One of the old school classics that grew up going to often. It's a bit sad to see how Chinatown has changed post pandemic with many stores shuttered. I'm glad this cafe is still around. No frills restaurant serving a variety of dishes (rice plates, noodles , clay pot, wonton, etc) as well as prepared meats like roast duck, roast pork, etc. service was quick and food was delicious and piping hot. Price is very reasonable. We had the jia leung, which is a fried dough pastry wrapped in Cheung fun- a classic Cantonese dim sum dish. Also had a salted fish and pork cake clay pot rice, beef chow fun with sauce, and Singapore rice noodles. Street parking is a little easier than before, but unfortunately oakland enforces meters 7d/week nowadays. read more

Best Taste Restaurant - Chinese Near Me - Oakland, California

See all

Best Taste Restaurant is right next door to Tao Yuen Pastry! I came to Best Taste Restaurant to try their roast duck to-go. It's a no-frills old school Chinatown restaurant with tables for sit down meals, and a chinese deli counter with cooked foods. The man behind the deli counter doesn't speak English. But that's okay, because I don't speak Chinese! I wanted a whole roast duck, and have it chopped up. You just say some keywords, point, and use hand gestures. So just say....."One duck, chopped up." He will ask...."chopped up?" Just nod yes and say "Yes, chopped up." The price is on the menu board. A young lady came over and took my money. How was the duck? Fairly meaty, nice flavor, not salty. Roast duck is fatty and greasy. Try zapping it in the microwave to warm it up. They give you some sauce to pour over. The price ($30) was fair compared to other places in Chinatown. Located on Franklin St between 8th and 9th Streets. Street parking and parking garage nearby read more

See all

Usually this place is packed but I've never had to wait more than 10 mins for a table. (If you're open to sharing a table with another party, you can get seated faster.) Love coming here in the mornings for their breakfast deals! Most entrees come with a drink like the milk tea or coffee for a great price under $10. My faves are the toasted pineapple bun with butter (sooo yummy), the rice rolls or the congee with Chinese donut. The bbq also steals the show as you walk in. I do find that their bbq is a little salty for my liking but still good. Portion sizes are always generous here. The servers are friendly and quick. I like bringing guests here when they visit me in Oakland. It's also conveniently located near other tasty spots like Tao Yuen (pastries or dim sum) and Napolean bakery. Best Taste remains one of my fave spots in Oakland Chinatown! read more

See all

Stopped in with friends for lunch. We ordered the Concubine Chicken (light wine marinated steamed chicken with yellow skin aka Empress Chicken), Roast Pork 2 item dish (we chose roast duck), Sauteed Seasonal Vegetables (we chose Ong Choy/water spinach), Sauteed Pork Kidneys, and an Eel Claypot to share family style. We added a few bowls of rice as well. I was most impressed with their Roast Pork - skin was extra crispy and light, and the meat was cooked right. Roast duck wasn't too oily, which is a plus. The steamed Concubine Chicken was also cooked right and the scallion/ginger dipping sauce put it together nicely. The pork kidney had a good texture and was not overcooked and seasoned lightly in the sautee (which included bell peppers and onions). It was also cleaned appropriately since there wasn't any strong odor or pungency from the organ meat. The Ong Choy vegetable gave a nice balance to all the meat diahes we had. The Eel claypot was cooked very nicely. There was the perfect amount of crispy rice crackling on the bottom and side edges and eel was also seasoned moderately and not overcooked. It also came with thin slices of lap cheong sausage, mushrooms and a couple stalks of gai lan (chinese broccoli). Overall a good and tasty meal had by all of us. read more

See all

Great roast duck, siu gai, char siu. Always worth making a stop, walking in the door, the smell of crispy roast pork will knock you out! read more

Best Taste Restaurant - Char siu, roast duck (custard pies from Tao Yuen) - Chinese Near Me - Oakland, California

