China 46 is closed

A popular Bergen County Chinese restaurant is closed, and the owner has an apology for the aprupt disappearing act.

"We closed the restaurant," Cecil Wang, owner of China 46 in Ridgefield, said today in a phone interview. "We're sorry for a lot of regular customers."

Wang opened China 46 in the site of an old diner along Route 46 in 2001, after running Beijing Duck House in Edgewater. It quickly earned 3 1/2 diamonds from the Record, a "Very Good" rating from The New York Times and acclaim from foodies everywhere for perfect interpretation of the cuisine of Shanghai.

China 46 had a nine-year lease, but a few months ago, the property owners offered Wang a deal to vacate the property early, he said. "They wanted to develop the site and asked us to give up the lease," he said.

What's next? "Right now, I don't have anything in my mind. Where do I go? But I'm still thinking about the Bergen County area. We just don't have a real location yet to think about."

If there's any good news, it's this: "I haven't had a good vacation in 6 1/2 years," Wang said. "I'm thinking it's time for a break."

Comments

[Hungry Boy]

I wondered how they stayed open as long as they did since the place was always only partly filled, even on weekends. They served an "authentic" Chinatown cuisine as opposed to the Americanized standards we now call "old school".

At this location, prior to China 46, was the Phoenix Garden II (or Too), a branch of the original Phoenix Garden in the Bowery Arcade in Chinatown going back at least 25 years. Both Phoenix Gardens served superb food and received excellent reviews. But first the NYC location closed and, a few years ago, the second one, to my great disappointment.

Many non-Asians in the Northern NJ area have traveled to China or have just, in general, developed more sophisticated palates for a truer Chinese cuisine but there are few establishments that address that potential market.