CLOSED: China Village reboots Oriental eating in Lindon
Orange chicken and homemade chicken potstickers at China Village in Lindon on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. SPENSER HEAPS/Daily Herald
Homemade chicken potstickers at China Village in Lindon on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. SPENSER HEAPS/Daily Herald
Mixed vegetable shrimp at China Village in Lindon on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. SPENSER HEAPS/Daily Herald
Reboots are all the rage in Hollywood, where producers frequently take a popular film franchise that’s perceived to have worn out its welcome, change up the actors and filmmakers, and — voila! It’s that same thing that you used to like, but new and different. China Village in Lindon, which opened last year in the same location that was previously home to China Lily, is sort of like that. New restaurant, same location, similar vibe.
We made our visit on a recent Saturday afternoon and were seated immediately. The decor and furnishings haven’t changed much — if at all — and since my most significant memory of China Lily is that each of the tables was equipped with a large Lazy Suzan, I was pleased. It’s a great way for a large party to share food, and made our hearty meal much easier to manage among the four adults and three children in our group.
There’s an extensive menu at China Village, which probably serves some form of just about everyone’s favorite Chinese food. The portions and prices seemed fairly standard, but I was reminded again that Chinese or Mexican is almost always the way to go if you want to stretch your dining dollar.
We had a round of chicken lettuce wraps (sort of like a Chinese burrito) to tide us over while the main event was in the works. The lettuce was crisp and the filling, a combination of cooked vegetables and meat, was delicious.
We gave a large and complicated order, but we didn’t have long to wait before the food started to appear. First up, we tried the sesame beef and sweet-and-sour chicken. The beef was tender and well seasoned, and I remain convinced that even a team of crack food scientists couldn’t make up a better way to eat chicken than to have it fried in batter and served with onions, carrots, peppers and pineapple chunks, with sweet-and-sour sauce generously ladled over everything.
Some Chinese food staples are so deeply ingrained in the restaurant culture, that they’re essentially the same almost everywhere you get them — sweet-and-sour chicken, for example. So it’s certainly a mark of distinction for China Village that the General Tso’s Chicken is distinctly, if not radically, different there from almost everywhere else I’ve eaten it. Perhaps a different general with the same name handed down his famous recipe.
The chicken had a unique orange sauce with a spicy kick, and the meat was cut into smaller pieces and breaded more lightly than is the norm. It was a little like eating General Tso’s Popcorn Chicken, certainly in a presentational sense. Not that anyone seemed to mind too much — it was still one of the first things to vanish from its serving dish.
We also enjoyed a serving of snow peas and beef, and a serving of cashew chicken. All of the meats at China Village were well cooked and well seasoned, and there was plenty of rice to keep everyone happy, including our 2-year-old. She discovered the thrill of eating rice with chopsticks, despite not yet having the knack of handling them herself — that’s what parents are for.
We received the customary selection of fortune cookies with our check, which prompted me to think up a foretelling of my own for diners who are considering a visit to China Village: You are about to encounter a large selection of tasty, affordably priced Chinese food.
China Village
Where: 133 S. State St., Lindon
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Prices: $1.25 to $14.95
Info: (801) 796-9666, www.chinavillage-ut.com