The Kitchen Dinner Restaurant Review, Millbrae

The Kitchen was once part of a restaurant group that owns several highly regarded Chinese Cantonese restaurants in California including Asian Pearl Peninsula. We’ve been to most of them and find them pretty good. This review concentrates on dinner.  The food here is pretty authentic Chinese Cantonese food, so some may not like this type of more hardcore cuisine. Do not come here for General’s Chicken or Broccoli Beef. Another review covers The Kitchen dim sum lunch. Our last visit for dinner was in Early 2011, a meal where we found that their quality has improved. The Kitchen has recently remodeled the dining room, making it much more open, spacious, and modern.

Be sure to read our article How to order in authentic Chinese dinner

Decor-Vibe – The Kitchen is a typical busy and noisy Chinese restaurant with lots of families and friends eating together. Come early or make a reservation, as this place is pretty busy. Almost all people were of Asian descent. Like many Chinese restaurants, the bathroom is not very clean.

Menu pics (Click to zoom in on any picture)

Full Menu Picture Set

The menu at The Kitchen is almost identical to that Asian Pearl, no surprise since they were under the same ownership for a while. For those a little overwhelmed by Chinese menus, go for the items with pictures in the menu and on the wall, they are all specialties. In 2011 we noticed additional dish pictures on the wall, all worthy targets for future ordering.

Picks:

Salt and Pepper Squid ($10) was very delicious. Lightly fried but super tender calamari.

Sharks Fin with crab meat in pumpkin soup ($28) – A non politically correct soup but very tasty with high quality sharks fin and the pumpkin gold cream that makes it very smooth.  Lots of real crab.

Sauteed  Foie Gras with Wild mushrooms ($30) was a decadent dish.  As a lover of Foie Gras, the actual Foie Gras was pretty dense and compact, but the Foie Gras flavor melted all over the delicious mushrooms.  Lots of quantity too.

Sauteed Coral Giant Clam with XO sauce ($16.80) had exotic orange colored clams with mushrooms and snap peas.  Not gamey, perfectly cooked.

Roast Pork Belly ($12) was super freshly cooked roast pork.  The top skin was super crunchy beyond anything I have tried.

Ginger Onion Braised fish heads Clay pot ($13) is an exotic dish that was done perfectly.  Lots of ginger onions though. Tender, deep fried fish heads.

Good Soup of the day

Their Westlake Beef Soup ($12)  was also good.  Soft tofu, not a lot of cilantro, egg white drop on top.

Roast Squab ($13.80 whole) – Authentic version of a classic Cantonese dish.  Juicy and cooked just right. Crispy skin. On our last visit, squab looked pale but tasted fine.

Steamed Chicken ($10, Half) – came with some nice ginger, scallion dipping sauce.  Tender and flavored as expected.

Sesame Shredded Chicken ($13) with shredded chicken, sesame, peanuts, cilantro, green onions was a cold dish that is more suitable for summertime when the weather is hot.  It was a nice balanced dish.

Honey Pepper Beef Short Ribs ($13)- Not big on quantity, more red and green bell peppers than meat, but good flavor.

Geoduck Clam and Snap peas (Market price) – Tender and plentiful Geoduck clam stir fried along with crispy peas.  Very good dish.  Geoduck looks ugly in their tank but taste wonderful.

Thousand Island Japanese Tofu ($13.80)  had Japanese soft tofu with egg and jalapenos on a hot skillet. It was delicious but could do without the jalapenos.

Crispy Skin Chicken ($13 for Half) did not really have crispy skin, it was a little soggy but the meat was tender and flavorful.  No shrimp chips!

Sizzling Peking style spareribs ($13.80) came on a sizzling hot iron platter and featured lots of pork ribs pre-braised and very tender. Not a lot of sweetness, but a lot of bones.

Fujian style fried rice ($13) was topped with lots of shrimp, scallops, chicken, egg, duck, mushrooms, and made for a heavy but excellent Rice dish.

Beef Chow Fun ($12) was a good sized portion of freshly cooked thick rice noodles with bean sprouts, chives, and lots of tasty tender beef.

Double boiled hashima with Lotus seeds ($9.80) is an acquired taste for dessert but proved to be excellent. Strong date flavor, tender hashima, not a lot of sweetness, along with lots of ingredients.

Free Dessert Soup

OK:

Peking Duck ($28 whole) was a little mushy on the skin and not crispy. Flavor was fine and meat was plentiful.

Baked Stuff Eggplant ($13) was very good.  It had a lot of bonito fish shavings on top of tender and fresh eggplant.

Chinese Broccoli ($13)- Typical vegetable dish, nothing special.  Gotta eat your veggies though.

Simmered Clams with Turnip in Broth ($15) had lots of clams and some bland turnips. This dish did not have very much flavor.

Pans:

None

Service was about average for a place like this although it seems to be better on her last visit in 2011. You have to hunt down the workers for most requests. The quality of the food is very high here especially factoring in the cost.  Some of their specialty dishes are pretty good.  This is a good place for quality Cantonese Chinese Dinner especially for exotic dishes. Others in their top notch category include Asian Pearl, Millbrae, Koi Palace in Daly City, and R&G Lounge in San Francisco.

Also at:

The Kitchen
203 W. Valley Blvd
Alhambra, CA 91801
626-289-4828

New Lai Wah
5912 Freeport Blvd
Sacramento, CA 95822
916-428-6183

$25 Dining Certificate for $5

The Kitchen Overall Rating: (Good 2)

Come Back?

Food Rating:	(Very Good)
Service Rating:	(Good)
Atmosphere Rating:	(Good)
Value Rating:	(Good)

Guide: 0 = poor, 1 = Below/Average, 2 = Good, 2.5 = Very Good, 3 = Excellent , 4 = Extraordinary

Alcohol:	Beer, Wine
Attire:	Casual
Hours:	Daily 5-10pm
Parking:	Street
Reservations:	Yes
Prices:	$8 - $88