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Great China Restaurant - CLOSED
Category: Restaurants Chinese Chinese [Edit]
2115 Kittredge St(between Shattuck Ave & Fulton St)
Berkeley, CA 94704
Neighborhoods: UC Campus Area, Downtown Berkeley
(510) 843-7996
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
Cameron H. said: "First, this is restaurant really need two review because lunch and dinner menu are very different. Lunch: 5.50 - 7.00 $ for the lunch special, they are tradition sichuan food. Almost over 25 different noodle soup and 30 plus rice…" read more »
724 reviews for Great China Restaurant
Review Highlights
"The double skin and walnut prawns were amazing as usual."
(in 206 reviews)
"Walnut Prawns: Wonderfully prepared."
(in 124 reviews)
"TL;DR; Get sauteed crab meat and double skin."
(in 17 reviews)
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724 reviews in English
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Review from kyu l.
San Jose, CA
2/1/2012
Great China has the best Chinese food in the east bay. There. I said it.
ive been coming here for over 20 years, and the food only gets better and better. if your idea of authentic chinese food includes panda express orange chicken and some variation of chop suey...this might not be the right place for you...
i really cant say enough about Great China. ive literally tried every damn thing on their menu and i never get tired of any of the dishes. here are the dishes i order just about everytime...
-seafood and pork dumplings
-double skin
-spicy garlic chicken
-peking roast duck
-mei cai ko ro
-tang soo yook
-mongolian lamb
-sauteed crab meat
-sauteed snow pea leaves
look on their menu for descriptions of the dishes...better yet...email me and ill go with you...im not kidding...as long as youre paying of course.
recently i fell upon an article in a food and wine magazine and a well known sommelier listed Great China as one of his fav's for their extensive wine list...hold on...ive been coming here for over 2 decades and all ive had to drink here was cold beer and hot tea...little did i know, but the owner has slowly BUT SURELY built one helluva wine list...i mean...where else can you get the best dumplings in town and wash it down with a glass of Silver Oak, Alexander Valley 1994...exactly.
if you havent tried Great China before, youre definitely missing out on some crazy good food. disclaimer...this place is a legitimate Chinese restaurant. what am i saying? youre coming for the food. dont worry about the service. if you ARE worried about the service and dont care for the food...go to PF Chang's. im just sayin.... -
Review from Wendy N.
1/30/2012 1 Check-in Here
Ok, I frequent this place primarily because it's one block away from my work. I've only been here for lunch, usually come by myself, and it's a quick in-and-out Chinese lunch.I've read some of the other reviews and I agree. It's your typical brusque, "warm as a SF summer day" service. But isn't this pretty typical in Chinese restaurants?
The food is fairly standard in taste. I like that tea is included. The lunch specials come with hot and sour soup, fried egg roll, some strange kind of green salad, rice and entree. Most of the lunch specials are $7.11 (yes, this is the price on the menu). I usually get the curry chicken or the spicy garlic chicken and these dishes are fine.
Not the best, not the worst Chinese place I've ever been... but since it's close, I'll continue going there. -
Review from Josie M.
San Francisco, CA
1/23/2012
It's worth coming here for two things only:
- Peking Duck
- Double Skin noodle skin
Be prepared for:
-The worst service of your life (even for a chinese restaurant)
-Them running out of duck, even when you've asked multiple times to reserve it. -
Review from Benjamin L.
Oakland, CA
1/18/2012
Well i was really skeptical to come here, my friend said it was the best. So i came here on a whim, sat down and was immediately impressed. I mean i've lived in the bay area my whole life and it wasn't until last year that i discovered this restaurant.
They have the best Peking duck, i haven't seen a duck with barely any fat and it's crispy, really crispy. And their crab dish with the egg, i mean i'm salivating writing this review. and Liang fen, i mean just wow. Everything was presented well.
But keep in mind it's still a Chinese restaurant and the service will be Chinese service. But for what ti is, it is one of the best restaurants IMO in the east bay.
I will be back... -
Review from Jade R.
Alamo, CA
1/6/2012
Precursor: Food was fine. I didn't like the hot and sour soup that much, but I enjoyed my ma po tofu... though I think I can make it better :P
My serious beef with this place was the freaking service.
