One of my favorite lowkey dumpling restaurants! One dish I always get is the XLB aka soup dumplings! They're very large but fit nicely in your spoon. Unlike other places, it doesn't come in a mini foil pan, so when you grab it, you have to pinch the top with your chopsticks to plop it into your spoon (or straight into your mouth if you don't mind burning your mouth a little). After letting it chill for a bit, I enjoy the whole piece and relish in the softness of the wrapper, the tasty meat filling on the inside, and the warm broth to balance it out! Highly recommend this dish when you go. Another favorite is the pan fried buns! These were like the XLB except it was a bread-like dumpling. The bottom was crispy, not burnt, and it was paired perfectly with the warm, soft top and inside. If you think XLB is filling, the pan fried buns were even harder to finish given its heavy yet tasty structure! I also tried the spicy wontons (which weren't overbearing in spice). They were fun to snack on while we waited for the other food. The sesame seeds were a great way to end the meal as they were small and sweet! The staff was quick and got straight to the pace. They took our orders as soon as possible and got the good out as soon as possible. I love this spot and will continue to eat here whenever I want some comfort food! read more

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Service - 4/5 Food - 2/5 Ambiance - no comment Came in as party of 2 on Sunday 5PM, no one else in the restaurant, a few people came in to pick up meals. We ordered three things: vegetables (veggie deluxe), beef stew, and pan fried dumplings (6 pc). It took around 20 minutes for the food to come out. Everything was sweet, including the vegetables. Not good for people trying to avoid excess sugar. Total came out to $79, including tip. Lowest tip option (besides custom tip) is 18%, highest tip option is 30%. read more

Went here recently after coming across the Yelp page from the previous restaurant that used to be here. The restaurant has been renamed "Pan-fried Dumplings" to "Special Noodles" but I saw some workers still wearing branded uniforms saying Pan Fried Dumplings... so perhaps a merger? Nonetheless, the dumplings here are fantastic. Parking was a breeze, the restaurant is located in a Plaza so there was a lot of parking in there. When I arrived, a server quickly greeted me and directed me to any table of my choosing. The interior is decorated beautifully, tables are spacious and clean, and I love that you can see the chefs handmaking the dumplings. There's a QR code set up at every table to order, essentially really nice if you don't like talking to people to order you can do it at your own pace. We ordered: 1 Snow Flake Pan Fried Dumpling (8) 1 Spicy Mushroom Chicken 1 Soup Pan Fried Pork Buns(6) 1 XLB(Pork)(6) 1 Sweet Mochi Osmanthus Cake 1 Pork Dan Dan Noodle (Spicy And Numbing) with Thick Noodles 1 Cucumber Salad My top favs were #1 the XLB (which were considerably big, fun and delicious to eat) #2 the panfried soup pork bun #3 the snowflake pan fried dumplings Would come back again for dumplings if I'm in the area. Super nice that Feng Cha is right next door for post meal sweets read more

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The Crispy Fried Chicken with Egg Yolk is extremely greasy. When you bite and chew the chicken it feels more like drinking oil. You will feel stomach sick after eating it and don't feel hungry for the whole day. It's too hard to digest. read more

Good food... Good service ... Good for single or group of people .. Plenty of parking ... Easy to become a regular customer read more

Ordered online a few days ago and it was horrible. Not only that but both my husband and I got sick. Btw- just read a cockroach was found in someones food recently. I'll 2nd that- no more needed to say. read more

In an area with such a vast variety of Asian restaurants, this one stood out on Yelp with a 4.5 star average and over six hundred reviews. I'm disappointed to report that this restaurant did not live up to the expectations. The food was overpriced and lacked a distinctive flavor. Soup Dumplings ($11.99): For SIX dumplings it was a waste of money especially because every single one broke upon picking it up. And trust me, I have had my share of soup dumplings and none have broken so quickly or so tragically. Beef Wrap ($12.99): They give eight rolls (a good amount) on the plate but the sauce overpowered the flavor of the beef and the delicate spring onion pancake. Spicy Red Oil Wontons ($12.99): I would say that this felt like bland wontons were sitting in a pool of red colored oil. It wasn't spicy but it wasn't terrible. Tomato Beef Noodle Soup with Thick Noodles ($15.99): This might be the worst beef noodle soup I've ever had. The soup broth actually tasted like *pizza sauce water*. It was sickeningly sweet with a corn, carrots, and peas mixed in (like the frozen vegetable blends you get at grocery stores). The beef was tough and the thick noodles were like thick cylindrical noodles. Cucumber Salad ($7.99): It felt like I was eating chopped up cucumber unevenly mixed with minced garlic and chili. This dish was refreshing but lacked consistency in flavors and is considerably poor in taste compared to other restaurant cucumber salads. The service is average and the inside of their restaurant looks like a nightclub. I honestly did not like their food at all and would much rather go to Chef Cho's which is just a few doors away. read more

