Delicious food for cheap. Huge servings. Self-serve. I'm so glad I moved to Austin b/c now I can eat at Asia Cafe ALL I WANT! This place is stupendous! You can feed an army for $20! Everything we have tried so far have all been oh-so-good. Here are a few of my favorites: 1) Pork (Bacon) Slices w/Special Garlic Sauce 2) Spicy Fish 3) Soy Bean w/Mustard Greens 4) Shredded Pork w/Sliced Baby Bamboo Shoots You will not be disappointed! read more

This is the closest thing to an actual Chinatown market I've been to since I moved from NYC last year and the food is terrific. The restaurant in the back can be cramped and the menus are written in Chinese. When I ate here for the first time instead of just shopping in the market, the credit card machine was busted and I was the only white guy on line. I can get used to this, I thought. It already felt familiar and the smells were amazing. When I finally got up to the counter, I forgot what I'd come for because I wanted to sample everything but I played it safe with the Chicken and Broccoli (which was quite good). The person at the counter was sweet as can be and you can get a good look at part of the kitchen. I took my seat and watched some of the plates go up for other people - everything looked and smelled good. When I was called, I traded the number card they gave me for delicious sustenance. And, well, I've been back often and what everyone's saying about the spicy fish? Yes! read more

Can you say "authentic"? If you want real, fast, hot, great Chinese food--the real deal--come here. The cooks are from China. They KNOW what the hell they're doing! The proprietors are from Szechwan, I believe, the Chinese province famous for spicy foods, which they do especially well. The spicy fish (la yu) with cabbage underneath, spicy eggplant (#417 - specify "veggie" version cuz it may have meat bits), beef and bamboo shoots, and ma po tofu (almost a chili/tofu soup) all rule, and dishes come with a side of steamed white rice. Clay pots are also pretty good. You pretty much can't go wrong even if you played menu roulette; the menus don't have great pics. Once you order, you're given a number, and they shout it out later when your food is done in less than 10 minutes. Maybe even 5. FAST. Seating is fair, there's mayyyy-be 30 smaller tables which you could put together. There's even a tiny room on the side (no door, a coupla "windows") if you want a little privacy for your party. No booths, just nice lacquered tables with Asian designs embedded. This is not the place to go for ambience, though it's clean and the food is TASTY. I usually order up to 3 dishes (even by myself), feed my face, then pack up the rest as leftovers for the week. I hear you're allowed to BYO-alcohol. I've also seen a few basic beers served, like Shiner in a bottle. There's also free hot tea and ice water behind the counter, near napkins, chopsticks/utensils and take-out boxes...self-serve! Get there early to beat the lunch rush. Sometimes near closing at 8:30 PM, I've seen 10+ folks crammed in a line that stretches in the supermarket part of the establishment. You can also call in and pick up. Then, do your Asian-grocery shopping on a full stomach! They get some fresh-made stuff shipped in from Houston every so often, but their selection of produce is pretty small. They do sell a lot of kitchenware, though! The online menu's a bit tricky to pinpoint: http://asiamarketaustin.com/order.html It's in both English and Chinese. Growing up in the south as a whitewashed Chin-American and having been spoiled by a decade on the Left Coast, these places are few and far between in Austin--I'm willing to swear on my mamma's grave! As a southie, besides First Chinese BBQ in the MT Supermarket strip mall off of Braker, this is one of the few places I go when I'm jonesing for "real" Chinese food. For other Asian food, T&S is great for dim sum. Haven't tried Shanghai. Chinatown's yummy-town, but the prices are a bit too rich for my blood...unless I'm feeling rich. Is the recession over yet? Of course, it doesn't hurt that my bf took me here for our first date. ;) read more

The food was pretty much as authentic as it gets, but with out the crazy msg after taste. We ordered 3 entrees, pan-fried dumplings, an egg plant dish and most of the reviews on Yelp said to get the Spicy Fish. They were all delicious. I kept on looking (staring) back to the counter to see other people's dishes as they get called to be picked up. They all looked amazing. I can't wait to go back to try out more dishes. We had a blast being in fluorescent lights, with unmatched chairs and tables. Hearing continuous loud voice from the Chinese cook yelling out numbers for customers to come up to get their dishes. I felt more like I'm in China than when I was living in Monterey Park in So Cal. read more