A couple of friends (one who came ALL THE WAY FROM ARIZONA TO VISIT ME) and I were leaving a tip on the table. Our meal was a little over 30 dollars, and we were about to leave a 3 dollar tip. Was the tip a little small? Yeah, I guess. But they also forgot to give us this sauce that we asked for... and its a Chinese restaurant for crying out loud- service ALWAYS sucks.
We were about to leave, when this guy stops us. He looks at me and starts telling me some number. At first, I thought he was telling me that I forgot to pay the bill. But after a little more confusion and him realizing I don't speak a lick of Chinese, he told me that we needed to tip higher.
...excuse me?!
I need to TIP higher/! Uhm, last time I checked, tipping is voluntary. I can't believe this man is asking me to tip more. He called over this other lady who told me to tip higher. She told me that I needed to tip higher, grabbed my money, and pointed to me that it was too little. That what I tipped wasn't good enough. Oh my god. What the F(#$?!
There are SO MANY THINGS WRONG WITH THIS SITUATION, I CANT EVEN.... UGH.
I was lucky that my friend was there to tell her off, because I was just in such shock that I could hardly comprehend what was going on. Wow. WOW. WOOOW. What the eff.
Never coming back here. They probably blacklisted my face anyway as a shitty tipper. But I don't give a crap.
I'll probably update this later when I can properly bitch and complain about this horrible service. Right now, I'm just too upset to even properly express myself. -
Review from Nick L.
San Francisco, CA
Updated - 1/18/2012 1 Check-in Here
Came here again - this place is still good for food.
We ordered the same dishes and got a veggie pea straw dish as well.
That was also great.
Why the drop in rating?
Wait time and disorderly system. There is no order to this place. People with the same name cannot be differentiated and then you have to wait because someone else with the same name takes your spot. Lousy.
Waitress was abrupt even by Chinese restaurant standards.
We said we'd order more later if needed and she was like..."Nooooo...order now"
Not cool. If not for the food, we'd definitely not come back. As it is, it's a once in a very long while.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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10/3/2011
Came here a little while ago and have to say that the food was excellent. May have been just what we… Read more »
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Review from Mandy C.
San Francisco, CA
1/15/2012
I love this place, I don't know why I haven't reviewed it until now.
I came here many times before and as always, the service was just okay, but the food on the other hand is great!
There are really only three things you need to order from here and are always consistently good.
1. Double Skin Noodle
Mungbean noodle stir with mustard, soy, pork, julienned carrots, cucumber, sea cucumber, egg, onion and woodear mushroom. It's a refreshing dish with a kick.
2. Peking Duck
Great China skinned it, deboned it and ridded the fat in the duck for you. All you have to do is wrap the duck skin and meat with their warm paper thin wrapper, hoisin sauce and scallion, and eat it. The duck is flavorful and succulent!
3. Sauteed Crab Meat with Buns
Shredded crab meat was sauteed with eggs in a ginger onion sauce. I love stuffing my bun full with the meat and take a big steamy bite. Irresistable! As full as I can get, I cannot help but eat two of the buns with the crab meat myself.
Go early, bring a jacket and prepare to wait! The waiting area is small so most likely you'll have to wait outside. But it's well worth it! -
Review from Ileana S.
1/7/2012
Imagine there are two Bay Area natives who have temporarily/not-so-temporarily relocated outside of California. We want to get together for a gabfest. We want good food. How about good Chinese food?!
I dig around through Yelp and find Great China Restaurant, which I must say is quite an inventive name. *sarcasm*
I walk up to the restaurant and am greeted by a large crowd of people waiting outside. I walk in, put my name on the list, and wait for my friend to arrive. We wait twenty minutes before we are directed to the dining area in the back.
We order some delicious food:
+ Vegetarian Hot and Sour Soup: 5 stars.
+ Eggplant with Hot Garlic Sauce: 4.5 stars
+ Family-Style Tofu: 4 stars
So why the four stars? Customer service, please. We seriously had to wave down the server to order food, to get our water glasses refilled, and for our check. Lame, if you ask me.
I plan on making a return visit but will have to keep in mind that there is shitty customer service. :\ -
Review from Diana L.
Berkeley, CA
1/27/2012
SAD NEWS: there was a fire at Great China last night and they are closed for possibly six months.
This may be the best Chinese restaurant food in the east bay, but the wait is long, because they do cook the food to order. -
Review from Alana H.
