This has been my fav go to for nutritional soup whenever I'm in Oakland. Love their wide variety of…read moreherbal soups and how they make it easy for patrons to choose by grouping the soups by : body detox, beauty care, healthy liver, nourish lungs/kidney etc. We had the Chicken with Morel mushroom & herbs soup (羊肚菌石斛炖雞) along with the traditional silkie chicken with dried scallop & herb soup. For main dishes couldn't resist their delicious wonton noodle soup as well as Their steamed rice with dried shrimp/fish minced pork served on lotus leaf wrap which added nice touch of lotus leaf fragrance to the steamed rice. And ended with another nutritious dessert - steamed chick pea & peach gum with dried rose. 玫瑰花冰糖炖雪蓮子桃. Love how it's not too sweet with nice rose taste to it.

We ordered the pork belly in the lotus leaf and a beef rice noodle roll plate. The lotus leaf was…read moredelicious, but wish there were more veggies in it. All of the other lotus leaf dishes that passed by our tabled looked great also -- seems like you cant go wrong with any of them! Its a casual spot in the middle of Chinatown, and its very reasonably priced! A great weekend lunch.

Absolute best/favorite for Korean short ribs. This is my partner & I's current favorite Korean…read morerestaurant and we always order the spicy braised short ribs. Very big serving size with all the best mixes of toppings on top of the delicious short ribs. The sauce is so good and makes the dish 15/10. Service is ok but that's biased because we order the biggest/longest to cook dish but it's still pretty good. Restaurant ambiance is just ok in my opinion, not too many distracting decorations and tables & booths feel nice. We've also tried the spicy rice noodles which were just a 6/10 for me. The kimchi fried rice was also good but not our favorite -- solid 6/10 as well. We literally just come here for the short ribs. So if you're ever in the mood for Korean food and feeling a little 'rich', this place is a must try.

Alright, I see all the great reviews, so I'm willing to give this spot another shot and order the…read more"right" things next time. But until then, my rating is based on exactly what we ordered. I was violently craving seolleongtang and did some research to find a spot in Oakland. The menu is pretty big with a lot of enticing options--I love bossam and blood sausage--but because I had tunnel vision, I stuck with the soup. The broth itself was good, and they had salt and pepper on the table so you could season it to your liking. Unfortunately, the noodles were way too soft and almost mushy, and the meat was extremely tough and hard to chew. I couldn't finish it. If seolleongtang is one of your favorite dishes, I'd probably skip it here. My husband got the kimchi fried rice, which was huge and great for sharing between 2-4 people. Based on the portion size, I do think it could use an extra egg, more Spam and some nori on top. It leaned more oily and buttery than other versions I've had, but it was still good--just nothing too special. The vibe and service were solid, so I'd come back to try other dishes and update my rating accordingly.

First time here and we went pass 8pm, waited about 30 min. Not too bad of a wait, we just walked…read morearound and got some ice cream nearby. We tried the enoki chips, kurozu karaage and unagi roll. I really like the karaage, especially its's paired with eggplant and shishito peppers. I got the A5 Wagyu ramen and my bf got the signature Toripaitan(with extra duck chashu on the side). They are pretty good given I'm not a super ramen person. My soup base tastes very smokey in a good way. I tried my bf's, it's a rich creamy soup base. It was good but might be too heavy for my liking. Overall, I can see the hype and definitely want to come back to try other new dishes!

Mensho was really phenomenal! It challenged my belief that Japanese restaurant chains that make it…read moreacross the Pacific do not live up to its original standards. The appetizers were all phenomenal. The wagyu nigiri came not seared, but gently warmed so the bite was very buttery and rich. The tartare came in a monaka and was very flavorful. I wasn't sure if you are supposed to eat the third wafer, but it was a bit stale. The house special ramen came with wagyu, duck, and pork chashu in creamy tori paitain broth. It was a very decadent dish, although I have had better paitan broth elsewhere. The premium smoked toppings though were incredibly tender and I loved the contrast of the crispy enokis and oyster mushroom memma. The hostess was super friendly and we got seated immediately. But, a line started building up as we left so plan accordingly. I would 100% come back to try all the appetizers!

Extremely flavorful chicken pho noodle soup, I can see why! They have outdoor seating and I am so…read moreglad I sat outside. It was extremely busy inside. I will be back with my family! I ate my fresh shrimp spring rolls so fast, it was so good but I was also really hungry lol I had to order the mini shrimp pancakes because it looked like it's a "must" order... The waitresses were super friendly and quick with taking my order! To the owner(s): Please do not change your ingredients in your food menu! Thank you for offering delicious pho!

This was our first time here. We started off with a simple cup of Napa cabbage soup just to see…read morewhat it was since it was only $5 and there were no pics. It was tasty. Pretty underwhelming but, it had a nice seafood forward broth and it was very hot with tiny pieces of shrimp and lots of cabbage. I'd get it again. Then we got the chicken salad. Delicious. Shrimp chips were fun and the dressing had a great balance of sweet, and vinegary flavor with lots of chicken and fresh veg. Pork bahn mi was just okay. I've definitely had better. Bread was good. Meat was pretty sparse and the pickled veg could have had more flavor. Probably would order the pho next time. Everyone seemed to have that on their tables. And the sizzling beef looked great. Service was quick and courteous. I'll be back to try more

This is my favorite place to get Ramen in Oakland! It's…read morepretty small and snug once you're sat down in there so it's a pretty friendly setting. The service is always rather friendly and on most days very attentive! It can be really busy so it's always good to check the wait times before pulling up, especially if you're really hungry!

