I needed something quick to go and I stopped at Tao Yuen. I have never eaten here and decided to give it a try. The food is pretty decent and not too pricey, it's worth giving them a try. read more

"Toa Yuen" is a small Chinese restaurant located in the Laurelwood Shopping Center in San Mateo, near Hwy 92 & West Hillsdale. This was my first time ordering food here! It was near 7pm, and the place was empty. This is one of those small restaurants with a menu of 100's of dishes and items. A little overwhelming for a first time customer. A nice lady came out to take my order, and she offered me several combo meals. I ordered: Kung Pao Prawns over White Rice, and Fried Chicken Wings (6). Guess what? I like the food here! - Kung Pao Prawns Over Rice was delicious! Seven plump and juicy prawns, with zucchini, onions, and red chili peppers. Stir-fried with gravy and poured over white rice. Not too salty, just good food for $10.95. - Salt & Pepper Fried Chicken Wings (6): Hot, fresh and juicy chicken wings! Crispy batter! $9.50 Good food at affordable prices! Located in the Laurelwood Shopping Center, West side of Campus Dr behind the Shell gas station. read more

See all

Whenever we arrive home from vacation, we like to have dinner with our family. I asked them to choose the restaurant as I knew that we would be extremely tired after an 11-hour flight and would not want to make important decisions such as where to eat. After they picked us up a the airport, we went to Toa Yuen. A small family operated restaurant. I think that there are ten or eleven tables in the restaurant and two tables were pushed together to accommodate our group of nine. We ordered a variety of dishes. I wasn't in the mood to take pictures, so I didn't. Tired makes me grumpy and grumpy makes me lazy! What'd we have? Lol. What didn't we have? This list is in order of the receipt and not the order of service. Shrimp with Lobster Sauce - 3 - Nice plump shrimp, well cooked. Eggy. Sweet & Sour Pork - 4 - Lightly fried Pork. Plenty of Bell Peppers, Onions and Pineapple. Chinese Chicken Salad - 3 - Overly dressed. Lettuce, Chicken, missing a secondary crunch such as sesame seeds or deep fried bean threads. Salted Pepper Chicken - 4 - On the cusp of being over salted. What saved the dish were the fried onions that were simply delicious. Tomato Beef - 4 - Chunky Tomatoes with well tenderized Beef. I wish that I had be conscious enough to order a couple eggs cooked into the dish. Asparagus with Black Mushrooms - 4 - Plenty of nice Asparagus and some nice fat Shitaki Mushrooms. Beef Fried Rice - 3 - Nothing spectacular. Not a dish that I would order. Chicken Chow Mein - No Score - I barely got a taste. Pot Stickers - 3 - Skin too thick. Not sure if they were Vegetarian or Chicken. Sauteed Eggplant - 4 - Simple and delicious. Braised Tofu with Black Mushrooms - 3 - Salty. Fish Fillet with Mixed Vegetables - 5 - Nice fish with real vegetables not frozen mixed. My favorite dish of the evening. Chicken with Creamed Corn Soup - 4 - It was good because it was warm and filling. When I make this dish, it's a bit thinner. We still liked it enough to get a double order to start and then another bowl at the end of the meal. All in all, a decent restaurant run by hard working people. If we were to return, I would request less salt. I felt that the dark sauces were generally too salty. 3.5 Stars is an appropriate score but since we can't do that, 3 will have to do. read more

i randomly found this restaurant because it's on the way home from the gym for me and i'm so glad i did! solid 4.5 but rounding up because i've already been here like 3 times since i discovered it! it's a super cute restaurant that offers lunch specials and so many entree options! they have the steam table options to choose from, or you can order other entrees off the menu for lunch as well! i tried the beef chow fun, sizzling rice soup, and spicy shrimp lunch plate! all 3 of these dishes were good! i like that the shrimp they use is big and plump! the sizzling rice soup was a bit bland but honestly still liked it. the menu has SO many options (and looks like they just raised some prices) but i will definitely be back to try more things. they also have large meal options for family dinners/catering! i also love that they have chili sauce ready to go for you to take yourself on the way out! tl;dr this place is super solid and straightforward and offers so many items on their menu for a pretty reasonable price! read more

Family owned and very friendly! The food is excellent every time I go, and the green bean chicken is my go to!