Seattle, WA
12/23/2011
Based on the food, this place would be more like a 4 or 5, but the service was terrible. We had to wait a long time to be seated, but were prepared for it based on other yelp reviews. Once we were seated, we waited 15-20 minutes without being brought water or asked for our order. We finally flagged someone down who seemed highly inconvenienced to have to take our order. Every table had water brought to them when they were seated, but we eventually had to ask for some when they brought our soup. Another server brought us water and informed us that our server was very busy.
The food was delicious. We had vegetarian hot and sour soup, spicy garlic eggplant and family style tofu. The portions were huge and we took home enough for another meal.
However, we were sitting and talking for a few minutes after paying our check and the waitress who ignored us for the entire meal came over and asked us to leave because they had someone waiting for our table. We were both so blown away by the rudeness we didn't know how to respond. That was definitely the kicker for a night of terrible service. -
Review from Jen P.
Hayward, CA
1/29/2012
Great China has the best sweet and sour prawns I have ever had, hands down.
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Review from Tyler A.
New Haven, CT
12/25/2011 1 Check-in Here
The good -
The food was tasty, and the the menu was large. I ordered the Chung King Chicken, and it was quite pleasant. Greasy, yes, but it's a fried entree, so that was more or less expected. There were many other things on the menu, most of which I found new and mysterious. Chinese food in rural New Hampshire isn't quite as...diverse. =)
The bad -
After dinner, my company and I were enjoying peasant conversation (mistype, should be pleasant...but this is funnier). However, a member of the staff kept walking over to our table, hovering for a second or two, then would leave again, in a fairly impolite way. It seemed they were pressuring us to get up and leave. Were we there for an absurd amount of time or were there other customers waiting to be seated, I would be more forgiving of this behavior. However, neither of these was the case. Anyway, in general the service wasn't as friendly as I would have hoped.
The....the things that were not good or bad -
Price was reasonable but not amazing, and the ambiance was also nothing to complain about, but not rave-worthy either (in that wasn't undeserving of high praise, not that it would be a poor venue for a rave dance...though this is also true).
If you're looking for a place to eat tasty Chinese food w/ lots of options that's a step above those places where you order combination plate #4, check out Great Chine. However, don't go for the warm attitudes of the waiting staff. -
Review from Jack C.
12/7/2011 1 Check-in Here
#1) Start with Double Skin
#2) Order Walnut Prawns
#3) Order Peking Roasted Duck
I come to great china and never not order those three dishes. Everything else no matter how good is just filler.
The Double Skin is freshly made mung bean noodles hand tossed with an assortment of ingredients by the waiter. Based in a soy sauce vinaigrette (what a shocker, everything chinese is based in soy sauce) with hot chinese mustard, which gives it that subtle kick somewhat similar to what wasabi does for sushi.
Walnut prawns aren't typically what I order at chinese restaurants, but Great China does it like nobody else, at least in the east bay. Go down to the San Gabriel Valley where there is a sea of asian plazas each with 10 asian related restaurants and shops in them, maybe different story.
Lastly, Peking Roasted Duck- They pull the meat off the bone and trim off the fat, which I kinda dislike because I like fat on my meat. Regardless the skin is nice and crisp and duck meat is awesome. Wrap the meat and skin in the pancake, drizzle plum sauce and scallion then Bite, Rinse, Repeat.
Come for the lunch specials. They are ridiculously affordable and you get many options to choose from.
The restaurant is typically insanely packed. I highly recommend you get a reservations if you come in with a party more than 6, otherwise just cross your fingers the wait isn't too long because they don't take reservations for anything less than 6.
Expect the service to be subpar. Hate to stereotype but I'm chinese and it's a chinese restaurant. Their goal is to turn tables fast to get the next costumer in. Food sometimes doesn't come out justly meaning if somebody seats after you they may get their food first. If you ever go to China, the service is WAY worse, and the people waiting will stand next to your table and watch you eat your entire meal just to pressure you to finish faster.
SUMMARY: CHINESE PERSON APPROVED!Listed in: All the way, in the EAST bay!
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Review from Betty T.
Berkeley, CA
11/27/2011
NAN CHI SI LE!!!!
What the heck is this??? Why do I see people calling this "authentic" Chinese food? and Why do I see people praising the peking duck. No offense, but they are either way too deprived of real Chinese food, or just have no taste buds.
