Northridge: Chi’s Chinese Cuisine
Shanghai soup dumplings (xiao long bao)
I was in the Valley one day for lunch and we opted for Chi’s Chinese Cuisine. My friend said it was “pretty good for the [ San Fernando] Valley”– meaning it’s not quite as good as the other Valley, San Gabriel.
har gow and siu mai
We decided to start with a few dumplings to get our lunch started. We chose the Shanghai soup dumplings along with the Cantonese dim sum favorites; har gow and siu mai.
The soup dumplings were okay. The skin was thicker than I liked but the flavor was pretty good. My favorite of the three were actually the har gow. These are crystal shrimp dumplings done right with slippery dumpling skins (though they did stick a bit to each other). The siu mai were fairly authentic as well.
hot and sour soup
Then we got a lunch special; the mabo tofu which is a pretty good deal since it comes with both soup, salad and rice.
salad
We shared the hot and sour soup which I liked. The white pepper came through very well. The salad is your standard from a bag kind but with the addition of a bit of kale.
mabo tofu
The mabo tofu featured firm tofu which I wasn’t used to but to be honest is how I make it at home. My friend would prefer it would silken tofu. I liked this dish quite a bit but it’s not Sichuan style so it’s not that spicy.
shrimp mi fun
And then we also got the shrimp mi fun. The rice noodles were very good though not especially pretty. Hey, it feels more authentic that way!
Overall, I’d give this a go again and plus they have a fun tropical fish tank out front with fascinating fish (decorative fish, my dudes, they’re not for eating).
9635 Reseda Blvd., Northridge, CA 91324 — (818) 886-6928 © 2018 The Minty