Joyful Chinese Dining Scottsdale

On a work trip in Scottsdale, AZ the employees were craving Chinese food and we decided to order some from Grubhub as we needed to work on a few projects moving forward. As a result, we selected Joyful Chinese Dining after reading the great reviews. When the food was delivered, there were 0 mistakes and still warm which is a great start. In typical Chinese food fashion, a dish should probably be 2-3 servings; therefore, (even for delivery) you’re getting an insane amount of food. When it comes to the taste of the food, it was not as flavorful. It wasn’t my favorite but I bet if I was in the restaurant, it would be much better. All of my coworkers said the same thing about their dishes. It was a little disappointing, but again expected with delivery. I would still recommend this place and try a different dish overall. If you can attend the restaurant in-person I would opt for that option.

My favorite Chinese of 25+ years closed due to owners retiring, the hunt was on for a new replacement and I couldn't be happier with my first experience at Joyful Chinese. Take out only for now, we ordered the ma-po tofu, almond chicken, gourmet vegetables, shrimp with lobster sauce and sizzling rice soup. Vegetables were fantastic; crisp yet cooked, flavorful but not too saucy, nice variety. Almond Chicken tasty with a higher quality vegetables than commonly found in similar dishes elsewhere. Didn't try the shrimp but told it was good (but not New York style sauce, if thats your preference.) Was accidentally given wrong soup & received egg drop soup, but still tasty. For me, the star of the show was the ma-po tofu. Unlike other 'brown gravy' versions offered elsewhere, Joyful's dish was chili-oil-based. DELICIOUS. Not spicy at all, just flavorful. Tofu was great quality, large pieces that didn't fall apart in the sauce, just the right amount of crumbled pork, and just the perfect hint of diced seasonings (green onions, garlic etc.). This dish was reminiscent of authentic Chinese cooking vs Americanized versions. Portions were appropriate and a good value. First visit, yes. But on a packed Friday night (no dine-in available as of this posting due to current situation), service was friendly, order prepared and ready in the 20 minutes quoted and I'll definitely be back. Heads up, they're busy (but manageable) and you may need to call a few times to get through to place your order. Based on todays visit, its well worth the effort.