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I had a mixed experience here I would say. Food was honestly very good, had good veggie options and the beef and broccoli looked worth it. Has a good amount of steak on top of the broccoli. They also have a good selection of beverages to accompany the food. Dirty paper menus is not the move. We walked in at 8:25, the server didn’t seem very happy. Assuming because they closed at 9. Given the location and the great beverage options they have I would say 9 is very early to close for a place like that. They miss out on making more money and make the diner feel rushed. We were quick and left by 9:05. Definitely not the experience we were hoping for. 3 stars because when you go out and spend the extra money you want to be treated well. The server at 8:50 was closing up dragging chairs outside and getting ready to leave.
We've been watching the 5th season of TOC, and it encouraged us to finally visit, and we were not disappointed. Food is freshly served, delicious, and every bite was tasty. Service was excellent. They were friendly, helpful, and attentive. We'll definitely be returning, Cheeseburger dumplings were our favorite. And the passion fruit yogurt smoothie was exceptional.
We went to Ms. Chi Cafe on a late Tuesday evening and were the last two tables. The food had a fun modern twist on Chinese dishes. The cheeseburger dumplings were surprisingly good and not just gimmicky. The filling was packed and juicy and the tomato-pickle relish sauce was a good acidic balance for the richness of the dumplings. The chili wontons were solid. The walnuts in the honey walnut shrimp dish were so interesting, they were baked into a cookie-like batter. They added slices of peach/nectarine to the dish. The cocktails were fun and punchy. Staff were welcoming and efficient.
Big fans of Shirley from TOC from Canada. We were so excited to try her dumplings. The service we received from the waitress was subpar. We ordered the chicken dumplings and noticed they were pink in the middle- when we alerted her, she didn’t apologize, she asked if we wanted them re-steamed or if “we were good”. The next order we had, the chicken was pink again. She didn’t acknowledge our concerns but rather ranted about the use of a thermometer. We found this to be very unsettling and didn’t finish the chicken dumplings. Here are pictures of the second round of dumplings for reference. We did order the vegan dumplings and vegan bao, both of which were very good. Without another conversation, the waitress slapped our bill down on the table. We wanted to order mochi donuts but weren’t given the opportunity. Our expectations did not meet reality at this restaurant. Sad that the waitress ruined our experience here as we travelled far specifically to give it a try.
We came for the jumbo cheeseburger potstickers, but the REAL star was the *Lu Rou Mein! It is a beautiful, colorful dish of veggies (fresh and pickled) with pork belly over a bed of thick egg noodles. I would come back just for this! 5/5 *True to its name, the potstickers are jumbo and tastes like a cheesebuger lol. Love how the cheese is in the center and melts out when you cut into it. Bacon tomato jam paired well. Overall, it is rich and sits heavy so you only feel like eating one. 4/5 *The weekend special housemade scallion pancake was good. On the thicker side, which made it more chewy. Didn't like the accompanying sauces. 3/5 *Another weekend special was the Char Shiu bao sliders. These baos were stuffed to the max! The mushroom and pickled carrots were great, but the bbq pork didnt taste quite right and the bao wasn't soft and fluffy. 3/5 *The Vietnamese mocha frappe was a bit watered down so it was missing that satisfying strong signature punch. 2/5 Service was wonderful. We sat outside in their front patio with our dog. Everyone was so nice and friendly.