Modern China Cafe

I feel like I've heard lots of people compare this place to OIC Bowl up the street and so my first instinct is to immediately do the same. I think the food is about the same quality but the seating at this place is absolutely superior. It was really nice out front.

I had a slightly disappointing lunch today. A $5 serving of edamame on the happy hour menu started off my lunch. It was a happy hour portion for sure - but I think happy hour pricing for my serving would have been about $3. I would have been happy with $4. But $5? For a small serving... Luckily a $3.25 Kirin arrived with it and I felt like that was a good deal.

I have mixed feeling on my tofu claypot lunch. The hot & sour soup was good but it was a tiny bowl. The salad was also fresh and good with a light soy (maybe?) dressing. Steamed rice was served on the side of my claypot. YOu have a choice between white, fried, and brown. I mixed in my white rice and looked around for thai chilis. I had asked for extra hot. There were only two in there and I ended up eating them both. I added hot sauce but don't think it's fair to order a dish extra spicy, and end up having to add some hot sauce because its still kind of bland.

I brought a large to-go container and had lots left over to put in it. As I was doing this, I noticed two people behind the counter eating. Please tell employees not to eat in view of customers while they're working. One was the busser who isn't necessarily handling food and so it doesn't matter. The other was a cook who never left my sight. He ate and then continued to handle food.I don't know, I just think that's unprofessional and restaurant employees should avoid doing this in front of customers.

My server was great though. Khaled was attentive and smiled a lot and checked back on me a couple of times to make sure everything was okay.

Is this place a retaurant or a lounge?  Because they are certainly having a hard time being both.  Their take on modern asian cuisine is average at best, and the abiance is a cross between an airport VIP lounge and a Starbucks.  

Its nice to enjoy a drink here after work, though its easy to have a server run into you or getting in the way of those who are getting to their tables as there is not enough space to properly accomidate a true lounge setting.  On the other hand if you come to eat, the dinner service isn't impressive and the best tables outside are hard to come by w/o a significant wait.  The bartenders hold it down well, they are courteous and skilled.

Happy hour menu is loaded and complete with great choices, yet its a joke if you plan to actually eat to fill an appetite.  So I stick w/ the ample drinks on the happy hour menu and plan on ordering food from the dinner menu.

A cozy place to enjoy Walnut Creek and authentic Cantonese dim sum. Beautiful french doors and outdoor seating.  Good place to hang out with family and friends.  It challenges the pre-conceived notions of how a successful Chinese restaurant should feel like.  Perhaps that is why the owner calls it Modern China.