China Villa Restaurant — Restaurant in Westbrook

I’ve gone to China Villa and their previous restaurants for close to 20 years. They were my absolute favorite Chinese restaurant to go to and even one of my favorite restaurants when considering any kind of restaurant. I loved this place so much that I would order three or four lunch specials at a time and eat the leftovers for breakfast lunch and dinner until they were gone and wished I had more. I loved China Villa. I loved them. Not anymore. After tonight’s order, I am finally saying I am never eating here again. It actually upsets me to say it because of how much I used to enjoy the food. They started deteriorating about 5 or 6 years ago. I would give them a break and try again 6 months later when an order was placed at work. The food would be hit or miss. I’d get a really good meal every so often and think they were back on track only to be disappointed with my next order. Tonight’s order was sweet and sour chicken with chicken teriyaki as the appetizer, Cantonese pork lo mein with chicken teriyaki, moo goo gai pan with chicken teriyaki, a couple orders or egg rolls and an order of boneless BBQ pork. The sweet and sour chicken fingers had the skinniest pieces of chicken beneath excessive amounts of hard batter. They did not taste fresh. They tasted like they had been fried and sitting around waiting to be stuck back in the fryer to be reheated for my order. The chicken teriyaki was literally like a piece of jerky you would get from a plastic bag while standing in line waiting to be checked out at Walmart. It was incredibly thin, overcooked and dry. It was like leather. Chicken teriyaki was a new appetizer choice for me tonight. I always used to get their egg foo yong as an appetizer and loved it but that has become one of the most flavorless things I’ve ever eaten. I’ve added salt to it and soy sauce to the gravy. It’s just not good anymore. The Cantonese pork lo mein used to be my favorite thing to get here. The last few times I’ve ordered it, it’s had an incredibly strong weird flavor. I can’t figure out what the flavor is but it is weird. Tonight’s order had a very strong moldy scallion taste to it. The moo goo gai pan was ordered for a friend and hasn’t been tasted yet. The fried rice that came with the meals was horrid. They’ve never had good fried rice. It’s always been very basic. You could throw a pack of soy sauce on it though and it was edible. Tonight’s rice tasted like rancid oil. The egg rolls were not horrible but they were not good. They’re half the size they used to be. They are all wrapper with barely any filling. The boneless BBQ pork was delicious. Pure sugar water and grease soaked pork. I know it doesn’t sound very appetizing but it’s good. Fatty and tender meat. Just the way I like it. Tonight’s order cost more than $74 before tipping the delivery driver. We gagged down some of the food to fill the hole but are throwing the majority of it right in the trash. None of this food will be sticking around here to have as leftovers for breakfast, lunch or dinner tomorrow. What a shame. I don’t know what has happened to China Villa’s quality standards but they’re long gone. It breaks my heart. You’d understand that if you knew how much I love Chinese food and how disappointed I am to have to write...

EDIT; THEY RECENTLY JUST GOT A HEALTH INSPECTION DONE, THERE WERE THREE CRITICAL VIOLATION CODES AND SIX NON-CRITICAL VIOLATION CODES. ONE OF THE CRITICAL VIOLATION CODES WAS CROSS-CONTAMINATION OF RAW MATERIALS AND RAW MEAT. THE OTHER WAS THE FOOD WAS NOT BEING STORED AT 41° OR LESS. DO NOT GO HERE. MULTIPLE PEOPLE OR SICK WITH FOOD POISONING ON CHRISTMAS AND A COUPLE WHERE FOOD POISONS LAST NIGHT ON NEW YEAR'S!

