This place has to have the worst parking. I hate that we have limited parking part reserve to a liquor store, and part for a bar next door, and absolutely limited street parking. The frustration in driving in a circle. The ambiance of the restaurant is basically a Hong Kong Cafe style. There are two areas catering small parties to big parties. The lighting is terrible though, the florescent lighting is just not for me. The food here is pretty good. They have a huge selection. Hayward doesn't have a lot of Asian catering restaurants that are cheap eats. Yeah, they opened a new banquet, but not a lot of fast, cheap foods. 1. Pork Congee with Thousand Year Old Egg - Typically very flavorful. I like to come grab a bowl when I'm not feeling well to cook. 2. Honey Walnut Shrimp - How can you go wrong? Such a western staple. 3. Pork Chow Fun - Large portion, reasonably priced, tasty enough. 4. Salt & Pepper Fish Fillet - Surprisingly one of my favorite things on the menu. Sharable portions, enough for maybe 2-4 people. 5. Salt & Pepper Prawns - Typically I would say standard, but I don't believe I enjoyed the prawns as much. 6. Mongolian Beef - Standard, soft, best with rice. 7. Salt & Pepper Pork Chops - I could live without this. 8. Combo Pan Fried Noodles - I love me a crispy noodle with gravy I can pour over because it leaves a good texture. 9. Chicken Fried Rice - Standard, sharable 10. Beef Brisket Noodle Soup - Tasty, boyfriend's favorite. Hate that adding wonton is literally $1 per piece and it's so tiny. 11. HK Milk Tea - Reasonable, but not very flavorful.. 12. Lemon Tea - Decent, probably our go to drink 13. Assam Milk Tea with Cheese Foam - Not worth it. The service is pretty standard, limited due to language barrier at times. read more

I called in a order for pick up on a recent Sunday afternoon. The baked pork chop with noodles was good. The pork chop was cooked well and pretty tender. The Mongolian beef was super tender as well. Good flavor. Reasonable prices at $16.95. The service was nice. Small parking lot read more

Garden Cafe - Hong Kong Style Cafe Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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I came here with a friend (who is originally from Hong Kong) and she suggested we try this place. We both ordered lunch specials, veggies mixed with fish/ seafood with rice and milk tea. We enjoyed our food. Ate all of it. The service was good. The waitress came by to check on us a few times and didn't rush us out of there after we were done eating even when they were getting busy. The cafe is cute, and has two different eating areas. We love HK cafes, so definitely would come back and try other dishes. read more

My friends and I stopped by Garden Cafe on a Saturday afternoon right around lunch and we were able to get seated right away. Between the three of us, we shared three dishes, including a baked pork chop rice, club sandwich and beef chow fun. The portions here are massive, especially the beef chow fun. Of the dishes we ordered, the club sandwich was my favorite. I thought the construction was well-balanced, egg was cooked nicely, and the included crinkle cut fries -- which were likely packaged frozen fries, were seasoned well and extra crispy. I thought the sauce for the pork chop rice was also not too sweet or sour, and the pork chop didn't have an excessive amount of fat or gristle in it. The beef chow fun was probably the only dish that I felt could have been better. The sauce was a bit too runny, and the noodles were a bit overcooked and were not mixed in well with the sauce. Although the slices of beef in the dishes were flavorful and tender, the noodles somehow ended up being a bit bland. Overall, I had a pretty decent meal at Garden Cafe. With how rare Hong Kong cafes are in the Bay Area, I would not hesitate to stop again by if I'm in the area. read more

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Wow this has to be some of the best Chinese food around! We went last night for a friend's birthday dinner, there were 4 of us. And believe me when I tell you everything we ordered was spot on. Salt and pepper chicken wings , and Fried tofu with tsuyu sauce for appetizers. The wings were perfectly fired and not doused in salt as it happens at a lot of Asian places. The fried tofu wasn't crispy on the outside and impossibly soft on the inside. The tsuyu was like a light soy sauce . For mains, we had the combination crispy noodles, the house friend rice and the ginger scallion chicken clay pot . I don't usually eat beef or pork but I say the meat in bit the noodles and rice was tasty. The noodles and clay pot might just be my new addiction. See pics . Service was helpful and good came out quickly. The place itself looks new and a little plain, once the food arrives you are surrounded in warmth! And they keep the restrooms clean. Parking is a hassle, but luckily there is street parking is available all around. Let me tell the big reasons to come here: Taste - amazing flavors Value- HUGE portions for the price Variety- menu is never ending and everyone will find something they will love here. read more

