Garden Cafe is a solid, reliable spot right in Castro Valley when you are craving classic Hong Kong cafe comfort food. It captures that authentic cha kaan teng vibe without needing to drive across the Bay. The Chicken Chow Fun here hits the spot. The rice noodles have great texture--tender with just enough chew--and they get a proper sear in the wok for that subtle smokiness (wok hei). The chicken slices are well-marinated and smooth, and the bean sprouts provide a fresh crunch that balances out the dish nicely. It's generous, comforting, and not overly greasy compared to many other local takeout options. To wash it down, their Hong Kong Milk Tea delivers on authenticity. It is strong, smooth, and brewed with that distinct, bold black tea base balanced out by sweet evaporated milk. Ordering it iced keeps the flavor rich without watering down as you drink it. The only reason it knocks off one star is that service can be a bit slow during peak dinner hours, and the dining space gets tight quickly. But for quality, everyday comfort food and a classic Hong Kong tea fix in the neighborhood, Garden Cafe is consistently a great choice. read more

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I visited Garden Cafe for the first time last week, a HK Cafe that has been open for close to three years. The inside of the restaurant is clean and modern. There are regular tables as well as booth seating throughout the Cafe. The food was solid HK Cafe Food. Out of the items I ordered, I liked the Black Bean Chow Fun the most. My second choice would be the baked pork chops which was a very hearty comforting dish. The French Toast was solid and the scrambled eggs with beef over rice was decent. Service was good, above standard for a HK Cafe, and prices are moderate. I would recommend visiting when craving HK style Cafe food. read more

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Forever the best HK spot around in the east bay. Quick and fast services. The menu varies by the meal you go for, so there's always a good deal or something new for you to try. I would love to just try all of the menu over time. Everything has hit so far. This time I got the beef congee combo with the vermicelli rolls with satay sauce. Vermicelli rolls was very good and unexpected. Loved it a lot. read more

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Any time I find a Hong Kong cafe the nostalgia hits, and Garden Cafe is one of those places that I will definitely be returning to. What a shame that I am not in Castro Valley often enough. It has been difficult to find HK cafes that do set combos like they do in HK, but Garden Cafe has a selection of three classic HK combos that include an entree, buttered toast, and your choice of drink, all for an amazing price. These three combos are a quintessential aspect of HK cafe culture, and bring me back to when I used to frequent HK yearly and indulged in such combos for breakfast. This was my very first time at Garden Cafe, so of course I went with an HK combo. My pick this time was 雪菜肉絲米粉 (preserved veggie and shredded pork vermicelli soup), which is one of my favorite HK noodle soups. For my drink I went with classic HK milk tea, and upgraded to the iced version. The staff were very efficient (and of course speak Canto so I can practice), and my food was brought out super quickly. The majority of the other patrons also spoke Cantonese, and much more fluently than I do, so that's another indication of how you know the food is legit. The broth for my 雪菜肉絲米粉 was clear yet flavorful, the meat was tender, the veggies delightfully pickled, and the vermicelli not overcooked at all. The toast was thin, crunchy, and buttered nicely without being overwhelming. The HK milk tea was oh so good and as strong as it always is at every HK cafe I've ever been to. I ended up not finishing my noodle soup and brought it home to enjoy later, and also got the rest of my milk tea to go. Do note that Garden Cafe is super easy to miss if you're not paying attention. I completely passed by the parking lot the first time, since the building the restaurant is located in is recessed and connected to a liquor store. Parking is scarce, and I ended up parking in the tiny lot next to the liquor store. It's also located right across the street from Eden Medical Center. The neighboring parking lot is also part of a medical office and does not connect to the parking lot for the liquor store/restaurant. Regardless, I love eating at hole in the wall establishments and Garden Cafe is most certainly on my list to return to (and bring my husband next time) so I can try some more dishes they have to offer! read more

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Came here a few more times. Had egg white dried scallop fried rice and beef ho fun this time. Very good! The salted egg spareribs were supinely very refreshing and not salty at all. Always very nice staff and attentive service. Parking maybe a bit hard but can always park on the street right outside at the main street. Casual dining. Simple, clean restaurant. read more

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I came here with my family for dinner and we had such a good time! The outside area has some parking, and inside is roomy with a healthy amount of seating. We got seated immediately and service was fast and kind. I got the baked pork chop over fried rice, and it was delicious! I loved how saucey it was, and the pork chops were thick. For the price point, it was definitely fair and this baked pork chops is one of the better dishes I have had compared to other cha chan tengs in the Bay. Their other dishes were also good, the flavors were just right...not too salty, not too sweet. Generous portions, good flavors, fair prices, I will definitely come back! read more

