There's a reason Chinese food defeats big chains!
Large chains haven't mastered Chinese food yet because Chinese food requires that it be cooked in woks that require more expensive stoves and significant expertise. This is because food in woks is cooked at up to 700 degrees that only the special stoves can provide according to this interesting Wall Street Journal story (subscription required).
The trickiness of woks means that a Chinese chain can't hire just anybody to come in and cook up an order of kung pao chicken. Tim Coonan, a classically trained French chef, had 20 years' experience when he went to work for P.F. Chang's, which has 81 restaurants. Instead of immediately serving up dishes, he spent six weeks in wok training. "You got oil, water and huge flames," he recalls. "It seemed dangerous and scary."
...According to trade publication Chinese Restaurant News, mom and pops make up nearly all of the nation's 36,000 Chinese restaurants -- more locations than McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's put together. The smaller restaurants often boast lower costs because they rely on family members or cheap, immigrant labor.