Friend: That Dish Cray! Ain't it J? What She Order? Spicy Fish FIllet? Me: Please don't ever talk to me again. One of the best "normal" dishes at Asia Cafe is the spicy fish fillet. Definitely a must get unless you're allergic to seafood! But besides that, there' are so many good entrees there that you can't go wrong for the most part. The vegetables I've had were cooked perfectly and tasted so fresh and delicious that I could just order baby bok choy for my meals! But don't be afraid to venture off, sure some of the things may sound weird but it's the best chinese restaurant in Austin to try something new! This place gets busy during the lunch and dinner hour but there usually isn't that long of a wait until your food arrives. When you walk in, you'll see plenty of people eating and probably a line at the counter. Go wait in line and look at the menu so you can order your food.You'll get a number and can order a soda can or a variety of asian drinks or have plain water. A few minutes later, a chef will yell out your number so you can come get your dish so pay attention! So yes, there really is no customer services because there's just a person taking your order then a person saying your food is ready. Plain and simple which means the focus is on delivering a great meal! read more

I wouldn't recommend this place to frenemies. Food is like that of a poor imitation dump. They don't have hot tea cups, food is terrible, stale, and flavorless. Please do yourself a HUUUGE favor and do not dine and waste your money here. Their Lo Mein lacked flavor and color. Orange chicken had barely a hint of Orange flavor. The egg rolls were 80% wrapper and 20% flavorless stuffing. The worse dish we had was their bone-in Sweet and Sour Pork. No sweet. No sour. Not to mention the pork was dry and somehow reminded me of cardboard. When we tried to get it replaced with something else, the woman behind the counter very rudely said they didn't do that NOR did they give refunds! WTH?!? This place is horrible. DO NOT. I REPEAT. DO NOT COME HERE! You have been warned. read more

Severely disappointed by this place. Mostly because I ordered Thai tea. I asked prior to ordering if it was sweet and was told that it really wasn't. That was false because it was basically purple liquid cotton candy. So I asked the woman at the counter if I could get some more milk to tame it down. She was promptly irritated. So said she couldn't because it came from a mix. She offered to give me a second glass to split the drink into two and add more ice. I tried to understand why. I didn't want to argue but that wouldn't make it less sweet but we did it anyways. She asked me to try it and I did. It's still too sweet. She said we could add water. Now why would I want to add water to now two half full glasses of a milk based drink? I asked if I could just have something since I'd already paid for it. Again she was irritated at the request like it was my fault. I kept apologizing and explaining I just didn't enjoy it. She offered to give me a can soda out of the refrigerator. I said, can I just have a topo Chico (in the same fridge and likely the same price or less of this drink) she sighed and said yes. Positives at least: the beef and broccoli was good. However I'll likely never go back since it was such a big to deal day I didn't like a drink that she admitted was from a mix. read more

A cozy hidden gem amongst the common strip mall business. Walking into this place reminded me of a Asian market place. The staff was all Asian and very friendly. Ordering is like Little Caesars grab and go. You walk up to the counter look at the menu and place your order right there. Have a seat and they call your number. They had several big round tables with a lazy susan, great for large parties. These Zhong dumplings have cilantro. I have never had them like this and was pleasantly surprised. Combined with the soy sauce it made perfect sense. Personally I'm not into dumplings, but I enjoyed these very much. Spicy fish is amazing! It's a fried fish fillet with soy sauce, cilantro, baby bok choy, and hot pepper flakes. It is a super spicy dish. I like my stuff spicy so this made my stomach very happy. Sautéed chicken with xo sauce was my favorite of the three dishes. What is xo sauce? It's deliciousness! This dish had tons of veggies and after eating all this it is nice to have that much needed part in my diet. The chicken is thinly sliced and pan fried. This is a dish to try if you haven't had Asian in a long time. It will remind u of what u have been missing. I will be back. read more