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

Tried out this restaurant for the first time and wow I am truly impressed by the quality, quantity, and taste of the Chinese food served here. It's very good taste -- not too salty. The portions are big, not overwhelming. Price is very reasonable. Table seating is comfortable and spacious. Service is good. No complains. Definitely worth coming back. read more

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Came across this gem one night when my family and I noticed how many people were inside and cars parked in the lot around 9:30pm. We decided to try it next time we were in Castro Valley. When we tried dinner here for the first time, we were blown away by their menu full of protein, vegetable, desserts, and drink options! We decided to try their Kyoto spare ribs. OMG we could not get enough! Their combo pan fried noodles was perfectly crisp and full of vegetables and different kinds of meats! Our egg puffs came out nice and hot, per our request for dessert, and was a perfect ending to our meal. Music Panda and other music shows playing on the flat screens drew our attention too. Service was excellent also, to the point of one of the staff taking our take out containers we had filled, and put our containers in a plastic bag. I immediately texted my friends and family to tell them to try Garden Cafe! read more

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Limited late night options in Castro Valley. Hong Kong Cafes have also been known to open late for snacks so I checked it out with my husband. We enjoy their HK milk tea and appetizers. This has became our go to late night spot for a quick date. Parking is limited but somehow it suffices for the cafe and adjacent bar. read more

Came back again because of such a great service last time and brought my mom. Got clams with black bean sauce and a salty fish with chicken claypot. Both were good. Kayla was our server towards the end and she was great. Brought my mom hot water when she needed it for her medication. Joyce was our server at the beginning. Their menu has lots of food options. Seems to be a hit in this town! Parking is tight but people kept coming in. Place inside is pretty big. Next we'll come back for the dessert! read more

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

Came here at 9:30pm on a Friday night. It's packed but didn't have to wait for a table. We ordered 3 main dishes and 2 dessert (fresh toast, and mochi waffle). A drink and a dessert which we did not.order came to our table by mistake. It seems like things are a bit chaotic since there were so many ppl dining in. Our fresh toast came out first , then a main dish (minced beef rice) then the waffle mochi. We had to wait for the other 2 main dishes for a long while. I think they shouldn't have served the dessert first or they could have asked us if we want them out together with our entree . Anyway, the service was ok. The place was very loud. We didn't enjoy it and wanted to leave. I think I will stick with coming in the afternoon instead of night time. read more

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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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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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Came in for a quick breakfast. Ordered the breakfast combo vermicelli noodles with pork and fermented greens. It came with milk tea and a toast with egg. Noodles soup is good but not great. Wished they add more pork and greens instead of mainly noodles. Cannot go wrong with Egg and toast. Simple and good. read more

Garden Cafe - Vermicelli noodles with pork and greens breakfast combo - Hong Kong Style Cafe Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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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This is your typical HK cafe, with an old school design. On the weekends this place gets packed REAL quick. Everything you order is up to par, the only disappointing part were their drinks. Anything with red bean and coconut milk is AMAZING, all else was a let down. Anyways, I definitely recommend y'all try this place for comfort food. read more

Ambiance was nice, service was quick and the lady taking my order was kind but the young guy was not. One of the servers was eating in the kitchen area and the lady that helped me took a bite of her food as well. Very unprofessional and gross considering the lady took the food with her hands and licked her fingers but didn't wash them. If they are going to eat like that it should not be happening in the kitchen and if she's going to not wash her hands then she shouldn't continue working. Also drinking drinks and another one with lashes and nails done is putting cleaning rags up to their face AND THEN DRYING CLEAN SILVERWARE all happening as I'm writing this review. Absolutely disgusting. Can't believe I spent $60 here!!! read more

The portions are pretty large and the price is reasonably priced. It typically gets busy on the weekends but the most recent time I went, it wasn't as crowded as expected. Overall a good place to eat with your friends and family. Fair warning the parking lot is very small, therefore try to find street parking. read more

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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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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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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The Hot HK Milk Tea: Regrettably, the Hong Kong-style milk tea does not taste authentic. The tea base lacks the distinct, robust flavor profile and traditional strength that defines a true, classic Hong Kong milk tea. It simply does not feel like the original recipe it is meant to represent. Excellent Service: The staff is attentive, welcoming, and provides great service. ​Quality Food: The dishes are well-prepared and consistently good. read more

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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Great place to go to catch up with friends late night. Food was delicious. Service was quick & friendly. read more

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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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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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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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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

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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Service is really good, management really listen to your issues and quickly resolve it. When craving for HKG style cafe food, this is the place to go. read more

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 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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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

This is a small café with amazing food made with love. They are open till midnight, which is great for late night studying or if you work late. They always offering to help you and the staff will remember you as well! They have music videos playing on a TV in front of the seating area kind above the cash register. It's a low-key place but very nice. For Hong Kong style the price is worth it, it is definitely not American style! :) 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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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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