I ordered the stir fried chicken with shallots in Clay Pot. I was expecting chicken breast instead, the chef cut chicken wings and small drumsticks in half. Bones were exposed and hard to eat without fear of choking. The chicken was fried to almost burned. They should really warn their patrons about this dish. And, because it was burned, the dish was not tasty. The other dishes were decent, but the portion size is small. I liked the chives dumpling and porridge. Duck was too salty for my taste, but my family enjoyed it. read more

Food is so so. Kind of dirty. Items are not fresh. Porridge is okay. I won't go back.

Came here the second time for dinner with a friend. We ordered the one-person porridge for each of us and a jellyfish salad. The salad is amazing (highly recommend, so refreshing). The one-person porridge is still pretty big, enough for two meals for me and my friend. The staff is not super attentive though, probably because there're a lot of customers even past dinner time. Would be interested to try its signature seafood porridge next time! read more

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I had this food before, but not in Northern California, and this is actually better than the Chinese restaurants i've visited before. I was surprised at the freshness and authentic taste (granted I wasn't born or raised in Asia but still!). Their "Things" are on par with their "Porridge". It's an amusing name for a very good restaurant. We came rather late and did not have any problem getting in. It seems our waitress understands both Cantonese and Mandarin. I had their abalone and chicken porridge, pea sprouts, stir-fried clams with basil, assorted braised platter, and lobster noodles. Yum yum! We'll be back! read more

We were actually in the area having crab for lunch. I have been craving porridge and have been asking my husband to make some for me. It is obviously a bit of work to make good porridge so my husband said we should get take out from this place. This place reminds me of this porridge shop we would frequent when I was younger growing up in SF. We ordered the traditional thousand year old egg with pork. We had crab for lunch so didn't want crab for dinner. Their signature porridge is the crab and shrimp. Took about 10-15 minutes - we walked down the block and came back. We heated it up on the stove top and enjoyed it for dinner. We got the HK style which is a bit thicker. It was flavorful and cozy. Pricey but I think its worth it. We want to get the crab next time. The store had a really weird/strange smoke smell. Otherwise, it was a great experience. read more

Yummy food but a little bit pricey. The porridge tasted good. I like the small dishes come with it

Overall enjoyed the dishes; the porridge is on the large side as it was difficult to finish for two people of ordering other dishes. Haven't had pigeon since back in the Chinese banquet days so good to have it again which was nicely done. read more

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Delicious food and good service considering a dinner party with a not so happy baby. I only take one star off because it was a weekend and it took us 30 mins to find a parking on a hill 4-5 blocks away... read more

Omg, we ordered the feast for 2 and I have no regrets. 5 stars alone for the crab porridge! FEAST FOR TWO Dungenous crab sawo porridge- The best parts of crab made into soup. It's basically drinking crab butter, SO GOOD Pan fried onion pancake- perfect crisp and consistency Chiu chow chive dumpling Deep friend shrimp balls All the food was so delicious, obviously the porridge was my favorite. My only qualm is the portions are very small for the amount being paid. It's not a meal on our regular rotation, but if you wanna TREAT YO SELF, this is the best way to do it! read more

Very delicious, take walk in customer. Price is reasonable and good portion. You get your money worth

This is one of the few place where I will pay lots of money for expensive food because there is soooooo much value, almost as if your value judgment scale tips over on the $$ end and you would still think you are getting incredibly good value. Yes this place is pricey, but several dishes really stand out as the must-haves for every visit: oyster pancake, crab and prawn porridge, and taro dessert. Porridge & Things excels in leveraging the freshness and umami naturally found in ingredients, especially seafood in this case. This is also the essence of Cantonese cooking in the greater region, and in our case here, ChiuChow cuisine. Cantonese food might be bland to some, but to Cantonese natives, we think it is the best way to handle fresh ingredients. Now I'm sure there are some dishes here being mediocre, but judging by how popular this restaurant on a Tuesday, it's safe to say everyone who eats here has a favorite dish for which they can't wait to come back. read more

