mctaelor's Profile
Harmony in Mill Valley opens
Best Chinese food in Marin County, hands down, and possibly in the Bay area: freshest ingredients, and more sophisticated use of spices and sauces than your average American Chinese restaurant like CJ's that buries everything in sickly sweet, unnaturally orange-colored, cornstarch-laden sauces. We grew up in Taiwan and Hong Kong and can attest to the authenticity of many of the dishes at Harmony (though a few items like the Chinese chicken salad, fries and onion rings appear to be a bow to American tastes, and the stuffed eggplant dimsum, while delicious, is Texas-sized.) They have an uncommonly fine way with vegetables, outclassing some of the best restaurants in Hong Kong - maybe this has to do with their access to superior local produce, though this doesn't explain why other local Chinese restaurants can't get vegetables right. Their Harmony beef dish should be the model that restaurants like CJ's and Yank Sing aim for. (Yank Sing, incidentally, has been a big disappointment - everything either drowned in soy sauce or soaked in heavy oil. And the staff race around like nurses in an understaffed E.R., you're lucky if one of them pays any attention to you, you could actually walk out without paying and they'd probably not even notice.)
At Harmony you can actually taste the myriad flavors that you find in the best Cantonese, or Sichuan, or Shanghainese dishes, whereas at all these other places every dish tastes of only ONE ingredient - usually soy sauce, or oyster sauce, or black pepper sauce - and usually a very cheap brand. Steamed vegetables at Harmony remain crisp not soggy.
And the dim sum at Harmony is light, their dumplings do not sink to the bottom of your stomach like lead nor require excessive chewing.
Disappointments: yes, the prices are astronomically high (which prevents us from eating there more than once a week). When you order Peking duck you should not get one tiny little portion for this price. Are the rents so high at Strawberry Village that restaurants have to charge this much to turn a profit? The service has improved since they opened, and the staff are very friendly and helpful, though some are more knowledgeable about the cuisine than others. They could use a few more dessert options though the ones they have are fine - the egg tarts match the tastiness of those you find in Macau, the coconut rolls are a big favorite with kids, and the banana fritters are that perfect combination of light batter and dense filling - and none of these are cloyingly sweet or heavy like the bakery offerings in Chinatown.
Small nitpicks: Fried rice should be served in bowls, not on plates. Take-out items, with a few exceptions, tend to be a little wilted after sitting under glass for an hour. It's best to call in an order and pick it up while it's still fresh.
And finally, kudos to the staff who produced several dishes to meet the needs of a child who could not eat wheat, soy or gluten. We did not give them any advance warning but they were very accommodating, and the meal was as delicious as their regular menu.