Let me just say this:
- Peking duck is nasty. The skin is soggy and they do not know how to slice the skin. They don't know how to properly use the leftover meat to create other dishes either.
- Winter melon soup... shame on whoever cooked this!!! You are not supposed to cut winter melon into tiny strips so they dissolve in the soup. And you are not supposed to add a bunch of mushrooms so the whole soup tastes like mushrooms.
This place is so disappointing... maybe because i grew up in Taiwan / HK / Beijing / Shanghai / Vancouver so i have high expectations of Chinese food. So, out of pity, i give this restaurant 1 star. -
Review from Tiffany Z.
Berkeley, CA
12/2/2011
4 stars. Not overly greasy (as is often the case) Chinese food. I've been here 3 times and I've always been very happy with my orders.
My favorites so far are the Ginger Scallion Fish Filet and the Guo Ta Tofu. I have yet to sample the Peking duck but will update when I do!
They don't take reservations (unless you have 6 or more people) so it can sometimes take up to 30 minutes to get a table. Just put your name on the list and have a seat in the "waiting room" next door (it's really just a long corridor with a bench :) ). They'll come and get you when your table is ready. -
Review from Jennifer C.
Long Beach, CA
12/7/2011 1 Check-in Here
QUACK
who knew I loved duck so much? we ordered
{PEKING ROAST DUCK} super fabulously delicious omg I loved it - I'd order it for myself and eat it alone if I lived there.
{DOUBLE SKIN} so tasty - they bring it to the table and mix it all in front of you
{HOT AND SOUR SOUP} your average hot and sour soup, but pretty tasty on a cold night!
{SAUTEED SNOW PEA LEAVES} we had the choice between the stringy part and the leafy part but the waiter said the stringy part was more flavorful but in the end what we really wanted was the leafy part.. oh well serves us right for trying to test our chinese! -
Review from Salsaboy S.
Oakland, CA
11/27/2011
Under different circumstances, I might think that the discrepancy between my experience and the average rating to be because of my vegetarian preferences. It isn't. The food here, quite simply, is overrated and ordinary. This is not good Chinese food, folks. Not good at all. What intrigued me was the significance of vegetarian options, including a vegetarian hot and sour soup and a vegetarian sizzling rice soup (which I've never seen before). That said, the food was typical of greasy, gloppy, crappy Chinese fare. It sucked.
It was packed and, evidently, people really like this place. Hard to believe. It's nothing like Da Lian (in Berkeley's Gourmet Ghetto), and even though Da Lian has seen better days, in its failing, Da Lian blows the fuck out of Great China with its eyes closed and both hands tied behind its back .
We ordered the vegetarian hot and sour soup. It wasn't hot and was very sour. It was not great, but certainly better than the entree. For the entree, we got kung pao tofu. It was a gloopy, gloppy mess. Da Lian's used to be one of the best I've had, but its quality has fallen. In comparison, however, Da Lian's is like heaven. Great China has no business attempting vegetarian food. Frankly, with the greasy, gloppiness, it doesn't have any business doing Chinese food at all. That people think this is good is an anomaly in itself. How? This is shit folks. There is nothing exceptional (or even good) about this Chinese food. It's awful.
I hemmed and hawed about whether to give Great China one star or two stars. To be clear, the food here is terrible. In the end, I opted for a one star rating because the food is simply bad. The ingredients are decent (despite the crappy sauces) and (in favor of a two-star rating) at least they try to accommodate vegetarians even if their execution is far from impressive. I have no doubt that non-vegetarian options are equally awful, with goopy and gloppy sauces. That said, the vegetarian menu isn't an after-thought; it's an extension of their poor cooking and lousy taste spectrum. I imagine it would be a one-star restaurant even if I did eat meat.
I highly don't recommend this place. -
Review from Lena F.
Oakland, CA
12/20/2011 1 Check-in Here
When I enter it was silent.But after thirty minutes OMG it got attack by like a big riot.It got overfill like Occupy OAKLAND.
Well's let's goto the food.ALWAYS get the peking duck It is Super DELIOUS AND crispy.plus sider to that is a double skin plate it is really creative and fun.But the dishes that are not good are the trio chicken,General Taos Chicken plus Seafood fried rice its all horrible.
The service was not so good but I let this one go because the restaurant got destroy.
Well over all ITS GREAT. -
Review from Libing W.