Food here SMACKED Affordable and delicious + friendly staff and the place felt like a kitchen than restaurant. 10/10 secret little gem in the wall in suburban San Mateo. read more

If you're looking for a low-key, family owned, Chinese restaurant, this is the place to go. The food is always fresh and delicious. They have a small dine in area, but the food speaks for itself. Exceptional service when you dine in, but we also order take out and delivery often. I guess that the local family owned business vibe kicks it up a notch. Great food at reasonable prices. Most Chinese food restaurants around here are $$$. This place is definitely worth a try. read more

Was always curious to try this place out and finally got the chance. Place was clean and empty so we got seated quickly. Service was great and the food was ok. It was good enough to satisfy a Chinese food craving. The chicken wings were very good and I would probably get again. read more

See all

My husband and I always visit this place and we love they food! Service is fast and the food is amazing!!

I've lived nearby for years and never have eaten here. After going to Celias & Sals Burgers I felt one night I need to try this Chinese restaurant. It was very good food with lots of flavors. Definitely going back soon. I highly recommend this place to anyone wanting fresh Chinese food. read more

I pick up food here before going to work,Soo good and everything made fresh to order from soups to main dishes ,all good. Everything on menu is delicious, I highly recommend you check this place out . read more

Ordered here a few times and catered a family event from here. The staff and owners are friendly take care of their customers. A local restaurant we will continue to frequent. read more

Always good food and great value! Chicken in black bean sauce is the best! Very convenient, too. read more

After having some not great Chinese takeout recently, I decided to try Toa Yuan with a simple order: scrambled eggs chow fun with eggs and a simple stir fried vegetable, low salt for the order. My food was ready at the time specified. It was awesome. I ate all of the chow fun! I look forward to ordering a full meal for my family next week read more

Toa Yuen Restaurant - The scrambled eggs chow fun with shrimp was excellent. - Chinese Near Me - San Mateo, California

Good food, quality is fine, portions and prices however,,, not fine. For the first time ever I ordered chinese food and had zero leftovers. When I first opened the boxes the first thing I noticed was the lack of food. Boxes are usually overflowing with rice and noodles, this time the noodles barely fed a family of four (two kids under 5) the rice was the only thing minimally leftover. If your going to raise rates fine, but it shouldn't be for less food! read more

Small space but great food. I stop by for the fresh bbq pork and fried rice. Is fresh every time and you can taste the difference. Service is fast and personable. read more

I like their fried shrimp(battered) spring rolls and BBQ pork. The mu shu pork is good. It's clean and fast , and they are usually very friendly. read more

This place always serves great Chinese food, and the staff is super friendly! We love coming here for their lunch special and dinner!

I've been coming here with work colleagues for years. The quality is what stands out and at reasonable prices.

This place is a big ripoff. They overcharge for their food. Ordered tomatoe beef Hong Kong style and was charged $13.95 but the menu price was $11.35. Didn't notice it until I got home and later went back and confronted the owner about it. Her answer was, everyone is doing the same thing. What does that mean ? She's saying all restaurants are being dishonest and cheating people. Beware!!! Don't go there and have her cheat you for her satisfaction. read more

Very good food for the price. The fish from the steam table is great. Also get the chow fun

Their fried chicken wings are FIRE ! I always crave it. I like it more than the salt and pepper chicken wings.

