This place is really excellent and seems very authentic…read more Some of my favorites are the amazing numbing beef, pork with bamboo shoots, their chow meins and spicy chili tofu. I know other things are great on the menu because people have told me and I need to try more of them - it's been so hard to get away from my favorites which are addicting! And the owner is just a great guy and extremely generous with his portions. Excellent food and value!

One of my favorite spots in San Mateo. Walnut shrimp is the best, even though they're known for…read morenoodles. They are on vacation for this summer, opening back up on 8/1/2026.

Some of the best Cantonese food in the Bay Area can be found here. It's super affordable with…read moreChinatown vibes, so it may not be very fun to eat in (or pick-up from), but the food is yummy if you order the right ones. They excel at chow fun, fried food, crispy skin poultry, fish fillet and oysters. My go-tos: * Salt and Pepper Chicken Wings - addictive. They half each wing so each piece has a single bone, making it easy to eat like a drumstick. The flavor needs improvement, but the batter is very addictive -- crispy, fluffy and crunchy (if ordered when the batter is fresh). * Stir-fry Fish Fillet with Broccoli - the menu lists this with mixed veggies, but I prefer this with regular broccoli. This used to be the best fish dish around. Super flavorful. They source the fish from a place that filets fresh sea bass, but that place had gone downhill and they often sub tilapia instead. * Shrimp with Scrambled Egg Chow Fun (wet) - the chow fun is silky smooth, wide in width, and slightly charred. None of that shriveled, dried-up fun you get elsewhere. * String Bean - crispy and deep-fried They also do these really well: * Salt and Pepper Live Crab - as good as R&B Lounge. Crispy batter and freshest tasting live crab with no pee smell. Good during crab season. * Roast Duck - very crispy skin. I find that dipping the meat in their sauce plus the pool of sauce on the plate makes this flavor better than Cheung Hing's. I love the roast duck from Cooking Papa (Santa Clara), but their skin is not crispy. * Crispy Skin Chicken - get the one that comes with two sauces; dipping is essential for best flavors. If you order anything Salt and Pepper style, come early evening because the batter deteriorates over time. There was a stretch after Covid when they cut costs and swap out some perfect ingredients with cheaper ones; and not add salt to some veggies perhaps for health benefits, but glad that most of that have been walked back.

I ordered food to go. I ordered the fried flounder and was told on the phone it's going to be…read moreabout $30. Once I picked it up they told me it's weighs more and will cost $45. I won't be ordering fish anymore From here. I order the appetizer salt and pepper chicken wings. When I took a bite, there was only one bone with a little meat. Why would they remove the other bone to the chicken wing. This would be time consuming. The flavor was good but I strongly doubt it was chicken wing. What I believe they sold was pieces of chicken thighs left over from cutting off most Of the meat. If they are misbranding the food, the restaurant is misleading customers. I don't plan on returning.

Solid Beijing cuisine with huge portions and a great value. We came for an early Tuesday dinner,…read morethe restaurant was mostly empty but they seemed to be doing a solid takeout business, and more guests trickeled in later. Staff was friendly and checked on us occasionally to make sure all was well. We ordered: - Smoked chicken (5/5): Definitely the star of the night, this was a cold dish perfectly smoked and tender. A large portion that seemed like a whole chicken and a steal for only $23 - Green Beans (4.5/5): Another large portion, well charred with perfect texture. Served with ground pork and a hint of spice - Meatball Clay Pot (3.5/5): the server did say it was soupy but it was probably my mistake as I thought it would be more like the Shanghainese lion head braised meatballs. Instead it was a very simple clear broth with Napa cabbage, small meatballs and a few strands of vermicelli noodles. The broth flavor was extremely mild and the meatballs didn't have much flavor and were firmer than expected. Our Cantonese friend liked it as he felt it was homey and comforting but I felt it was too boring - House Special Fried Rice (4/5): another huge portion, a solid egg fried rice with very large shrimp and some beef. - Pan Fried Beef Buns (2/5): In Beijing these are often translated to Doornail Meat Buns due to their round shape. Extremely juicy, almost like a gravy inside, and generously filled but the beef tasted a bit gamey which may be due to the spices used, but were off putting to us.