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Garden Cafe has all the comforts your belly needs. They have a large menu of chow fun, fried rice, porridge, and Chinese dishes, so it's fun to come back to try different items. We got the combination pan fried noodles, honey walnut shrimp, and fried capelin. The noodles were crispy and soaked up the gravy really well. The slices of cha siu and chicken were all very tender. The honey walnut shrimp were great too, and I loved that it wasn't drowning in sauce. Lastly, the fried capelin was my favorite--lightly battered and filled with roe. Perfect dishes to have with rice. I saw another table order beef chow fun and I'll have to get that next! read more

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Conveniently located near Meimei's supermarket, great place to stop by before hand for some HK comfort food. Walked in & was greeted almost right away. However they did not give us menus until we got up & grabbed it ourselves. The AC was on blast, it was as cold as a freezer. Had to ask to lower it & they did it immediately. Ordered: Hainan chicken flat noodle: 4/5 chicken was good & was big pieces but it wasn't yellow hair chicken. And the broth wasn't flavorful Egg White & Scallop Fried Rice: 5/5 was good, no complaints Wonton with flat noodle: 3/5 wonton was good. However they used the same broth as the other noodle, so it wasn't flavorful as well HK milk tea (hot): 4/5 flavor was there, nice tea & milk taste. However, the only complaint: it was not hot enough They have a really extensive menu, so I would like to come back to try other items. read more

Garden Cafe - Hong Kong Style Cafe Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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Came here for breakfast. Got wonton noodles with scrambled eggs and toast and HK style lemon tea for 15.95. Pretty good deal nowadays. Also got the beef stew rice rolls. The noodles were exactly the way I like them. The wonton filings were ok, it wasn't bad but I've had better. The beef stew rice rolls were yummy. The beef was tender and a pretty decent portion. Service was quick and the restaurant was clean and bright. Will definitely need to come back try the other offerings that they have. read more

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Me and my family were looking for a late night dinner place and this was one of the only ones in the area that was open. Lots of options, it was hard to pick and the food came out fast and in big portions, the waitress had to pull up a second table lol. The taste was alright for the price, and toward the end the ladies working kind of stopped checking up on us since it was slowing down but we didn't mind, but if we were in a rush it might've been different. Glad we found another place that's open late tho, cause there's not a lot in the CV area. read more

Loved this Hong Kong café! The service was kind, friendly, and efficient, the prices were very reasonable, and the food was absolutely delicious. I loved the afternoon tea menu. Generous portions! Came with my parents and it reminded my dad of Hong Kong! Definitely coming back. read more

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If you're craving comfort food, Garden Cafe has something for everyone! I love having an HK cafe so close to my family's house. It makes it easy to grab food at any time of day - and I love that they stay open later than most other eateries in the area. I've stopped by twice now and both times were late night bites. They have an extensive menu and everything is so shareable. On our most recent visit, my friend and I split the beef congee with egg, curry fishballs, and popcorn chicken. The congee hit the spot and satisfied our porridge craving. The curry fishballs would have been enough of a side for us to fill up on, but the popcorn chicken is always such a comforting add-on. They also give hot tea to go with your meal, although they offer a variety of different drinks on their menu. They offer a good amount of seating for the size of the place. During both of my late visits, I was able to get seating right away. The hardest part about late nights has been finding parking. During my first stop in we were able to snag a spot as someone was leaving, but on our most recent visit, parking was much harder. Parking spilled over to the street - probably because of the liquor store and The DooLittle bar in the same plaza. Street parking one block up gets a little tight since most of the parking is taken by the private residences, but there should be ample enough parking on the street leading up to the restaurant. Love having this option close by when visiting family! read more

Garden Cafe - Popcorn chicken - Hong Kong Style Cafe Near Me - Castro Valley, California