The website is so accurate: you could buy a ticket to China for authentic food, or just come here! This is a place for authentic food for a reasonable price with any reason in mind. I come often enough some of the staff know me by name. They should since I've celebrated new jobs, friends and family visiting, girl's night outs, and countless other little life events. I've introduced many friends to this place, and none have been disappointed. So, this is not your typical Chinese-American restaurant. This is a Chinese restaurant in America (if you've seen Andrew Zimmern or Anthony Bourdaine visiting China, you'll recognize this type of place). It is a little loud and busy at normal meal hours, but if you don't like this, take out is there for you to use. I have found the perfect way to make the experience relaxing. First, take some menus from up front (or log onto the Internet on your smart phone if its busy) and take a seat that fits the numbers you are expecting: 5+ for the large tables with lazy Susans and smaller numbers at the other tables. Then, take a pen from a pocket or purse and a napkin from the beyond-filled napkin holder. Look at the menu, write down the number, and enjoy dreaming about odd flavor combos and ingredients. When you have the order you want, go stand in line and order (with a large order, just hand the napkin to the lady taking your order and let her punch it all in). Patiently wait for them to read the dishes back to you, pay, grab your beverages, bowls, and utensils. Go sit down and shortly, your number will be called and you can start gathering your order. Enjoy and dream of the dishes you'll order net time! Some tips for a wonderful experience: 1. Don't expect formal dining service in a Chinese CAFE: this will be more like buffet restaurant service. 2. If you don't like pressure to make decisions quickly, use my table-menu-napkin technique to give yourself time to mull things over. 3. If you don't want tons of leftovers, think one entrée less than the number of your party and two less with appetizers. 4. You can bring your own beer, but they don't provide glasses or openers so personal sized bottles and cans are best. Sit in the semi-enclosed rooms for more privacy. 5. I have yet to eat something that hasn't tasted good, even the bizarre things: blood cake, pork intestines, pork kidneys, and pork elbow. So, try whatever sounds interesting and discover new proteins. read more

Excellent food at very reasonable prices. We order take out from here every few weeks and have never been disappointed. Food is ready quickly and portions are very generous. Spicy fish fillet, House fish with tofu and cumin beef are my favorites. read more

After hearing that this spot was a top Chinese food spot in Austin, I was very interested in trying it. Being from NYC, where basically the BEST (American) Chinese food in the states comes from, I wanted to see if the rumor was true. In a nutshell, a strong argument can be made that Asia Cafe is the best down here. It's definitely the best Chinese I've had in Texas thus far. I ordered the Pan Fried Dumplings and was a bit disappointed because it didn't taste very fresh and the stuffing was really skimpy. I also ordered the Flat Noodles with Beef, which was pretty good. It tasted ok but lacked flavor but wasn't bad at all. Lastly, I ordered the Pork Fried Rice which I thought was surprisingly good. Next time I'd order it with another meat because the pork was really pale and looked like chicken more than pork (Insert mental stereotype here lol). While It may seem like this is a mediocre review, it was actually a nice experience as I figured all Chinese spots in Austin just suck period. (Think Panda Express....YUCK!) But Asia Cafe was surprisingly good. It's also worth mentioning that for the Price, you get a lot of food. I ended up taking a doggie-bag (No pun intended) and re-heated the rice and noodles later that day, and it tasted as good or slightly better than originally. read more

Single handedly destroyed Christmas dinner. We placed an online order for a Christmas dinner at 5pm with UberEats. Dinner was for the 6 of us and totaled roughly $100. The order kept getting delayed-I assumed they were busy. At 7:15pm the order finally arrived. Aaaaannnnndd.. we are missing 2 entrees. So the vegetarian of the group does not get to eat and 6 people have to share the 2 entrees we did get and 4 egg rolls. For Christmas. At 7:30pm. The possible worst day to screw up an order. I also want to state that everything was tasteless. Our main entree did not come with steamed rice...is this normal? Duck was boney and dry and very expensive. Other food was flavorless, dry. Definitely not worth a 2hr wait and I was so angry that the order was not complete. How can you spend 2 hours preparing 2 entrees AND get the order completely wrong. In the end, we were all hungry...had to run to CVS to get frozen pizza-which was actually better than the food we ate from Asia Cafe. What a waste. Will NEVER order food or eat here again. read more

Based on all the reviews, I made a special trip to try this place out. It's just OK. The place is basically a dive in a location that is designed to be a mid-end restaurant. The ordering system is kind of interesting. You order at the counter and then this dude shows up and screams your order number when your food is ready. They really should consider hiring wait staff and driving up the average orders through basic customer service 101. We tried quite a few dishes and while the quantities are very generous for each entree, the entrees are just average. - the kung pao chicken was way too sweet and there were pieces of chicken still pink & uncooked - their pot stickers were totally disappointing. You could buy better frozen pot stickers at their grocery next door. - lomein was quite so-so and had way too much runny egg - potato sichuan was the only stand-out dish - ma po tofu was just eh - oh, and there is extremely crappy tea included in all orders Maybe we got here on an off day. I noticed the other folks eating had similar reactions as mine. I'll give it one more shot on a weekday for lunch. PS. I miss Chinatown in San Fransisco. Was hoping this place would fill-in. read more