Berkeley, CA
12/27/2011
Yummy! This place is probably the best chinese restaurant in the area. I much prefer it to Mandarin Garden. I have had the peking duck at both places and it's no contest...Great China's peking duck is so much better. The walnut prawns are also pretty good, but I feel like walnut prawns is pretty good at most places. I've also had the braised pork which is really good, but just beware that it is pretty greasy...Overall, I don't think that I've had a dish at Great China that I haven't enjoyed!
Food: 5
Service: 3 -
Review from Garett N.
Berkeley, CA
1/16/2012
Came here for dinner. It's a bit of a line, but for the quality of the food, it's worth it. Had the pork belly and lamb with green beans. It was too much for two people, but it was awesome. Highly recommended.
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Review from Michelle L.
Los Angeles, CA
11/21/2011
The peking duck here is the type i dream about/drool over in my sleep. Not sure if it's really that good or if it's because i'm just super lazy and appreciate the fact that the duck is deboned and there's just a pile of meat waiting for me to wrap up and demolish. Yum.
Other things I've gotten here in the past are the double skin. Kind of different if you've never had anything like it, but definitely full of flavor.
If you come here, seriously, get the peking duck. And it's not like other chinese restaurants where you have to order in advance. You just go and ask for the duck. It's that simple. Just do it. -
Review from Cameron T.
Albany, CA
1/23/2012
I first heard about this restaurant from my aunt that's a master sommelier. I ordered the fried wild baby oysters and they were cooked perfectly with a nice oyster mixture dipping sauce. The place had decent food and had a wonderful smoked duck with it being smoked with rice and tea. I really haven't had chinese food as creative as Yank Sing but Great China Restaurant is pretty close. Even though, Yank Sing is amazing and different in it's own way. This place is nice but a little small for a restaurant.
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Review from Taffany H.
Berkeley, CA
Best Chinese place in Berkeley, hands down.
Really, you don't need to read further.
What you really should do now is get in line after those long list of Chinese patrons trying to get a table for this place and get yourself on that list.
Get the Pork Belly, general Tso chicken, and fried Calamari for a start, Then come back to try other more authentic stuff they have on the menu.
Really, I don't even know why I'm telling you this because now I have to get in line behind you guys and have to wait even longer! :) -
Review from Elaine L.
Berkeley, CA
Updated - 11/20/2011
I came again with my friend and even though there were only two of us, we had to order the duck because like I said..... you cant go to Great China without getting the duck!!!
We went around 5:30pm on a Friday night. We didnt have to wait very long which was surprising. Service didnt seem as bad as the past.... maybe they just have trouble serving bigger groups or something.
Read my past reviews for details on my favorite dishes but I just wanted to add to my review. Dont get the pot stickers. They were SO greasy. They were really big and they gave us 8 pot stickers but I did not like them. I felt like I dipped my lips in oil after eating one of the pot sticks. gag.
Also, they should replace the lock on the unisex downstairs bathroom. Accidentally walked in on an old man. Oops.2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
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4/19/2011
Came here with my family to celebrate my birthday. I made reservations for 7 people at 5PM and when… Read more »
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Review from Jennifer S.
Fremont, CA
11/27/2011
The double skin and honey walnut prawns are pretty incredible. Everything else (save the Peking duck, because I've never tried it here) is just okay.
Seating is a pain - expect a 30 minute wait, at least - and so is waiting. You'd think that a consistently crowded restaurant would give its waiting patrons somewhere to stand, but there is a giant fish tank right in the middle of the entryway, so people either have to stand outside to wait or cramp together with everyone inside.
Table service is extremely harried, and they barely acknowledge you if you place a takeout order. Come on, Great China, I know you've been in service for the entirety of my college career, which is a lot better than most restaurants do. Spare a few dollars to hire another couple of servers so every time I flag down a server here I don't get an angry glare? -
Review from Perry N.
Oakland, CA
12/3/2011 1 Check-in Here
We went here one night for dinner. Arriving at around 5:30, there was only one other table, and there was only one other table. However, we found out that as the night progressed, the restaurant started to become jam packed with people. So many that a small crowd was outside the restaurant.