Love that there's a hk cafe in Castro Valley!! We ordered: * Beef pan fried noodle ($17.95) delicious! It was actually a decent sized portion for the price. * Baked chicken spaghetti ($16.95) this definitely took the 15-20 minutes as disclosed on the menu. I like that there's a variety of sauce flavor and type of carb (spaghetti, rice, macaroni). It looked very flavorful and saucy, but it was actually a little more watery than I anticipated. Overall, it's still good and I'd order again. * Lemon tea ($4.50) * Red bean with coconut milk ($6.95) Service: Nice servers Parking: Small, tight parking lot The menu is extensive with a wide variety including dessert, so I'll definitely be back! read more

Garden Cafe - Beef pan fried noodle ($17.95) - Hong Kong Style Cafe Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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It is a full house during dinner time. Small parking lot and it gets full quickly but plenty of street parking. Baked pork chop over rice with red sauce. It took awhile to get this item so order first thing when you sit down. They did not use pork chop. It was pork loin which was not what I expected. The sauce and the cheese made it good to eat with the rice. Salt n pepper chicken wings were crispy and juicy. It was good and flavorful We ordered mochi waffle with PB and condense milk but they forgot our order. We had to flag the waitress to make it right away. Overall service is slow but it's understandable when it is packed during dinner time. read more

Garden Cafe - Baked Pork Chop - Hong Kong Style Cafe Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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Great to find a place that opens late for late night snacks or dinner after a movie so after we came out of the hospital after visiting a relative, it was 9 pm and most restaurants close between 9-10 pm, but I have wanted to try this restaurant so my hubby, daughter and I went there for a late dinner. The parking lot is small so we were lucky to get a space and ordered several dishes: beef porridge, scrambled eggs with beef, salt and pepper squid, combination chow mein, Chinese greens and seafood chow fun to share. Atmosphere wasn't too noisy and plenty of seating when we arrived! The parking lot filled up fast after we arrived. The generous portions came out nice and hot and plenty for everyone to share. My favorite dish was the combo chow mein, so many noodles as I am a noodle lover. I would have liked the seafood chow fun more if there weren't so many onions and bean sprouts so next time, I will order beef chow fun with gravy! We had plenty of leftovers to take home! read more

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My favorite local cafe for Hong Kong fare. Today is Chinese new years, it's cold, windy and rainy so food delivery was the order for the evening. Going with my Chinese American palate, my order consist of tomato beef crispy noodles and sweet & sour pork rice plate. The cafe followed the special instructions to separate the noodles in separate container so they won't get soggy in transport. Kudos to them for following through. And the sweet & sour pork presentation in the to go container was vibrant and very eye appealing. Of course, it tasted great with the sweet and sour flavoring. So I usually stick with my old school favorites, they also satisfying and Garden Cafe does a great job. read more

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Went on a weekend morning and food were solid. The parking lot is small but we were lucky and got a space. It's located in the middle of the small plaza and there were decent amount of seatings. We went before 11am, so there was only breakfast menu. The service is quick and we got our order after a while. I got the congee set and it's really filling. I ended up having the chanfen as leftover. read more

Garden Cafe - Hong Kong Style Cafe Near Me - Castro Valley, California

We arrived around 1pm on a Saturday, got lucky and got a parking space right in front of the restaurant. We missed most of the lunch crowd and were greeted and directed to a table upon entering. Garden Cafe has a pretty extensive menu. Most everything is available after 11am. Before that, it's more about breakfast. We were given time to peruse the menu and then asked for more time because we kept changing our minds. Finally, we decided to stick more or less with what I had predicted we'd order the next time we came. Salt & Pepper Deep Fried Calamari - 4 - We both enjoyed the crunchy crust. It was perfectly seasoned with salt and some of the heat from the sliced jalapeno peppers on top. We disagreed about the texture of the squid. I thought it was just right, and she thought it was a bit chewy. We agreed that it was a tad oilier than we preferred. Maybe a slightly higher oil temperature would solve that issue. Scrambled Egg & Shrimp Chow Fun - 5 - Very nicely done dish. The fun was smokey and had plenty of wok hay. The shrimp were cooked perfectly! Hainan Chicken Egg Noodle Soup - 4 - The base for the soup was simple. The only things in the bowl were the broth, some lettuce and egg noodles. The Hainan Chicken was served on the side along with some oiled ginger (where's the green onions?). Service was decent and the televisions were low in volume, which we appreciate. read more