Quite the interesting place. You come in with your group of friends, claim a table for yourselves and after coming to a consensus order at the counter paying for your ticket up front. Next proceed to get your own room temp water (no ice), plates, bowls, silverware or chopsticks and napkins. You wait until your number is called to get your items yourselves. Basically the first restaurant of this kind that I have been to. Definitely self-serve. After figuring out how the restaurant operates and actually getting all your food.. the actual food is what keeps people coming back for more! My table ordered five dishes: Eggplant in garlic sauce - Personally don't like eggplant, but my friends thoroughly enjoyed eating it. Mapo Tofu - One of the best I've ever had! Nice and spicy! Salt and pepper squid - A hit at our table! A fail-safe option.. I don't know how anyone could fail at making something as simple as salt and pepper squid. Beef and Bamboo shoots - I personally liked the flavoring of the beef. It was quite nice! And if I remember correctly general Tso's Chicken - Good, but it was the last dish left on the table for us to finish. Canned soda was a dollar, but I wasn't complaining. I'd rather anything canned or bottled over their water. Overall the food was delish and filling. Now factoring in the cost! $48 dollars to feed six guys using 5 delish dishes deserves 5-stars! Just a heads up that it may be hard to find on your first visit because it appears as a small restaurant in a large shopping center. read more

Had an amazing 20-person group meal here on Monday. It's always been a favorite for me, and this experience cemented it as a fiver. We ordered 13 dishes and a 5 appetizers and it worked out perfectly. A lot of amazing dishes, all served quickly and cooked with skill. Standouts are the eggplant in garlic sauce, the mapo tofu, the szechuan string beans, and the chong-chin chicken. The latter is not for newbies; it's spicy and comes with a generous mix of floral peppercorns that numb your tongue better than your dentist. But it's a heck of a sensation and the chicken is delicious. Don't forget that it's BYOB. read more

I'm not even entirely sure how to describe the food here. It's definitely a bit different, but worth a try. Service was fast and portions were huge-- excellent for family style dining or just for the very hungry. read more

There are already a great many reviews for this excellent restaurant. I want to contribute my experience, since I value their service. After many recommendations, I tried Asia Cafe about a year ago as a fanatic of authentic pan-Asian cuisine. I've had authentic Sichuan and Hunan food before, and Asia Cafe is among the best in my experience, from New York to San Francisco (I haven't been to mainland as of the writing of this review, unfortunately). Their dishes are consistently high-quality, fresh, satisfying, and exactly what they say they're going to be. No nonsense: if a dish says it will include half of a chicken, then the dish will include half a chicken. While everything I've tried at Asia Cafe has been excellent, my three favorite dishes, which I consistently return to, are the Spicy Fish Filet, the Sweet and Sour Fish, and the Hunan Style Pork with vegetables. This is honest, no-nonsense, legitimate Chinese cuisine. If you're looking for a buffet, look elsewhere; if you're looking for Sushi, look elsewhere, and consult a dictionary. Asia Cafe is extremely high-quality mainland Chinese cuisine for a bargain, and I haven't had anything that trumps it anywhere on this continent. read more

I had been living in the area for 6 months and friends would always tell me I needed to try Asia cafe. One day my fiance and I decided to try it, and I'm so very glad we did! The food is amazing! It is served "family" style with bowls of white rice on the side of most dishes. It's counter service, so you order and pay at the register and they call your number once the food is ready. So far, I've had several of their fish dishes, but the spicy fish fillet is by far my favorite dish. It is a lightly breaded fish in a spicy red sauce over beans sprouts and bak choy. Almost every single time we order it, another patron waiting in line to order asks us what it is. It looks that delicious! Their hotpots and stir fry dishes are also amazing. There are also vegetarian dishes available in savory sauces. Considering the amount of food that is served, it is a very good price, and we always have leftovers. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone that would like to try some authentic Chinese and Asian dishes. Edit: I have to drop a couple of stars from this place. The food is still as amazing as ever but i had a really bad experience with the customer service. One day I called to place an order for pick up and specifically asked not to have sezhuan peppercorns in one of the dishes I ordered. I always order it this way with no problem. My husband went to pick up the order and he found the dish full of them. These peppercorns numb your mouth and we do not like the sensation. The woman at the counter argued with my husband and said I never asked for it to come without them. He called me to let me know what was going on so I gave them a call and the woman I spoke to picked up and I stated I had called the order in and specifically asked not to have those in. The phone went dead while I was talking and I thought the woman hung up on me. When I said "hello?, The woman got back on the phone and said she sent the order back to correct it. Well, I called my husband to let him know and he asked if I had just gotten off the phone with her. I told him I had, and he stated he saw her pick up the phone, listen for a few seconds and then pull the phone away from her ear and started laughing! In front of other customers! I thought she had hung up on me, but instead she was laughing. My husband confronted her and told her we have been going there for years and always loved the place but that her actions were unacceptable. She seemed embarrassed and apologized profusely but that was a bit much. The thing is, SHE was the one that initially told us we could get the dish without those peppercorns the first time we ordered it. Food is still great but after being treated like that, we rarely have gone back. read more

