The Villa — Restaurant in Middleton

This was my first time in China Villa, even though I am a local and drive past it almost every day. My dad hates the place, so whenever we would get Chinese, we would steer clear of the Villa. After all these years, the curiosity got to be too much, so I'm taking my first steps into the Villa. Without him.

The food was mediocre at best. I got one of the combination platters and an appetizer for take out. The General Gao’s chicken was not General Gao, it had some other flavoring on it. The pork fried rice was more bland than what I'm used to, but still edible. The spare ribs were decent, some bites were delicious, others quite dry. The crab rangoons were delicious, the best thing I had that night, an unexpected delight after the rest of the meal. The beef teriyaki brought tears to my eyes. Normally one of my favorite appetizers, this beef teriyaki was beyond. It was hard to bite into and physically hurt to eat. I didn't finish a whole stick. The meals were overpriced. You got a lot of food for what you're paying, but hardly any of it is quality food.

The food component was weak, but you must realize that the eating experience is judged by much more.

The restaurant was surreal. I went in there at 10:30pm on a Tuesday. I was not greeted. I walked over to the front desk and hesitantly grabbed a takeout menu, my hand less than a foot from the cashier's face buried in her phone. She did not look up. She was oblivious. When I eat Chinese food, I always go for the combination platters, they usually give a nice variety. I decided my order quickly and went up to order. This time she looked up, startled. She took my order and brought it back to the kitchen, disappearing from view. It should be noted that I only saw two people working. One cashier/waitress and one bartender. Both old white women. It did not give off the vibe of a Chinese place. As I waited for my food I took a good look at the place. Two security cameras were watching the front desk. Directly across from the desk was a lottery ticket vending machine. On the bar side were a few washed-up looking people: big guys in Harley Davidson jackets and old white women with bleached hair and poorly done makeup. Every other seat was empty, most of the people that came here came alone. I took a peek at the restaurant side and there was nobody. Not one soul, not even a sign that someone had recently eaten there. It was untouched. It did not feel welcoming, as if there was some sort of underlying danger in this room, something that caused everyone to steer clear of it. But that changed. A brave, or maybe naive, duo came in the restaurant, about 22 years old one of them had multiple facial piercing and a 69 tattoo behind his ear. A true character, a man that has not yet let society tame him. They both went to sit down, the waitress gave them menus and water, they looked over their options, one of them came up to the scratch ticket vending machine, bought a $1 ticket bc the machine wouldn't accept his 2nd dollar, he sat back down, a few minutes later they both left without a word. They never ordered food. It's at this time that an old high school friend wanders in. It was a delight to see him again. We catch up as I continue to wait for my food. It's also his first time at the restaurant. He, too, is a local. Our conversation is cut short as my food finally arrives. I wish him the best of luck on his meal and I head out into the night, with a sense of nostalgia growing in my chest.

Sidenote: This food gave me diarrhea. My stomach still hurts a bit the...

I placed an order for take out last night after work. I showed up around 11:30 to pick it up and wanted to eat a portion in the dining room. I went to one of the tables, with 10 seconds one of the workers told me I can't sit here cuz I ordered take out not dining room service. His accuse was he didn't wanna take the time to clean the table ( He was saying this while on his cell phone) Then i asked if i can sit near the bar and he responded ask her (as in the bartender) When I explained the situation she was confused by t too and said you can sit wherever you want. So i went back to the dining room, sat down and politely told the waiter she said it was okay. VERY POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE! THIS DUDE EXPECTS A DINNER CROWD AT 11;30 AT NIGHT OR DOESNT WANNA DO HIS JOB CLEANING THE TABLE!!! I don't recommend. Shun Ju or Tungs taste down the road are way better!!! LOW...

I've been away for a long time and I've come home and went to my usual go to China Villa turned the Villa. The food is so much worse, only the Japanese options on the menu are decent. The type of service where if you order a water with a splash of cran at the bar they will charge you $3 for a soda. Go to Tung's taste instead night and day experience. There are some good people still working there for over 15-20 years, but they can't be happy with how it's turned out, they deserve better. There is no nostalgia, China Villa is no more.

Edit to answer owner reply: You have absolutely have Japanese items on the menu. You have Chicken Yakatori and it says Japanese on the menu. I'm 100% in the right place.

Not gonna rat on the bartender to you.

Sounds like you need to get more involved with the restaurant, if you don't know about the Japanese options...