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Such a staple in CV! I'm so glad this place opened. This isn't my usual review because I've come here multiple times but everything is generally pretty good. Most notable is their HK egg puff. Literally came back from Asia and I would say it's pretty comparable. Perfect egg to batter ratio with crispy bits and NOT SOGGY at all!! Hope this stays open forever! read more

A restaurant that's open til midnight?! Sign me up! Came here on a Friday night with the hubby and they were still busy but we were seated right away. The service is fast and friendly and their menu is extensive! I'm used to 1 or 2 pages of menu when I go to restaurants but this place had a book full of menu, something for whatever you're craving! For appetizers we had the salt and pepper squid, delicious, crunchy perfection. For our main meals we had the dried scallop with egg combo fried rice, tasted great and simple. Rice was fluffy, not too oily. We ordered the walnut prawns and thought the serving was small, the flavor was great. It didn't have an outer batter that I'm used to but I didn't mind and the walnuts tasted crunchy and sweet. We also ordered the wonton soup, it was tasty but the soup wasn't hot, more like lukewarm, we didn't care because the flavor was there. We were in and out in about an hour, this place is right next door to a bar so if you feel like grabbing cocktails after, you can do that too. The place is really clean however parking is really small. Be prepared to look for street parking. Would like to come here next time and try the congee and the scallion pancakes. read more

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Came in on a Sunday morning for breakfast, they have half of the restaurant open, not bust at all, they should be. The food we had was very good and authentic tasting. They have a limited menu for Hong Kong Style breakfast from 8am to 11am. Beef Brisket Wonton Soup, one of my flavor tasted good and the beef brisket was very tender and flavorful. Shredded Pork with Persevered Veggies and Egg Noodles was good and tasty, my daughter said that was the best one she had so far. Persevered Egg with Pork Congee, tasted almost like my moms with lots of eggs and tender pork. The service was good. read more

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Been frequenting Garden Cafe more often since my last review from a year ago since it's one of the few non-fast-food places open late around here. Have had some great recent dining experiences so I wanted to update my review! So far we've tried and enjoyed: Popcorn chicken - crispy Baked pork chop w/ red sauce over fried rice - liked this one more! Baked pork chop w/ curry sauce over rice - curry flavor was more subtle than I expected Combo pan fried noodle - really good! Cold mango sago dessert - refreshing Taiwanese milk tea - good, typical milk tea Hong Kong milk tea - yum! Service was attentive and friendly. Will definitely be back for more late night dinners. read more

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I've been looking for a place that does salt and pepper calamari and this place filled my needs! I loved the spices they use here and it's very close to my work so I'll come often especially when the cafeteria is closed. Love how late they're open and how big their menu is so I can always get some mango sago as a midnight snack on a hot night. read more

We tried their wonton noodle soup, which was decent enough. The soup tasted a little bit off but otherwise had large portions. We also got the soup vermicelli noodles with meat with a Hong Kong tea. This lunch set was pretty good and had a hearty portion. The French toast was just OK, it tasted very dry and there was not a lot of filling inside. It tasted mostly like bread and butter. read more

Garden Cafe - 7. Hong Kong French Toast with Peanut Butter - Hong Kong Style Cafe Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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I've came here twice for the fried dry noodle dishes have had a lovely crunch and I don't feel guilty after eating it either. I came here tonight for the to try something else. I got the beef stew and it was savory! The meat was tender and juicy and full of flavor. The noodle are what sit well with me most. I'm very sensitive and noodles can make me feel drained. I get none of that here. The service is friendly too! I love this place! read more

This was an amazing Chinese breakfast. Congee/hook with century egg and chow mein side. Service was terrific and it had a totally Chinese family vibe, with lots of mothers with kids and family. We will be back! read more

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Yummy food with big portions and quick service, love to dine in or take out from there read more