This has become my favorite spot to get porridge and rice rolls! They have a breakfast special menu from 8:30am-11am with great deals. I've only ordered from their breakfast special. I got the Beef w/rice noodle roll and Shrimp w/rice noodle roll. Both of these came with a drink. I got the lemon iced teas with an additional $1 for cold drinks. I ordered the pork and preserved egg congee w/chinese donut and also the Fish Filet congee w/chinese donut. Each of these items were ~$10 or less! Lastly, I got their bean sprout soy sauce chow mein for $5! They give such a generous amount! They serve this until they run out. Sometimes they run out pretty early! Everything was delicious. The rice rolls and Chinese donuts are made to order so you know they are fresh! 10/10 recommend if you're looking for some good breakfast foods in Chinatown! They are quite busy in the morning. I like to order to-go through the phone. read more

See all

Small, old-school hole-in-the-wall spot that offers Chinese BBQ, roast meats over rice, clay pots, noodles and simple soups like congee and won ton/noodle. This spot has been around at least 30+ years and is very no nonsense and not fancy. You'll have the local seniors sitting around drinking tea or reading the paper so you may be sharing a table. Popular items: :: Rice plates with roast duck, roast pork, bbq pork :: Noodles like chow mein and chow fun :: Fried drumsticks and wings :: Congee and soups like won ton noodles Ambiance...there isn't any unless you like to people watch and seeing the steady flow of locals getting Hong Kong-style BBQ (roast pork, duck, bbq pork), service minimal and to-the point. Prices very reasonable which makes this place popular along with the simple menu of items Metered street parking which may be hard to find. Garage parking 2 blocks away at the: Pacific Renaissance Plaza Parking Garage (between 10th/11th, entrance on Webster read more

Best Taste Restaurant - Sweet and sour pork to share - 3.75/5 - Chinese Near Me - Oakland, California

See all

Located in the Oakland Chinatown area, you will find Best Taste Restaurant located next to quite a few other busy spots as well, but one of the only ones that are actually a sit down restaurant for those who are interested (though beware of timing, as I will speak to this more later). Best Taste is usually the busiest earlier in the day as they have breakfast specials that are very affordable, and for the older crowd in Oakland Chinatown, they are pretty much packed all the way until the breakfast specials end. It's not a large establishment, but can sit a fair number of people albeit, very cramped up front because lots of people waiting for takeout, getting the different cuts of meats through the looking glass, and will cause quite a bit of traffic when it's filled sitting and standing. They serve a variety of food here, from juk to chow mein to roast duck and many more. Price wise, they're not bad overall even when not the breakfast special. The breakfast special is mainly just juk anyways, so if you want anything else besides that it's not going to work for that special. Their meats, menu items when compared to other spots just down the street, are going to be slightly cheaper for the same thing. They will have some more less common but very traditional cuisine dishes that they do very well here and its tasty. One of the things about this spot too is that portions are good for what you order, and it tastes good to great depending on what you get. I don't think I've had anything here I've hated yet, so that's always a good sign. They certainly don't skimp on ingredients with their dishes and everything is flavored well. The only downside here is that the service is pretty hit or miss. They're not great, but they will do their job. When it gets real busy though, this is when the service really suffers from okay to ignored unless you make it known you need to order something or waiting on something to remind them you're still waiting. The sit down service is a bit better even when they're busier, so if you're looking primarily for takeout just keep this in mind. Overall, Best Taste is a great place to be if you want some quality Chinese food in Oakland Downtown. read more

See all

Update of a previous review since it has been a few years since I've been to Best Taste Restaurant. I'm assuming, I don't know for sure if it's the same ownership, but the food is solid. I recently went for a Chinese Breakfast, the have a Breakfast Menu from 8:30am-11am which comes with a milk tea or coffee. I ordered the Preserved Duck Egg and Pork Porridge/Congee with Chinese Donut. I also ordered their BBQ pork rice roll. The order came out fresh given the place was packed for sit down and takeout/BBQ. The Congee was good with pretty good amount of duck eggs and pork. The rice roll was pretty flavorful. When I was there, there was a long line for the BBQ line. The prices seem a little lower for the pork products than other places in Oakland Chinatown (BBQ pork, roast pork, spare ribs), but there wouldn't be a big line if it wasn't good. I used to go to Best Taste for the Claypot Rice which are still on the menu, I'll have to check them out again sometime. read more

See all

Best value breakfast in town. $7-$8 you can get Roast Duck, Roast Pig, Soy Sauce Chicken or BBQ Pork with noodles in soup plus a cup of milk tea for breakfast Or a large bowl of congee with a fried dough. There is a very nice server in this restaurant. read more

