Haven't been to this A&J for years (last visit was to Rockville location). The prices have gone up, quantities gone down, and menu limited. Not sure what happened to all the dim sum style/small plate options, there's only a very small section of them now. The noodle soup I tried was completely bland and the noodles looked like ramen noodles. Disappointing visit. Maybe the Rockville location will be better. They only take cash but will take Venmo as well. read more

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Tldr: quality asian breakfast at a quality price. Worth a visit! P.S. Cash Only! A&J was my childhood. Growing up in SoCal, I still remember the early morning stops for youtiao and tiandoujian. I was therefore pleasantly surprised when I found a branch of A&J out in Annandale. Grabbing two of my close friends, we immediately ventured out in seek of some nostalgia and good eats. Let's just say that A&J never fails to disappoint. For a saturday brunch, we ordered the classic youtiao, tiandoujian, but also some cliche favorites like spicy cucumbers, braised pork rice, dumplings, and the all time favorite niuroujianbing (beef wraps). Whatever you are craving, you really can't go wrong with A&J! Just make sure you have enough cash to satisfy your cravings! read more

A lot new shop popped up but most of them can't beat this favorite for noodle and comfort food for my daughter over 20 years. Thank you for the owner who stays in business even hard time ( Covid) read more

Went here with five other friends and we spent about $22 per person (after tax and tip). For the most part, the food was delicious! We were able to sample multiple dishes because we decided to family style. Here were some of my favorites: * Pai Gu Cai Fan (Fried pork chop on rice with pickled vegetables) - They give you a lot of rice (which is pretty good quality) but their fried pork chop was delicious. The breading was not too thick and it was quite crispy. Pork was cooked perfectly and pretty juicy. I'd recommend this for the fried pork! * Lu Rou Fan (Braised pork & egg on rice with pickled vegetables) - A Taiwanese classic that is a must. This is definitely something you can get for yourself and is a bit harder to share but we managed. Again, lots of rice. But the braised pork was marinated and seasoned well and the egg was super tasty too. I'd definitely recommend this - it's $7 for a medium sized bowl! * Ma La Er Si (Pig ears with spicy seasoning) - This was well seasoned and the crunch made it even more tasty. Our group really liked this and I would be down to eat this appetizer all by myself if I could. * Hong You Du Si (Spicy beef tripe) - Not sure how they got the orange/red color on the trip (probably from the hot sauce) but it was tasty and also crunchy with a spicy kick. I was impressed by how good the tripe was and would most definitely eat this by myself. * Mao Dou Bai Ye (bean curd with spinach? and soy beans) - Yum!! It's very light in terms of flavor and seasoning but I really liked it. If you don't want pickled vegetables (a lot of the vegetable options on the menu), definitely give this a try. We also got the spicy beef and tendon and non-spicy beef noodle soups (Niu Rou Niu Jin Mian and Qing Dun Niu Rou Mian). I personally didn't try the spicy noodles, but my friends finished that super quickly, so I assume it's pretty tasty. On the other hand, the non spicy noodle soup was extremely bland. I thought the noodles were pretty tasteless by itself and the broth did not do anything to enhance the taste. The beef was tender and good, though! Overall, great non-Korean restaurant in Annandale! I will definitely come back to fulfill any Taiwanese/Chinese food cravings in the future. read more

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As folks mentioned already, A&J is the place to go to get your fix of Taiwanese - Chinese food. A&J is our go-to...so much that the waitress recognizes us and knows what we will order as we don't deviate much b/c these are our staples. What are those dishes, you ask? Take a look.... - Pork chop over rice - nicely fried pork chop that isn't greasy. Nice combo with the sour green veggies and rice..so good that we order a side of the sour green veggies as it is a must. - Zha Jiang Mian - Nice hearty bowl of wide noodles mixed with a pork and bean sauce...kind of like a chinese spaghetti w/bolognese if you will. - Liang Mian - cold sesame noodles...nice sauce with cucumber & bean sprouts. The sauce is great for dipping your scallion pancakes. - Spicy Beef Noodle Soup - The "national dish" of Taiwan according to some...good version here. - Spicy Cucumber w/garlic - Love this cold dish...spicy with garlic - Peking Beef Wrap - Nice flavored beef with a tangy sauce in scallion pancakes. - Scallion Pancake - nicely fried...not overly dense like other places. The place is pretty much no frills...service is good although some of the waitresses may be a bit light on the english. Another key is that they only take CASH...so don't show up with only a credit card. read more