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Food tastes good but it might have some MSG. Some of food presentation is interesting and unique. The wooden basket holding a big bowl grabs attention. Services are quick and convenient. Using one's camera to scan the QR quote to access menu and to place an order is pretty convenient. The restaurant is carefully decorated. The services are ok. The price might be on the high side. read more

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Special Noodle takes over the spot that uses to be Pan Fried Dumplings. I loved their Shengjian bao and Old Peking noodles. Luckily, you can still have them here as the name has changed and added the Special Noodle menu, but still the same owner. We were pleasantly surprised to find some of the same popular items on the menu AND items we've tried from the Special Noodle in Fremont. Win win! The interior looks beautiful as well. They've gotten rid of the red and added some sophisticated colors. They've also added several tv's for your enjoyment. read more

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You order via QR code at the table to minimize interaction with the staff. I thought this was neat as an introvert lol! My thoughts on what we ordered below Wonton soup: very good and flavorful, great on the cold rainy day we had Chili wontons: I thought it was funny that they called this red oil ravioli, it was good but I'm not a fan of the heaps of cilantro and peanuts they put on top. Not a big deal since I just picked it out. Soup dumplings: they were okay. I personally prefer the XLB from bing's dumpling. This was my least favorite item that we ordered. Overall it's good and I really should've ordered their specialty pan fried dumplings but it was really cold and rainy so I wanted XLB that day. read more

We really enjoyed the steamed dumplings with pork and chives. Who needs to go to SF for dumplings when Special Noodle is right here in Newark/Fremont, Ca? You do need to load their menu on your phone and order but I think less mistakes are made because of this. The atmosphere is like a Hong Hong street food court experience but with tables and fish tanks. Lots of fun signs and lanterns. We will be returning. read more

Still a 3* The soup pan fried dumplings are 5* imo. I like the thin skin and the pan fried side is still crispy after takeout. Packaging for this purpose, they leave the side of the box with flap down so it doesn't get soggy. Yay for thoughtfulness. The rest of the dishes we ordered were a bit of a disappointment. The salted egg yolk dumplings were too sweet, as in they cooked this with sugar. Was not expecting this at all. I like my salted egg dishes to be umami, not doused in sugar. Maybe it's their style but I won't be ordering this again. Not pictures is tomato beef soup noodle. The thin noodle was good, veggies were fresh and beef was slightly spicy and well marinated without being tough. It's just the soup base was quite watery and seemed like ketchup based rather than slow cook tomato simmering broth. There's so many Asian restaurants in the tri-city area, it's like they made this with a shortcut and expect to get away with it. Well, they're only gonna get me once with it. Def not a repeat. I'll just stick to the xlb. Btw on a Sunday early evening around 6, it was quite empty. read more

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Very nice place. Clean and nice decorated dinning room. Waitress is very nice and professional. Food are tasty and delicious. Will come back again. read more

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The food was delicious. We ordered about 10+ dishes and all was favorable and tasty. I recommend this place for your family and friends.

Xiaolongbao is very tasty, the place is clean, service is great. Chinese broccoli is pretty good read more

Delicious! Love all their food! We will come everyday. They are also good for large groups and kids friendly. Dishes are super tasty.

Awesome food and amazing service my favorite was the pan fried soup dumplings! We have such a good time and it was very spacious between tables not super squished. Overall loved everything! read more

They have really great XBL soup dumplings. That makes it a winner already. We really love Xiao Long Bao and they do it right. I think they may add fennel to their broth. Whatever their secret - try them! The service is very modern. You're greeted with, "Sit anywhere." Then they bring you a carafe of water. You scan the 3D barcode to get the menu (they don't bring you one). And they don't take your order the old-fashioned way. You actually place your own order into the web app and submit it to them electronically. They invested as little as possible into their music selections, which was half Chinese artists, half American artists, and all 80s. But the sound was clear and the volume was appropriate. The dan dan noodles featured lots of Szechuan peppercorn... mouth numbingly so, and I enjoy that. There wasn't much pork but it was well-presented and flavorful. Our least favorite dish was General Cho chicken, which wasn't bad, it just didn't do anything for us. But then, it's a dim sum / noodle house. They're not exactly known for General Cho chicken. We found the staff to be very nice, too. Mainly we'll remember the Xiao Long Bao! read more

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I've been there two or three times, and it hasn't disappointed me each time. My favorite is the spicy beef noodle soup; the meat is tender, the broth is delicious, and the noodles are perfectly chewy. It's a great choice.I forgot to take a picture of the beef noodle soup. read more

Special Noodle - Chinese Near Me - Newark, California

We come and tried the beef noodle and dry pot. Noodles are very yummy. And the dry pot is great.

