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Real People. Real Reviews.®
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Friday, 6:30PM.
It's hard for Chinese restaurants to separate themselves from the pack in an area inundated with similar competitors. Da Lian in North Berkeley gets a slight edge.
+Sleek ambiance, clean venue, great spacing (hate getting crammed)
+Good service (prompt refills)
Grubbed on:
1. Hot and sour soup, Large
+The large order is seriously a large order, a HUGE bowl
+Didn't have the liver-blood blocks
+Whipped eggs didn't overwhelm the soup
+Spicy and sour in good temperance
2. String beans with chicken
+Flash fried string beans = firm veggies while retaining savory flavor
+Chicken was marinated with some delicious sweet n' salty sauce
3. Kung pao prawns
+Less greasy than other joints, perhaps it's because they were
generous with the zucchini and nuts?
+Prawns soaked the dishes flavor, nicely done!
4. Spinach and garlic
+Garlic complemented the spinach instead of overwhelming it by
adding some kick
5. Brown rice
Final Call:
The Great Wall near campus has competition in Da Lian. Yes, it's that good!
Good chinese eaterie! It was featured on Check Please! for a reason.
Fresh ingredients. Some may think the style is too subtle, but hey now that's just because they don't use MSG. So bah to the haters. Go here. Their menu is wide and expansive, the service is great. Prices are very, very kind to the wallet.
I would highly recommend any tofu dish here. They do tofu right.
My friends and I decided to check out Da Lian the other night after getting rained out in the city. They were visiting from Santa Barbara (read: no good Chinese food!) and wanted something "authentic."
Whoa- were we not disappointed!!
Quite possibly the best Chinese food I've ever eaten. We kept asking ourselves if it was because we were really hungry, was it our first or second bottle of wine, etc., etc... nope~ just AMAZING food!
We ordered the spinach dumplings (simple, but tasty), the crispy rice soup (again, simple, but loaded with veggies and delish), hot and sour soup (slightly spicey, but rich and complex) and the veggie fried rice (not soaked with oil but lightly fried), garlic veggies dish and Shechuan Chicken (sp?) that was SO good we got a second order!!!!!
We will definitely be back.
I really enjoy Da Lian. Very good service, very good food and easy on the wallet. We had the smoked pork, sizzling steak and a delicious spicey chicken dish - I forget what it is called, but it is chicken breast pieces rendered very soft and served spicey. The staff are attentive and friendly - they know how to keep their customers happy and likely to return.
Da Lian is the best Chinese food I've had in the East Bay, possibly in the whole Bay Area. Not that I'm some Chinese food expert. I'm just saying.
The flavors are simple and light, and not greasy or overpowering. Here's a breakdown of what I had:
Sesame Bread - Simple bread filled with green onions. Nothing spectacular, but if you are a carb lover, you'll enjoy this. Reminded me of a savory chinese donut.
Spinach Dumplings - Very simple yet flavorful, served with a hot mustard sauce. (Vegan friendly)
Fire Glazed Tofu - Holy moly. BEST TOFU EVER! Lightly fried cubes of tofu in a sweet & spicy sauce served on a bed of spinach. The tofu is crispy on the outside and the inside is soft. Great texture and I love how it just explodes in your mouth.
Vegetable Fried Rice - What surprised me is that their fried rice isn't brown like most Chinese restaurants. This means that it's not covered in soy sauce yet it was very flavorful.
Overall, I think Da Lian has managed to serve up great Chinese food, using fresh ingredients and simple seasoning. I just love their flavor profiles because they don't cover up their ingredients with soy sauce or overpowering flavors. You taste all the ingredients individually and as a whole dish.
Their prices are very reasonable. For the 4 dishes mentioned above, plus another I didn't eat (noodles in an egg flower broth with clams) it costs us about $40 for two people with plenty of leftovers.
Thanks to "Check, Please! Bay Area" I will never go to any other Chinese restaurant in the East Bay.
