recently upgraded their rice, which is a significant improvement—this was my only complaint for a while. One suggestion for the restaurant would be to add more Granny Smith apple pieces to the General Tso's chicken, as they complement the dish perfectly. I would also recommend increasing the spice level a bit. I love the chili peppers, but some of them can be quite intense, making it harder to enjoy the meal. Lastly, I’d appreciate it if you could remove the gratuity on to-go orders. In my opinion, tips and gratuities should only apply to table service.

Visited mid-week, partially to try them out, and to watch Cocaine Bear that they were showing. It was pretty empty around 7PM and we sat on the patio since that's where the TV was. We got a couple of different items to get a sampling of their food, including the fried chicken, mapo tofu, and fried rice; along with some drinks, which I found too sweet, I found the chicken and mapo tofu way too salty, and others at the table agreed. The fried rice was ok but a bit dry. The service was great and they were really nice and prompt, it's just unfortunate that their food wasn't very good. I know they have another location south but I think I got a good enough of an idea of their food.