Use to be a great Chinese restaurant years ago, but I don't know if Covid has made it make changes or they just sold the place to newer owners. Food quality is just so so, and not so flavorful or as authentic as it use to be, e.g., their special chow mein now is served with large spaghetti noodles which gives it more if a Dowie mushy taste in ur mouth. Also you had to look really hard to find assorted vegetables and chicken. Nothing like years ago as U remembered. Oyster sauce and beef was very good though. Had nice flavor. Sweet-and-sour pork was also not as good as before. The chunks of pork were tough and chewy. The service was excellent, the waiter was very attentive. Overall, the food was just OK. Because living in silicon Valley and the many choices we have in the valley for Chinese food, I will probably never go back to this once established restaurant. read more

DON'T GO HERE. UNFRIENDLY. CHEF USES BARE HANDS WHEN HANDLING YOUR FOOD. Being a business owner myself, I like to support the mom & pop shops. But the mom & pop here are NOT customer friendly... I've been here around 7-8 times mainly just to get a quick bite. I usually get a scoop of fried rice to go just to fill my stomach up really fast. Although the fried rice doesn't carry much flavor, I didn't mind and added soy sauce/ chili oil. Today, I went in to get their combo #2 for the first time. I got fried rice, sesame chicken, and green bean chicken. Immediately, I knew the fried rice would have no flavor (I solve that witch soy sauce and chili oil), but the sesame chicken.....Nothing but bread and sugar. I tried to just close my eyes and hold my breath as I ate it, because I hate being the customer that gives a hard time. But it made my stomach turn as I swallowed because I knew I was just eating fried bread with sugar dressing on it. I eventually broke apart the chicken pieces to verify that it was indeed....just bread with sugar and maybe 1% chicken. I went it very kindly to address this and ask for a refund because money is tight and I would like to spend my money elsewhere. I noticed immediately from the register, looking into the kitchen, that the chef was using his BARE hands while handling raw food. The woman (owner) laughed at me and looked at her employee as if I wasn't there when I addressed my issue. She continued to laugh as if she has a line out of her door of people coming in to eat their food. Eventually I was given HALF of what I paid and got laughed at as I left their restaurant. This place is not clean, their food sits in hot plates for LORD KNOWS HOW LONG. And from what I can see, they do not use gloves while handling any type of food. This place is not only unfriendly but dangerous for your health. Anyone can get a bacterial infection here, it is just a matter of time. read more

This is now our family's go to spot for Chinese takeout in San Mateo! Consistent in their excellent food quality, fast and friendly service. And plenty of parking, easy on and off 92 freeway. So great that I can get plain wonton only soup, egg fried rice and chow main (noodles only) for the kids and more flavorful dishes for the adults. Always tastes fresh and love that there's no MSG. Our favorite dishes are the orange chicken, beef with asparagus, sweet and sour pork, mu shu pork and Singapore chow mai fun. I've tried many other places, and their food is our favorite. The people who run Toa Yuen are super nice and i always try to tip well for excellent service. read more

Best Chinese restaurant in the Bay Area! I have tried Chinese food all over the bay and this one takes first place. I am obsessed with the chow mien and the dumplings. Would 100% recommend. The restaurant is calm and the ambience is very pleasant. I will be back. read more

Love this place and I have been coming here for 18 years (I think I found it when I was taking my baby to Gymboree next door. Baby is in college now!) I always get the beef wonton noodle soup (it's not on the menu) -- delicious, filling, and comforting. Husband gets one of the specials off the wall or chooses from the pre-made items and those are always good too. Owners are lovely. It is a tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant with no ambiance to speak of but we don't care. Makes me hungry just writing this review -- and I just had sushi for lunch! read more

Average Chinese food for the masses; nothing to see special here. Friendly staff, nice Lady managing the chaos of this busy quick stop restaurant; lots of people ordering take out along with sit down patrons all mixed together. I tried the seseme chicken. Fried rice was the best part of the meal. Thank you. read more

Toa Yuen Restaurant - Chinese Near Me - San Mateo, California

An easy off and on from Hwy 92, Toa Yuen is one of the few places that make duck yee fu wonton with a duck broth. (the other being Oakland Chinatown's Golden Peacock) An old time favorite, most restaurants say it is not economical for them to have this broth for one dish only. They also make tomato beef chow mein with good flavor, but they don't pan fry the noodles first so are reminiscent of spaghetti. The beef chow fun is another story! Good flavor and wok hei (breath of the wok), one of our favorite dishes. Few places can master wok hei, but Toa Yuen has definitely mastered the skill. Only wish their portions were larger! read more