IF I COULD POST IT PICTURE OF THE REVIEW OF THE CODE VIOLATIONS I WOULD IT WON'T LET ME

YEARS AGO , THEIR FOOD WAS ACTUALLY GOOD, COOKED AND PROTON WAS WORTH THE PRICE. OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS, 9 OUT OF 10 ORDERS I WOULD GET WERE ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING. I ORDER GENERAL TSO ALMOST EVERY TIME. I TRY RO CONVINCE MYSELF THAT THIS TIME IT'LL BE A LOT BETTER THAN LAST TIME AND THIS TIME IT'LL TASTE BETTER AND THE CHICKEN WILL ACTUALLY BE COOKED AND WON'T SEEM LIKE LABORATED CHICKEN. AND ONCE AGAIN THE MINUTE I GET MY ORDER IT IS THE SAME DISAPPOINTMENT LIKE EVERY OTHER TIME AND I AM JUST HAD ENOUGH OF IT. THE FACT THAT WHEN I GO TO EAT MY FOOD I HAVE TO ACTUALLY SECOND GUESS IF IT'S REAL CHICKEN OR IF IT'S MYSTERY MEAT REALLY CONCERNS ME. THE CHICKEN IS ALWAYS SO STRINGY LIKE SPAGHETTI STRINGY, AND IT'S BARELY EVER COOKED. ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS I'VE HAD TO RECOOK IT MYSELF BECAUSE IT WAS COMPLETELY RAW AND THE COATING WAS DOUGHY. NOT TO MENTION THE FACT THAT THE PORTION SIZES THAT THEY'VE BEEN GIVING PEOPLE LATELY IS ABSOLUTELY INSULTING. I RECEIVED MY FRIED RICE WHICH THERE IS NO POSSIBLE WAY WAS A FULL PORTION RICE. IT WAS AT LEAST A HALF A CUP OF RICE NOT EVEN A FULL CUP OF FRIED RICE. THE FACT THAT THEY WERE VOTED MOST FAVORITE CHINESE FOOD A FEW YEARS AGO MAYBE AT THAT TIME WAS ABSOLUTELY TRUE. BUT LATELY THIS DOES NOT SEEM TO FIT THEIR REPUTATION ANYMORE. I HAVE BEEM CONTEMPLATING ON WEITHER TO CALL THE MAINE STATE HEALTH INSPECTOR AND THE FDA BOARD.. I CANT EVEN BEGIN TO EXPLAIN HOW SICKENING IT IS TOO GET CHICKEN THAT DOESNT EVEN TASTE OR LOOK LIKE DARK MEAT CHICKEN. AND TONIGHT WAS THE LAST STRAW. GOT GENERAL TSO AND IT WAS SO SPICY, AND SO GREASY THAT I COULDN'T EVEN EAT MY MEAL. SMH I ATE A BITE AND GOT A MOUTH FULL OF PEPPER FLAKES. AND WHEN I CALL TO COMPLAIN EVERYTIME THEY SCREW UP ,THEY TREAT YOU LIKE YOURE LYING ABOUT THE BAD FOOD PR PORTIONS AND THAT YOU DONT DESERVE TO BE HEARD OR COMPENSATED. TIME TO SHUT HER DOWN! CHINA VILLA HAS LOST ITS LOYAL...

Great first experience. Being fairly new to the area I’ve been looking for a go-to for Chinese delivery for a few months. I’ve tried a couple of places but was still on the search so I tried China Villa based on the good reviews. When I called I was briefly put on hold and when the woman came on to take my order it was obvious she was extremely busy... don’t mistake extremely busy for rude. I had no problem ordering, she gave me the total so I could pay cash and told me just about an hour. I especially liked that she asked if I wanted sauces because I actually don’t eat them and always hate wasting them. The delivery arrived pretty much exactly in the time frame she quoted, was 100% correct and the food is pretty good. Portions are large, food was fresh - not too greasy and not too salty but still tastey. The delivery man was awesome. He might actually be the greatest delivery person I’ve ever encountered. He was a true salesman, asking had I ordered before, where did I move from, pitching the restaurant asking where else I had tried - I tipped him extra because honestly he did such a good job I’d probably have ordered again on his pitch even if I didn’t love the food. Also worth mentioning there is a delivery minimum but we were over it so no problem there and I ordered at what I would consider peak time when I expect it to be busy and there was no delay beyond the quoted time. Why the 4 stars then? One reason - styrofoam containers - I hate them and I hope they will eventually switch to something that can be recycled or composted. Beyond that I’m very happy and will absolutely...