I'd love to leave zero stars. We arrived at 9:36pm, 24 mins before closing. The front of house staff was sitting at a guest table having dinner. One wait staff stood up to show us to our seats, shortly after, another member of staff rudely told us that it was too late for dine-in, takeout only. Thanks for wasting our time and gas guys, if you want to eat dinner 30min before closing, please just change your business hours. Rude AF. read more

My friend and I split the set meal for two ($48) which came with three small plates and the prawn and crab porridge. I most enjoyed the chive dumpling, which was almost mochi-like. The porridge had shell-on prawns and crab that was barely cracked, so I had to dig the pieces out with my chopsticks then use my hands or chopsticks to get the seafood out, which I found annoying. I normally don't mind de-shelling seafood but when the seafood is also dripping from porridge it gets quite messy. Overall, it was fine, but just not my thing as I don't think it was worth the effort to de shell the prawn and crab. Also, tea isn't free. I think it was $3 for the table. Service was great, though! read more

I love Noodles and Things at San Mateo. I thought we should give this place a try. Very disappointed. Porridge - 2 stars. I thought it should be THE BOMB. But, it's very mediocre. I will not order this again. Goose - 2 stars. Not impressed or memorable dish. Service - 0 star. Seems like they are still trying to figure things out. We had ordered one more item and it never comes out. After an hour of waiting and we are done with what we have already, we asked the waiter what happen to our order? If they haven't started cooking it, we could like to cancel it. He checked and said it's almost done. He can't cancel it. So, we waited for another 15 mins. Waved down another waitress to follow-up. She went to check and asked if we want to cancel as the kitchen is backed up. ???? I am so over with this place. Will not be back ever. read more

Overpriced for porridge. Hing lung has better porridge for a better price. I'd only come here if you want the crab and shrimp porridge. Everything else isn't done very well. read more

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I've never tried Teochew cuisine before, but this came at a high recommendation from our family in the Bay Area. First of all, the restaurant is much bigger on the inside than how it looks from the storefront. We came in for an early dinner on Monday night, and it was practically empty. It was clean and service was fantastic - our food came out very quickly and was hot and fresh. My personal favorites were the pan fried fish (incredibly crispy, succulent, amazingly seasoned) and flat beef noodles with sacha sauce (the sacha sauce and fatty beef were to die for). We also got congee and pan fried oyster pancake - both tasted as expected and were solid classics. The goose fell a little flat unfortunately - the meat was tough. Overall, it was a solid meal and we left very satisfied with full bellies! read more

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Love their porridge! We got the house special with crab & shrimp. Well flavored and delicious with the Chinese doughnuts. read more

Porridge & Things - Crab & shrimp porridge, Chinese doughnuts, fried chicken cartilage - Chinese Near Me - Millbrae, California

COVID 19 takeout Signature crab and prawn porridge: must try. Fresh prawns and Dungeness crab flavors in the porridge! My toddler loved this. The takeout came with 2 large bowls. Chiu chow stewed platter: tofu, goose, egg, pork intestine, pork tongue. Tofu and goose were my favorite. This is the first time here in the states I could find a place that makes goose! The vinegar sauce is a must to go with this! Oyster pancake: it's a little bit more salty than I wanted but the oysters flavors were strong. I'd go easy on the complementary fish sauce. read more

Food is soso. Service not too attentive when restaurant wasn't busy. A little on the expensive side.

The porridge is top class and they know what they do. Growing up in HK my bar for porridge is high and they deliver!

Came to try out this place on a Sunday afternoon, pleasantly not too packed. Parking wasn't too hard on the street. The interior doesn't look like it went through major update since the last business, but the layout is definitely a lot better and seems spacious. We ordered a number of dishes to try; started off with the famous crab and shrimp sawo porridge. The size of the bowl can easily feed 4 people. Straight out of the pot, the porridge might taste slightly on the bland side, but as you go through it with the seafood and let all the goodness of the seafood essence drop into the porridge, it gets tastier and tastier as you go. The shrimps or prawns were huge! The crab was also tasty. We also ordered the chive dumpling which is not exactly the same as what I usually get from cantonese dim sum restaurants. The ones they serve here is also pan fried but it's not enveloped with a skin, but more mixed in with the chives and etc altogether where it's essentially one big mochi. The consistency taste like mochi too, it's crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. The braised goose was not bad either, served with white vinegar with garlic as the dipping sauce, definitely a cheo jeow cuisine dish. And lastly we ordered Benny's signature stir fry, it was okay, but not the highlight of the meal...I can do without nor interested in ordering again. The staff was nice, they occasionally come by to check on us and everything was served promptly. I would definitely come back for another visit! read more

