As I exited my car on Miller Avenue, I had no idea exactly what I was looking for. Would there be a large, pompous entrance à-la PF Chang’s which would protrude like a sore thumb, or would I have to find a secret backdoor and give some guy named Vito a password? Either way, it didn’t really matter to me. All I knew was that there was a new Chinese restaurant in Mill Valley, it’s name was Charlie Hong Kong, and I was going to eat there.After a bit of searching, I realized that I had been stupidly standing in front of the establishment the whole ten minutes I spent looking for the restaurant. Conveniently located right next to Baskin Robbins, the restaurant looked modest but inviting. Walking through the door, it was everything one would expect from an Asian restaurant located in Mill Valley: the smell of soy sauce and cooking rice, bottles of plum sauce and piles of neatly assorted chopsticks on every table. What completely threw me off was the menu. From the name “Charlie Hong Kong,” I had expected to sit down and order a plate of fried rice and Mongolian Beef. However, after taking a quick look at the menu I knew I was in for a different experience. The words “vegan” and “organic” can be found in just about every item. What is this, healthy, natural Chinese food? It couldn’t be. But to my utter surprise, Charlie Hong Kong not only serves up healthy, alternative Chinese food, but makes it damn good.
In an attempt to recreate the experience a typical student would encounter when eating at the restaurant, I ordered the best-looking items while also being cost-effective. While offering full meals, Charlie Hong Kong’s main attraction (to both adult diners and student lunchgoers) is their build-a-bowl approach to a typical Asian meal called “Signature Bowls.” It starts with many choices of a base dish, from Spicy Dan’s Peanut Delight, to the vegetable stir fry Gado Gado, to Green or Red Curry and Charlies’ Pad Thai, which I ordered. All of the base dishes were explicitly vegan. Next, an entree is chosen to top the noodles. The options range from chicken to tofu to beef or shrimp. I chose the Spicy Ginger Beef and was extremely pleased with my decision. I also ordered an “Arny” (otherwise known as an Arnold Palmer, the half Tea half Lemonade sensation) off their signature drinks menu. Instead of serving soda at their restaurant, Charlie Hong Kong creates their own drink concoctions. The bowl itself cost me around $8, while my drink was unfortunately $2. For the average student, bringing a drink may be a good idea.
The wait for the healthy delight was quicker than most fast food/diner combos in Marin. Not only was the food to die for, but they put more noodles, veggies and meat in their bowls than I could have gotten for $15 at Pearl’s. I sat in the restaurant, trying to finish my mountain of a meal for a good 45 minutes and still couldn’t stomach the whole thing. The noodles tasted delicious, the vegetables looked like they had been picked straight from a garden outside the restaurant, and the beef didn’t make my stomach feel like it was going to turn into corrosive sludge.
Charlie Hong Kong is a force to be reckoned with. It is cheap, it is fast, it is healthy and it is delicious. Asian restaurants around Marin beware.

Written by Sam Vogel. This article originally appeared in the February 2011 issue.