Best Taste Restaurant - Soy Sauce Chicken with rice noodles - Chinese Near Me - Oakland, California

See all

I've been sleeping on this Oakland Chinatown spot! I've walked by many times and saw the barbecue meats hanging in the window, but didn't realize there was an attached restaurant as well. I came by for lunch with a friend on a Tuesday afternoon around noon and it was popping with locals. It's not a big restaurant with only a couple of tables. We got our own table initially but ended up sharing with an older couple once all the tables were full. The menu is straightforward with two pages. I got shrimp wonton with ho fun (rice noodles) for $10.49 and the beef stew rice noodle roll for $7.50. Both items were good! The beef stew rice noodle roll came with a generous amount of flavorful beef and the rice noodle roll was silky smooth. I just wish it wasn't sitting in so much oil... The wonton noodle soup really hit the spot as well. I didn't count but there were probably 5-6 generously sized wontons in there. I wasn't able to finish all of it, so I took my leftovers home and enjoyed it as a snack the next day. My friend got the roast pork / siu yuk over rice for $9.99 and enjoyed her dish as well. read more

See all

Came on a weekday morning and it seemed like every person who was visiting Oakland Chinatown who had plans to eat lunch or maybe brunch was here. It was genuinely a bit hard to get a table and the only way to do so is when a person is about to leave, you sit down at the dirty table and then the waiter will come to clean it all up. That is exactly what we did with the help of many aunties. As for the food, I thought most of it was okay. Here's what we ordered: - Pork & Preserved Egg Congee with Chinese Donut - I feel like the congee didn't have a lot of flavor and the preserved egg almost didn't feel like it was completely cooked through because there was a bit of a metallic taste to it. I was a bit confused about the fact that there was a chinese donut in this dish at all but the donut itself was very good and flaky. - Duck with Rice Noodle Roll - The duck lacked a bit of sweetness from its fat drippings that usual Cantonese dining places have. However, the soup base was pretty good and rich and I did enjoy the cabbage a lot. - Chinese Donut with Rice Noodle Roll - This with soy sauce was very classic and very delicious. I would recommend getting this dish. I think the reason why there were so many people there was because the brunch prices were pretty good as you could feel full with less that $8. I don't think the food is the best you could get at Oakland Chinatown but the community vibes where everyone is in everyone's business is really spectacular and for that I have no choice but to recommend this place. read more

Came here as a "treat" for my elderly dad after he did a blood draw (fasting) so we were very hungry. Had take out roast duck and roast pork belly (w crunchy skin) here once and it was delicious. This visit we tried one of their specials that has a photo on the wall, it was pork belly w braised fried tofu clay pot and another rice plate dish. It would've been even better if the pork belly was added last so the skin was still crunchy. Both were very tasty and savory. It's a hole in the wall kinda place so we shared a table with another elderly couple and had good conversation read more

Best Taste Restaurant - Special pork belly and braised tofu clay pot - Chinese Near Me - Oakland, California

Good place to stop by if you are in the area. They have breakfast deal which mostly the one on breakfast menu is less than 10 dlr and it comes with free milk tea and the porridge come with free chinese donut. When we arrived , the restaurantbis pretty full but we get seated right away. They have breakfast menu from8 to 11 am. They also have bbq stuff which looks yummy like chicken, pork and duck. They also have lamb dishes. We ordered porridge, braised beef noodle soup, bbq pork rice roll and chinese donut rice roll. The noodle and porridge are about $8 which hard to find the price anywhere else. The portion is also generous. The noddle is also yummy. The rice roll is unique as it is thicker than regular rice roll at other places. There is min of $25 if you want to pay with card. Overall is is good meal. read more

See all

Family has been coming here for a very long time. Service is quick and efficient. 1 line in and 1 line out. The place is a bit small and can get cramped so just make sure to have 1 person do the ordering and etc. Their imperial chicken, soy sauce chicken, roast duck, roast pork, and BBQ Pork are really good. Their duck has good balance of meat, fat and bones. It is not like other places where it's mostly bones and skin. The salted chicken sells out quick so you need to go early. We usually have them cut the imperial chicken in halves and keep the porks in whole. We wrap them at home and put them in the freezer. When we want to eat it, we just defost it and warm it up. It doesn't go bad and still taste just as good. read more