Peking Alley has a fun, authentic Chinese menu, but execution could use some work…read more Weekend Specials are available all day on the weekends, not just Chinese breakfast hours. Homemade Soy Milk - 1/5 I think ordering this at dinnertime when the soy milk has been cooking all day was a mistake. It looked fine, but it tasted burned. When I brought attention to it, the server said it was supposed to be that way, denying it was burned and awkwardly joking about it afterward. Unsweetened, so you need to add sugar yourself. Soft Tofu - 4/5 Soft tofu, wood ear, golden needles (daylily buds) in a thickened soup. Looks a bit like hot & sour soup in appearance and texture, but it's neither spicy nor sour. In a few spoonfuls, the soft tofu did taste burned to me, but I could overlook it mostly. Comforting to eat on a cold day. Chive Pie - 3/5 Impressively huge. However, because they are big, thin, and flimsy, you cannot easily eat this as a handheld. Not crispy or thick enough a pancake to hold the delicious eggs & chives filling. Cumin Lamb - 3/5 My friend seemed to enjoy the lamb, but she didn't eat any of the greens, telling me they were for seasoning purposes. I ate the greens, but this dish came out fast and wasn't warm or heated enough. Beijing Mu Shu Pork - 5/5 I enjoyed the taste and texture of this mix of pork, egg, wood ear, cucumber, and golden needles. We were forewarned that this dish doesn't come with pancakes, like typical mu shu entrees do. We received a complimentary shredded potato chilled appetizer (4/5) and warm sesame balls dessert (3/5). Sesame balls seemed overfried. Restaurant has its own dedicated parking lot, so servers are expecting you to enter from the door closest to that. We entered through the street main entrance, which caught them by surprise. Restaurant appears to be a converted house, so you can dine in various little rooms. Restaurant was cold inside. It seemed that one door would not necessarily stay shut. I also don't think the heat was turned up. I felt like all of us were wearing coats. I chose most of the dishes and let my friend order in Mandarin Chinese. The chef came out a couple times to check on us, but primarily interacted with her in Chinese.

This is one of my favorite HK Cafe style breakfast places. Comes with a variety of breakfast set…read moreselections

Quick service, friendly faces! Came for the hong kong milk tea and it was pretty good - I haven't…read morefound a HKMT place out in San Mateo yet. For food, we ordered the dim sum platter and the french toast. The french toast was fine - exactly what you'd expect. The dim sum platter was super underwhelming. Two pieces of hagao and two pieces of siumai and one chasiu bao. The hagao was not good at all - skin was super thin and possibly over steamed. Siumai was much better - very juicy. The bao was meh. Everything felt like it was from frozen in my opinion. We want to come back to try their hot food. They have a decent crowd on the weekend so it must have better items than what we had. I would avoid the dim sum overall next time.

The red bean buns are highly addictive. Seriously! I've…read moreordered many different dishes from this restaurant and the only thing that consistently sticks each time I order are those red bean buns. So delicious!!! And they reheat really well. Service is quick and efficient. Restaurant is always busy when I go in so I always call in my order and pick up/eat at home. Clean restaurant every time I visit! [this review was made in connection with a Toast promotion, Zen Noodle Bar did not ask me to write this review]

Second time visited here, first time i really enjoyed this place. Unfortunately I don't think I…read morewill be visiting again anytime soon. Service was good as before , the boss lady and waitress were both very nice . But the place seriously needs a little more update. Hall way to bathroom was extremely dark, wished they can turn on some light so I could see my way. One of the dish were served on a cracked plate , so we asked for a new plate. The metal steamer for xlb was very dirty with lots of grease all around, wished they could have cleaned it better or maybe it's time to replace new ones. We ordered several dishes, I liked meat mooncake the most , mostly I think the crust skin was quite good , but the xlb meat was so greasy, after one I couldn't really eat a second. Pan friend bun was pan fried really a bao, skin too thick all around. We also had Shanghainese eel dish, which I don't feel they were cook authentic Shanghainese way, more of Beijing style with lot of sauce, too much actually. Maybe it was not a good day, but I really wanted to like this place.

