910 West Main Street
Brightleaf District, Durham, NC
Website
We’ve posted on plenty of great restaurant options in the Brightleaf area, but I realized recently that I’d never tried one that is smack-dab in the middle of them all: Rainbow, a Chinese order-at-the-counter spot. It’s primarily a take-out restaurant, but they do have a seating area if you’d prefer not to run and eat later.
Those pink and yellow hanging decorations were made of shredded paper bows and pretty darn cool. But I decided that the outdoor weather was more appealing, so I took my lunch to go. Turns out that Rainbow has a $5 lunch special, probably the cheapest option you’ll find in this area. Dinner specials are only $6.55 or you can purchase most of the entrees by the pint or quart. What the special will get you is an entrée, fried or white rice, and wonton soup, egg drop soup, or an egg roll.
I opted for fried rice, wonton soup, and shrimp in a garlic sauce. The rice was a tad greasier than I like, but I appreciated that the vegetables had obvious been sautéed and not just poured out of a bag and mixed into the rice. The shrimp were cooked well, and the garlic sauce was spicier than I expected. A nice heat built in the back of my throat by the end of the meal. The vegetables (broccoli, green bell pepper, and water chestnuts) were crisp. The soup consisted of two giant wontons in a nondescript chicken broth. The wonton shells were very thick, making the tiny chunk of meat inside them somewhat disappointing. I think the eggroll may have been the better choice of a side.
I was happy to see that Rainbow also offers bubble tea drinks for $2.50, which is a pretty darn good price for those. They have several options including taro, green apple, and coffee. I went for green honeydew. 
I’d be lying if I didn’t admit being a bit in love with that cup—bubble tea is happy time for me. It was perfectly creamy and tasty but could have been a touch more chilled for such a hot day.
Most of Rainbow’s offerings are standard Chinese-American menu items, but they do have Chinese donuts that intrigued me. Unfortunately, I forgot to order them, and really, that combination was plenty of food already. Has anybody tried the Chinese donuts? They also had Faygo soda bottles, which I’d never heard of before but are apparently sold in the mid-Atlantic states and some parts of the South, so if you’re a fan, you can get them at Rainbow. 
Reviewed 20 June 12.