I always come here for breakfast after driving my kids to school at CT... Breakfast price is cheap that come with an hot drink but can add a dollar for iced coffee or lemon iced tea or so... For lunch if you want the BbQ item beware of the old chopping in the front gave small portion.. if that day you were lucky you will see an lady chopping meat give a little extra meat to your dish... the clay pot price is very fair and good but I always order something different ... the silky egg beef or shrimp over rice... make sure to let them know I want it watery and it's one of the best dish ever in this place.. read more

Best Taste Restaurant - Silky egg and beef over rice - Chinese Near Me - Oakland, California

Although one can often walk by a bbq deli in every corner in CT - delicious char sui, roast duck, bbq pork, & whole soy sauce chicken beckoning hungry diners to gastronomy heaven, I have my favorites & preferences, and Best Taste is the place to go for deli meat takeout when I am in the neighborhood. I love their soy sauce chicken & roast pork. Mmmm mmmm goooood stuff. The chicken is juicy, not salty, the skin beautifully flavored with aromatically sweet soy that makes it mouth watering that I can't wait to get home & share the food with the GF for dinner read more

See all

Owner here is friendly, the customers that come in from across the street are even moreso! Came in a little before they closed but they still managed to accommodate us even though they already packed away most of their food. We ordered the 3 item meat plate and around 4:30 I believe they do a certain percentage off, but I could be mistaken? Paying in cash our meal came out to be $14.50ish with a pork belly, chasu and roasted chicken plate. Shockingly the portion size was big and the meat was generous! The pork belly was the star of our dish nice and crispy, I'm not usually a proponent for eating fatty pieces, but I ate all of them this time! They were seasoned so well. I ended up only eating half and saving the rest for the next day. Will be back here again! Food: 4.5/5 Cleanliness: 3/5 Customer service: 5/5 read more

Be careful when you ask them to chop your duck or BBQ pork . They will steal your food for dine-in order . My mom order half roast duck to go , she opened the box at home , lots of meat missing instead of the neck and head . We will not go back ! Done read more

This is the first time I've had such a bad tasting char siu. It was cut into big chunks and had a lot of fat mixed in. When I picked it up with chopsticks, it was a big lump of fat swinging around. It looked very unappetizing. The roast duck didn't seem as good as before either. I won't come here again. read more

Truly the worst restaurant experience ever. The staff are beyond awful, rude, unfriendly, unhelpful and outright hostile. The restaurant is FILTHY with garbage everywhere. The floors are dirty and slippery and the restroom is something straight out of a horror movie. The food is bad and greasy and dirty. Truly awful, avoid like the plague. I wouldn't eat here ever again even if I was starving to death. read more

Came here for clay pot rice! We got the preserved meat one that is 11.99$ each. It takes 20-30 min for then to make it so i recommend calling and ordering so it will be a shorter wait when you dine in! Love the crunchy rice bits at the bottom! Wish it was a bit more crunchy but it was still pretty good! read more

Best Taste Restaurant - Clay pot menu! - Chinese Near Me - Oakland, California

See all

This is our go-to restaurant in Oakland. As usual, we ordered the beef stew rice and roasted pork rice. Today we tried something new - eel clay pot rice. The eel is pretty tiny but the taste is still good. read more

See all

Today I passed by Oakland Chinatown feeling happy, thinking I could enjoy a nice BBQ meat rice plate. When the plate arrived, I was instantly disappointed -- my roast duck had six pieces, and four of them were just bones. The remaining two pieces only had a tiny bit of meat. The server told me, "Our roast duck is always this bony. If you don't want bones next time, then don't order roast duck." When I was paying the bill, thankfully I checked -- they overcharged me by $7 for an item from the next table's order. I'm not sure if it was intentional or not. Please be extra careful if you dine at this place. read more

Best Taste Restaurant - Roast duck and chicken rice - Chinese Near Me - Oakland, California

