China Village Seafood Restaurant Review, Belmont

China Village Seafood Restaurant is a Cantonese Chinese restaurant in Belmont, just off Highway 101. They have been around since 1996 serving dim sum during both lunch and dinner as well as standard Chinese cuisine. Dim sum costs more at dinner, presumably because it is freshly warmed up. We visited for a dim sum lunch and dinner. They use carts and servers to dish out their dim sum. They had 59 types of dim sum on their menu. Our last visit was in October 2011 when we tried their dinner.

Decor, Vibe – China Village Seafood Restaurant is a small step up from typical Chinese restaurant decor. Lots of families and couples of all ages were dining. A nice mix of races.

China Village Menu Pictures

The menu is pretty extensive for such a small restaurant. The servers to speak English, so no worries for those that do not speak Chinese.

Lunch Picks:

Deep fried meat dumpling ($2.50) was pretty good. Crispy and flavorful filling.

Steamed prawn dumpling or har gow ($3.95) had 3 large dumplings filled with very good shrimp. One of the better ones around.

Steam rice crepe with shrimp ($3.95) also had large pieces of shrimp inside. Sauce was a little sweet, but this dish was above average.

Paper wrapped chicken ($3.25) had 3 big pieces of flavorful chicken wrapped in foil. Good quantity and very tender chicken.

Shark’s fin and meat dumpling in supreme soup ($5.95) had some good broth, real shark’s fin, and tender pork.

OK:

Steamed spare rib with black bean sauce ($2.50) was average. A little on the greasy side.

Deep fried sesame ball ($2.50) was not hot out of the fryer. It was of average quality.

Pans:

Sticky Rice and chicken in lotus leaf ($3.95) consisted of 2 large pieces. Lots of rice, not a lot of filling. Filling was not very good.

Dinner Picks:

Steamed chicken with fried shallots in chefs soy sauce ($14 for half) was it a solid chicken dish, with too many fried shallots on top. The soy sauce was poured tableside, it would have been better if the soy sauce had a longer time to mingle with the chicken.

Fresh Abalone ($4.95 each) was a special deal at dinner. This aggressively priced dish was pretty good, with a simple steamed shallots and green onion preparation. Tender abalone, that is a must order.

Fresh live lobster ($9.95) was also a special deal at dinner. Also a must get dish, with some delectable lobster, prepared just right with scallions and Ginger.

Soup of the day ($10) was a long boiled gourd soup with pork and carrots. They were nice enough to provide a plate with all the soup meat and vegetables. A solid version of a classic Cantonese soup.

Chinese broccoli ($9) with oyster sauce was prepared just right.

Fook Kin and fried Rice ($13) was also a solid rendition, not as good as Asian Pearl Peninsula, but surprisingly decent.

Free dessert soup if you ask for it. 4 different types to select from, a rarity around here. They’ve got a free Chinese egg dessert otherwise.

China Village Seafood Restaurant had one person in charge of the front area during lunch that we were in and he made sure every table was served well. No lack of tea here. Food came around fairly often during lunch. They charge $1 per person for tea. During dinner, the friendly servers provided very good service, and a nice change of pace from most Chinese restaurants.

This restaurant serves solid and inexpensive dim sum in sleepy Belmont. Not as good as say Asian Pearl Peninsula in Millbrae, but still surprisingly decent Chinese food and one of the best between Palo Alto and San Mateo.

Free delivery on orders $50+ from 11am-230pm, $20+ from 5-930pm. They gave us a coupon after lunch, good for half a Peking duck or roast duck with $50 dinner order.

$25 Dining Certificate for $5

China Village Seafood Restaurant Overall Rating: (Good 2)

Come Back?

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

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

Alcohol:	Full Bar
Attire:	Casual
Hours:	Mon-Fri 11am - 10pm, Sat-Sun 1030am - 10pm
Parking:	Free Lot
Reservations:	Yes
Prices:	$2.50 - $25 (Lunch), $3.50 - $32 (Dinner)