So I was a latchkey kid growing up (but don't cry for me, my parents work 5 min away from home) and once when they were working late they stopped here to pick up something that was at least warm, if not tasty. At least, that was according to them, as recent immigrants. Me? I LOVED IT. They brought me "niu rou he fen tang," which is the noodles they use for chow fun instead used in soup along with the tasty beef they use for the beef and broccoli dish. Oh man. That was at least 15 years ago and I still love it. They've probably changed owners since then but I never get anything else so I haven't been affected. hahaha. This is frequented by the business park crowd when they want a change from sub sandwiches and don't have enough time to get out to Silver House on El Camino. So when you're a kid and you get to join your dad for lunch and meet all his coworkers, weary from staring at a computer screen all morning, you're a straight up local celebrity. Those were the days. read more

I have been going here since i was in college back in 2008. The owners are super nice and friendly. After leaving school i didn't come for a while but when i came back after a few years they remembered me and my order (yes i went there that much for them to remember) i will forever support this business. read more

In terms of food quality or price, Toa Yuen doesn't stand out. It's your typical Americanized Chinese food and portion size isn't that big either. But I'm a huge fan of small businesses like these and I love to support them. The owners are super friendly and attentive. Out of all the food on their menu, the best one without a doubt is their BBQ pork. Everything else is quite plain and small portion. Prices are decent and aren't overpriced. There's plenty of parking as well. read more

When I went to CSM, it was and still is the only Chinese restaurant around the area. Good thing it's also totally affordable compared to the other restaurants around it, unless you want Mcdonalds every day. Great people that work there too, and the girls that work there know what I normally order or they already know who's calling to place an order. Recommendations: Steamed fish Scrambled egg and beef Black bean fish read more

Saturday night, visiting in San Mateo, and our first take-out dinner choice has already closed. Parents are OK with Chinese, my wife and I hunt around, and lo and behold, spot Toa Yuen chinese on the far end of the Laurelwood shopping center. Good enough! Take out would be 15 mins, server was quite friendly, and the hot and steaming order was ready as promised. We ordered the Cashew Nut Chicken, Brocoli Beef, Honey Walnut Prawns and Vegetable Chow Mein. Everything was delicious! They even had brown rice for those that can't handle white. Prices are reasonable, and they advertise *free* local delivery. Toa Yuen was a very pleasant discovery - we will be back! read more

My go-to lunch spot when I'm in the area. They take the social distancing seriously and have signs to wear a mask and to allow one customer at a time inside. They wear masks at all times and gloves whenever handling food. They have the place set up so that the flow of traffic is going one way. Also, they stack in the food pretty well. I think it's a pretty good deal! read more

Delicious, not too salty not too sweet. Quick and friendly service. Easy parking and convinient. We ll be back.

The food is great! Friendly family owned restaurant, always welcoming. I come here almost weekly for salt and pepper prawns over fried rice for lunch. Also the beef chow fun and Mongolian beef are great. Pot stickers are made perfectly and delicious. I highly recommend those. read more

Tried this place tonight on a whim and for convenience. Easy ordering via the BeyondMenu app. Food was ready in 15 mins. Very fast. I really liked the Toa Yuen won ton soup. I have been sick with a bad chest cold and it really hit the spot!! One night I will eat In the restaurant. The place is small and intimate. Seemed very clean and uncluttered at a glance. The young woman who helped me at the register was pleasant and friendly with a warm smile. I look forward to trying more dishes when I feel better. read more

Finally got a couple chances to sit and order off the menu and I have to say that they have the best walnut prawns here! I've tried walnut prawns at a lot of different chinese restuarants and none of them even compare to Toa's walnut prawns. And they are very consistant, the last three times we have ordered them they tasted the same and they are crispy everytime. I'm all about consistancy and Toa has it! :) read more

I made the poor decision of coming here because I was craving Asian within walking distance from work. UGH. The food was super oily and not very flavorful. Cheap, yes. Go across the street to Piazza for less oily and veryyy tasty hot Chinese. read more