CASH ONLY!!!! Service is fast. Restaurant has limited seating but there isn't much of a wait. We came here for weekend brunch. We haven't been here before so we tried a bit of everything that looked interesting. Food was good. Some items were a bit plainer that I expected or have had somewhere else. But nothing bad. It just wasn't memorable for me to want to return. It's a bit hard to explain. Everything was good. Carb heavy. read more

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Husband found this place on a Reddit thread and I am soooooo happy that he suggested it. The food was amazing. I have nothing bad to say about anything we ate. The scallion pancake, friend chicken noodle soup w/ the homemade noodles, the beef bun like EVERYTHING is great! The waitress and the service is great. They gave us recommendations and all of them were spot on. This place is a gem off the beaten path and we will definitely be coming back. read more

Hole in the wall restaurant with many hidden gems. Great for family style but you can of course get your own individual dishes. Was so glad to learn that they accept Venmo now too, on top of just cash. We shared the pork dumplings and scallion pancakes. Both were great and the taste of the green onion wasn't overwhelming, which I loved. Also got the beef wraps which reminded my bf of a mix between Peking Duck wraps meets bahn mi but with less breading (in a good way, just a lot of carrots though). Chinese style fried chicken/porkchops are made to perfection. Soups were made really well too. All in all, it's easy for this place to be overshadowed in a sea of really good asian restaurants in Annandale, but you won't go wrong coming for some authentic Chinese here. read more

A&J - Taiwanese Near Me - Annandale, Virginia

I had the Hong Shao Niu Rou Mian (Szechuan Spicy Beef Soup) with the Hand Pulled Noodles. I love handmade noodles because I always feel there's more flavor to it and the texture is slightly chewier and bouncier. Soup was slightly spicy and had a nice beef flavor 4/5 We also had the Suan la mian which tasted very refreshing and a little vinegary. The cold version was nice but I wish they add more sauce to it. 3.5/5 The Thousand Layer pancake is flakey, moist, chewy and good to dip into soup or sauce 3.5/5 Cucumber Salad ( ma la huang gua) was super crunchy and fun to eat! I absolutely love the sauce which is sweet, nutty and has a small kick. 4.5/5 Its easy to get seating and they only have tables indoors. The store is clean enough overall but I'd recommend not sitting right next to the windows because some small bugs gather there. This place is cash or Venmo only! read more

Went back to A&J for in-person since the pandemic started. We've done carryout several times, but it doesn't compare to eating there! This is our order for a group of 2 adults and two children (hungry): 1 noodles in hot spicy sesame sauce; 1 scallion pancakes, 2 mustard greens, 1 spicy wontons with hot red sauce; 2 cucumbers salad in hot garlic sauce , 2 braised eggs; 1 pan fried pork dumplings; 1 egg wraps All are phenomenal! read more

A&J - Dishes listed above. - Taiwanese Near Me - Annandale, Virginia

This place has been a family favorite for years. The beef noodle soups are fantastic and the cucumber salad is a don't miss as well as the other side dishes. The tendon in the beef soup is always tender and delicious. My favorite! read more