Joy Restaurant has been one of my all-time favorite Taiwanese spots in Foster City for years, and…read moreif you've ever worked on the Peninsula, chances are you know this place. It sits right there near the Bay Trail--on the boardwalk side of Foster City--where you can see the bridge heading toward the East Bay. Back when I worked for a small IT consulting company, this was our go-to lunch spot. Big group? No problem. They have the space, the big round tables, and of course the lazy Susan right in the middle, which is exactly how it should be. The daily whiteboard specials were always worth a look, and the kitchen here knows how to handle heat. Real heat. Lots of chilies, lots of flavor. Over the four years I worked nearby, my tolerance for spicy food definitely leveled up thanks to this place. My absolute favorite dish here is their Chung Hwa Road potstickers. They take about 10 minutes to make, and they are massive--easily three or four times the size of a regular potsticker. They come out connected by that beautiful crispy lace, that spiderweb crust on the bottom that makes everyone at the table pause for a second before diving in. Dip those into their house sauce with black vinegar, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, and soy... honestly, it's perfection. They also do kung pao chicken the traditional way--chicken, peanuts, chilies. No fillers, no nonsense. Just clean, bold flavor. I appreciate that. The snow pea shoots here are another favorite when they're in season. Expensive, yes--but once you know how much work goes into cleaning and prepping them, you understand why. Worth every penny. Same with the steamed whole fish. Market price, always fresh, usually topped with scallions, ginger, and chilies. Spoon that over a bowl of hot rice and you're set. Service runs like a well-oiled machine. Tea comes quickly--usually jasmine or chrysanthemum--and if you lift the lid slightly, someone will notice and refill it. It's one of those small traditional touches that tells you they know exactly what they're doing. They're also incredibly organized with takeout. Soups are sealed tight, everything packed carefully so nothing spills. You can tell they've done this a million times. I lived on the Peninsula for two decades, and this place stayed in my regular rotation the entire time. Now that I'm in Charlotte, it's one of those restaurants I genuinely miss. We just don't have Taiwanese food like this out here. So if you're nearby, go. Order the dumplings. Get something spicy. Sit around the table with friends and take your time. And when you eat a potsticker, think of me--because life is too short not to eat well.

Not the best, but not the worst - average overall. There were plenty of options on the menu and the…read moreservice was super friendly! The food came out one by one, but my favorite dish was definitely the duck. We came with a large party and had no issue getting seated.

Decent dumplings. I would have expected more variety, but the ones they had were ok…read more My date liked her beef noodle soup a lot.

I had pretty high hopes for this place since it was recommended by someone who's lived in the Bay…read moreArea for a long time. The dumplings were decent, but not something I'd say was amazing or unforgettable. Still good enough if you're craving dumplings, just not "wow." The vibe was actually kind of interesting though. It felt like a small, hidden, old-school Chinese dumpling spot. A little low-key and almost mysterious in a way. Overall, it's a solid spot to try at least once, especially if you're into that more tucked-away, local vibe.

This is a restaurant set up with a roast duck, cha siew (bbq pork), pork belly deli/counter…read more However it is bare and not utilized for that purpose. Lots of asians patronizing and pretty busy. Maybe I ordered the wrong item (bitter melon beef) and the panfried juicy pork buns. The bittermelon beef made me sick but the panfried buns were juicy and fresh. Service is lacking like most Chinese restaurants. While it is not a priority, usually the food makes up for lacking in service. If i were to return, I would order their dumplings. Restaurant seems clean but the deli counter service is wasted space.

My friend saw this on ad on TV and said all of us had to go…read more I told them, if they were so good why would they run ads? Okay, so I've been known to be wrong, and this is one of those times. The lunch special which runs until 4:30pm, YES you read that right, is the best deal. That's probably why they're running ads, because if not, the regular dishes are like $20 for veggies or soup LOL. Sweet and sour fish was fresh, really liked this. The salted eggplant was good, big portions. Spareribs and chicken feet were also good. Tofu fish was also good. 4 people split it family style. Would come back again. Parking is hard to find though just an FYI! Lemon iced tea was great, BUT the HK hot milk tea no one liked. Watery and bland.