Was craving for porridge one night so I went on yelp to search around. Saw this place and it was new so we thought, lets give it a try. Walked in and the aura of the the place felt good. We greeted by genuinely smiling hosts/servers. When we were looking at the menu, we didn't know what to get. We asked our server for his recommendation and he did not disappoint us. He gave us the fried rice, steamed fish, porridge with pork stomach and pork blood. We ordered the oyster pancake for togo, and the verdict is still out for that one. PS, ask for Terry for his recommendation. read more

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Finally visit & bought to go, goose are good, taste good, breast meat was just a tag old. I won't complain since geese are hard to come by. Expensive here $108 each vs in China town, $48 for a whole bird. read more

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First time trying this place. We came today for Chinese New Year dinner and everything from food to service was great. We ordered their new year special, which is a pot that has a bunch of expensive ingredients. It was a great new year dish to share and also we got to take the pot home. We ordered a bunch of other stuff too, my favorites are the signature crab and shrimp sawo porridge, free range chicken, tofu, and the spare ribs 牛仔骨. Service was fast and efficient too! Will be back soon to try other items on menu. read more

Porridge & Things - Dinner - Chinese Near Me - Millbrae, California

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I was excited about this new place, was a-okay. No alternatives for the set. We ordered the 2-person set. Porridge was very good, just wished that they break up the crabs a bit. Fried fish ball and pancake were kinda so-so. I ordered my favorite braised tofu was a bit disappointed theyofu was not very crispy on the outside. This place is expensive! read more

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Food was great. The rest can improve but it is what it is. The beef and mushroom dish was excellent

Food Quality has becoming very low since I came last time. This is not porridge, it's "the rice is down in the broth". read more

Porridge & Things - Chinese Near Me - Millbrae, California

Great tasting and authentic food from the old country. The prices were above average, but you get what you pay for.

The signature crab and prawn sawo porridge was pricy and tricky to eat, but delicious. The porridge was flavorful, and the seafood was fresh and perfectly cooked. read more

My family was in the mood for chinese food and we found this new place. We Shared the live coral shrimp $50/bl. Oyester pancake, sate beef chow fan and braised goose. Everything was good. My family and i will be back!!! read more

Porridge & Things - Live shrimp. - Chinese Near Me - Millbrae, California

This place has now become one of my favorite Chinese restaurants in the area! They offer a lot of classic Cantonese dishes, and I'm a huge fan of their seafood pan fried noodles. Also love that they sell Chinese doughnuts (you tiao), and they're made really well. I think their porridge has also improved since when they first opened, and although it may look pricey the portions are large and they're loaded with toppings. Overall, great quality food that is worth the higher price point. read more

Porridge really is their best menu item and well worth it. Everything else is good too, Anything with chicken is cooked with the bones so beware... read more

Good to winter season! porridge is so authentic flavor, I really do love it! and all porridge can add extra item if you'd like. Also, the dishes in here are great choice for seafood and more beyond. read more

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One and Only TeoChew Style restaurant in the bay. My grandparents were from TeoChew area in China. I had a lot of TeoChew food growing up in Hong Kong. Although the Cantonese population is big in the Bay Area, there was zero Authentic TeoChew style restaurants until Porridge and Things. First off, I'm a fan of noodles and things. They use fresh ingredients and they care about quality, so I had very high expectations for this place. We ordered oyster pancake, custom seafood porridge, dried scallop fried rice, satay beef chow fun, and sugared taros. And Oh MY GOD, they tasted sooo good! WOK HAI makes all the difference. The fried rice and chow funn had so much WOK HAI, and the flavors were so on point! The porridge is clean and refreshing with fresh garnishes. The sugared taro, which is a super rare dish because it's time consuming to make, was on point. I'm so happy that we got to try this place. If you want to enjoy true authentic teo chew food, you need to try this place! read more

