Eleven miles east of JC stands the best Chinese food in Harford County.

Lee’s Hunan, located in Aberdeen, looks like your average Chinese restaurant: attached to a shopping mall and located next to a nail salon. When you walk in, your ears are greeted by smooth jazz and an ornate mirror wall that harks back to the eighties.

The decor seemed tacky at first, but as soon as the waiter sat me down, within seconds, all of that went out the window.

I don’t joke when I say I was seated within seconds. The waiter sat my party of five immediately, took our drink orders, and was back with the drinks within minutes.

The quick service made me immediately like Lee’s Hunan.

Though the service was quick, I still had adequate time to peruse the menu and discover that the prices were cheap enough for us to get an appetizer. We decided on the steamed pork dumplings that were $4.50 for six large dumplings.

The rapid service continued as the dumplings were out of the kitchen and on our plate within 10 minutes. Even though the dumplings came out quickly, they still tasted delicious.

The dough around the pork was perfectly tender, and the pork was cooked to perfection. The special secret sauce made the dish. The dumplings were nothing without that special sauce.

Around 15 minutes after the appetizers came and went, the meals came out. I ended up choosing the General Tso’s chicken with a mildly spicy sauce, peppers, and garlic.

The chicken was extremely tender and not difficult to chew, and the sauce was an extremely great accompaniment. The consistency of the sauce was thick but not too thick. The best part of the sauce was its piquant tanginess. The spiciness did not overpower the chicken but left a perfect kick of taste in my mouth.

After I finished my meal, I was completely satisfied, and I still had a whole container of food to take home because of the large portion.

My meal at Lee’s Hunan was great — the best Chinese food I’ve had in a while.

Maggie Cassidy is a Managing Editor for “The Patriot”and jcpatriot.com.