Ate here once. It was alright. I don't remember anything i particularly loved. Unfortunately, all I remember are the bad things. The stir fried spinach was oddly sour. The consistency of the batter on the walnut prawns weren't that good. The fried rice was dry and the chow fun was pretty bland.
I've had better Chinese food elsewhere.
Great China is probably the best in the area, so far.
I don't quite know what it is, maybe the sappy 80's music that's always playing in the background, but Da Lian's atmosphere always seems a bit depressing to me. It used to be a ghost town in there I and worried that the place would close, but business seems to be picking up so hopefully Da Lian will be with us for a while yet.
In a nutshell: atmosphere - not so good. I almost always order take out. What's better than take-out chinese after a long day? Yeah, you got me. Booze. But chinese food is good, too.
The chicken lettuce rolls are an awesome appetizer. Yum. Don't forget to check out the spring rolls, they're not bad. Most of the stuff on the menu is pretty good but, lord have mercy, the sichuan chicken is delicious. Order it, love it, take a nap with it in your belly.
Three stars and a half stars.
Food: Good stuff
Atmosphere: Not so great, but the wait staff is super sweet.
Yum! This is my favorite Chinese restaurant. Always delicious (try the lettuce wrap tofu and the spicy garlic eggplant!). Always friendly. Fresh and not greasy. Good for vegetarians like me and omnivores like my husband (his favorite is the Szechuan chicken).
Okay, I'm no expert of Chinese Cuisine. But, my best friend-who is Chinese- said and I quote "if the restaurant if filled to the brim with any other race, excluding chinese or of the asian persuasion, don't expect a great meal, or at least so, so... I have stuck with this principle and realize it does not matter one way or another...
The restaurant itself is beautifully decorated, with the usual over scenting of cleaning solution --what the Hell is up with the over usage of bleach and windix, at restaurant, right before or when customers are eating!-- Anyway, I order the chicken claypot, with veggies... It was good, the sauce was tasty, however, I have to say it was not the best clay pot I've ever had, but good. It was not expensive, about 8.45 or so for the meal.
I would recommend since it is one of maybe two restaurants in the area.
Four stars just for the duck.
Here's an issue: would like to hear from other Yelpers:
OK. Two visits. On the first loved the meal--especially the hot and sour soup which was the best we've tasted and the fire brazed tofu, as yummy as touted. Only the duck, which was dry and had that reheated quality, was below par.
On the second visit we were disappointed by the overcooked seafood in the clay pot; otherwise, the meal was good. BUT!--there was a large extended-family party toward the back (we wrongly assumed we were seated far enough away when we first walked in) that began, literally, screaming and howling with laughter, apparently over the antics of an assortment of brats who were running around the table. The noise was so intense that my partner and I could hardly hear each other. It was a ridiculous misery, trying to enjoy the best of the food in a cacophony of uproarious yelling. I spoke to one of the two young waitresses (there doesn't seem to be a manager on the premises) who just looked at me sadly and shrugged her shoulders when I complained. I felt anxious about speaking directly to this large party, not knowing how such boorish people might respond, and worrying that I wouldn't even be able to swallow my tough calamari if the screaming got directed straight at us.
Since the restaurant refused to address the problem, what, if anything--besides leaving right away if we spot that dread huge table--can others suggest ?
It is very good. And the prices are reasonable. I loved the meal. LOVED it. We had fire brazed tofu and garlic eggplant. The eggplant had tons of flavor, the tofu had that and great texture. the servers were really nice.
go to this restaurant. it will feel special because of the variety in the menu and because of the lighting, but it will not feel expensive because it is not.
All I need to say is...
Sizzling rice soup cures tummy aches
I love you
Not too shabby for an Americanized Chinese restaurant!!
