There was plenty of soy, and possibly some oyster sauce as well. Now it barely tastes of orange or chili, and features chicken pieces that are breaded and fried, then presented in a dark, gingery sauce. It's still great eating, but it's unrecognizable as the orange-flavored chicken of the Joyce Chen era. Despite hundreds and hundreds of seats, Chau Chow City seems a quite manageable size, since the rooms and levels are broken up into attractive spaces. The prominent fish tanks would be even more effective if someone came out of the kitchen and netted something occasionally.
Background music is rather impersonal jazz fusion.
The barriers to crossover success still seem very high in Chinatown. I'm not a business consultant telling them they're wrong, just a critic telling readers that this is an excellent restaurant for an authentic seafood feast, and a very decent restaurant if some members of your party insist on something more familiar. But you intrepid explorers out there will have to come early for the dim sum, or stay with your favorite of the smaller Chau Chows for most meals. All rights reserved.