Asia Cafe - So much yumminess - Chinese Near Me - Austin, Texas

When you have a meal and you think about it periodically and want for it, well that's the fish special at this joint. If only they were closer. It was amazingly delicious and a huge amount that it made 3 meals for me. It was full of flavor and fresh ingredients and was a taste that was newer to me and I just can't give it higher marks. Drinks are just tea. The place is just perfunctory. Ambiance is a no go, but damn that fish dish! I love it so hard! read more

Sorry to be the first non-five star rave here, but it was merely very good when we went a couple nights ago. I for one love the atmosphere, unlike some who've written here. Unless I'm paying top dollar I don't give a damn what a restuarant looks like, as long as the roaches stay out of sight most of the time. This place is surrounded by cardboard boxes and I dig that they don't even try to cheese it up with decor of any sort. Also loved the old cook who wandered out into the "dining room" with his wife-beater on while scratching his belly. As they say, there's a little bit of the chef in everything he makes... Character to spare here. I also like that I could go and get one of the many new-to-me canned drinks (almond juice, mmm; white gourd drink also very good. Please don't tell me what a white gourd is...) and bring it back to my table. Relaxed vibe, very cool. That said, the food was good but not as sublime as everyone else here said. I had the salt and pepper shrimp in order to compare them with T&S' hallowed SPS. Lots of big shrimp here, good bang for the buck, but in the shell and with minimal batter/sp. But fresh and certainly good. My friend had a seafood special that was swimming in butter and was merely fair. A long way from the legendary food I heard about here. We did feel great an hour later, always an important thing. Good energy in the kitchen, apparently, belly skritchin' and all. I will go again and try some different things; every restaurant has their forte, haven't found AC's yet. But I do love the cafeteria vibe and the many cool items/drinks/desserts in the market that you can have with the meal. I wouldn't dissuade anyone from going, but I wouldn't say it was incredible either neither. Compared to some of the Chinatown spots in SF and Toronto and Vancouver and NYC, this is merely good. It only seems great because we're really lacking in genuine Chinese here in Austin. O, for a truly world-class Szechuan place... read more

I live ten minutes from Asia Cafe. There are a lot of great reviews. It's not as spicy as true Sichuan food. The menu is way too big. Avoid the potstickers--go to Chen's and get the boiled pork dumplings which have tender thin wrappers. But do go for the Ma Po Tofu, the garlic sprouts with pork (one of my favorite dishes when I lived in China, and one I've never before seen in the U.S) the spicy fish, and recently, the special Chong Qing Chicken. The chicken dish is very spicy by US standards, almost Sichuan spicy. (I can eat Sichuan spicy, but don't always want to.) It's crispy bits of fried chicken and chilies. It's a dish I've only had in LA and it's endorphin city. Not everything is good--like I said, the menu is way too big. But order right an it's the best Chinese I've had in Austin. read more

A few years ago this place was recommended to us by the Chinese sushi chefs at various japanese restaurants in Austin. So we made the trek north and loved the fact that a restaurant at the back of a supermarket was serving sichuanese food. Revisiting last month, it was pleasing to see the American dream in action and the restaurant now has its own space next door to the supermarket. Stupidly we didn't check the hours of operation so arrived close to closing so could not order the whole fish which takes half an hour. Instead we ordered the spicy fish fillets. The spice flavour was good but they battered the fish fillets. Battered fish is not chinese!! This was really disappointing. My wish would be this restaurant stick to more traditional methods!! Also the tofu dish (fried tofu with crushed pepper) the gentleman recommended was a little blah. I liked that it had lotus roots but probably should have orderd ma-po tofu without the meat. This place is definitely worth visiting and perhaps if we had arrived earlier we could have had a different experience. I am hoping next time we visit there are more numbing-spices, fresh fillets drowning in mountains of dried whole chilli and hot oil. We love spice and have been to Sichuan, so hope the owners/ chefs will de-westernise the menu and give Austinites a true sichuan experience. read more