We were pleasantly surprised by the interior as it is much cleaner and much nicer than your average Chinese restaurant. There's a pretty good wine selection at a decent price ($20-ish for a bottle). We ordered:
-Sizzling rice soup: Really good, rice was nicely flavored and crisp and the soup was well flavored as well. Not so generous on the shrimp and chicken (1 piece of each apiece for 2 of us.)
-Green beans: Really wanted to order some other sort of Asian vegetable but they had a really limited selection of the general green beans, bok choy, etc. Like I said, very Americanized.
-Chicken in Lettuce Wrap: This was what I was craving and what we had come for! It was really good, well cooked and the plum sauce was great!
-Seafood Clay Pot: Very good - pretty generous with the seafood and the sauce was good too. Not the most amazing of clay pots but it did enough to satisfy a craving.
All in all a good experience. Prices were a little steep for a Chinese Restaurant but I suppose were were paying for a more enjoyable atmosphere and better service.
My favorite neighborhood Chinese place. Yummy food and good service.
I had lunch here today with my folks and my sister. We all thought it was great. Dad had the Lamb and Pickled cabbage hot pot (really a soup). Peggy had the lettuce wrap chicken. I had the mu shu pork, and sis had the only lunch special we ordered: szechwan chicken. It was all flavorful and delicious. I think the lettuce wraps were the standout, though the lamb soup was a close second.
One star off for the slow service--they didn't seem that busy, but it still took an age and we never had our water refilled.
Have to come back to try the duck I read about here.
I came here with my Mom for lunch today. She wanted to get the Lamb with Pickled Cabbage (which she's had before) but had a cough so went with the Seafood and Tofu Clay Pot (don't try to understand her Chinese Mom logic on this). It was tasty and decent; there was a good variety of seafood (mussels, squid, shrimp, scallops), it wasn't overcooked and the black bean sauce complemented rather than overpower the seafood. I would say this is a 3-star dish because it did the job and was fun to eat. The 4-star ratings are due to the other dishes we ordered (keep reading).
We also ordered the Sesame Bread with Green Onions, which are apparently a specialty of the house. It's a plate-sized bread covered in sesame seeds with a nice crust all around, fluffy bread on the inside with a moist center of lightly salted green onions. Delicious! My Mom and the waitress there chatted after our meal about how the Sesame Bread here was much better than others in the area. While the waitress may have been biased, my Mom has very discriminating tastes, so I am going with their vote on this! My Mom also took 2 orders of this bread "to go" for a friend and for us to take home.
I love me some fried bananas! Whenever I go to a Thai, Lao, Cambodian, or Vietnamese restaurant, I always order the Fried Bananas and compare them. My favorite in the Bay Area has been the one from Phnom Penh in Oakland (either location) but the one served at Da Lian definitely ties for the top spot now. They slice up a generous plate of bananas with a crunchy batter (so that they're the size of donut holes) and it's lightly drizzled in honey. I really appreciated the portion size, the fact that you can distinguish between the textures of the batter and the sweetness of the banana inside, and that it's not drowned in honey or some other sauce (like at Le Cheval). At other restaurants I always debate whether I want to share an order or get one for myself and leave my friends to fend for themselves, but here, you can definitely share.
Another thing to note is that they close between 3:00-5:00pm so you better not have a Fried Banana or Sesame Bread craving during this time. Also there are lunch specials priced at $6 which I thought was a great deal for students.
Man, I am LOVING the Gourmet Ghetto!
Da Lian was pretty good. The bf said he's seen random commercials of this place and went with his family once and enjoyed it.
It's not necessarily authentic chinese food, but it's not too Americanized like PF Changs.
We were kinda stumped as to what to order. My stomach was just hungry. So us, being boring, ended up getting the set up family dinner that came with Hot and Sour Soup or Sizzling Rice Soup, Egg Rolls, General Tso's Chicken, Beef with Broc and rice. Then, thanks to a yelp review, I had to try this sesame bread.
