China Village — Restaurant in Albany

The vegetarian food options were all mostly disappointing. The ambience was okay. We reached very close to the kitchen closing time so the staff was very impatient but I think that was understandable. They didn't really ask us to eat quickly but they were shutting down almost everything so obviously our meal happened in a lot of panic and anxiety from the non-direct pressure from the staff. But I must say that the staff was generous enough to customize a veg dish for us.

😀 Some fish fillet dish - my friend ordered it and he said it is one of the best fish he has had yet so maybe this place is good for the non veg options because I was disappointed with most of the veg options 🙂 Veg mapo tofu was good 🙂 Green onion pancakes were okay but I have had much better, and they didn't really give any dip with it. Fortunately the chili paste they had on the table went just perfectly with it. 😐 Vegetable steamed dumplings with hot chilli oil sauce on the top (yes this was the customized dish as in the menu they only had non veg wontons with the chili oil sauce) - I was not happy with the dumplings because the covering was too thick and the filling was also very bland. The hot chilli oil sauce on the top was also not very good, it was mainly a lot of soya sauce. 😐 Sesame flat bread was not flat at all, in fact it was a round deep dish pizza kinda bread but bland. I was excited to try it as the menu said it is a great option to sub instead of rice with dishes but it was a disappointment 😞 Veg soup (sorry don't remember the name) - it mainly had a lot of thinly shredded mushrooms - didn't like it all, it was really hard to even take...

I've been here twice, each with 4-5 people. It's really good Szechuan food, but it's a bit on the oily and pricy side.

Dishes I have ordered: Fish in spicy oil: The dish comes with fish and the white Asian lettuce (and very red sauce). It's really good! The fish could have more flavor in it though, but the sauce is delicious, although a bit oily. It's my favorite dish here. Pea Leaves (I'm not actually sure what this dish is called in English, but it's da dou miao in Mandarin): It's really tender, and they make it well here. Really good. Pork shoulder: A lot of fat. Don't get this unless you like meat fat and a lot of meat. The sauce wasn't spicy and there was a ring of vegetables, which was good. This dish is humungous, so don't get it unless you have 4-5 people with you. Dan Dan Mian: It wasn't traditional dan dan mian in terms of flavor and noodles, but it was still good. Spicy. The noodles were pretty good, although again, it wasn't the traditional type of noodles. Could have done with less sauce/water in my opinion. Ching Qin Fried Chicken: The fried chicken that's surrounded by red peppers. A lot of bones and fat on the meat, but I guess that's how this dish is usually made. The flavor's pretty good, and the skin is nice and crispy. Beans: Good. A bit oily, but it was tasty. I've also had a dish with pork, bean curd, and celery I think, but I forgot what it was called. It wasn't spicy, but the flavor was...

I am finally getting around to write about China Village. I highly recommend this place for its outstanding food. As a lover of Szechuan cuisine, I have sampled many spots here in the SF Bay Area and in Chicago. China Village sticks out as one of the, if not THE, best of its kind. The preparation of any dish I ordered so far has been impressive, conveyed by a balance of flavors and ingredients that is often missed elsewhere. The chefs' technique just shows. Then, the selection of dishes offered also speaks for itself, with items like duck in beer sauce, 1000 chili chicken, fresh seafood and fish, spicy pork kidney, charred kale, dumplings, five spice pork shoulder on the bone, homemade noodles and many more, besides a welcome restraint on too-Americanized food. Don't get me wrong: the menu is huge and will satisfy all palates; there also are non-Szechuan choices. Such quality comes at a price that is higher than at your round-the-corner fast-food Chinese takeout, but it is absolutely worth it. My other reason not to return more often is that I tend to order more than planned, just because everything is so appealing. ;-) Free hot green tea. Alcohol...