Wow. What a great meal! This is one of those meals you tell everyone you know about. We were leaving Baltimore to drive back to Nashville, and I really wanted to stop for a lunch in the DC suburbs. Yelp reviews brought me to A&J and I AM SO GRATEFUL. We ordered takeout on Toast, and it was ready when we arrived a few minutes early. Pickup was quick and easy. And then we scarfed EVERYTHING down quickly in the car. So what did we eat? We ordered one rice dish - Lu Rou Fan (rice with braised pork and a braised egg), which was incredible: so simple and yet so completely delicious. I'd eat this once a week if I lived nearby. No joke. We tried two items from the "Buns, Dumplings and Breads" section of the menu: the Chinese sesame biscuit with sliced beef and the thousand layer pancake. The sesame biscuit was beef was very good - the beef was really flavorful and the pastry really flaky (messy in the car but too delicious to care). The thousand layer pancake was good but it isn't one of the dishes I'll be craving this week when I think back on this meal. But the two dishes we tried from the cold plates section of the menu? I will be thinking about these special dishes! The dry bean curd with peanuts, cilantro salad, and hot sauce was really, really good. It's actually hard for me to make sense of how they made this taste so good with such simple ingredients! I could eat this everyday. Same goes for the pickled long bean with ground beef! I had a hard time sharing this dish! Too good to share! We also ordered one dish from the sweet section of the menu: sweet red beans congee, which was really good and a great end to the meal. I enjoyed ALL the food we ate at A&J today, but the rice and cold dishes are dishes that I'm going to be thinking about and craving. This whole meal was delicious - above and beyond - special. If I lived anywhere nearby, I'd be a regular. If you live nearby, you should be! I might be making a few trips to Annandale from Baltimore after move to enjoy more meals at A&J in the future. TRY IT. read more

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Tell me why everything I tasked was so yummy? Lemme break it down: Sliced Pork Ears w/ Hot & Spiced Seasoning- never tried this before & glad I did! Crunchy, sweet & savory! Perfect compliment to eat with other dishes Pan Fried Pork Dumpling/Pot Stickers (8)- nicely portioned, soft with a pan fried bite! Peking Beef Wrap- delicious! Sweetly seasoned with a hint of fish sauce Spicy Beef & Tendon Noodle Soup (Szechuan Style)- clean broth, chewy slurp-able wide noodles and super tender beef & tendon! Chinese Style Fried Pork Chop on Rice- bite size crispy pork chops with some yummy pickled sides! The service was fast. They take cash or Apple Pay! If you're looking for a hole-in-the wall restaurant with inexpensive dishes that are well portioned for sharing, this is the place for you! The dealbreaker might be that it's a little cozy with the tables being so close together. 100% recommend! read more

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A&J is a perfect family style restaurant. Come with friends so you can try more dishes! We were a party of 4 and left the restaurant satiated. We started off with a cucumber salad. It had so much flavor and it was the perfect starter. We then shared Spicy Wonton w/ Hot Red Sauce, Pan Fried Pork Dumpling/Pot Stickers, Spicy Beef & Tendon Noodle Soup (Szechuan Style), Braised Pork on Rice (w/ a Braised Egg), Peking Beef Wrap, and Scallion Pancake. The biggest hits were cucumber salad, spicy wontons, beef noodle soup, and peking beef wrap. The beef noodle soup hit the spot and I loved the melt in your mouth tendon. Next time I would personally skip the pan fried dumplings because they were too thick. I would also skip the scallion pancake because it was a bit dry and not as flakey as I would of liked. All the other items I would 100% return for. I will definitely be back and I am very curious about the breakfast. read more

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Thought it was just OK. The dishes marked as spicy weren't spicy at all. The beef was very fatty. There were no vegetables and very little sauce to speak of with anything you get. The house made noodles are really good, though, I just wish there was more to the overall dishes. read more

A cute, cozy restaurant that served the best spicy sweet & sour noodles. Our waitress was very attentive & helpful with choosing which items we should select for our first time at the restaurant. We will definitely be coming back! read more

If you're looking for Xiao Long Bao aka soup dumplings, this is not the place you want to go to. Came to this restaurant to indulge in dimsum with a friend and while the food was flavorful, we were disappointed that the XLB was lacking in soup. We ordered the (not) xiao long bao, the Peking beef wrap, the turnip (daikon) pastry w/ bacon bits, cucumber salad, and red bean paste pastry. The Peking beef was probably our favorite with the turnip pastry being our least as it lacked in flavor. The XLB overall was very flavorful but it does take a long time for it to come out. If you're looking to dip your toes into dimsum, this wouldn't be my first option as the items on the menu are named differently rather than the more common name for things. I would overall recommend based on price and flavor if you go with the expectation at a bare minimum for the soup dumplings. The restaurant also does not take card, debit, or Apple Pay but they do take Venmo. With customer service and my overall experience, I'd say the rating is closer to a 3.5 over a 3, but still felt like a 3 was more justified than a 4 just based on soup dumpling expectations, read more

