What's up with New China Delight, Mountain View?

[mcb]

New China Delight used to be one of my favorite places on Castro St., Mountain View. It replaced Man Bo Duck a few years ago, and served decent authentic Sichuan and Shanghai food, pretty much the standards. (They also served generic Americanized Chinese food like General's Chicken, Kung Pao Beef, etc.) The various dumpllngs, especially the zhong dumplings, were exceptional, along with chongqing lazi ji (Chongqing style chicken with chile peppers), the spicy diced rabbit, and the hot pots.

Anyway, a friend ate there a month or two ago and said she ordered the zhong dumplings but was served something entirely different, and the place seemed odd and "off". I was supposed to eat there with a group last night, but there were *zero* customers eating between 7:45 and 8, and we decided to go elsewhere. (Xanh, by the way, and it was spectacular.) Also, a note on another site (Yelp or one of the others) mentioned that the poster heard the kitchen staff speaking Cantonese to each other. In the past I have heard them speaking in Mandarin to each other. (Yeah, it could have just been different individuals, and many Chinese people and Chinese Americans speak both Mandarin and Cantonese or another Chinese language.)

Anyway, it looks an awful lot like an ownership/management/chef change, but they kept the same menu. Does anyone have any info? And in any event, where is the nearest authentic Sichuan food to downtown Mountain View?

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New China Delight
360 Castro St, Mountain View, CA 94041

[Melanie Wong]

Two years ago the Sichuan chef left for Panda Country Kitchen in SF.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/447168

The Shanghainese owner/partner and the chefs opened Jade Palace in Palo Alto last year, specializing in Shanghai cuisine.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/4138...

You'll want to cross the railroad tracks and head to Trend for Sichuan. I think it's better than New China Delight was in the past. Click on the blue-colored links for more info.

And, please do post about Xanh when you have a chance.

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Jade Palace
151 S California Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94306

Panda Country Kitchen
4737 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94118

New China Delight
360 Castro St, Mountain View, CA 94041

Trend Restaurant
400 Moffett Blvd, Mountain View, CA

[Chandavkl]

Thanks for connecting the dots. I remember a great Shanghai meal at New China Delight two years ago, so that was under the old regime, and another fine Shanghai meal this summer at Jade Palace. Looks like I got lucky with the timing.

[mcb]

Thanks, Melanie! Will check out Trend. (I remember the "Find the Sichuan Chef" topic, forgot it was about Trend)

[Melanie Wong]

There was a recent mention that Trend was remodeling. Please do report back on the new look and food.

[ChowMulanno1]

We checked out Trend for lunch on the first day they reopened after remodeling. The most notable change was that the restaurant now has a wooden floor. More importantly no more lunch or dinner buffet. The lunch menu was the same as prior to the buffet period. The full menu now has a section of 3-dishes for $$ deal (don't recall exactly how much; ~$8 for a dish ordered singly I think). Food tasted about the same but was not as good as compared to when the restaurant was first opened years ago.

[Melanie Wong]

Thanks for the latest on Trend. I think there was a change in the kitchen about a year ago, and I'd agree that the food was more special when it first opened.

[bbulkow]

I went there tonight. The dinner menu is quite different - much shorter - but the dishes I've enjoyed in the past are still there. The menu's on a few photocopied pages instead of laminated.

I agree it's not as good as in the past, although it's still worth a stop (not worth a trip).

Strange music - some really good east coast style hip hop. Incongruous.

[dump123456789]

Looks like it's gone now.

[Melanie Wong]

Thanks, I marked it in the Restaurants & Bars database as 'closed'.

[yimster]

Drove by Trends Friday and notice a banner with another name in Chinese which may mean that Trends has also been changed. Hope to return soon to check out unless someone else can do it before me.