China Village

Good spot for Chinese food at a descent price. We even asked for some things that weren't on the menu (due to dietary restrictions) and they happily accommodated us.

Centrally located and modestly priced, too. We'll be back!

Very average. Nothing good to say.
Service was bad. Food was very underwhelming.  
They definitely skimp on the portions. I had some chicken chow mein to go and they gave it to me in a surprisingly small container. Probably a quarter of what they would usually serve.
Not to mention the food wasn't filled to the top
(sloppily put together.)
Of course there was no sauce or utensils with the order.

Spicy pork shoulder, still pretty good, but not like before? Used to be more melty in your mouth, it's somewhat rougher texture now.
Cumin lamb, could order again, but it's small portion, not too fat.
Seafood pot thing, had hardly any seafood and was pricy.
The mixed noodle with various items, i think to go the noodles get hard really fast, and something tastes different when getting to go. I def want to try it again when things reopen.

Food was very underwhelming....

Ordered take out twice in the past 6 months.  Food was about 30 minutes late each time.  Some dishes seem really overpriced.  Don't plan to return.

This was a good place. Now they are not. I ordered their classic chow mein combo and they changed the noodles to flat noodles, no combo meat and shrimp,  just vegetables  and the sauce is not flavor full. Their short ribs are terrible with no sauce now. And their sesame chicken is not tasty.

The fortune cookie I got at the end of our meal said: "You are making a mark on the world every day. What is it?" (photo: bit.ly/3a75Nx2). I think it may be the indentation on the chairs I sit on like the faded brocade one at this restaurant. It takes a village, and if not a village, surely a China Village because this appears to draw quite a few hungry people across the neighborhood. In fact, Jamie W. and I avoided this place for years because it always looked crowded when we walked by which was often. But I noticed in the detail of the menu that they serve steamed chicken.

Here they call it Ginger Scallion Organic Chicken (Half). OK, we entered the premises and were seated automatically in the middle of a semi-empty restaurant where the foot traffic flow was all around us with servers bumping into the back of my chair frequently. Despite this constant aggravation, the $16.95 chicken was pretty good (photo:  bit.ly/2TjOxP2). The $6.50 quartet of Vegetarian Steamed Dumplings made a satisfying albeit piping hot complement to the soy-drenched poultry (photo: bit.ly/2NmZwU2). We weren't thrilled with the curt service though. It takes a tough village, too, I guess.

FOOD - 3 stars...good enough steamed chicken and dumplings
AMBIANCE - 3 stars...they could work on their floor plan
SERVICE - 2.5 stars...didn't feel the love
TOTAL - 3 stars...it takes a China Village

RELATED - Strolling on Solano? Here's a collection of places I've tried and reviewed: bit.ly/2HvcTQH

The food has been very good, however the customer service has not. Unfortunately, during our last two experiences ordering over the phone, the man we spoke with has been rude, curt, dismissive, and he interrupted the conversation to say "bye" and then hang up. I know this is a hard time for restaurants , but retraining on customer service over the phone could help this business. In looking at other reviews, we're not the only ones who've had this experience.

Many of the Chinese scientists and engineers in my department swear by China Village.  Its a large restaurant on Solano Ave, known for its many diverse restaurants, coffee shops, and little shops.  China Village seems to focus on spicy Szechuan-style cuisine, although they also offer some signature dishes that turned out great.

My first visit here was for a work event with just over 15 people, which required two round tables.  The entire multi-course menu was ordered in advance, with a fair number of vegetarian dishes.  The restaurant has a large Samsung flatscreen that can serve as a projector if you have presentations to show - just bring a USB-HDMI cable.

Excellent food and service - 4 stars.  My favorites:

1. There was this impressive bowl of boiled fish fillets and rice noodles, with tons of chili peppers floating on top!  It looked too spicy to eat, but the waiter fished out all the chilies and what remains is a mild soup with soft fish mat and a pleasant, gentle kick.  Completely safe to eat now!

2. Kung pao chicken is always good, but here they cranked up the heat and stir-fried lots of chopped chili peppers with the peanuts and chicken.  Every bite is guaranteed to by spicy.

3. Pork Shank is apparently one of their signature dishes.  Rubbed with spices and braised in wine. I loved the fall-of-the-bone meat but the surprise is the best part is actually the gooey, gelatinous skin.  More for my friends, since I'm not a fan of slimy food no matter the taste.

4. Mapo Tofu is a classic dish - this one was a vegetarian version without the minced pork.  It was medium spicy for me, although my Nigerian buddy felt it was mild for him.

5. The sesame-crusted scallion bread was a pleasant surprise.  I'm used to the crispy, oily pancakes but but this dish was like munching on fluffy scallion bread with a crispy crust.

6. Hand-made, crinkly noodles (sorry no picture) - rare that you get al-dente textures in Chinese noodles.  Outstanding dish!

Other dishes that were good include the walnut prawns, sautéed green beans, stir-fried pork, and this one dish called "double skin" which is like stir-fried mu-shu pork filling with mung beans.  

Probably the only dish I did not care for was dessert - a gooey red-bean cake that looked like a giant mushroom.

An unexpectedly decent Sichuan restaurant in a suburban desert of good Chinese food. The portions are massive, prices are very reasonable, and the food is pretty authentic. This is not the place to come if you're afraid of oil or spice though.

The service isn't nearly as scary as some of the reviews and stars might suggest- it's very classic Chinese restaurant service. They're not rude, but it's more of a place where you flag someone down rather than them checking on you constantly. I do think it helps if you know Chinese though.

Food:
Tried the mapo tofu, twice-cooked pork, and lamb hot pot. All with huge portions for the price, and a very hearty amount of Sichuan spice.

The twice-cooked pork was a little overcooked and dry, but the flavor profile is definitely there. Worth ordering for $13. I'm a sucker for bean curd and big pieces of green garlic.

Mapo tofu has a nice peppercorn fragrance, though IMO could use a bit more ground pork. For $13, not bad.

The lamb hot pot was the star of the show, with a really nice, thick, fragrant soup and lots of chili and peppercorn flavor. The hot pot has a bed of cabbage and glass noodles, topped by a generous pile of thin-sliced lamb. At $17, very reasonable for how much you get.