As far as traditional Americanized-Chinese cuisine goes, this place is hands-down the best I've had anywhere in Austin. The food is quite yummy. Lots of actual oriental families eat here from what I can tell. Every time I go, the place is just crawling with people... But eating in can be very turbulent as they bring out the dishes at the same counter where your order is taken, so there's ALWAYS people standing in your way that you have to contend with whilst bringing your meal back to the table. Another real bummer is that their Crab Rangoons are just Fried Cheese Wontons but their Homemade Pan Fried Dumplings are LEGIT and extremely flavorful. I recommend the Sesame Chicken dish. Its sauce has a nice, bold and musky taste --similar but much better than the typical General Tso's. Also try the spicy Mapo Tofu, its flavor and texture reminds me of buffalo chicken dip. JUST A HEADS UP: Always check to make sure you get rice! The food is superb but on more than one occasion, (both delivery and dine-in), they've managed to forgot to give me any rice. read more

I must have driven right by this crappy old strip mall a thousand times by now without paying much attention to the fact that Asia Cafe was there. BIG mistake, and one that I finally rectified today. A co-worker suggested it for lunch, and offered to buy if he could pick the menu items. Why yes, of course! Walking in, I noticed the immediate smell of a typical Asian market, which makes sense, as the market is right next door. Maybe not everyone's thing, but I liked it. There was plenty of seating available in a decently large dining room. The service here is counter-style, which was fine. Things seem to go quicker that way anyway. We ended up with three massive family-style plates of Cumin Beef, Sweet And Sour Fish Fillet, and Shredded Curry Chicken. I'd come back for the Cumin Beef alone, because...God damn. Unbelievably good. It rocketed straight up the ranking of Asian dishes to have here in Austin. The fish was delicious too, if not quite as mind-blowing as the beef. The chicken seemed to be a bit on the bland side, but that might be just because it was next to these other two explosions of flavor. It was pretty good, really. As good as it was, we couldn't even finish half of it. The portions are generous here, and the egg drop soup and bottomless pot of green tea is included, no extra charge. Big plus. I'll be back, for sure. read more

Probably the best Chinese restaurant in Austin. They have great food and large portion for a good price. The service is fast and friendly. read more

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The food is always fresh and tastes amazing! Where I go here with my coworkers for lunch and with family/friends for dinner, the quality is very consistent. The portions are quite large, so two entrees will serve four people easily. Free hot tea and water are self service. I highly recommend checking this place out! read more

Asia Cafe - Spicy Seafood Udon Noodle Soup / Pickled Salad / steamed dumplings - Chinese Near Me - Austin, Texas

We love Asia Cafe. Just recently, it got beat out by A+A Sichuan Garden according to our tastes. If I could give it 4.5 stars, I would. I docked it a point for oil. It's just greasier than A+A. Because this is not table-side service, and it's real Chinese food, your food is made fast and that's one reason it's great for kids. You're not waiting for 30 minutes for your food. read more

Todays my birthday...yep another year older and (hopefully) wiser...a very good buddy said "get your butt up north I'm buying lunch" so we agreed on Asia cafe because I'd heard the word...but never been there. I do about 5 stir frys a week at home so I was equally excited about checking out the Asia Market next door since down in South Austin where I live, I have not found one decent Asian Market and only 2 decent Chinese haunts for take-out (Bamboo Garden and Saigon Kitchen which isn't even Chinese is it?) After a 30 minute drive up north I finally got there, felt like going to Waco as I don't go north of 2222 unless a paycheck is involved. Thats all changed as I'll be making the trip again because this cafe cooks up some of the best Asian food in Austin in my opinion and the Market kicks ass if you do some serious Asian cooking at home like myself. The pan fried tofu with cracked pepper was beyond great, blending sweet with spicy and the perfect texture. The Mongolian chicken isn't really on the menu but was spicy and full of flavor and addictive. The egg rolls were not dry and the sauce was light yet full of flavor. Finally the wonton soup was huge and I found the broth to be thick yet not too salty with plenty of leafy greens and tons of wontons floating about (big enough for two people like everything...which is what we like). Yeah, it was a lot of food for two people...which is what the people want so give them what they need....then I went next door and dropped 50 bones on two large bags and a box worth of stir fry goods to take home. It may have been the greatest 3 hour birthday lunch I've ever had :) read more