We ordered the Seafood Trio, Seafood Fried Rice, Peking Duck, and the Double Skin. The first two were average dishes, they weren't bad but they weren't great either. However the double skin and the Peking Duck, they were something worth going here for. Though our orders took longer than usual, it was definetly worth the wait. The Peking Duck; the skin was super crispy and did not have any fat on them, and they had a pile of duck meat that was delicious. Unlike other Chinese Restaurants however, they use Mu Shu Pancakes instead of the bread buns. The Double Skin, I have not seen anywhere else before. The dish was very refreshing and had a nice smooth texture but had a bite to it. It was very good.
I definetly reccomend this place.
4/5! -
Review from Michelle L.
Milpitas, CA
1/16/2012
Came here last night with my family after a few of my parents' friend recommended this place, and I'm glad to say that, overall, we were pleased with our first dining experience here.
As per Yelp suggestions, we ordered the Double Skin (Liang Zhang Pi), Peking Duck, Walnut Prawns (He Tao Xia), and sauteed Dou Miao (pea shoots?). The Double Skin was good; flavorful, and pleasantly spicy from the mustard. I haven't had any of this stuff in a few years, and it was refreshing and delicious, though it's probably more of a summer dish.
The duck itself isn't anything particularly unique, but it's still quite good. There's a decent amount of meat as well as crispy skin, and we were glad to see that the duck comes with the traditional pancake-like wrappers, instead of mantou buns like most other restaurants give you. Almost every table we saw ordered the Peking duck--I guess that's how you know that it's good! Plus, you can ask to take the leftover bones home to cook with, which we did.
The Walnut Prawns were also tasty and very crispy. I think they mix orange juice into their mayonnaise to give it that citrus flavor; it makes the dish taste lighter, and makes the mayo more of a thick sauce than just...mayonnaise, which can be gross.
Dou Miao was a little bit overcooked, as some of the vegetable was a little brown and dead-looking, but it was still okay in terms of flavor.
Service: We waited nearly a full hour before the group in front of us was called, and checked where we were on the list only to find that we had been skipped. When we pointed this out, they immediately apologized and seated us, and later gave us dessert (Ba Bao Fan, or Eight Treasure Rice) free, which was nice of them. We also got the infamous bitchy waitress, who rushed us at every course so she could take our plates away. The rest of the staff was really nice, though.
A bit on the pricey side, and definitely crowded, but our experience at Great China was great overall. We'll probably come back in the future, though hopefully with more people so that we can make a reservation and skip the hour-long wait. -
Review from cindy f.
Oakland, CA
1/2/2012
This is a solid 4 Stars! We've been coming here forever and have never been disappointed. Let's just say we came before out first born popped out. Now the kiddo is 12 years old. Don't miss out on the Peking Duck here, so order ahead. And the Double Skin rocks too. It gets pretty crowded so making a reservation is a good idea. For a chinese restaurant, service ain't bad. Not the greatest, but they do seem to keep things moving. If you haven't been, this is a place to try.
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Review from Elena L.
San Francisco, CA
10/22/2011
"Not Great China"
If I could give negative stars, I would do so to this overhyped, tiresome "Not Great At All China" restaurant.
We waited an eternity to be seated, but it turned out unfortunately that the food simply wasn't worth waiting for. I really don't understand why this restaurant is so popular -- don't believe the hype! We first ordered the Peking duck, which was the only good dish we were served. The other dishes we ordered, though, were very disappointing -- especially the Ma-Po Tofu. Not only did it lack the right texture and flavor, but it tasted weird/off somehow (as if the tofu had gone bad). Basically, it's hard to make Ma-Po Tofu taste gross, but this place managed to do just that. We also ordered the fish in wine sauce dish, which was too salty.
What really turned us off was the service. By the time we were seated, the dinner crush had subsided, and the restaurant was not that busy. But we waited for a LONG time between dishes (which came in three separate, unexplained installments that left us twiddling our thumbs in between). And after we paid the bill (in cash), the waitress picked up the cash and counted it, bill by bill, right in front of us and then proceeded to yell at us for not giving her the tip she thought she deserved (but which she did not). We left a 15% tip, and the last time I checked that is a decent standard tip for the kind of indifferent, spotty, dilatory service that we were treated to at this restaurant.
Ultimately, the sheer rudeness and total lack of professionalism that the waitress exhibited was mind-boggling. I will never go back to this place in my life! -
Review from Meo M.
