Kirin Chinese Fusion — Restaurant in Mountain View

Good food, great value, lackluster service, elaborate decorative structures but unimpressive decors. That is Kirin in a nutshell.

I still remember the crabs we had when a friend from Washington, D.C. brought me to Kirin more than a decade ago. That's right, an out-of-towner first showed me this place. My first impression was: The portion was generous. (There was never a doubt about quality of food.) The three of us spent about $50 and still had leftovers.

It wasn't until I moved to Mountain View before I went the second time. The third time. And more times. Some of my favourites are steamed flounder, cod, any crabs, clams and, of course, lobster. In short, any seafood from this Cantonese restaurant. If you do not want seafood, my recommendation is to stick with Cantonese dishes. (Be very suspicious of other cuisines from a traditional Chinese restaurant.)

There must be good reasons why Kirin stands across the City Hall for so many years. Castro is a brutal street for food establishments. In less than 10 years living here, I've noticed more than a dozen restaurants, even ice cream shops come and go. Along seven short blocks, there are usually half a dozen Chinese restaurants, and a few Chinese tea places either on Castro or on side streets. (Merely three blocks outside town center along the same road is another Chinese restaurant that changed hands but always popular, now the best Chinese in town.) Kirin is one of only two that haven't changed hands; one of three if you count the Chinese bakery.

Most clientele are of Chinese descendant. And if these people keep coming back, you know you are in the right place. Kirin isn't my go-to place for Chinese food - my first cuisine choice is Szechuan. They are not even the best Cantonese that I have had. But I go back because I know I always get good value, and because it is so central.

On the negative side, I did experience really long wait with a small party, both in how soon a waiter comes over and in how fast the food arrives after ordering, when the restaurant wasn't even busy.

But the most curious thing about this restaurant is its interior and decoration. Kirin is relatively spacious among Chinese restaurants, and relatively clean. It has several pieces of elaborate, colourfully painted wooden structures, sculptures if you will. One of the walls also has some pretty Chinese paintings. They even use full tablecloths and cloth napkins instead of plastic and paper. But the whole place radiates this low-maintenance feeling. At least part of the problem is the bland lighting. I often take pictures in restaurants I visit but have not managed to find a good angle in Kirin.

Still, this is a restaurant. Food quality and food value ought to outweigh other shortcomings. For this, I give...

TL;DR: New ownership, food’s not comparable to how it used to be.

So this is going to be a deep dive from a Mountain View native who has been eating Kirin’s food for over 20 years

As many of you know, this place has a recent ownership change and was also remodeled. It’s designed beautiful inside. However, the food was Not comparable to how it was before.

Stan, the old owner and chef, sold his restaurant AND RECIPES to these new owners. The food has an okay flavors but food quality and the way it’s cooked does not compare to their old ways.

We ordered our usual, honey walnut shrimp and wet salted fish fried rice, with a side of some sort of vegetable fry. The vegetable fry had the typical starch fried textures, and flavor was okay. The Honey walnut shrimp was so disappointing that my husband only ate two pieces (he used to eat the whole thing by himself!). The sauce on the shrimp was only drizzled, not tossed, and the batter was mushy, not crispy at all.

Lastly the fried rice, I cried about this rice. It used to be so moist and bouncy with wet eggs inside… this time it was dry, flavorless and was not even wet… it was not even close to how they used to make it… so sad because this place used to have the BEST fried rice, now it’s just something I’ll be reminiscing to.

Overall, I understand they are trying to keep Kirin’s legacy going as Mountain View’s best Chinese food restaurant. I’m sure many other still love them, but they have lost a customer in us. We have never been so disappointed in an order from Kirin until this last time…we miss Stan, we miss the old Kirin. We’ll have to find another place that can satisfy our cravings for honey walnut shrimp and wet...

I recently visited Kirin Restaurant in Mountain View, which has been newly renovated. The Cantonese dim sum here is really good. The shrimp dumplings and shumai have excellent fillings with bouncy shrimp meat. The shumai are particularly impressive in size, almost double compared to others. The black truffle shumai is quite unique and worth trying for truffle lovers. Among the steamed items, I really enjoyed the spinach dumplings and chicken feet, both of which are flavorful and have great textures.

The turnip cake is delicious whether stir-fried with XO sauce or pan-fried. I highly recommend the rice rolls with green onion and dried shrimp, which also have a bit of preserved radish for added texture. It’s a personal favorite of mine.

The stir-fried beef chow fun is a must-try! It has a great wok hei, is not greasy, and perfectly seasoned. The noodles are distinct and not broken, making it incredibly tasty.

Lastly, the Hong Kong-style milk tea is also quite good, with a strong tea flavor and a slight sweetness (which I personally love). For those who prefer less sweetness, you can ask the server to add less condensed milk when you order.

Overall, a fantastic dining experience with great...