All the food was great, though half the time I was salivating over the other dishes being brought to other tables. But real talk, the Hot and Sour soup is not your average dark soup. It's a lighter color with lots of pepper. Nice kick General Tso's wasn't deep fried pieces, so its a bit healthier and the Beef/Broccoli was nice. The meat was tender. Loved the sesame bread. It's almost like a chinese donut with green onion inside...
The ambiance is cool. Very clean floor and I was surprised at how clean the bathroom was for a Chinese Joint. $35 later, we had leftovers and a full stomach...
Compared to other Chinese joints, you get less servings, but more presentation points, less oil and grease...yet a bit of a lighter wallet. Still, I enjoyed it. If "dirty kitchen" is your steez, you may think this place is too immaculate for your taste.
I have a lot of mixed feelings about Da Lian. I do enjoy some of their items, like the tofu lettuce wrap (but who really screws up lettuce wraps, I ask) and the space is nice and clean, with attentive service, and when I used to live a couple of blocks away I would indulge in the fare every once in a while, so it has a special neighborhood place in my heart.
But when a Chinese restaurant of all places boasts bland food and doesn't know how to deep-fry, I think it's time to move on. So, despite the cleanliness and the exceptional service (and I can't stress how great the experience is at Da Lian, food notwithstanding), I'm taking my business to Great China until I find something better.
I'd always wanted to try this place, but never got around to it until tonight. I read the reviews and the east bay express just to make sure there wasn't a reason that the restaurant always seems so empty. Before I begin my review I would like to say that the waitresses were nice, the decor lovely and clean, and the ambiance quiet and good for a date. Two stars for those.
As per the recommendation of the EBE and another review we ordered the pot stickers, the lamb and cabbage soup, and the chicken mu shu. I figured we'd throw in the special recommended dish along with some staples. The waitress wanted to make sure I knew it was lamb. Yes, I love lamb. I love lamb so much I'll take it on a spit.
So I'm from a German/Irish/really really white people background and I LOVE cabbage and, as I said before I love lamb, so I thought wow this is going to be AMAZING, especially since it was so recommended. Well, the potsickers were so so, and the mu shu was good*, but the soup? Well, the soup was probably the worst tasting thing I've ever had in my life. Worse, even, than the cake I accidentally made with salt instead of sugar. No, my dear, it was not the lamb that you should have warned me about.
It had a musky/putrid aftertaste that actually made me throw up a little bit when I first tasted it. I love sauerkraut and any form of pickled cabbage, but this was rotten rotten rotten. If gym shoes had been used to make the broth, I would not have been surprised, as the meat was like rubber, and the noodles like shoelaces. I also thought the smell was rather like the smell of a dead animal. Putrid, with the sweet smell of maggot. It reminded me of the smell my dogs bring back home, maggot coated, when they roll in dead things out in the brush. That, and the smell you smell in your own mouth after you've been vomiting for several hours.
The most amusing part of this whole ordeal is as a white person I didn't want to send it back. I figured I was just not getting the "authentic" taste and was just a white philistine. My BF also had this same instinct, so while I ate the mu shu through my nausea from the smell, he ate the soup. (See how racism is bad!) He gathered up all the solid pieces out of the soup and smothered them in soy sauce so the broth was not as noticeable. I couldn't look at him for fear of feeling vommy again.
As we went home we realized that perhaps there might have been something *really* wrong with the soup, and that he might die in his sleep tonight. Or, perhaps the reviewer is playing some sick joke on people. (Ha Ha just wait till you try this, it's AMAZING). Perhaps the east bay express was sending signals to terrorist groups by recommending that soup. Or perhaps there is a serial killer sending them coded messages and demanding a recommendation for that dish. Whatever the case, I just hope my BF isn't dead in the morning. Here lies -------, Don't eat the lamb and cabbage soup!
*this is only a review of the soup. Please note I did say the mu shu was good.
