Hearty's - Gaithersburg

It doesn't look like much when you walk by, you would think it's just another American-Chinese restaurant. That's so not true. The food they serve is so authentic (Taiwanese). My daughter loves their Oyster and pork intestine vermicelli. You have to try their duck, it is so juicy and so tender. It's one of my husband's favorite dishes. The owner, chefs, and everyone in the restaurant are so lovely. They knew I needed to drive a long way home, so they packed my food with extra care to ensure it was just as delicious when I got home. They even taught me how to heat my duck. They are just amazing. They genuinely care about their customers. Sometimes you may need to wait a little bit longer for the delicious food but it is worth it. The chef cooks the food with love and care.

Looking for an authentic Taiwanese food experience with a great back story? Try Hearty's, an unassuming restaurant in a strip mall with a perfectionist chef from Taiwan who pickles his own green beans and mustard greens, enhances traditional beef noodle soup by painstakingly collecting the juice from steamed vegetables, and roasts his duck with a sticky rice stuffing chock full of shrimp and other goodies. Each dish is made with an eye for detail, with no skimping on ingredients or cutting corners on the craft of cooking. (The only thing Hearty's doesn't do in generous quantities is salt; in the spirit of new Taiwanese cooking, which emphasizes health and freshness, the goal is to let the natural flavors shine. Our family ate there recently, after years living in Taiwan and cooking lots of Chinese ourselves. We agreed the food was authentic and delicious! We especially enjoyed the gua bao, China's version of hamburgers, featuring soft puffy buns stuffed with melt in your mouth pork belly. The beef noodle soup broth, per the meticulous preparation, has a subtlety lacking in the usual, heavily spiced, greasy versions, and starred hand pulled noodles made in house and generous chunks of tender beef. And the noodles stir fried with lobster was filled with amazing seafood flavor and to die for! (Though a bit pricier than your average Chinese takeout. Portions generally were very generous; we took home enough to get us through a couple more meals. The story of Hearty's is as enticing as its dishes. Born as a typical (and pretty mediocre see old reviews Chinese American restaurant, Hearty's got a new owner when the old owners decided to move back to Taiwan and shut the place down. The complication? The new owner had no real experience in the restaurant business. But she was determined to bring an authentic Taiwan dining experience to the local Taiwanese community and lovers of authentic Chinese food. Once she found her perfectionist chef, the new Hearty's was born! Ignore the old reviews (pertaining to restaurant under former management and check out Hearty's! And try some dishes off the beaten track of Chinese American food for an authentic, yummylicious Taiwanese food experience!

Not the best chino food around. The fried rice is blah. For the blk folks, the chicken wings are small, dry and the mambo sauce is mixed with ketchup. I will stick to Kennys by the iHop.

I only learned about this restaurent after tasted a couple of dishes at a friend's house last Thanksgiving. Not sure how many times I've ordered from them since then. I've ordered for family and friends get togethers, potlucks, even for Xmas.... This place offers some night market taste dishes that I missed so much. Not only they have great selections, bigger portion, they are authentic and make you wanna go back to try different dishes. Give it a try, you will love it. Definitely go back soon for Chinese New Year dishes. I hope I have pictures.. I

This is a solid neighborhood Chinese restaurant. I got the fried fish filet and the home style tofu. The tofu was so good, silky but still firm enough. The sauce was delicious! The owner was so kind and friendly.