This place was a great choice for the 10 of us. We we went during dinner time on a weekend and it wasn't busy at all. read more

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Stopped by 四姐 (4 sisters) for an early dinner since we were in the area. My friend and I were the first ones dining in at 5:30 on Saturday and it didn't start filling up until we were almost done with our meal. I was surprised because I thought this place was pretty popular, but it seems like they do a lot of takeout orders here . The space is bright and spacious with beautiful colored lanterns for decoration and bright red booths. I loved the space as soon as I walked in. They use QR code menus, and that's where you order as well. The menu was huge, but we stick with some of the popular items. We weren't super hungry so we shared two things: the sheng jian bao / pan fried pork buns ($12.50 for 6) and the leek and egg empanada ($8.99 for 3). The pork buns were definitely my favorite of the two. They were perfectly crispy on the bottom and there's plenty of juice on the inside, so be careful when you take your first bite. I just wish that there was more meat in the filling and that the layer of bread on the bottom crispy part wasn't so thick. The leak and egg empanada was okay but I found the filling quite bland. My friend ate it with chili oil and with that it was much better. Overall we enjoyed the food but it didn't blow us away. read more

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Food is 10/10. Always recommend the pan fried pork buns and the sticky rice ribs. Also tried the pork belly noodle soup and will definitely get that next time as well! read more

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Pan fried buns are amazing!! It is our must order item every time. Kids love it!! Spicy beef noodle soup is delicious! read more

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Came for the first time, food was good and was fast. The sesame balls for dessert were also pretty delicious! read more

Special Noodle - Sweet Sesame Balls - Chinese Near Me - Newark, California

We were greeted and told to grab a table as soon as we walked in. There were about four other tables in use. Ordering is via the QR Code found on each table. I over ordered some familiar old favorites to ensure that we had flavors to choose from. Green Onion Pancakes - 3 - Not as tasty as before. Lacking salt. Seemed smaller. Chives & Egg Empanadas - 3 - Different chef? Also not as flavorful as I remember and the texture of the exterior also seemed to be different. Xiao Long Bao - 5 - Six large pieces that were full of soup. Excellent! Won Ton in Chili Oil - 4 - Tasty. Salt & Pepper Pork Ribs - 5 - Seemed to be well dusted in Cumin as well. As always, the food seemed to come out in a rush. Everything was hot but of course, if you can't eat it fast enough, everything also gets cold fast. If they could just adjust the pace a bit, check the salt on the Onion Pancakes and check the texture of the Empanada pastry, I could see taking them back up to five stars. read more

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Only reviewing for the food... for takeout. I ordered the soupy pan fried pork buns to go. And it was still hot and crispy. The flavor was delicious! Was actually surprised it stayed pretty fresh. Can't wait to try this place in person. read more

Special Noodle - Pan fried pork buns - Chinese Near Me - Newark, California

The food is o good, like the bomb! We had the fried soup buns, which were fried to the perfect consistency. Nice and crispy on the bottom, soft on the top, and soupy and moist inside. The XLB were pretty large and filled with a lot of soup. Both are hot like lava on the inside when it hits your table so beware or you will scald your mouth! And the combination fried rice was excellent. Tasty and not all stick together like some places. You order through a QR code but pay the waitress. I'm going to say it's a little expensive at $85 for two orders fried dumplings, two orders XLB, and one order fried rice. But it certainly is tasty. read more

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Food was amazing I order the pork buns and they are the best I tried hands down!! There is so much flavor going on in all the dishes and I would definitely would come back and try more of the menu items!! Amazing food!!! read more

Special Noodle - Pork buns!! - Chinese Near Me - Newark, California

Place was okay. Service was great and the ambiance was very nice. I loved the walls, colors, aesthetics of the place. Beef noodle soup was okay. Solid 3/5 same with their wontons it was okay. Felt it got soggy fast and the pan friend dumps were good. read more

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Very tasty food and timely service! I have come here three times now and mostly stick to the same stuff. The few times I have come its been pretty quiet and spacious, its not stuffy in here at all. I particularly like the pork XLB, it didnt come out too hot and I could eat it basically the moment it hit the table. My parents really like the beef wraps, they come out very flakey and the lettuce is crunchy and the beef is quite flavorful. We noticed the Pan fried pork soup dumplings were popular and decided to try it. The broth is very good but its VERY HOT! Id recomend opening them up once they get to the table so you can let them cool off faster. The beef chow fun is also good. Very tender and flavorful beef and the noodles tasted fresh and soft. I didnt order it this time around but I also thought the spicy beef noodles were very good. The beef was very tender, but be warned I would say that this is DEFINITELY on the spicier side. I am definitely coming back here again! read more