I've been going to Asia Cafe for about 6 years now, and I will keep on returning. Favorite Dishes: - Spicy Fish - Teppan Beef - Mapou Tofu - Asian Eggplant with minced pork The place has a variety of dishes, ranging from the safer american classics (like General Tso's or Sesame Chicken) to more asian centric dishes. The proportions are quite large, for a group of 4 people 3 dishes are normally more than enough. Some things to keep in mind: There is no wait staff, you order in the front and when your food is ready they call you. You have to grab your own bowls, utensils, water, etc read more

First off - the food here is AMAZING, and the menu is huge. The pan fried tofu with crushed pepper is my favorite dish, but everything I've ordered here has been amazing. The dishes are meant to be family style, so you get a LOT of food. The more people you come with, the better. Try all of the vegetable dishes too. This is my favorite Chinese food in Austin by far (although, Austin is not really known for its abundance of good Chinese food...). The reason I give it 4 stars - the service is AWFUL. I know you order at the counter and pick up your own food, but there have been several times where the staff has been downright rude to me. On one particular instance, I was eating with one other person and we sat at a large table because it was the only one available. One of the women working there came up to us and snapped at us to "Move to another table, I have a big group coming in!" If she had asked politely I wouldn't have minded moving... read more

Asia Cafe blew my mind. Not often can you find spectacular Asian fare outside of the DFW or Houston metroplexes... but Asia Cafe defies the odds. In fact, I am not even a fan of Asian food; I often have identity crises. I like Southern food a lot more than my ancestral dishes. Alas, I went with a big group, and we had a blast and feast. We rolled in a huge cooler of booze and reserved a private room. Oddly, the private room had a huge window that people looked through. Everyone pointed at our coolers, and we laughed because we knew that we were secure with the BYOB policy. Now, I will say that there is a very non-authentic ordering method here. You order at the counter. The line is long. You must wait. They call your order out. Weird. Without service, it is kind of annoying that you have to walk to the kitchen to get your white Asian staple. Nonetheless, food is cheap, food is good, and food is filling. The Eggplant turned my non-Asian friends into converts. They loved the rich, oily mouthfeel paired with the complex, deep flavor. The fried chicken is somewhat like popcorn chicken with peanuts. Don't order if you have a peanut allergy. The twice cooked pork is essentially slices of bacon in a sauce. The Mapo tofu is killer here, with just the right amount of spice. The sesame chicken is surprisingly tasty and crispy here. The special sweet potato cakes were gummy, but delicious. They had a little black sesame paste inside. Not recommended: wok shaken beef. Go with the N+1 method here, not the typical N-1. Order excess. Stay late. Eat too much. You will leave one happy camper. read more

I've only been once. I got the Spicy Fish. Thank you, Yelp, for suggesting I eat the Spicy Fish. Ryan loves the Spicy Fish. I want more Spicy Fish to put in my Spicy Fish hole. It was only when I had finished that the regular world came back to me. I realized that the room reminded me of a church cafeteria. This isn't really a bad thing as it provides a real family-style vibe. You walk up front, order your food, pay, prepare a beverage for yourself and sit down with your number. The whole thing only took like 5 minutes and our number was called. The dishes arrived on a tray, which I promptly whisked away into my own personal grub town. My girlfriend ordered the Seafood Udon. The consistency was surprising and actually reminded me of traditional chicken noodle soup. I dig their take on this dish. It was easy on the soul. The service is insanely efficient and the food is the best Chinese I've had in Austin (passing Din Ho as my previous champion). Easy five star. read more

I still like the food, but I was a little disappointed when i tried to call in an order early. I wanted the beef flat noodles. The guy said kept on asking what I wanted. I said it in English and Chinese. In the end, they made me beef stir fried noodles. When ordering over the phone, it seems best if you order by the number. ___ Also, don't call in an order and then decide the eat it at the restaurant if you change your mind. They will be pissed off . . . read more