For Americanised Chinese food, this might be the best restaurant in the East Bay. (Best in the West Bay: Dragon Well, though that's more Californiaised.) Though I prefer my food to be true to regional traditions, there are worse kinds of Americanisation, like neoliberalism or "Friends". Da Lian uses quality ingredients and their cooking is competent; concessions are made to the median local palate, but that's done with a relatively light touch. If you want a quick lunch and don't have time to trek to Oakland/Richmond/Albany, this is probably a better choice than Great China, though there's no way I'd choose this place over Great China for a banquet, or if I wanted duck.
The smoked pork is good, maybe a little lean but served in enough juice to make up for that. It's still good the next day. I wouldn't recommend the Sichuan beef: the sweet & sour taste overwhelms the peppercorns, when it should be the other way around - if you served this in Chengdu, they'd run you out of town. It's not entirely unpleasant, just lame enough to send me scurrying back to the smoked pork next time. The hot and sour soup you get with lunch is fun for what it is. I expect I would like the lamb soup more than most people, though there are many Korean stews and soups I'm in more of a hurry to try.
(For Michelle M.: This place gets a rare "V" for vegetarian-friendly.)
I violated my Mama's rule for judging Chinese Restaurants: Never, ever, ever go to a Chinese restaurant when the only patrons are white folk!
But on Saturday, the hubby, my father in law, and I decided to check out this joint.
It began poorly. The sizzling rice soup was okay, but nothing to write home about. The rice was not sizzling because it wasn't cooked long enough. Then we had some shrimp/chive dumplings. They were decent, but at $9.95/dish, it was might expensive! But then arrived the two dishes that saved the day: Mongolian lamb, and Mandarin tofu. Wow, these two dishes were delicious! Very, very flavorful! The service was so-so, but those two dishes were good enough for me to give a solid 4 stars. We will be back!
Best Chinese food in Berkeley!
We used to go to this place when it was Yangtze River. It was kinda rundown, but cozy and the food was really good...the waiters were cool and always took care of us. We'd always stop by for dinner when in the neighborhood and in the mood for Chinese. Without warning, the good times abruptly ended when they seemingly changed ownership (under the same name) and the familiar servers were replaced...almost every time we were waited on by an angry woman who always got our order wrong. They changed the menu, the food went downhill with the service and so we bid Yangtze farewell.
To our surprise about a year ago, we saw the place re-opened as Da Lian. We decided to stop in for lunch and were completely amazed by what we found. The interior was nicely redone, friendly people worked there again, and the food was mouth-watering delicious. I can't emphasize how fresh and flavorful the food tastes here. No MSG, no weird overpowering flavors. The veggies are crisp and the entrees are well balanced.
The best part of all this is we've come back many times for lunch and dinner and the experience has been consistently very good! As others mentioned, the place tends to be rather empty (at least when we've been there). Not sure why...the food is amazing, the service is prompt and friendly, and it's a great value.
When the place was Yangtze, I used to be addicted to their "succulent steamed bread" (served steaming hot with plum dipping sauce on the side). My new addiction is their sesame bread...try it, you'll like it!
Oh...and I would give them an extra star for not automatically assuming I need a fork!
Da Lian has improved again - their quality went down for a while, due to mismanaging their sudden popularity.... but now they've got the cooking under tighter control. Their menu is stellar, and they've added regional specials like pork buns (not the kind I'm used to, but super good) and Cumin lamb (so weird, but delicious). Fresh ingredients, excellent preparations. It's worth it to put up with the horrible music and the North Berkeley people who talk really loudly about how smart/PC/important/awesome they are.
If you don't know what to order, the eggplant anything and green bean anything are stellar.
I was surprised how flavorful the dishes were. Judging by the lack of people in this restaurant, I thought it was going to be horrible, but was pleasantly surprised.
