The Kitchen — Restaurant in Millbrae

Extremely bad service. We just experienced exactly what two recent bad reviews on their poor services encountered and they still did not learn from it.

We came in at 11pm exhausted from 5 hours of driving. Service is as good as putting the plates on your table and leaving you there. You pour the tea yourselves. No change of plates. Not even bowls for soup vs noodles. U use the same bowl. The manager and waiter will only serve the tables that order expensive seafood. If you dont have any of those luxury items they give you a peasant class service. Service was very very slow. We waited a good half hour to be served first dish. They replied "the chefs are very busy what" The waiter would put the noodles on yoir table and walk away - leaving you to divide on your own. When you ask the female manager if there is chilli she will reply yes and "forget" to attend back to you, not to mention the eye contact. I gave a token tip the female manager had the audacity to demand the tips to be at least ten over dollars for doing nothing. Whilst I come from a country where tip is not expected and I know the routine tip here is 15% I am shocked the manager will demand it as if it is a complete entitlement after serving nothing to you. WORSE STILL her face turns black when I told her honestly the service is very bad and she tells you in Cantonese if you do not like this kind of service don't ever come back again. She went on to reply "what to do if they say until like that they won't give more tips for sure". The point is you need to learn basic courtesy and basic service to be tipped well which we will be more than happy to give. Things dont drop from the sky although this country has alot of people hinging on welfare system. You need to earn them.

We are overseas chinese visitors from southeast asia who are leaving the subsequent day. To receive some maltreatment is a shock and we are flabbergasted.

Shame because food is not bad and is the only restaurant that closes at 1am but they cannot use it as their advantage to abuse their customers.

Take this as a warning to other diners looking to dine in this place. Also for the Millbrae chinese community to consider boycotting such uncultured ungracious place that will leave a dirty ink on this community...

The Kitchen is a better place for dinner because the dim sum isn't anything special.

Ha Gow - The skins were mushy and broke when I tried to pick them up with chopsticks. The shrimp stuffing was better. It was full of plump and firm shrimp, but could've used more seasoning and young bamboo for more sweetness. In their defense, good Ha Gow are almost impossible to find around here.

Siu Mai - Although they were filled with tender minced pork and fresh shrimp, there were no shiitake mushrooms inside. Without the earthy and umami notes, the Siu Mai were missing a lot of flavor.

Daikon Cakes - Not enough Chinese cured and dried goodies. The texture was a little off, too. I'm not sure how to exactly describe it, but it may have been slightly gelatinous? In any case, it was weird.

Steamed Tripe - Pretty good. The texture was springy and firm, and it was sweet, peppery, and garlicky. I'm more used to tasting more green onions and ginger, but it was still good.

Cha Siu Rice Noodle Roll - The rice noodle roll was pretty nice - not too thick and very smooth. There was a good amount of cha siu, but it had too much cilantro for my tastes. If you love that stuff, then knock yourself out. To me, I thought it overwhelmed the sweet flavor of the cha siu.

Ja Leurng - We ordered this by verbally telling the waiter, and he brought back something we didn't recognize. Instead of a donut wrapped in a rice noodle roll, it was shrimp and panko. It didn't taste bad with the plump and fresh shrimp, but it didn't have that airy chewiness that I wanted. I appreciate the effort to make something more creative, but I just wanted a plain donut. Panko and shrimp didn't make the proper conceptual substitute.

Roasted Pork Leg - This is something I would normally get during dinner, but it's great to have it anytime. I just decided to get it since the dim sum wasn't that great. I think it's probably the best thing they make. The skin is crispy, and the shank meat is well seasoned and tender. The spices they use give it an irresistible aroma.

The Kitchen's approach to Cantonese food seems to work better for dinner. More of the thoughtfully prepared dishes show up on the evening menu. The dim sum is largely...

Decent looking for a restaurant. A host will greet and seat you and your company. All staff and managers are uniformed appropriately and courteous.

Nowadays, layout of dining tables are 6' apart than pictured. Ingenious tablecloth selection makes cleanup almost hassle free. The chandeliers add a touch of exquisite appeal and a nuance or subtle flavor of unique, surreal flair to fine dining experience at this Chinese restaurant.

Live fish and crustaceans housed in aquariums lie adjacent to the kitchen entrance. Plush carpeting in dining area allow better traction when outdoors are wet and can prevent falls. Vinyl tile floors line across to the bathrooms, which are better maintained compared to other establishments.

Overall service is very good to excellent: Prompt service. Four 36" HDTVs flank each of the four main dining room walls to watch NBA games and some Chinese-based programs but there's no audio. Maybe someday, they'll offer karaoke sessions after 9pm daily?

Once an order is placed, soup is the appetizer. Within 15 minutes, the first dish is served. The food I got are hot, and look and taste great. Generous food portions per dish. Finally, a sweet bean soup is the dessert.

Pre-order takeouts welcome as well as advanced dining reservations accepted. Recommended for individuals, couples, families, celebrations, anniversaries, and weddings.

Beware of posting at main entrance door: "No mask. No entry." . . ....