A&J - Taiwanese Near Me - Annandale, Virginia

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Cash/venmo only business!! Every dish is authentic and delicious -- order a lot for the table to share. Expect to wait to be seated but queue moves quickly because service is fast! Braised pork rice and Spicy Cucumber (not pictured) dishes are my favorites that I order every time. read more

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My first time trying northern Chinese food and it was amazing. It's takeout only. You can pre-order online or walk up and order. They take cash or Venmo if you walk up and order . No dine in yet but they are very clean and cautious. First off the staff is very nice and helpful. I was not familiar with all the items but the photos online helped. The ladies we so friendly and answered all my questions. Just great people. I ordered several dishes and they came out very fast . Honestly, the peaking beef wrap #4108 almost didn't make it home. The wrap is full of fresh veggies paired the with peaking beef ( chefs kiss) . I was in love with the first bite. Not too much sauces and the veggies added a great crunch. When I got home I had to take a bite of the braised pork on rice #3107 . Again another amazing dish. The braised pork had a five spice flavor paired & with the pickled mustard green and rice = FLAVOR BOMB . I didn't even try it with the egg yet but I know it's gonna be amazing. The bowl was comforting and just delicious. Please show this amazing restaurant some love and check it out. The food is fire and the staff are really sweet. Honestly, that one bite of the peaking beef wrap had me sold . No lie, I even went back and ordered more food Togo. read more

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Good noodle dishes and service at a reasonable price. The menu is somewhat limited in terms of protein.

This place is amazing -- such a staple to the area! It's such a whole in the wall place that accepts cash only; that's how you know it's good. There's not really any Taiwanese options around, so this place really separates itself from others. The food itself is delicious. Very flavorful, always well made, and comes our very quickly. Whether you dine in or get takeout, it's always good. The cucumber salad and the braised pork and rice are staples. The spicy beef noodle soup is extremely rich. The century egg and bean curd is definitely an acquired taste, though. Service is very nice and quick; they're very attentive. The only downside to this spot is it's very small inside. There's barely like 10 tables, and with the rise of its popularity, it gets busy fast so plan to come at a time that's not busy or plan to wait. read more

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Best Taiwanese food in the DMV area and for such a great value! We got the spicy beef noodle soup with the thick noodles. The noodles were chewy and the meat was very tender, but we wished there was more bok choy. We only got two pieces. The braised pork with egg and rice was my fave! All of the flavors paired well and the added chili oil really topped it off. Highly rec this dish! read more

A&J - Braised Pork Rice, Braised Egg - Taiwanese Near Me - Annandale, Virginia

I stop by A&J today try their food is different must be new owners I would go back SORRY

Food and service are both great and prices are reasonable. We love the noodle soups and the dumplings and really enjoy the side dishes.

Being from the San Gabriel Valley and familiar with its many Taiwanese eateries, I would say this restaurant can go toe to toe with the Taiwanese restaurants in Monterey Park (aka Little Taipei). Its red hot beef noodle soup with handmade coarse noodles (紅燒牛肉麵) has a deeply seasoned broth with the perfect amount of spice. Other favorites include the shredded bean curd with carrots and celery (涼拌乾絲), bean curd rolls with mushrooms (紅燒腐竹), and the Peking beef wrap (牛肉卷餅) . This is a gem in the Chinese food scene of the DC region. read more

A&J - Shredded bean curd with celery and carrot salad 涼拌乾絲 - Taiwanese Near Me - Annandale, Virginia

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I grew up going to the A&J on Rockville pike in Maryland so I'm very pleased there's a location also in Virginia since I now live in northern Virginia. I usually get Uber eats delivery or pick up from here so I can't speak to the service at this location but each time I do pick up they are very friendly and attentive. They take cash but you can also pay using Venmo which is awesome because I never carry cash on me. The Virginia location ambiance and design looks very similar to the Rockville location and I like how there is a lot of natural sunlight. I love the food! This is the one restaurant where I can order all my favorite dishes in Chinese. My go-tos are beef noodle soup with wide noodles, Lu rou fan or braised pork over rice, zha Jiang mian or noodles with ground pork and bean paste for main dishes. I love getting a bunch of the small dishes like bean curd and thousand year egg, beef tripe, spicy cucumber, vegetarian delight with gluten dry bean curd and wood ear mushrooms, seaweed and bean sprouts in garlic and vinegar, steamed spareribs with five spice rice powder, and the Peking beef wrap. I usually can't finish a bowl of noodles at other restaurants but at A&J it is so good that I eat everything and can clear an entire bowl of beef noodle soup and two sides like the cucumber and seaweed dishes. What's also amazing is the dishes are very affordable! One of my favorite Chinese food places! read more