Super simple, no nonsense restaurant in the heart of Chinatown, serving Hong Kong style breakfasts and roasted meats (e.g. pork, duck, etc.). The space is fairly small and it definitely isn't the cleanest, but it definitely isn't trying to be more than it is. Breakfast runs from open until 11:30 am, and it is fairly priced for the quantity. Most items are under $10. The roasted meats are all very delicious. We have tried the roast pork, the chicken, and the duck. The duck is a little on the saltier side but the skin was super crispy and the meat is very flavorful. The pork was also pretty juicy and had a great crackling skin. Chicken also gets points for overall tenderness and flavor. They do give a heaping amount of rice for their rice plates, which felt a little unnecessary but definitely filled me up. Also would recommend trying their clay pots. There's a good char to the rice in these - getting a nice crunch that blends well with the rest of the meal. Overall, don't expect too much service and ambiance wise, but it's a good value and worth a visit! Things to know before going: Credit card is permitted for purchases over $25, and there is 10% off after 4:30 pm. read more

Best Taste Restaurant - Breakfast Special Macaroni soup Century Egg Congee - Chinese Near Me - Oakland, California

See all

I was in the area going to my favorite Chinese delicatessen for chow mein and some dim sum and I just parked in front of this deli next to the other deli. Investigation time! They had some pretty good looking ducks hanging but I was more interested in their char siu, that's barbecued pork. I wanted some extra to add to the chow mein I picked up. Happy me the char siu was pretty perfect, not too lean, just the right amount of spices and not overly sweet. I think anybody in search of good char siu would appreciate how this deli makes it, I'll have to come back to try their roast ducks in the future. read more

Best Taste Restaurant - char siu - Chinese Near Me - Oakland, California

Best Taste has always been a favorite of our even with the ownership changes. Their side yuk (roasted meats) are the best in our opinion. It's my mom's favorite roast pig and char SIU. But wait, they have food to go and my all time favorite is.....beef chow fun. Oh, the wok hay aka dragon breath which is achieved via the high heat of the wok is spot on. I enjoy the crunchiness of the bean sprouts and yellow onions alongside the tender marinated flank steak. Heaven in a plastic container for $12. Boy, back in the day it was $8. It's okay. The portion was good and my tummy is happy. Nevermind the sodium! They also have nice fried chicken that sells out early as well. Give them a try and support the local businesses! read more

Best Taste Restaurant - Beef chow fun - Chinese Near Me - Oakland, California

This place is a hidden gem. Definitely hole in the wall vibes (especially now that you aren't allowed to sit in and just do take out but you see all the chairs stacked lol). I was just finishing a big move with friends and we were starving. This place closes early but we were luckily able to do pick up for 5:20pm (right before they closed). I called over the phone and the lady was very nice! We ordered: 1. Salted fish and chicken fried rice - GET THIS. So flavorful and they packed a ton. This was a favorite amongst my whole group 2. Pork rib clay pot rice - we liked that this has the crispy bottom in the takeout box so it definitely felt like a clay pot rice. The flavor was great! We just wish that they had more pork ribs 3. Preserved sausage medley clay pot rice- this reminds me of HK. It had the dried duck in it too which added to the fragrance 4. Roast pork - I'm going to blame the fact that we came right before closing but this was a let down. The meat flavor was good but the pork skin was so thin and absolutely not crispy 5. Scrambled egg with chicken - a classic Cantonese dish. I wish the scrambled egg was slightly more smooth and less cooked but alas. Overall, would definitely come again and a more authentic experience than places like shooting star read more

See all

Roast duck. Excellent flavor and meaty. Best price too! Soy sauce chicken looked good too. Will try next time. read more

Best Taste Restaurant - 2025-08-05 BBQ menu - Chinese Near Me - Oakland, California

Food was good, especially the rice rolls. Milk tea was a surprise hit. Service was 1-star but as expected. Come for the value and authentic food. read more

I recently ordered the barbecue pork and soy sauce chicken rice plate for takeout. Unfortunately, the food was not good this time. Both meats had issues -- the barbecue pork was too fatty and hard to chew, and the soy sauce chicken had noticeably less meat than usual. read more

Yummy food. Good prices. Bring cash because their credit card reader doesn't always work. If eating at restaurant, food can take an awful long time to arrive. I always ask for the bill the moment food is served. Great place for takeout for bbq pork, roast pork, roast duck, empress chicken. Ambiance is nonexistent. Can be noisy, ignored by staff, and you are best off if you along someone who speaks Chinese. read more

