. . "2017-08-07T00:00:00"^^ . . "2"^^ . "0"^^ . "1"^^ . "I've been to Chi Star House several times and the most frustrating thing is the wait and seating arrangements. It's not unusual for Chinese restaurants to give preferential seating to frequent customers, but this place takes it to a whole new level. Every time I come, I could feel my blood pressure going up. I want to write about 2 specific experiences. \n\nThe first time, I arrived around 7 pm for a party of 3 and we're told that the wait was about 30 min. In the end we waited for more than 1 hr +, not because turnover was slow, but because they kept combining small tables every time they became available to accommodate bigger groups. This is because they generate more revenue per person from bigger groups. After they did that for about the 5th time, I was quite livid and yelled at the general manager, after which we were seated fairly quickly.\n\nThe second time, we arrived around 7:30 pm with a party of 3. Not sure if the general manager recognized me from our last encounter, but he repeatedly reassured us that our wait should only be 10-20 min. Of course, that was not the case. At one point, his in-laws scooped in and took a table by jumping the line, and he had to profusely apologize for the extra wait. Everyone waiting is so riled up because they do such a poor job managing expectations of wait times. \n\nI give this place a 2 star because the food is pretty good at a reasonable price. However, I would highly recommend coming really early (before 6 pm) or late (after 9 pm) to avoid this waiting/seating fiasco. Also, if they give you a wait time estimate, be mindful that it will likely take twice or three times as long."^^ . "0"^^ .