We had the vegetarian spring rolls which didn't wow me. They were just like any other fried egg roll. There was also a special of skewered, sauteed tofu which came with a really tangy (not in a bad way though) sauce. And lastly we had the spicy hot braised bean curd. It was spicy, but not hot and it came with plenty of shitake mushrooms. Yum.
The only thing negative I would say is that the music they play in the restuarant doesn't go with the neutral, wooden decor. The music is all dance dance revolution type. Maybe, it helps the staff get through the day, but all it gave me was a slight headache.
UPDATE 6/20: best chinese restaurant in berkeley. PERIOD.
i've gone there about 15 times since i made my first review and it's been simply delicious everytime!
here's why:
- peaceful ambiance, great service.
- delicious, llght (non-greasy) dishes.
- damn good prices. especially, for what you get.
order this:
- pickled cabbage & lamb soup (fav!)
- sizzling rice soup (so healthy and light)
- sichuan (szechuan) chicken
- pan gough tofu
- any scallop dish (fav!)
after all these months and the food being so good, i'm still surprised it's not packed yet. i'm glad the east bay express gave them some love though:
http://www.eastbayexpr...
trust me, go. you'll be satisifed. :) oh yeah, and if you're ever in northeast china, the city of da lian is definitely worth a visit. :)
I'm really impressed by this new place--it's great to have a go-to Chinese restaurant in the Gourmet Ghetto.
They remodelled in Fall 2007, and completely banished the ghosts of the old, sad Yangtzee River restaurant which used to occupy this spot.
Now the food is great, the decor is modern, and the service is very eager to please. The dishes are attractive and well prepared in addition to being tasty and reasonably priced. I've been about 10 times and I have yet to order something that failed to impress.
It's great to see them offer so many vegetarian selections--even among the daily specials. I especially liked the eggplant. We tried the "vegetarian three ingredients" special which included peppers, eggplant, and--get this--potatoes. This marks the first time I've had potatoes in a Chinese restaurant, and what a pleasant surprise. The dish was savory yet light.
Business is definitely starting to pick up for them, and it's well deserved.
When they remodeled this Chinese place, they tore everything up, down to the old chairs and walls. It looked like two rival kung fu schools staged an epic battle to the death.
Now, a few months later, they've really snazzed up the place. When you walk in, it's like WE GOT WINE. Literally, there's always this well-dressed server lady standing behind the counter and she's wearing a black tie and a vest and she's standing behind a WALL OF WINE. Also, the entrance reminds me of Stargate. Cuz it's a circle.
But the food here is DELICIOUS AND I REALLY DONT WANT THIS PLACE TO GO OUT OF BUSINESS. It's ALWAYS relatively empty in here, but it's divine food. Ma po tofu is flavorful without overdoing it. That they achieve this much flavor without MSG is amazing.
Please gourmet ghetto, don't throw away the best chinese you have, just because you got all that other stuff goin on.
OH also, my roommate left his credit card here, and they were so nice and held it for him. Nice people. yup.
I've noticed that a lot of these reviews are diss'n the lamb and cabbage soup.
YES. It is supposed to taste very gamey ("putrid"). YES. It is supposed to be sour. The quality of the soup is dependent on how strong those two flavors are. Unless you like this already or are into trying weird flavors, do not try this soup. My dad is a huge fan of this soup. It might be affecting his personality.
With that said, here is my review:
I've only been here once, but it left a good impression on me.
My dude friend had eaten here a couple of times before and was convinced that this was the place to take me for some authentic Chinese grub.
I was impressed with the restaurant's lack of uber gaudy decor and decent service. We ordered:
Hot and sour seafood soup - light and delicate, good flavor
Onion pancake- thick and carby just like mom makes
Seafood claypot- smaller portions with great flavor and quality seafood
Garlic greenbeans- large protion..really good..they were fresh and crunchy and garlicy.
Definitely the best/most authentic Northern Chinese restaurant around...
I'd like totally go again.