San Francisco, CA
1/1/2012
I was skeptical that there is good chinese food in the Bay Area but then there is Great China. Best Peking Duck, Best Winter Melon seafood soup...Its taste is delightful and one doesn't feel heavy afterward...The service can be better but may be because we went of the last day of the year?
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Review from Emm L.
Los Angeles, CA
10/1/2011
GOOD ASS MUTHAF*CKING FOOD!! I always get the Mei Gan Kou Rou (braised pork belly). It tastes like melty, meaty ice cream in a good way and the veggies, though ambiguous in form, are the best vegetables because they don't taste like vegetables. You know the Bei Jing Ya (Peking duck) is good when you look around and see it on all the Asian tables. The He Tao Xia (Walnut Prawns) is crispy and succulent, and not only does the sauce look like jizz, but it will also make you jizz in your mouth. The Suan La Tang (hot and sour soup) is also delicious!
However, if you do want to eat here and have good service, bring a hot, muscular guy friend or an Asian mom that can throw because that one angry-looking waitress is a BETCH!! When we came here with my family, my mom waved her down multiple times to give her the check and she just looked at us and walked away... come on lady what kind of waitress ignores money?? After like 10 minutes of her BS we asked the guy and he took it immediately and gave us free Ba Bao Fan (8 treasure rice). So make sure you ask not the angry lady if you ever need anything.
Overall, great food, but the experience is like a spank if you get a bad waiter - the service is the slap but the dishes are the satisfying jiggle that keeps customers coming back. Thanks for reading! -
Review from Veronica C.
Berkeley, CA
1/2/2012
The best Peking duck!
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Review from Holly R.
Pittsburgh, PA
1/2/2012 1 Check-in Here
Great food mediocre service. The food is so good service should be tolerated. Clean comfy interior a step up than the normal interior of Chinese restaurant. I ordered the walnut prawns AMAZING!
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Review from Kristy K.
Berkeley, CA
Updated - 9/20/2011
Wow....
The food may be great but the service is horrible.
I wanted to make a dinner reservation for 4 people and the person on the phone said really really quickly, we don't make reservations for 4 people and just hung up on me...
Just wow....1 Previous Review: Show all »
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4/2/2011
Best Chinese food in Berkeley I've had so far.
The Walnut Prawns were to die for. Crunchy fried… Read more »
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Review from Krystal S.
Berkeley, CA
1/2/2012
I have to give them 4 stars even though I often feel sick after having great china and the service is just terrible. It just tastes so good! I go here at least once a week, and when I skip a week, I can smell the hot and sour soup that comes with the lunch menu in my dreams. haha
When I go for lunch, I usually get one of these. Mapo tofu, small double skin, pork dumplings, or shandong chicken salad.
For special occasions, I get the duck. OMG, one of the best I've had. So crispy and flavorful. I like double skin for special occasions as well. Walnut prawns are pretty popular when you have many people. However, if you are with a friend or two friends, I wouldn't order walnut prawns.. It's hard to eat more than 3 prawns.. kind of oily and too mayonnaise tasting for me. I have a serious veggie-craving afterwards. :)
Overall, the best place to go if you are craving for chinese food near Berkeley. -
Review from Lia P.
9/10/2011
If you are in the mood for Chinese, look no further than the Great China.
{Cliche}
I think this is the only decent Chinese restaurant in downtown Berkeley.
The food is cheap and you actually get a lot on your plate.
The only thing that is not pleasant is the staff. They seem over-worked and are not friendly. The wait time to be seated and to receive the food is pretty long. I do not recommend going there for a quick lunch.Listed in: Work Lunch
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Review from Toni M.
11/15/2011
Friday was Nina's birthday. She and Larry and Alan and I celebrated together w/ a delicious dinner at Yoshi's. Tonight her younger son, David, put together a dinner at Great China. David is an oenophile. He works at Bay Wolf. He knows James. This was my first time here. Alan was here once w/ a friend. David is a regular. We had 6:00 reservations. Alan and I were first to arrive and were seated at a table for 6. Even that early the restaurant was almost full. The rest of our party arrived shortly. David arrived last after parking the car. He had a bottle of wine, a white Bordeaux.