I've been wanting to try this place for a while and it was a really good experience. We went on…read moreFriday afternoon around 5pm and waited for maybe 10 minutes. Service was great, very friendly and fast! I love that they have adult ramen bibs, it came in very handy immediately! The tonkatsu ramen was very tasty and I love how many toppings are on the ramen! Everything paired so nicely the creamy savory broth, the salty pork, and sweet corn. It looks beautiful too! Solid ramen place! I also loved that they had vegan options.

I stayed over the weekend in Oakland for outside lands. My brother recommended a noodle place…read morenearby his home since soup is on the menu. We arrived just at about dinner time and the waitress took our orders just 10 mins after seating. The dishes were served fast, tasted very savory and spicy. I am happily surprised how the stur fried green beans were so crispy and loaded with umami. I had a beef bowl noodle soup and the serving is enough for 2-3 people. I would visit again if i visit Oakland in the future.

I really enjoyed this spot, although my one complaint would be that everything (including the…read morechairs) felt slightly greasy... We ordered the 牛肉面、牛肉卷饼、莲藕片和担担面. My personal favorites were both the apps: the lotus and the beef rolls. The lotus was simply seasoned but it reminded me of some of the 凉菜in China. The beef rolls had tender meat but the pancake portion were crispy and well fried - a great textural contrast. Noodles were also good, I think the 刀削might have a slight edge because it was more Q.

Great food Great service…read more Great ambiance 10/10 recommended This a a great place to enjoy with friends and family!

The food was amazing and the staff was very kind! It was all very flavorful and delicious! Highly…read morerecommend!

I initially came to Monster Pho because I saw an advertisement that they were offering kids a free…read morebowl of pho during the food stamp stoppage. I thought that was such a meaningful way for a local business to step up and take care of the community, especially the kids who are often the most vulnerable when families are struggling. Of course, good intentions got me through the door, but the pho is what keeps bringing me back. I ordered my usual pho with tendon and brisket, and the broth was incredible -- deep, aromatic, and full of flavor without being overly heavy. The noodles were also perfectly cooked. They had a great chew and bite to them instead of becoming soft and mushy like they can at some pho restaurants. What started as a visit to support a business doing something good has now turned into a spot I visit about once a week or so. Great food and an even greater heart. Thank you, Monster Pho, for looking out for your community and especially for the kids and families who needed a little extra support. Businesses that show up for their neighbors deserve to have their neighbors show up for them, too.

The service was very nice. The guy sneezed in his arm and did not wash his hands though…read more I got the monster vermicelli and the shrimp tasted so bad. Probably old. I spit it out. The pho was oily. Very high fat content. Not a fan. The decor is nice. There are a lot of random things going on. Food was not great and expensive for what it is. I will not be returning.

Man I just love this place, the food quality is incredible and I'm not sure I know any other…read morerestaurant round here that makes fresh soba and is quite as cute as soba Ichi. The service is also amazing, everything is smooth sailing, everyone's calm, collected and super stylish. This place is a gem and never fails to make me smile:)

My fellow Yelp elite foodie recommended this spot, especially for their appetizers. So I finally…read moregave them a try and was definitely not disappointed. the spot itself is quite large and has indoor and outdoor seating. You order & pay first, and then find a table, which is a bit different than what we're used to , but its definitely very Japanese. The food itself is super high quality and very authentic. For soba, the taste is moreso in the noodles, and not the broth, and their soba definitely hits as it should. I ordered a cold dipping soba with tempura. The tempura was perfect and I also enjoyed the wasabi powder on the side. The cold dipping soba was so flavorful, I wasn't intending to finish but I did. They also added some hot broth into my dipping sauce at the end of the meal which also hit the spot and kept me warm. For apps, we ordered the tamagoyaki (SOOOO good) and a tofu dish which could be skipped next time. Maybe next time i'll try their sashimi. My friend ordered the duck soba and he said it was perfectly tender. We also got the hojicha icecream, which surprisingly was an entire pint, so its actually not a bad deal. Definitely good for sharing. I'm very strict with my japanese restaurants, and this is definitely a super authentic one and I Would definitely be back! service is fast and courteous but they never came by to refill our water at all

Solid 4! Everything we ordered was great! The only thing I was confused about was the corn cheese -…read morethere was no cheese haha. But the sauce that coated each kernel was super yummy so it didn't really need cheese. Kalbi, a must order and wings were good too. They did give us the wrong type of wing but that's ok. We still ate it and it was good. Only four kinds of ban chan but I didn't mind. They were all tasty.

The free sample of the melon soju was great, the spicy sweet chicken wings are still a food I hope…read moreto see at the Pearly Gates if and/or when I go there, and staff are friendly. But if I sit at a place at 8:30pm and its mostly pretty empty, and there's like, one staff member standing around that you can't flag down who's not checking in on anybody, and it took until 11pm for us to leave since it was like an hour and 15 minutes (actually closer to an hour and 30 minutes) before we got to even order our food, and even longer to receive it... Like at that point, by the time we got our food, the only reason we didn't leave sooner was being nice and tipsy off of the peach soju. But we boxed up most of our food and didn't finish it, since we were so tired after all the long sitting and waiting at that point and the hangry just turned into exhaustion and antsiness, after so much time of waiting around and the headache of not being considered...