There’s quite a story of hard work and dedication behind Jackson and Vanissa Chen’s China Moon in Laguna Niguel, our Restaurant of the Year.
My husband Patrick and I initially experienced the Chens’ cuisine and hospitality in the 1980s in their first little restaurant, Mandarin Place in Lake Forest. We’ve watched their progress ever since, continued to enjoy their beautifully presented Mandarin-style food, and introduced a lot of others to China Moon.
The feedback we get from friends and readers who become new customers of China Moon is consistently tinged with surprise that such a pleasing place had missed their radar. They’re invariably quite taken with the warmth and rapport between the family and customers. And almost everyone shares some enthusiasm about seeing lovely wine storage cabinets as part of the dining room design.
Exceeding expectations is standard fare for the Chens.
The background: Jackson and Vanissa met at the Grand Hotel in Taipei, Taiwan. Jackson was a chief purser on a cruise ship, and Vanissa was a cashier at the Grand Hotel’s private club.
They moved to the U.S. in 1981, and opened Mandarin Place in 1985. They soon won over many Orange County diners who appreciated fine Chinese food.
The first years were filled with very long hours. Jackson did much of cooking, and Vanissa handled front-of-the-house duties from early in the day to late at night.
They persevered.
A few years later—with the big learning curve behind them and lots of loyal customers—they closed their little flagship restaurant and opened China Moon.
It wasn’t in fancy Newport or artistic Laguna. They set up shop in a place that really needed—and, it turned out, wanted—just what China Moon was offering.
They felt that a location in the Town Center section of Laguna Niguel—with the Chet Holifield Federal Building (aka the Ziggurat) nearby— suited their purpose.
The area also provided a good customer base of homeowners to join the fans they’d garnered over the years.
The Chens have two sons: 30-year-old Jonathan and Benjamin, who’s 29. Both grew up in the restaurants after school, doing homework before helping out around the place.
Jonathan took the restaurant business to heart and attended the prestigious California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. He now is the manager of China Moon, with his parents still there full time, watching over their customers. Jackson still is responsible for the recipes and the makeup of the menu.
Benjamin, meanwhile, graduated from San Diego State University and has taken part in creative changes in China Moon.
Let’s discuss the look and the food now that you know this family. China Moon is prettier than you’d expect.
Look up at the ceiling and admire the scene painted in rotunda fashion. The major focus of the back wall is the bank of glass-fronted wine storage cabinets—the Chens have enough cosmopolitan savvy to know wine can be a fine accessory to their dining room as well as their food.
Modern Décor
The booth seating is comfortable, and the general décor is modern. I don’t know another restaurant that undertakes a renovation about every four years to keep things absolutely fresh and newly appealing for customers. That’s de rigueur for China Moon.
The Chens have always worked with quality ingredients in order to serve their high level of cuisine. Yet prices are comparable to Chinese restaurants of lesser stature.
The China Moon style also informs the way food is presented. All those geometric plates and serving dishes we find in the fancy restaurants have made their way to these tables.
You get food on an oblong ceramic dish if that’s what it looks best on. A triangular plate for another entrée is commonplace. All of this is part of their philosophy of wanting to do it right—and with some panache.
Service also is attentive and refined but friendly. You will enjoy the helpfulness and care they take throughout the meal.
Now to the food—allow me to give only a few suggestions from menu items, saving a lot of culinary discovery for you on subsequent visits.
Shanghai Dumplings
Shanghai dumplings are a good beginner. Eight small dumplings are filled with pork and juicy broth. The trick is to take the dumpling on a spoon, bite a tiny hole in the side, and suck out the magical broth. Then you can bite into the whole thing, devouring the tasty little meatball and the envelope that encases it. Or you can pop one of the bite-sized dumplings in your mouth. Just be careful not to burn your mouth when the hot broth pops out of its cage.
Barbecue pork and chicken eggrolls do terrific double duty in the taste department. There also are vegetable eggrolls that are very good. Both kinds have fillings enveloped in the familiar crispy, crunchy exterior.
Salt and pepper calamari brings a duet of crisp and meltingly tender textures from their quickly fried preparation. The special Chinese-style salt and pepper coating is the clincher.
Smitten
One of my favorite dishes is fish with black bean sauce. Thick slices of fresh fish are tossed in a very hot wok with bell peppers, snow peas, onions and a mild a black bean sauce. I love the way it looks on the serving plate, and I’m smitten with the flavors and healthfulness of it.
Ma la scallops are seared with snow peas, zucchini, mushrooms, a bit of red bell pepper and the spicy hits of chile peppers and Szechwan peppercorns.
Beef lovers will relish the ginger beef, which come sliced and tender in sweet ginger soy with white onions and mushrooms.
One of my go-to dishes is duck. They have both roasted duck (marinated in a five-spice mixture before roasting) and the classic Peking duck served with either crepes or steamed buns. You choose.
The mild curry chicken is forever a favorite for me. It has all the components of a complete meal, with its peas, carrots, white onions, potatoes and white meat chicken. Finally, their fried rice with all kinds of vegetables, and barbecued pork if desired, is a superb side dish for almost anything you order.
China Moon is special. It will add highlights to your dining out and ventures—and you’ll continue to find me sitting in one of the booths, enjoying all it has to offer.
China Moon is at 30001 Town Center Drive, Laguna Niguel (949) 249-6868.