We left the ordering up to David and James. We started w/ Peking Duck, the best I've ever had. Even Alan, who doesn't like duck, raved about it because the bits of skin were so crispy and the meat was completely w/o fat. It was served w/ small, thin pancakes, like you get w/ mu shu pork only smaller, not the doughy little rolls you often see. They were folded in half and were unfolded w/ some difficulty, but despite their delicate appearance they were strong. Plum sauce and shaved scallions were served on the side. Next were pea shoot leaves cooked w/ garlic. They were delicious. Nina had described their Walnut Prawns as incredible and they were, the coating crisp, the shrimp fresh and tender, the overall taste sweet w/o being cloying and not glopped up w/ mayonnaise. Oh my!! Next, I think, we had a whole fish, which we deconstructed and devoured. The skin was crispy, the flesh was tender and succulent, the tail and fins were divine. It was beautifully seasoned, w/ a little heat and a lot of flavor. We had a dish of yellow chives and thinly sliced, meaty mushrooms that we all loved. James added a bottle of Pinot Noir and one of a dry Alsatian Reisling to the wine we already had and they were excellent. We shared a platter of clams in a sumptuous sauce. They were wonderful. Finally we had a delicious cold chicken salad that served as a palate cleanser. Five of us finished all three bottles of wine. Alan enjoyed an excellent dark beer. Dinner ended w/ slices of sweet navel oranges and fortune cookies. It was an exceptional meal. Throughout dinner there were people waiting to be seated. Its popularity is well deserved.Listed in: Eating All Around the World
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Review from Sherry K.
Berkeley, CA
Updated - 11/10/2011
Yes, the wait is still a pain. And it seems like there is always a wait, no matter when one gets there. However, for take out, it's pretty awesome. I walked through the crowd and ordered Mongolian beef and spring rolls to go.
At $10.95 per order, Mongolian beef isn't the cheapest dish ever, but their spring rolls, $4.95 for 5 crispy spring rolls are a great deal. I originally expected meager portion of Mongolian beef to be stuffed into a square box but I was surprised to get a plateful, with decoration lettuce at the bottom, a generous portion of beef, scallions and fried vermicelli bits neatly placed on top. One simply opens the lid and serve!
5 crispy egg rolls are quite filling as a meal in itself. The skin was perfectly fried, golden and flaky. The filling wasn't a mix-mash of whatever found left over in the kitchen. It was mainly cabbage and carrots. Not sure if they were meant to be vegetarian, but might as well.
So, all in all, it was a great take out meal at home, without the long wait and the elbow to elbow crowd.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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8/23/2011
For the number of Asian/Chinese students and professors at UCBerkeley, you'd think there would be… Read more »
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Review from Eileen Z.
Oakland, CA
Came here on a Friday night so it was pretty crowded..tho I heard it's a long wait every day. I've been meaning to try their infamous peking duck that everyone was talking about so after waiting in line for about an hour (they don't take reservations), being hungry as I was, I couldn't wait to eat.
Parking:
I know it's is extremely hard to find parking in Downtown Parking but FEAR NOT: the restaurant offers free parking right across from their place at the gas station for Great China customers. Just get it validated after you eat and your parking lot fee will refunded.
Peking Duck:
It was a bit pricey and the duck itself was really dry and seemed overcooked...but the skin was good! I mean, my favorite meat is duck and the duck that night wasn't spectacular- I've definitely had better. But since we ate the duck with the thin pancakes with sauce and grass like green onions, it was alright. Maybe because I was super hungry but I actually did enjoyed the dish.
Double Skin:
MY FAVORITE dish of the night. We had no idea what double skin was and when they came out with the dish, it was something I've never seen. I highly recommend it. I don't think any other restaurant serves this and it is a unique and interesting dish. Not too warm, not too cold- wasabi-ish mustard, all sorts of ingredients mixed into a single dish- YUM~~ how do they even make the noodles so transparent looking! now I understand why it is named "Double Skin"
Garlic Fried Rice:
The rice was good! They cooked it pretty well BUT there was barely any garlic tastes. I guess if you're not a huge fan of the aftermath of garlic breath yet you like garlic- this is the dish to go.
Overall: I enjoyed it and it is one of the few authentic northern Chinese cuisines there are in the area. Maybe next time- I would order to go to avoid the long wait. -
Review from Varun P.
Cupertino, CA
My reviews are generally extremely lengthy, so I'll keep this one short.
First time visitor, group of 4.
Ordered Walnut Prawns (duh!), Spicy Eggplant Chicken, Mongolian Beef, Rice.
YUM!
Well deserved 4 stars.