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Ordered 2 items for lunch. F25 Black Pepper Beef Pan Fried Vermicelli. This is a huge order. Enough for 2 people. The subtle crunchiness of pan fried vermicelli covering the black pepper beef and soft vermicelli underneath was just the perfect bite. The black pepper was not over powering and but tasty in this dish. F26 Beef Stew Lo Mein This also came with a bowl of broth too. The beef was cooked to perfection. The seasonings of this dish is delicious. I can taste the subtle hint of 5 spice. Not tough or chewy or undercooked. Service is very prompt and ice water upon request. Their menu is substantial and there are a lot of choices They give you cups of hot tea right away. Everything clean and efficient. This place is in a very unassuming strip mall. Don't let the location scare you but everything is new remodeled inside. A lot of thought putting this restaurant together. Everything new and color coordinated with a beautiful blue celadon theme. The chairs, walls, plates and menu all come together. Limited parking in the small parking lot . There is street parking. We parked on the other side of the liquor store. There are 2 handicap spots in front of the restaurant. This restaurant is right across the street from Eden Medical center and is open almost 24 hours from 8 am to 12 am. read more

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We ordered on Garden Cafe's website and picked up after 15 minutes! The staff that interacted with us for that brief moment was very nice lol. We ordered Baked rice with garlic sauce & chicken as well as Baked spaghetti with red sauce & pork chop. Hong Kong Style baked dishes are just different from other kinds of baked dishes - it's hard to explain but they hit a specific spot. Both were delicious - the portions are huge. They were dinner and also lunch the next day, definitely no complaints there! Will definitely return, highly recommended! read more

Garden Cafe - Baked Chicken Steak Baked Pork Chop - Hong Kong Style Cafe Near Me - Castro Valley, California

Food 4 out of 5 Price 5 out of 5 We had a late night food - tomato beef noodles soup and wonton noodles. Tastes really good just how I would expect from HK cafeteria, a bit kid friendly and light meal. Everyone enjoys the noodles. I took out one star because the dish soup smell was way to strong. Especially from the water cups and utensils. Residual dish soaps are toxic irrigant to your gut and health so I hope they wash out the dishes with water more, or use much less soap! read more

Solid place for Cha Chang Teng/HK food. Portions are big and the food is DELICIOUS. Glad that Castro Valley has a good place for this type of food. The only downside is the parking which is absolutely horrible, but not impossible. There's a teeny tiny parking lot right next to a liquor store. Be prepared for street park on a main street with lots of oncoming traffic, or try to park in the lot next to the medical offices. read more

Came here on a Friday after noon. Lots of ppl and hard to find parking so we had to park on the street. We ordered Beef brisket over rice- very little beef brisket Combo pan fried noodle- lots of ingredients and noodle was crispy! Milk tea came with the beef brisket lunch for $2 with condense milk . Tastes good and authentic Ginger milk pudding was too liquidy. But the taste was on point. Service was good. Will definitely come back read more

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What I love most about Garden Cafe in Castro Valley is that they are open every day from 8 am to 12 midnight. I come here for lunches with family and friends as well as late night dinners and snacks. It's great going to Chabot Theater in Castro Valley for a movie at night and then coming here for a late snack. I've come after 10 pm after an evening in San Francisco. Parking can be an issue as there is very limited parking in the shared lot. Besides Garden Cafe, there is a liquor store, haircut place, and bar. Also, Lake Chabot Road is a busy street with little street parking. Across the street is Eden Hospital. Garden Cafe has an extensive menu to choose from. I've included pictures of the many menus and our dishes. They have their main room which you can see from my photo of the outside. Normally, we're in the main room. However, this is the first time we got seated in the side room so I've included pictures in that room. Their service is usually quick. Most of the time, they provide water refills without asking. I've also done takeout with them. Overall, my family, friends, and I are very satisfied with the service and food. read more

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Love this place. It is was crowded at dinner time. We try to find place for dinner and our friend recommended this. It was a good choice. It serves Hongkong style dishes and street food. The menu is massive for food and drink. We ordered stir fry on choy, baked black pepper porkchop over rice, hainamese chicken rice and seafood pand fry noodle. All are yummy. It is just it takes a while for our order to arrive. One dishes which suppose to be the simplest and quick to prepare cakes the last. Will visit again and try other dishes. Price is reasonable. One negative side is the noise. People sit Two table close to us talked so loud. It is just some customer don't have manner and seems the place doesn't have enough sound suppression. read more

