New Haven's Taste of China — Restaurant in New Haven

Here’s a fun Christmas story: Realizing that Christmas Eve and Christmas/Hanukkah are very popular times for Chinese food, I and my family made a reservation for 12 people at 6:00 on Christmas night weeks in advance. When we arrived, we could not get in the front door because all the scooter delivery drivers were standing in the vestibule and at the front desk blocking entry. When we finally made it in, we were escorted to the very back of the restaurant where the temperature was a brisk 62-ish, as compared to the front of the restaurant, which was warmer. While walking back, it was clear that the restaurant was at about 95% capacity. I can only assume that most of the people there had the foresight to make reservations. When we arrived in the very back, we were presented with a table for 8. Not 12. 8. Pretty simple stuff. Fortunately, the table of 4 next to us very reluctantly moved one table over to accommodate us. So, right there, you’ve got 16 annoyed people. Not a good start. When the 1 waiter serving the entire back finally came around to give us water and take our drink order after about 30 minutes, it became clear that we were in for a real treat. We ordered drinks. They came 30 minutes later. We ordered appetizers and entrees. Most often, when the waiter haphazardly, over a period of 90+ minutes brought food back, he had no idea what table it belonged to. All the guests were claiming similar dishes and turning back dishes they didn’t order. Some capitulated and took what they could get. During this 90+ minutes, I walked to the front of the restaurant to see what was happening and thaw myself out a little. Almost every table in the place was expressing annoyance because the same was happening to them. Meanwhile, the scooter delivery drivers were again crowding the front. Even more this time. I told the front desk that it would be best to suspend delivery. They ignored me. I went back to eat, and found the food undercooked, lukewarm and just plain bad. Unfortunately, 3 in our party woke up vomiting and with diarrhea in the middle of the night. Others simply felt queasy and had chills. The kitchen was clearly overwhelmed. The whole place was.

Bottom lines:

The management showed utter disregard for the diners that night, to wit: They had to know this was coming. They didn’t staff even close to properly. They allowed a huge amount of take out at the expense of everyone dining there (they should have shut it down). They clearly sacrificed food quality for quantity. They were rude when people became annoyed. People got sick from something they ate there (I’m guessing we weren’t the only ones). The atmosphere was terrible, mostly because it was freezing. The service was an absolute joke. The whole restaurant was annoyed and they did nothing to remedy it.

I’ve eaten there many times and have found the food to be pretty good, but pricey. I’ve found the staff to be unfriendly, which I can generally tolerate. But the total lack of integrity and disregard for the customers that night was so bad that I won’t support them. This really wasn’t rocket surgery. They had to see it coming and they clearly didn’t care. Not a good...

Terrible service, worst waitress ever, and inconsistent food. Paid $70 for feeling of fullness, feeling like I was being rushed, and feeling terrible.

I went here tonight, arrived at 8:55pm, we knew they closed at 10:00pm, but there were several tables eating. The waitress asks us what table we want. (That's your job.) She points, we say ok, we try to sit, and I can't pull the chair out far enough to get into it. I'm a large person, she can see that, but still put us at one where I can't get in. So my dining partner and I move the table, no help from wait staff. Still can't fit. Moved it again. Still can't fit, so we change sides, and he can barely fit.

She asks for our order, I tell her we can order drinks but need a minute for food. She says something, like "ummm..." hesitates, and then says okay. I tell her to say what she was going to say. She says to order quickly because the kitchen is closing soon (even though they are open for another hour). We should have left right then and there. Then she doubles back and says it's not a problem for use, it will be fine. I give my drink order, a beer and tea, and she leaves, doesn't take my partner's order.

She comes back, I ask if he wants to order a drink, he says no, because now he's mad. So we try to order. She tells my partner his entree isn't something they have any more. (Why is it on the menu?) I order while he picks something else. I order an appetizer, an entree, and I tell her I need no spice. She suggests I change my entree, and recommends 2 things that are basically meat and rice in sauce, no veg, and totally uninteresting. I grimace, she says this other one can be made no spice. I get Eastern beef, no spice. Boyfriend still needs a minute, she waits impatiently.

My appetizer arrives and is medium spice. I liked it, but I know I will suffer later, and eat like 5 bites, which is why I asked for no spice. Boyfriend's appetizer arrives 10 min after mine, and is much smaller than the last time we were here, and not very good.

Our entrees arrive, I ask them to take my unused appetizer plate, and they take boyfriend's too. He tries to get his back, but the waiter was gone in a flash.

My entree is okay, but they substituted spinach for the celery, so it was not how I expected from the menu. Boyfriend's again is not good. Very much looks likey they substituted different chicken, and his sauce was not at all spicy, when it should have been.

We wait for the check for 10 min. Then pay and leave by 9:55pm.

I get home, and check the website for their hours. The posted hours are until 11:00pm on Saturdays. They rushed us so badly when they are supposed to be open for 2 hours after we arrived. They never should have seated us. My stomach already hurts from the spice I shouldn't have eaten. What a waste of hard...

The main dining area has a nice atmosphere, especially with holiday poinsettias and spruce decorations.

All of the dishes that were passing us by while we were waiting looked incredible. Also, when we started eating the food tasted delicious, but there is still more to this story.

Most of the dishes were ordered without salt for personal health reasons while the rest were done normally, which was for me. Initially, I liked the taste of the food. The seafood tofu soup was outstanding! The seasonal vegetables (baby bokchoy) and seafood fried rice all were satisfying. Then I started to feel the excessive salt headache and knew it was too much. I tried the other dishes that had no salt but they were bland; by no fault of the restaurant.

In the end, I thought this was a 4-star place but the excessive amount of salt (or maybe it was MSG) brought it down a notch. Now, please understand we also ate at Peter Chang's in Stamford 3-days prior and the food was incredible without the excessive use of salt. I would rate that 4-4.5-stars since they offered much more vegetarian dishes that all...