China Village

By an amazing coincidence, we went to CV just one day after "Ridge" (the OP), and I had just read his review. We go to CV several times a year and always order our favorites, rarely branching out.
This time, following the review, we ordered the Crab with Tofu ($24.95). It was the best crab dish I've ever had. It was very rich -- lots of oil. Fortunately there were nine of us at table to share...+READ By an amazing coincidence, we went to CV just one day after "Ridge" (the OP), and I had just read his review. We go to CV several times a year and always order our favorites, rarely branching out.
This time, following the review, we ordered the Crab with Tofu ($24.95). It was the best crab dish I've ever had. It was very rich -- lots of oil. Fortunately there were nine of us at table to share it.
We also had the Lamb with Cumin and the pea sprouts (two of our favorites), as described above by "abstractpoet".
Among other dishes, we especially enjoyed the Charred Cabbage, sesame bread, West Style Fish. Another spectacular special (we've had it before): the "Tea Tree Mushroom" which comes to the table over a flame. Very intense mushroom flavor.

Mr. Yao, the genial owner, usually greets us and tastes some of our wine. But he was nowhere in sight. We asked about him -- turns out he was in the kitchen, cooking.-COLLAPSE / REPLY (3 Replies) (by Joel, updated January 24, 2010)

So the small birthday dinner grew into a 20 person gathering, and all the restaurants I was considering no longer seemed like viable options. So I went waaaay off-course and decided to do a banquet at China Village instead.

I worked with Mr. Yao to replace items on the $238/10 ppl (which we doubled) menu to make it more vegetarian friendly. In addition to the standard cucumber appetizer and...+READ So the small birthday dinner grew into a 20 person gathering, and all the restaurants I was considering no longer seemed like viable options. So I went waaaay off-course and decided to do a banquet at China Village instead.

I worked with Mr. Yao to replace items on the $238/10 ppl (which we doubled) menu to make it more vegetarian friendly. In addition to the standard cucumber appetizer and spicy beef tendon, we got a subtle and delicious yuba appetizer lightly slicked with sesame oil, and a peanut/pressed tofu appetizer. Our calamari and shrimp first course was simple and spectacular, a light garlic wine sauce fully showcasing juicy prawns and well-knifed calamari. This was followed by the only disappointing course - "dry shredded beef in special sauce." I was somehow expecting the spicy shredded beef with celery, and this version was pallid and soupy. When I shared this with our excellent waiter, he comped us a dish of the beef with celery, which became the favorite of the evening at both tables. The smoked duck with chilies was very, very good, with just the right amount of sichuan pepper offsetting the richness of the duck. I'm not a fan of sweeter meat preparations, so this version of duck was perfect for me, and a hit with the other guests. Salt and pepper crab was *excellent* with a nice hit again of sichuan pepper. The Westside Spicy Fish Soup delivered on drama, as expected, and was redolent with chili warmth, on target. The next few dishes were vegetarian - A-vegetable with fermented tofu, eggplant, and julienned potato. The comic element of the evening was the much touted "fancy" vegetarian dish - tree ear mushrooms with tofu. When it arrived, Mr. Yao said - this has pork in it, because we tried it without the pork and it didn't taste good!" Ha! Well, that meant one less dish for the vegetarian at the table. My favorite dish of the evening was the pork shoulder with perfectly cooked florets of bok choy balancing out the heat and 5 spice of the sauce. Hand-cut noodles were on the house in honor of my birthday, and the Eight Treasure rice pudding was beautiful to look at! Beer flowed throughout, we brought our own wines and champagne, but all told, including corkage, tax and tip, the bill came out to $37 per person. An amazing value, and a wonderful birthday celebration.

Now, I'm going to use the recommendations above and check out each of the restaurants you all suggested, especially Commis and Bocanova!-COLLAPSE / REPLY (10 Replies) (by mielemaiale, updated January 17, 2010)

We had a great Christmas Day meal at China Village a couple of years ago; if either of the Solano Avenue movie palaces (Thousand Oaks and Albany) has something you fancy it'd be a nice stroll without having to repark the car. REPLY (7 Replies) (by Nina, updated December 13, 2009)

» China village last night

Last night we went to China Village with my in laws from back east. It was amazing. We ate quite a number of delicious vegetarian dishes and it struck me that this would be a good place for vegetarians. Here is what we ate:

Cucumber with spicy garlic sauce: refreshing and tasty

Charred Green beans: excellent

Stirfried pea shoots: excellent

Ma-po Tofu: excellent. The creaminess of the...+READ Last night we went to China Village with my in laws from back east. It was amazing. We ate quite a number of delicious vegetarian dishes and it struck me that this would be a good place for vegetarians. Here is what we ate:

Cucumber with spicy garlic sauce: refreshing and tasty

Charred Green beans: excellent

Stirfried pea shoots: excellent

Ma-po Tofu: excellent. The creaminess of the tofu was a great combination with the spiciness of the sauce.

Rice cake with pork: excellent

Village prawns: addicting

Tea smoked duck with spicy chilies: excellent. It was impossible to stop eating this dish.-COLLAPSE / REPLY (4 Replies) (by Ridge, updated October 19, 2009)