A&J - Steamed spare ribs with five spice rice powder - Taiwanese Near Me - Annandale, Virginia

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I'm always on the hunt for great, authentic Chinese (Hunan, Szechuan, Taiwan, etc) food and came here with a very friend/fellow-foodie who's very experienced in Asian eats. Definitely a great selection as everything we ordered was great and definitely scratched my itch for the vibrant, authentic Chinese flavors you simply can't get from the typical "American" Chinese joint. This place is far from "typical" and in fact, they don't even have General Tso's on the menu! Their cucumbers were the best I've had yet! The hot oil they were in was so very flavorful! Their beef roll was very interesting and unique as I've never even heard of it before - Great flavors! Scallion pancake was great too, even though it was slightly thicker than I'm used to, it was good enough to order twice! Prices are fair and service was decent... Definitely would return! read more

Restaurant is clean and service is mediocre. Though the waitress forgot to serve all the food we ordered and gave me the bill in advanced which I have to call her out for some of the missing dishes.....she still carried on with a smile. Alright, here comes the honest review about the food. I have to warn all the Taiwanese people do not come here!!!!!! We ordered braised pork, pan fried dumplings, Dan Dan noodles, pekin beef roll. I am a proud Taiwanese and definitely can tell when it comes to simple staple Taiwanese food like braised pork over rice and dumplings. The restaurant did not use actual pork belly to make their braised pork and it looks like they use "canned pork sauce"?! If I want authentic braised pork sauce I'd spend time to make it and not pay someone to get a canned sauce and just dump over the rice to serve me. The pan fried dumplings were disgusting. It was so oily and no chew on the dough. The meat filling was salty and just simply taste horrid. I took only one bite and left the dish. As for DanDan noodles, the sauce was too bitter with too much sesame oil. The handmade noodle was decent. The pekin beef wrap was oily. The healthy part is that they added tons carrots so I could finish the dish. Alright at the end I gotta say I'm so ashamed and filled with disappointment (anger) after taking my family here excited to try authentic taiwanese food. I had to explained to my America raised family that this is not your typical Taiwanese food. (It's like panda express for Chinese food but worst!) On the other hand, if you don't mind trying revolting Taiwanese food copycat, this could be your place. 爆難吃到讓我身為臺灣人必需留言提醒所有臺灣人不要浪費錢去吃！ 魯肉飯根本不是切豬肉下去煮，像是在吃罐頭肉燥 。鍋貼的肉餡更是噁心到我吃一口就不吃。 或許外國人不會知道正宗臺灣菜的味道所以可以接受，但是我台中來的一定要說實話。 難吃到我美國長大的小孩都覺得難吃。。。。。。。。 read more

I am shocked this place has such high reviews. Food is not authentic and poorly made. The beef noodle soup was bland and had no flavor. It was not spicy and you can see the floating oil in the soup. This was a huge disappointment for a place that claims to serve Taiwanese. The pork chop with rice was hard and the batter was too thin and lacked the salt and pepper spice to the dish. This again is a popular dish for taiwanese. Lastly the potstickers or "open mouth" dumplings did not have the crispy bottom to it and just taste like regular dumplings. The filling was well made but didnt come with a dipping sauce which was strange. Wow this was a disappointing dinner. I will not come back , do not recommend. read more

A&J - fried pork chop - Taiwanese Near Me - Annandale, Virginia

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Service remains quick. Always still generally filled with people each time we come visit or get takeout. They no longer do their breakfast menu. read more

A&J - They are no longer doing breakfast as of January 6th 2024 - Taiwanese Near Me - Annandale, Virginia

