Before we talk about lunch, I need to tell you a little something about Ding Ho Kitchen and my family. For as long as my son can remember, and he is now in college, Ding Ho has been our go-to place for Chinese take-out nights at home. It’s also the place that’s provided our Christmas Eve dinners for mostly of his life as well. Ding Ho is a consistently wonderful neighborhood restaurant that quietly becomes woven into the fabric of your family’s life, and if you’ve lived or worked in northwest Fresno for any amount of time, there’s a very good chance you know just what I mean.
Ding Ho Kitchen has been a fixture on the northwest corner of Bullard and Marks since I was a kid (I can literally remember riding in the back seat to go pick it up with my family, making up random songs trying to rhyme words with Ding and Ho to pass the time until I could enjoy my favorite crispy pan-fried noodles), and in all that time, the thing that has kept people like me coming back decade after decade is simple: the food is really, really good, super consistent, the portions are enormous, and the prices are incredibly reasonable.
The menu is exactly what you want from a great Chinese take-out spot, extensive and comforting and full of familiar favorites done right. Egg rolls, wontons, potstickers, hot and sour soup, sizzling rice soup, wonton soup, egg foo young, stir fries with both crispy fried and non-breaded protein options, chow mein, fried rice, and specialties like barbecue pork and brandy chicken wings round out their giant menu.
If you’re going for lunch, (and you absolutely should be), the combo plates are where it’s at. These are heaping, generous, absolutely loaded plates of food for under $15. On my most recent visit, I ordered my favorite egg roll combo. It came with hearty slices of BBQ pork, bean sprouts, a huge serving of crispy pan-fried noodles, a giant helping of pork fried rice, and the biggest, flakiest, crispiest pork egg roll you’ve seen, packed full of savory veggies and meat. I got very full at lunch, brought the leftovers home for my husband for dinner, and he too was very full after finishing them. Two combo plates could comfortably feed my entire family with leftovers to spare, and all for under $30.
Beyond the pork egg roll, you can also choose sweet and sour chicken or pork, or egg foo young as your combo main course, both of which are excellent options worth trying. My husband gets the sweet and sour pork every time.
A few things worth knowing before you try Ding Ho, if it’s new to you. First, it’s very much a take-out establishment. There is one table inside, and it even has a sign on it that reads No Dining In, because it’s just there for customers waiting on their orders to sit and rest. They recently added both online ordering and an in-store kiosk, which is genuinely great news, because their consistently excellent food used to mean their phone line was frequently met with a busy signal during peak hours (and definitely on Christmas Eve). The new ordering options have made the whole experience smoother and easier.
Customer service is efficient and straightforward, not overly chatty, but not unfriendly either, they are focused on getting your food out, and they do it well. Ding Ho is open every day from 11am to 9pm, making it a fantastic option well beyond the lunch hour. They also offer reasonably priced catering trays with 24 hours advance notice, which makes them a great option for feeding a crowd without breaking the bank.
Ding Ho Kitchen is not fancy, and it has no interest in being fancy. What it is, is consistent, generous, comforting, and completely worth adding to your regular lunch rotation. Whether you’re grabbing a quick solo lunch, feeding the whole office, or stocking up for a cozy dinner at home, Ding Ho delivers (or provides exceptional take-out that is) every single time. Some places just never let you down, and in Fresno, Ding Ho Kitchen is one of them.
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