Fine China at the Crossroads: China Delight proves a fresh find for fabulous lunches at the mouth of Carmel Valley.

Even though it’s been a couple of years since China Delight lost its lease and moved into a new space on the opposite side of Crossroads, patrons are still discovering that the restaurant moved. 


For me, it was a discovery that it existed at all – and a very pleasant one. With more than 100 dishes at any given time and reasonable prices, China Delight has become my new lunch haven. 


The décor is traditional Chinese – classy and clean with white tablecloths and napkins, even for the lunch crowd, which is a nice touch. 


There are 22 lunch specials ranging in price from $5.95 to $8.95. The lunch menu includes an entrée of your choosing with soup or salad, an egg roll with sweet and sour dipping sauce and hot tea. 


The salad option is a mini Chinese chicken on iceberg lettuce with fried wonton strips, a sweet and spicy miso honey mustard dressing and abundant, tender morsels of meat. 


The starter soups are fresh and made daily, rotating between egg drop and hot and sour. 


The egg drop was comforting and mild; the hot and sour was slightly spicy with bamboo shoots and black mushrooms – both excellent and warming on a cold rainy day.


Our server was jovial and full of laughter. She brought an extra soup on the house for my friend who didn’t order the lunch special, saying it was to “keep her company.” A little note: if you can’t decide between soup or salad and want them both, it only costs an additional $2.15.


I enjoyed the almond chicken ($7.95) off the lunch menu. It was mild, fresh and crunchy with water chestnuts, zucchini and mushrooms with roasted almonds in a wine sauce. I liked how the vegetables were cut up in similarly sized chunks, which were enjoyable on the tongue and presented well on the plate. 


My friend ordered the honey orange chicken ($7.95), which was perfectly crunchy, swimming in a light, beautiful, translucent sauce prepared with real honey, orange juice and fresh, grated lemon zest. I usually call similar dishes found in other restaurants “candy chicken” due to the food coloring and ultra-sweet corn syrupy sauce. It’s nice to know there is a healthier version that tastes a million times better. This dish does not come with vegetables, though, so be sure to get the salad if you want a more balanced meal.


My favorite vegetarian option was the kung pao tofu ($5.95) consisting of firm tofu with a crisp outer layer, green onions, zucchini, green pepper and roasted peanuts in spicy sauce with fried rice. The first time I ordered it I was happy to discover asparagus mingled with the other vegetables. On my return trip it was a little heavy on the green peppers but consistently delicious, with a nice coating of spicy, flavorful peanut sauce. 


The moo shu vegetables ($10.95) included a heaping plateful of bamboo shoots, cabbage, scallions and bits of fried eggs, served with four homemade rice pancakes and flavorful purple plum hoisin sauce. The laughing server folded up the first Chinese burrito perfectly with chopsticks. All those we made broke and fell apart on us, as we didn’t have the proper technique down. There were enough veggies left over for another four pancakes, which would have only cost another $1, and could have fed three vegetarians for under $4 per person. The moo shu is also available with pork or chicken for $11.25. 


There are many other magnetic menu options including beef, duck and seafood as well as special family dinners ranging in price from $17.95 per person for the vegetarian to $24.95 for the seafood. All the dinners come with three appetizers, helping feed any ambitious appetites that come through the door. 


We ordered the fried banana ($5.95) for dessert. It was a huge plate containing two large tempura battered bananas and a generous scoop of green tea ice cream. We shared it between three people and agreed it was fabulous. 


Just as fabulous: You can sit down and be served a wonderful, fresh lunch for under $10, including a 20 percent tip.The diversity of dishes and abundant portions mean satisfaction is a pretty sure thing, and the constant lunch crowd means the food is not sitting around for long. 


In other words, China Delight has found the winning combination most restaurants strive for: delicious, fresh food served by attentive, happy wait staff at the right price in a clean, comfortable atmosphere. They will be seeing me on a regular basis. 


CHINA DELIGHT 145 The Crossroads, Carmel. • Open 11am-10pm daily. • 625-3367.