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I love me some garden cafe :p. My boyfriend put me on this food spot. When I come to garden cafe, I usually get their beef chow fun or the lemon chicken - those two are my go to. Recently I went with my boyfriend and a friend, I treated out a friend for his birthday since they both like this spot. My boyfriend and my friend both got the scrambled eggs in gravy with beef while I got the lemon chicken. I suggest people to try this spot if they're ever in castro valley and want some good late night Chinese food. read more

Garden Cafe - Lemon Chicken and Scrambled Eggs in Gravy with Beef - Hong Kong Style Cafe Near Me - Castro Valley, California

This is for take out. Service was okay receiving food - it took about 20 minutes for Wontons - ok, crispy and light, not oily. Didn't have much flavor. The cream cheese was sparse and the imitation flavor seemed so prominent. Salt and pepper fish - very light batter and delicious flavor. Perfectly cooked. Broccoli beef - i had to since I have a kid. Veggies cooked well, meat was tender. There was barely any flavor. Stir fried vermicelli noodles combo -quite possibly the most disappointing noodles I've ever ordered. It was flavorless and barely had veggies and shrimp. It was mostly bland noodles. I would not recommend this. Fukkien fried rice - rice was fluffy. The sauce was severely lacking in flavor. They add imitation crab and it is not good at all. It's more sauce and not a lot of meat or vegetable. Don't get it. Total: $156 (with tip) No, I wouldn't recommend this place nor would I order again. For as much as I paid, I'd go somewhere else. read more

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Weekend wait was about 10 -15 minutes. Brightly lit dining area with a bustling atmosphere. Service wasn't apparent bc they had a full house, but food was good. I would equate Garden Cafe to an American Denny's classic food that satisfies. Orders: Eggplant & String bean-consistent with the last time I ordered this with tender eggplant perfectly cooked & tender string beans. Although this time the string beans were a little over cooked, but flavor in point. Beef Chow Fun w/Satay Sauce- it has a peanut warning but I didn't taste any peanut in this dish. Love the Satay seasoning, but was intrigued w/the pineapple. Next time I would ask to omit the pineapple. A great saucy noodle dish w/tender pieces of beef. Hainan Chinese(Hoy Lam Guy pronounced in Chinese)-it came out a little pink so we asked to cook it a little more, then we had to ask where did our chicken fly off to. This dish included roasted peanuts w.the ginger sauce & but a classic dish. Love this local Hong Kong style restaurant & will try out their weekday 3:15pm specials next time. read more

The food here is pretty good. I did hear some mixed reviews before giving this place a try for myself. The salted egg yolk fried shrimp was really good. The club sandwich was alright, I've had better at other places/ wouldn't come back for it. The Hong Kong French toast here is pretty good. Ive also tried a fried rice & Singapore fried noodle here that are pretty good. They have plenty of seating ans the service is your typical hong kong café service. read more

Garden Cafe - Hong Kong Style Cafe Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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We pass by this place every time we go to Eden Hospital for appointments and been wanting to try it; and we finally did it! We had a great experience. The place is pretty big and clean. The service is great, the food is pretty delicious. The Mongolian beef and popcorn has a nice kick. The seafood & tofu is delicious, there are variety of seafood in it (calamari, scallop, shrimp, and fish). The rice is great too, just need a little flavor. The chocolate stuffed HK French toast was good as well, we asked for the condensed milk and it merry so well. Their menu is huge so many things to try next time. read more

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Was in the area and found this cha cha teng that was so yummy. We came Lunar New Year day and there were some specials but their regular menu was huge! We ordered the beef brisket soup with was so delicious with generous pieces of beef and tendon. The noodles were perfect. And the salted egg prawns were lightly coated with salted egg and came out piping hot. Sooo good. So many things to try here. Need to return sooner than later. read more

Garden Cafe - Beef Brisket Soup - Hong Kong Style Cafe Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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Not sure why I haven't written a review for this place yet but I honestly really like Garden Cafe. It's a decent Chinese restaurant and a nice hole-in-the-wall. I get their stir-fried beef wide noodle (gaun chow ngao how) and there HK milk tea. Pretty good price and value too! Service can be a little bit inattentive at times but I think they're pretty nice overall. read more