DO NOT COME due to the poor service attitude and slow response. My car was in maintenance nearby, so I picked this Chinese restaurant for a quick lunch. I ordered two dishes: stir fried rice noodle with satay beef; half ginger chicken. At the beginning, nothing happened. The service waitress even asked me if I would like to order the whole or half chicken. After 5 mins, I was enjoying my food and waiting for my half ginger chicken at the same time. 15-20 mins later, my stomach almost full and my chicken was still at the kitchen for preparation I guess. Anyway, I need to go to pick up my car. I asked for check, then I noticed the waitress picked up one plate of chicken from the counter just right outside the kitchen. I realize my dish suppose to be hanging there for a long time but nobody cares. Naturally I will pay for what I ate. If the waitress explained why the food was late for serving or apologize for the late with good service attitude, I might consider to pay for the chicken with to go. While she said," you didn't tell us you don't need it". Excuse me? OKAY! You didn't serve the food when I was dining. Then I noticed her went back to the kitchen and arguing with someone who prepared for the ginger chicken. I asked for a to go box to take the rest of my food. Guess what? The waitress slammed the bill on my table and leave me alone without the to go box. I was thinking of paying $20 bucks (the price is $16.35 with tax) and don't bother them for exchange. NO! They don't even worth one cent. I rummaged in/through my wallet and paid $16.35 cash and told her "poor service" near the gate. To be honest, the food is tasty but very unprofessional service. I understand it's not easy to do business under the COVID-19 and variants environment, but her poor service attitude makes her own business even worse. I won't come back! What do you think? lol read more

Porridge & Things - This is what I ordered- stirred fried rice noodle with satay beef - Chinese Near Me - Millbrae, California

The food quality is exceptional, and the service is fantastic! I would go back soon! The porridge is one of the best around the area and quite a selection to choose from. Drop by if you're around the area! read more

Good place for porridge in Millbrae. I think the restaurant is owned by Chinese. And they make decent ChaoZhou porridges, they do have variety of porridges and food options. The restaurant is decent size, so I don't have to wait for seats the last few times. read more

Good is actually good and tasty. Speed of service is great with their staff being very attentive. We had porridge, soy sauce noodle and oyster pan cake and they are great. The only thing that I took out the 2 stars is the fact that the restaurant staff are not wearing face mask! Being a very important law to follow and they don't leaves me thinking if they follow any Heath department's requirements. read more

Porridge & Things - Kitchen staff - Chinese Near Me - Millbrae, California

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Came here for their porridge and not disappointed. First arrived during their afternoon break. Determined to try the porridge, we hung out in a coffee shop. The staff promptly re-open at 5, and we were among the 4 groups for early dinner. This place is decorated with formica tables and plastic cover chairs, very simple. Kitchen is in the center of the restaurant, we can see the chefs working behind the counter. We ordered the famous crab and shrimp Sawo, abalone & chicken sawo, spicy beef tendon, salt & pepper chicken cartilage, and braised goose. The side dishes came quickly, and they were pretty tasty. I am not familiar with goose. It is not gamy as I thought. The chicken cartilage is also surprisingly good. Crunchy but not greasy. Then came the first porridge. Abalone was as I thought not much flavor, but the chicken pieces were savory and firm texture. The porridge was made with rich broth, more delicious than the abalone and chicken. Its portion is enough for four even though it was suggested for two. We waited a little longer for the crab and shrimp sawo. The porridge is even better than the other one, but eating shrimps and crab is not an easy task. We have to wait for the seafood pieces to cool down a bit. The garnish is worth mentioning. Each table has a three different garnishes. There are green onion, 2 different pickled vegetables. We put them in the porridge and added extra umami. It is a must for the porridge. I saw other tables ordered the steamed fish. That would be the reason for the next time! read more

I went there for the first time tonight and after we got seated, some people started playing mah Jong right behind our table. This is INSIDE of a restaurant. These people were loud and obnoxious. We already ordered our food so we had to put up with this nonsense. The food was alright but it's a shame that the owner allowed this to happen. These people played with real money and it's outrageous that they actually gambled illegally in the public. Bad energy and not coming back. 竟然明目張膽用現金打麻雀公開聚賭.目無皇法.一定要有人負責. read more