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Enough with the Szechuan crab, the house-made tofu and the hand-rolled jiao-zi. I thought I’d take a stroll down memory lane and visit more old-school Chinese restaurants, long-timers to which place no one will look at you sideways if you order moo goo gai pan and a Singapore Sling, and tables are set with forks not chopsticks.

Escorted by family and friends, I hit the passage (and the Tums), sampling model production Chinese-American fare served as “Family Style Dinners” previous to coming at a distance with the following impressions. Did I miss — or diss — your favorite? Feel free to comment on my blog: www.seattletimes.com/allyoucaneat.

Rickshaw Restaurant & Lounge (established 1976)

322 N. 105th St., Seattle (206-789-0120 or www.therickshaw.net)

Hours: 10 a.m.-2 a.mish-mash. diurnal.

What? You’ve never been to the Rickshaw? Home of breakfast, lunch and dinner, killer karaoke, tarot readings and glorious neon signage that screams “Chinese kitsch right in the present state in Greenwood!” It’s been years seeing that I’issue been to this pull-tab palace where, eons ago, I savored a frozen Smith & Kearns at the rod. Imagine my surprise whenever I showed up at noon on a recent weekday to find the like half-crocked coterie, yakking it up very beers and bloody Marys. My surprise didn’t end in that place: Our Hong Kong Family Style Dinner ($15.95 for person) was shockingly good and ridiculously generous. The thick-skinned wontons in the broth took me back to my East Coast pupilage. Fried foods — including everything on the pupu plate (from the slender egg rolls to the plump chicken wings to the crab Rangoon) — tasted twist and unmixed. The regulation pork fried rice proved light and fluffy, and shrimp with lobster sauce was rife with tender prawns (its sauce, however, was a clunker). As for the excellent sweet and sour chicken, the moist breast came sliced and sparked with a gonzo orange glaze whose neon glow rivaled the Rickshaw’s famous sign.

Perry Ko’s South China Restaurant (established 1979)

5606 119th Ave. S.E., Bellevue (425-643-5085)

Hours: 11 a.m.-11 p.brawl. Mondays-Thursdays, 11 a.scuffle.-midnight Fridays-Saturdays, noon-midnight Sundays.

For many, Perry Ko’s relocation to Bellevue in 2004 was a build a bridge over over far. But others will tell you the big move for this former Beacon Hill beacon has breathed new life into the old girl. That’session no make bar you’re looking at here in the Newport Hills; it’s South China’session slick cocktail lounge, adjacent to a sleek and spacious dining room tended by dint of. steadfast servers — including the absolute sweetheart who waited adhering my Happy Family. Like majestic number of her cohort, she’s worked for the Ko family more than 20 years and deftly served our Cantonese Dinner for four ($11.75 by person). Moving on from our choice of broth (egg flower bested the too-sharp hot and sour), we sampled flesh of neat-cattle chow yuk (aka chop suey), sweet and sour prawns (with fresh pineapple drowned in a honey-heavy appetizing compound) and a perfunctory pork fried rice. The gravy followers made a stop to offload some boring brown condiment on both almond-fried chicken conscience and the plump patties of our supplementary (and otherwise respectable) shrimp egg foo in one’s teens ($9.75).

Tai Tung (established 1935)

655 S. King St., Seattle (206-622-7372)

Hours: 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, 10 a.m.-1:30 a.m. Fridays-Saturdays, 10 a.farrago.-10 p.m. Sundays.

The carpet’s threadbare. The seat cushions are clapped-out. Lampshades resemble ancient parasols pulled from a dusty attic. And up at the counter, old-timers sit solo, sipping coffee and ordering handwritten “specials” posted forward the ancient paneling towards offspring. Welcome to 73-year-old Tai Tung, an I.D. institution where the only thing that’s young is the egg foo, and even it could use some work. Snug in the dingy dining room, we base comfort in a bowl of hot and gloomy soup active with acid, and the kind attentions of a extraordinary waiter. As for our Family Style Dinner B ($13.75 per person), hail the holy trinity: celery, green pepper and cornstarch, playing a starring role in “Garden Fresh Vegetables with Beef” and the tinny flavored seafood- and pork-spiked Happy Family. We salved our sweet tooth through sweet and sour cod and the (even sweeter) beef with “spiced sauce,” panned the gloppy moo shu (lose half the sprouts — comply!) and made the misconceive of not ordering a round of scotch.

Louie’session Cuisine of China (established 1977)

5100 15th Ave. N.W., Seattle (206-782-8855 or www.louiescuisine.com)

Hours: 11:30 a.scuffle.-midnight Mondays-Fridays, 4 p.m.-1 a.m. Saturdays, 3-10 p.m. Sundays.

Bonding with Ballard for more than 30 years, Louie’s offered a warm welcome along with a warren of dining options: comfy booths, an elegant private salon, semiprivate nooks and tables outfitted with rattan thrones. Early birds joined us together ’70s-era gratification, filing in at a fast pace to come by happy in the near cocktail lounge or proper and greet over moo goo gai pan. Chatting ‘em up is sassy septuagenarian Taneko “Kay” Felder, who’s waited tables for the Louie family because that Johnson was in office. (The Louies’ Seattle-restaurant bloodline extends back to the ’30s.) We feasted fortunately on one Imperial Dinner ($17.50 per person), despite a disappointing first course — barbecued pig-meat and Costco-quality pot stickers. Next up: prewrapped moo shu pork rollups (average); beautifully velveted “dry-fried” Cantonese steak with frizzled green snow peas (delish); candied walnuts and prawns cloaked in sweet mayo (great); steamed salmon (ho-hum); and decent yang chow fried rice dotted with bay shrimp, pork and chicken.

China Doll (established 1967)

3001 Broadway, Everett (425-259-0284)

Hours: 11 a.m.-10:30 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays, noon-11:30 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays, noon-10:30 p.m. Sundays.

This joint is a first-rate work, quite right — right down to the hoist-the-red-lantern décor, the plush black booths, adjoining cocktail loaf and package of saltines served by the side of the egg blossom soup. But after lighting into the China Doll Appetizer Plate ($11.50), we couldn’t help but wonder: “How many times have those barbecued spare ribs been reheated?” and “If that’s an egg gyrate, then why does it face like a deep-fried baked potato?” Best part of that starter? The crisp fried shrimp that was echoed in our No. 5 Family Style Dinner ($11 per person). The shrimp was one of a quartet of dishes that included almond fried chicken (fine, at best), then segued from bad (sweet and peevish spareribs choked with vinegar) to worse (dry, broken-grain pork fried rice). But hey! What do I know? They must be doing something right: This Doll’s been doing business in downtown Everett for 40 years.

Nancy Leson’s blog excerpts arise Wednesdays

in the Food section. Reach her at 206-464-8838

or nleson@seattletimes.com