We recently ordered take out and it was the most bland, unappetizing food I have ever had. There was no flavor at all in the noodles, the fried rice, or the chicken with snow peas. Only the mu shu pork was edible (not good, just edible).
Uh oh. Ever since my first meal at Da Lian last November, I think the food has gone downhill. It's still decent, but not spectacular. The food lately has been a little tired - the vegetables not as crisp, the shrimp a little pasty, not as fresh. Maybe I have hit the chef's night off a few times in a row.
I also noticed over time, that the food is very salty. I generally like salty food, but this brings it to another level. I'm downing water afterwards for the day after I eat their food.
Damn, is anyplace more sparsely visited than this one?
I've walked by Dan Lian many a time on my way to Chy ya and never have I seen a customer in the entrance side of the restaurant. They just seem fill people into the spill-over other half of the shop. So, if you like this place, and I did, there is ALWAYS going to be a table. I even went right as an evening Cal football game ended, and still there were only 10 tables full. Honestly, they just have a space that is twice what they need. Solution: sell some to the uber-cramped but always delicious Chy ya!
I digress.. The food was nice, tasty and fresh. There are a decent selection of veggie options as I went with a veg-only group of friends. My only concern was when we asked if the Hot and Sour soup had a veggie or chicken broth, to which the waitress said, "um, sure, I'll write a note." There was a Jon Lovitz's SNL the Liar skit "yeah, that's the ticket" feel to the response. We skipped the soup.
I love the sesame seed & green onion bread. Very tasty and warm.
Maybe next time I'll gets me some meat and extra sesame bread.
UPDATE: 4/14/08
I've become a regular of Da Lian. I want to note that the soups are REALLY good and very fresh. The are the traditional chinese food fare, but are done perfectly and are very fresh. They are not veg friendly, but I'm friends with the chicken and his magical broth.
This might be the best Chinese place in Berkeley!
They don't use msg and all the food is fresh and not over cooked so you leave feeling more like you have just eaten at the Japanese place next door, then a typical chinese place.
The Sizzling Rice Soup is super fresh and delicious!
Amazing Restaurant. Favorite Chinese in North Berkeley.
Highly Recommend Mon-Sat. for the Lunch Menu (11-2:30). 7-8 Bucks for high quality service, amazingly fresh vegetables, side of Hot and Sour Soup and a Salad.
I Recommend from the Lunch Menu:
1. Green Beans with Shredded Pork
2. Beef with Broccoli (honestly, I'd never recommend this anywhere else but it is very good here because of the fresh Broccoli and well seasoned Beef)
3. Hunan Beef
NORTH BERKELEY CHINESE SERVES NICE VARIETY AT SURPRISINGLY GOOD VALUE
Before there was even a menu on my table there was a hot pot of tea. Always a plus.
At many restaurants I'm reluctant to order just a lunch special if I'm really hungry, but I decided to give it a try here. I asked for the chicken with asparagus and immediately they brought me a great hot and sour soup and a boring salad. My entree turned out to be huge and there was even an interesting variety of things on the plate.
Ultimately, an even $9.00 (including tip) got me all of this:
-water
-unlimited tea
-soup
-salad
-chicken w/ asparagus
-rice
-some kind of puffed crackery thing
-an orange
-a fortune cookie
All in about 25 minutes. Also, I got to invent an unprecedented Chinese dish: puffed crackery thing stuffed with chicken and asparagus.
Four stars because the food was good but not spectacular, although I plan to come back with friends and try a lot of other things.
A friend brought me along as his entertainment for a group dinner (thanks a lot!) At first I was thinking "Are these people really THAT boring that you insist on taking me!?" Then he said "Hey, at least you're not paying. Don't worry, I've got it" so I figured, eh, free meal. Can't complain, can't turn it down.
