Kirin Chinese Restaurant
| Address: | 485 Castro St, Mountain View, CA 94041, USA |
| Phone: | +1 650-965-1059 |
| Site: | kirinchinesemountainview.com |
| Rating: | 3.7 |
| Working: | 11AM–12AM 11AM–12AM 11AM–12AM 11AM–12AM 11AM–12AM 11AM–12AM 11AM–12AM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 11
YU
Yuan LIU
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 us to Kirin more than a decade ago. Thats 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 wasnt until I moved to Mountain View before we 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. 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, Ive seen more than a dozen restaurants, even ice cream places 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. Kirin is one of only two that havent 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 isnt my go-to place for Chinese food - my first 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 wasnt 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 them four stars.
LA
Lawrence Tom
My parents like the old school food here and I like that when you order a chicken dish there is real chicken in the dish. The sweet and sour chicken actually has good pieces of meet with a thin batter layer. Most other places wave a piece of chicken over fried flour bits and call it chicken. The place is a hit or miss on when it is busy so this time I called ahead to save a large table for us. No problems and the food came out quickly after ordering. I wish someone in our party could read the special menu on the wall because I am pretty sure we are missing out on some good home style dishes. I do know they have pea leaf cooked with chunks of garlic. The wor won ton is filled with a lot of won ton and we had a massive bowl of it.
ED
Edward Wu
My girlfriend and I decided to try this place out since all the other food places on Castro were already closed. We ordered the pepper salted fish and mongolian beef. Since we came so late, they had a late night menu that was slightly cheaper. The food came out quite quickly and I really love how they give us huge bowl of rice with unlimited refills. The pepper salted fish wasnt too fried and had plenty of fish inside. The mongolian beef was quite starchy and chewy, but that is expected. Food here is cheap and quick. If youre starving and you have no other options, stop by here to satisfy your hunger.
AM
Amos Yuen
Decent Cantonese restaurant. Wasnt very busy when we came at 6pm for dinner on a Monday night. UNIQUE * Honey Walnut Shrimp - Most honey walnut shrimp dishes I have had are slightly fried shrimp covered in a sweet creamy sauce, which is delicious and probably heart attack causing. These ones are different in that they are extra fried and crispy and only lightly covered in a glaze of honey. I find both styles pretty tasty. GOOD * Sauteed Chinese Greens (Bok Choy) - Plump and juicy with a little bit of crunch. * Hong Kong Style Beef Chow Fun - Tasty beef gravy sauce over long flat rice noodles.
TH
Thomas Wysocki
A relatively standard cantonese/american chinese menu thats hit-and-miss in terms of taste. I didnt like the Kung Pao Chicken because the chicken had a weird (non-chicken) texture... almost as if it were microwaved or boiled processed chicken. The MaPo Bean Curd (Tofu) was decent even if it deviated from the MaPo Ive had everywhere else in that the tofu was served with mushrooms, pickled veggies and jalapenos rather than ground pork. The stir fried green beans were pretty good. Service was rather standard for most Chinese restaurants.
MA
Maer Lagniton
WARNING!!!! BEEN CUSTOMER FOR 23 YRS. THEY PAD THE BILL. CHECK BEFORE PAYING. ADDITION NOT CORRECT, CHANGE PRICE,ADDITIONAL CHARGES OTHER THAN TAX, OR PUTTING A DISH THAT YOU NEVER ORDERED!!!!BAD BUSINESS PRACTICE. BEWARE LONG TIME EMPLOYEES CHEAT..AND TAKING ADVANTAGE WHEN BUSY AND CUSTOMERS NOT CHECKING BILL. IT KEEPS HAPPENING TO MY FRIENDS AND ME IN DIFFERENT OCCASIONS FOR YEARS. THEY ENGAGE IN BAD BUSINESS PRACTICE OF ROBBING YOU BY PUTTING EXTRA CHARGES ON THE BILL. CHECK BEFORE PAYING..
VA
Van Mai Nguyen Thi
Ordered roast duck and wonton soup. The broth was very tasty but the meat was just inedible! The first bite of the duck was okay because the salt masked the flavor, but each next bite had the stink of not-fresh meat. Service was okay for a Chinese restaurant but I cant give it more stars because I really couldnt swallow that meat. Both duck meat and wonton tasted spoiled... Its a shame because if the meat were fresh, this dish would actually be very tasty I think.
TO
Tony Wickham
The food was decent but average at best. The service was terrible - they never checked on us and never brought water even after we asked for it. The only time they spoke to us was to seat us and to get our order (to which they automatically added rice, even though it costs extra and we didnt want it). I doubt well ever return, given there are many other options nearby.
MA
Maria Pinky Espiritu
Before food is great, service is good now. Food too salty and oily. We paid and gave tip but chase us at the door and asking for.more top but they did not.specify on the receipt how much tip we need to pay and the receopt just a.piece of paper and the amount indicated is the cost of food we ordered, they did.indicate the total tip that we give.
NI
Nicolette Dixon
Will not be back. Terrible food, mushy meat and bland. Only thing worse than the food: the service. Food was fast, but as I mentioned, not good. Staff barely acknowledged us the entire time, had to flag someone down for the check. No rice was given, not even a fortune cookie. Definitely going somewhere else for my next chinese craving.
JO
John Lindquist
This has turned into our go-to chinese restaraunt. Food is great. My favorite is the salt and pepper fish (its not actually on the menu). We order it every time. Weve tried several other menu items and have enjoyed them all. One friend joined us and she asked why weve never invited her before. She loved it and will be back too.