I am not the best judge of authenticity when when it comes to Chinese food. Which is a little disappointing because I am Chinese. We ordered asian eggplant and fish in bean sauce. We were told that the fish would take 20 minutes because they have to cook a whole fish. Twenty minutes was no big deal because you can shop for Asian goodies in the grocery while you wait. When the fish arrived we were shocked, they served us two whole fish. The food is pretty tasty. The only issue I had was the dishes were a bit heavy on the sauces and salty. I would agree with other reviewers that the decor needs some help. But it's not really intended to as a sit down restaurant, there is not any wait service. you get your own water and utensils. I would definitely go again, there are lots of things on the menu to try. For folks more interested in the american-chinese food, there is also beef broccoli and general tso's on the menu. read more

My visit here was not bad, but I left a little disappointing given the high expectations I had. I ordered the stir fried frogs legs (boned). Turns out "stir fried" means breaded and deep fried. And "boned" means the bones are still in the legs. On top of this, there was little else to accompany the legs besides a couple of jalapenos, garlic, and sub-par rice. The legs had no flavor, and they were a little tough. The high notes. The portion sizes are huge. One serving could easily act as two or three generous dinners. Second, the menu is extensive. I plan to return, because I give credence to those who recommended it to me, and I hope that the dish they served me was not their best. If that's the case, I'd advise them to take it off the menu. I've only been here once, but it did not blow me away. I'll likely be back, and hopefully I can edit my review for the better. read more

Looks like a regular dine in restaurant upon entry you think you will be sat but you must walk to the cashier towards the back takes your order gives you a numer then you find your table and wait to be called. The place is nice and tidy looks and smells clean... They have a various Selections from appetizers, soups to dishes in fish , pultry, and beef. I tried the spicy fish recommended by the gentlemen in front of me after I told him it was my first time ... I also tried the cream cheese wontons and shrimp fried Rice the price is super cheap too. Many people order one entree and share with white rice sides. I would return for the spicy fish it's as good as everyone says it is... However the fired shrimp rice had precooked mini shrimps so that was a disappointment . Next time I'm just sharing the spicy fish and leaving it at that, we also ordered cream cheese wontons mind you we had to get up three different times to have a complete order since you pick up your order it's not Delivered so note to self only order one thing next time. read more

My cousin took me here last time I was in Austin and I really enjoyed their spicy fish fillet as well as their eggplant in garlic sauce. It was pretty delicious. I definitely recommend both of these dishes. We also ordered some cheese wontons, and these I would pass on next time. The cheese filling was one-dimensional, and the outer wonton skin was chewy and tough. We didn't finish those. Another plus: I had enough left-overs from the spicy fish and eggplant to enjoy two more meals at home!! read more

We planned to go to Chen's Noodle House, but it was closed on Tuesday. I need to make a mental note of that. So we went to Asia Cafe. I was pleasantly surprised, I ordered #558- Spicy Beef Noodles. The broth and meat were delicious! And it was incredibly cheap too ($5.95). The beef was extremely tender. My BF ordered the spicy twice cooked pork and it was pretty tasty too, his plate was $9. I will definitely be going back. Restaurant Inspection Scores: Asia Market 8650 SPICEWOOD SPRINGS RD Unit 115 AUSTIN 78759 07/23/2009 91 Asia Market 8650 SPICEWOOD SPRINGS RD Unit 115 AUSTIN 78759 02/05/2009 88 Asia Market 8650 SPICEWOOD SPRINGS RD Unit 115 AUSTIN 78759 08/06/2008 82 Asia Market 8650 SPICEWOOD SPRINGS RD Unit 115 AUSTIN 78759 04/01/2008 88 Asia Market 8650 SPICEWOOD SPRINGS RD Unit 115 AUSTIN 78759 09/14/2007 89 read more

This place has amazingly authentic and great-tasting Chinese food. The food always comes in huge portions and is delicious. The menu may be hard to understand, as it is not translated well, but pretty much anything you order will be good. The cashier lady was very dour and unfriendly, but who cares? The food is amazing! read more

I discovered Asia Cafe through yelp so I thought I'd give back. Everybody gives it 4.5 to 5 stars, and guess what.... They are right. Fresh tasty, humble, and the best Chinese I've had in Austin. I went 6 times in the first two weeks that I tried them. Everything I've ordered has been great. I've invited several friends and family and all have agreed. This little place isn't much to look at. But DANG it's really good. read more