Group of 10, 7 dishes family style, the damage: $120
I didn't eat the veggie potstickers (I am sooo sick of potstickers. I make them from scratch with my mother all the time and our freezer is freaking stocked full of them!) so I opted to try their deep fried crab with cream cheese puff thing. I have no idea what it was called because I didn't get a look at the menu but it wasn't all that tasty. I don't think I even tasted any crab! It was also fairly dry for something that supposedly has cream cheese and has been deep fried.
They ordered 2 sweet an sour dishes - I couldn't figure out what type of meat the two dishes were (ouch, that's pretty bad...) I shouldn't have even bothered, I don't do those sweet and sour dishes. Gross.
My friend ordered a seafood claypot and I admit that was good although I only ate a scallop.
I wasn't that impressed so I didn't eat much. At least my water glass was always filled (I never saw the bottom!) and there was always tea in the pot.
I guess northern Chinese food isn't for me. I remember I didn't like the food all that much when I was over in northern China anyways. Waaaay too salty. It seems to overpower the natural taste of the veggies/meat. That's how I felt tonight at Da Lian.
I'm sorry, it tasted like Panda Express but with excellent service.
Went to a house party later and filled up on some San Tung noodles and chicken. =)
My housemates and I came here around closing time--9:30ish. I knew because they started mopping the floor with bleach while we were finishing our food. The decor is nice and dim, good for private meetings and dates.
The food was okay. The 3 seafood soup was rather bland, kind of like they just boiled some onions, tossed in some snow peas, and added minimal seafood in water. We also had some chicken on a sizzling plate with bell peppers and onion. It was okay-tasting but nice how everything was really sizzling. Lastly, there was a phoenix dish consisting of broccoli, chicken, and shrimp. It was spicy and flavorful like how Chinese dishes should really be!
Service was okay. I expected better attention since we were the only ones left. We asked for the bill but no one seemed to hear us in either English or Cantonese.
I wouldn't really want to go back since you can get better tasting food in Oakland Chinese restaurants. But, it was definitely clean.
This place has a really nice atmosphere. We thought the prices would be on the higher end of things but actually, they were pretty reasonable and you get a lot to eat here. There are lots of items to choose from so there's something to please everyone on the menu. My chow fun lacked the usual flavour/gravy that most other places make use on it. The other dish was really tasty and spicy though so we used the sauce on the chow fun to make up for its blandness. They also serve you pretty fast. We paid a little under $25 with tax and tip for two items and an order of brown rice. That's not too terrible considering we probably would've paid more than that if we chose a different place. They also have dim sum on the menu which might be good with a group of friends.
Saw the Check Please episode and thought it would be worth the trip. Not bad. The lamb and cabbage soup is just fine, thanks....it's an acquired taste from the viewpoint that if you're not grown up with the contrasty flavors it might all seem weird. The flat bread was a bit bland though. Highlights were the veggies - crispy green beans, and the peppers and cukes in the different dishes. The fried fish was great, but the duck was EXCELLENT. Hot, tasty, yummy. Not so much was the lemon chicken, a bit overdone in the fryer. Another blah were the lo mien noodles.
The service was pretty good - there were 9 of us and it took ahwile to get everything out and fit on the table, another blah. The overall restaurant is clean, not noisy, and afterwards stroll over to the gelato place. Ahh...that was good.
Solid but boring Chinese food. The restaurant is clean and new, the service friendly. But the menu is limited to mostly Western friendly dishes: lettuce cups, kung pao chicken, etc. We had the lamb soup and the thick onion pancakes which seemed to be the only nonstandard Chinese dishes on the menu.
I much prefer Chinese restaurants where they have random menus written in Chinese taped to the wall and where the waiters don't bother to ask you how the food is( they know it's good and don't need to ask ).
Food ***
Value ***
Decor ****(for a Chinese restaurant)
Neighborhood: Downtown Berkeley
Neighborhood: UC Campus Area
Neighborhood: East Solano Ave
Neighborhood: North Berkeley
Neighborhood: UC Campus Area
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