I ordered BBQ Pork chow fun and Chicken/Mushroom clay pot to go. The clay pot was bland, with very little sauce; chicken parts were full of bones, gristle, rubbery skin, and joints. The bits of meat I was able to gnaw did prove quite flavorful and good, I just wish there had been a better meat-to-other ratio The chow fun came completely covered in some kind of gravy, which was an unpleasant surprise. The gravy was pretty bland, and ruined the dish for me turning it all into a soupy gummy mess. I was expecting a dry-fried situation. Note: these may have been language barrier issues. I'm seeing the kind of chow fun I was expecting in other pictures. read more

Best Taste Restaurant did a remodel and is under new ownership. They have breakfast now for under $10. And 10% off of I think deli meats? After 4:30 PM daily? The red sign outside did not have specifications. The breakfast was good. It is an additional $1 for a cold drink for breakfast. I believe a hot drink is included in the price of the meal. But unclear. I've translated the breakfast menu bc I can't read Chinese well myself, so it's handy to have for non Chinese readers. Glad they are back in business. I'll have to try the clay pot again next time. Ps service was friendly. read more

See all

Best Taste Restaurant is located in Oakland Chinatown. I hadn't been in the area in months due to the pandemic, but I finally made the the trek there. Sadly there was no indoor or outdoor dining, but I decided to explore anyway. I happened upon this place, which had reopened about a month ago. They required face coverings, practiced social distancing, and limited capacity in the store. My eyes were fixated on the Chinese BBQ items. Since it was the Winter Solstice, I decided to try some. I selected the BBQ Pork (Char Siu), Roast Duck, and Chicken. While the meats were getting cut, I converse with the owner/workers. They gave me recommendations on where to get certain things in Chinatown. Soon my items were ready. They complimented the Tang Yuan (Glutinous Rice Balls) at that evening's dinner. I hopefully will try out more of their BBQ items the next time I am in the area. read more

Ordered won ton and wonton with Noodles with a side of duck. Everything was tasty, the duck was nicely, flavored and moist. Will come again.

love their authentic dim sum. parking garage close by if tired of the hassle of looking for street parking read more

When heard that they specialized in clay pot rice wanted to try them for a long time. They even have eel clay pot which is rare even in Canton nowadays. However the rice is pretty obvious steamed rather than cooked in a clay pot, the texture and aroma can't be faked with putting steamed rice in clay pot and then topped with usual clay pot rice dishes. Same goes for some Korean restaurant trying to put bulgugi on top of steamed rice and claiming it's bibimbaq. read more

There is a plethora of Chinese restaurants in Oakland Chinatown and sure, this isn't a fancy eatery, but it's different and the food was delicious. The storefront is easily passable, but it's 2 shops beside Napoleon Super Bakery so you can also use that as a form of reference! Food ordered: 1) Beef Chow Fun (4/5): I love beef chow fun. I enjoy thicker flat rice noodles and these were on the thinner of the thick wide, but I enjoyed how the noodles did not stick to each other and the sides of beef in the dish. However, that leads me to my only critique. I'm not a fan of how oily the dish was. This honestly happens a lot with casual fast food places, so I expected it. I would've preferred less oily noodles, but the dish was good otherwise. 2) Roasted Duck Rice plate (5/5): I enjoyed the roasted duck plate. Honestly, I was going to order a clay pot, but after being reminded that it would take 20 min, I decided against this and asked for recommendations. The waitress pointed out the roasted duck rice plate, and I was sold. I was wonderfully surprised with the smoky duck skin and not overly oily and fatty. Is this place Best Taste? I'm not entirely convinced, but it is good! read more

Best Taste Restaurant - Beef chow fun, Roast duck rice plate - Chinese Near Me - Oakland, California

This spot reopened some months ago after almost a full year closure. We come for the yummy clay pot rice packaged in individual to go bowls along with a Meet Fresh drink from around the corner. Our go to is the spareribs and Chinese sausage and it comes with some bok choy. We pay a little more for extra meat. The rice is so fragrant and with the meat juice and black bean sauce seep into the rice and makes it so good! The rice crust on the bottom is my favorite part. Definitely worth picking up for lunch here. read more

See all