This is my favorite Chinese place in northern VA. My husband and I come here at least every 2 weeks if not more often. I love that the food is fresh and really good quality for a very reasonable price. They also make their own noodles in house. Our go to are: 1. Wontons in chili oil 2. Rice a chicken 3. Rice and pork 4. Cucumbers in chili oil 5. Pickled cabbage 6. Any of the noodle soups 7. House made dumplings My favorite hack is to order a side of the house made noodles, steamed baby bokchoy, and wontons in chili oil and make my own noodle bowl read more

A&J is SO GOOD. Great Taiwanese food with friendly service in a quaint family-style restaurant. I recommend A&J to everyone I know - both the Rockville location and the Annandale one. Also, as of the last time I went, they now take credit card (though I'm sure paying cash is still appreciated). read more

Wow! If we could eat here every day we would. It's so sad it took us so long to eat here. What a hidden gem in Annandale. We love the broth of the beef noodle soup, but our favorite dish is the hot and sour noodles. Each time we go back we try something new and NOTHING has yet to disappoint. Quick and easy pick up during the quarantine. This is a must eat when you're in the area. read more

A&J - Taiwanese Near Me - Annandale, Virginia

Came in with four friends and got seated relatively quickly. Appetizers came out quickly. Order by circling the items you want on the menu with a pencil. Highlights were definitely handmade noodles with a very flavorful beef noodle soup, cold cucumber salad, and friend chicken plate with rice. Would definitely come back here because it was affordable and delicious! read more

Always love coming here for their beef noodle soup and fried chicken noodle soup. We also get their thousand year old egg tofu dish along with pork dumplings and cucumber dish. A&J is always the spot when my mom and I are craving soup. read more

My family and I total of seven people came to eat for their famous Taiwanese breakfast, but haven't been here for years and just found out they don't do that anymore. It's so disappointing, especially my parents love it. Services waitresses are still very warm and nice and friendly. Food is kinda downgraded compared to before. I have the spicy beef noodles and literally only two beef meats and two tenders (Yes I counted because I was sharing it with my kiddos) for $14. The worst thing is they still take CASH ONLY. they also charged 18% tips on table of 6+ which is reasonable but make sure you review your receipts because my careless mistake and I paid DOUBLE TIPS. I usually leave 20% tips but this time I ended paid 38% tips. read more

Authentic & Juicy- is that what A&J stands for? Probably not, but it should! Big reminder: this place is cash only! We went here for lunch on a Saturday and there was a line out the door. I was impressed by the hostess, who did not have to take our name down to remember the correct order of people to be seated. She gave us the menu while we waited. The dining room is fairly small- 2 big circular tables surrounded by smaller 2 seaters. We were seated quickly since the restaurant service was fast. Hot tea awaited us at our table, a nice soothing start to a chilly November lunch. We told our waitress our order, but being newbies we were supposed to mark it on the menu she gave us. We ordered the spicy beef soup, scallion pancakes, and pork buns. Everything was authentic! The broth on the spicy beef soup was light and savory, the chunks of beef was tender, the wide noodles were al dente, and the scallions provided a sharp spice- it was a perfect bowl of warmth and happiness. The pork buns was my next favorite. I thought they were going to be bao buns but they're actually dumplings! The filling on the dumpling was packed with juicy, savory pork enclosed by a delicate wrapper and grated with sharp and pungent ginger. You can ask for sauce and they'll bring out soy sauce, vinegar and chili paste. Overall, this place is legit and I would come back here to try out more items on their menu. read more

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It offers authentic Taiwanese food. The foods are tasty. I like scallion pancake, beef wrap, beef potstick, tofu with thousand years egg

Small Taiwanese shop (about 20 person capacity) with friendly staff that takes cash or venmo. Overall: 4/5; good not amazing food, but relatively cheap! Service was great. They were patient with us as we took a while to decide what to eat, brought out complimentary tea, and didn't bother collecting or asking for the cash until we left the restaurant. Food was as expected. The fried chicken was crispy and juicy. The scallion pancake tasted more doughy than I would have liked, and the spicy wontons were more sour than spicy. I'll have to come back to try the beef noodle soup myself and hopefully they'll have the regular wonton soup then too. read more

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This place has some rare finds of northern Chinese cruise. I really liked beef noodles and pork over rice. I was disappointed by pot stickers that weren't crunchy enough. Avoid sesame biscuit with beef. The biscuit was cold and bland with little beef inside. read more

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