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I eat from this Special Noodle every few weeks. I really enjoy their XLBs, and the chili oil wontons. The XLBs are comparable to other restaurants that specialize in XLBs, but I haven't been able to find chili oil wontons this good anywhere else nearby. It's the combination of the wontons with skin that isn't tough, but enough to contain the filling without breaking, and the proportions of the oil, garlic and cilantro. Your order via the QR code on the table, and someone will bring your food. The food comes out quickly and fresh. The staff is friendly. I've come here to eat, pickup and have had it delivered. The seating is spread out and not crowded at all, but it seems like there are a lot of to-go orders. When I've had their food delivered, the packaging works for the contents, ex: if the food is fried, there will be a hole in the lid so that you don't trap the condensation. Foods with sauce etc. are in the plastic containers and not just in a box. read more

We came at around 7 PM on a Saturday night, and we came minutes before the last table was seated and it was a packed restaurant. The tables are pretty well spaced out, but in a medium sized restaurant, it makes it really hard to hear yourself talk when it's busy. For the food, there was around 15 minutes between each dish that was delivered, forcing us to make the decision on whether to let the dish get cold or eat each dish one by one. I wasn't a fan of the lukewarm/cold food, but I'll happily talk about each dish when it was at its hottest. Soup Pan Fried Pork Buns (10/10): I loved the crispiness at the bottom of the pork bun. It was my first time ever trying something like this, and I really enjoyed the different textures. Please be careful- very hot soup inside! Spicy Beef Noodle Soup (8/10): The soup had an insane amount of chili oil in it, which is probably where the taste comes from, but it made it a little hard to sip on as you ate the noodles (are you supposed to drink the soup?) The meat was very tender and the small pieces of pickled cabbage in the soup really elevated the taste from okay to great. Marinated Pork Ribs (9/10): The meat was insanely tender (it basically fell off the bone) and seemed to be braised for a long time to get that soy sauce-umami flavor infused in each bite. Stir fry Chinese Lettuce (9/10): Very basic, very simple. Cooked with some garlic and a pinch of other seasonings, this vegetable dish was the perfect balance to the chili oil in the soup and the fatty meat on the pork ribs. I would definitely come again in a larger group so I can try more dishes. I would recommend any of these dishes in this review, but I totally understand the hype around the pork buns- it's a must!! read more

This was our first visit to Pan Fried Dumpling. Upon walking in it felt very bright and welcoming. The ambiance was very colorful. The food we ordered was delicious. The list is in my photos. Each table has its own Designated QR code. You scan it and order from there. The dishes arrive fast but one at a time. Ideal for individually tasting each item. This place is good, We'll definitely be back! read more

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Brought our family and 1yo here and the food is incredible. From the noodle soups to the dumplings, everything hit. The service is also very accommodating of kids! Very family friendly! read more

Ordered: Chicken Soup Dumplings, Pork Buns, Dumplings in Chili Oil, Scallion Pancakes, Fried Dumplings, Pork XLB Loved the food! Went and there weren't many people so service was good and food came fast. I wasn't a fan of the buns or the chicken soup dumplings, but that's personal preference. When I'm in town will definitely be back. A huge dumpling fan and love it authentic and real read more

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Service is good. Servers are friendly. Restaurant is clean. Food tastes good. We come to here frequently. read more

Special Noodle - 服务热情 菜的味道很好 量也大 - Chinese Near Me - Newark, California

Dim sum and noodles! I'm a fan. All that we ordered was yummy but something was missing to make this a five star review. I'm not sure what, but it was all just A-ok. The dim sum was fresh. You can see them making the dumplings in the kitchen! Service was fast and easy. You order with a QR-code on your phone. It's a small restaurant but they do have larger tables in the back. I wish they sat our party of 7 back there. The round tables with the lazy Susan is so nice for family style eating. It's funny we thought it was a new restaurant because of the huge Grand Opening sign outside. But apparently they have been there for 2 years and just changed the name. I'd come back. There were other dishes we didn't get to try. read more

I normally love special noodle. I frequent the one in farther down south in Fremont. I ordered from this Newark location to try it out. My partner said they were even better than our regular spot. Bottom line the food was not good. Tasted like they had cooked it in a dirty pan and the meat looked so strange and gummy. The rice even looked dirty. They added so much spice I almost think it was out of spite. I ordered what I always order and when I went to pick up my order the staff looked so annoyed. They called me multiple times while I was driving over. I answered while I was at the stop light next to their shopping center. They gave me the dirtiest looks when I walked in. It looks like they were dying to go home early because their bags were packed and they were all standing around the front. Some of them outside smoking. But it was 10:25 and they close at 10:30 and I was just picking up. It seemed like such an inconvenience for them. Maybe they had planned to lock up early because there was no one in the restaurant and my order messed up their plans but they could have simply not taken the order if going home early was that important. But definitely eat at the special noodle in Fremont. The Newark staff is rude! Eat at your own risk and hope they're in a good mood. read more

Foods was tasty, reasonable price, services excellent , overall was excellent I will be comeback to this restaurant