Overdue for an update again, sorry. XLB Kitchen is 15 miles away, but it's worth the drive. On my most recent visit, one of my friends joined me for lunch. It was her first time at XLB Kitchen. She enjoyed the food and commented on how the owner called me by name and guessed what I wanted to order. I know, right?! That speaks to my predictability (ha ha!) and the awesome customer service. According to the notes on my phone, in addition to XLB and sauteed pea leaves, I've recently ordered their salt & pepper fish, shrimp & pork dumplings w/Chinese chives, and green onion pancake. All excellent, thank you XLB Kitchen! read more

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Value city Had to try this staple after hearing about it. The place was packed but we were still able to snag a table. It looks like the bottleneck is at the kitchen as it seemed pretty backed up. The menu has the usual fare but I was really impressed by the prices as everything was very reasonably priced XLB - gotta try these right? came out steaming hot and juicy. the exterior had the right amount of thickness, maintained integrity in transition without being too chewy. the soup was excellent Spicy wontons - mega spicy, which is the dominating flavor, not for the faint of heart. the steamed greens on top were a nice touch. Beef chow fun - pretty standard. wasn't too impressed with this one. not enough vegetables and kinda greasy. I love chow fun so I still enjoyed it read more

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I was in the area and needed a quick bite to eat, and this place looked amazing based on the reviews The service was great. They actually created a seat for me when there was actually none available and the noodles were delicious. Would definitely recommend. read more

XLB Kitchen - Spicy Beef Noodles - Szechuan Near Me - Cupertino, California

From the moment we walked in, we were greeted very friendly. Everything we ordered was excellent and super fresh. The owner/waitress was so nice and friendly. A must try! read more

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Good homemade Chinese food, comforting and family owned. Parking can be scarce but besides that, everything is amazing. Food portions are nice, definitely family style as per usual. read more

XLB Kitchen - Szechuan Near Me - Cupertino, California

Always love coming here! Chongqing spicy chicken （重慶辣子雞）is what I always order when I'm here. Really crispy and the numbing flavor is on the stronger side. I also like ordering the julienned potato （土豆絲）and it's a great option if you need a veggie dish. They have a bunch of hidden gems in their menu, like the chili wontons （四川紅油抄手）, so go check them out! They have an outdoor section that's mostly shaded, so it's quite nice to sit outside on a sunny day. The waitress is also really fast at getting our orders and getting our dishes! read more

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So good! Fun to sit outside on a warm Autumn day. My sister often comes here with her husband for lunch and it was his birthday and he suggested we all come here as a big family. It helped that they were "regulars there" and he got really great service. The food was unique and atmosphere was fun. Would definitely come back. read more

Updating my Yelp review - Even though we no longer live in Cupertino, we make the trek down from San Francisco to XLB Kitchen for their most amazing pork belly and glutinous rice in bamboo and the juicy pork soup dumplings. On our visit today, we also ordered the spicy fried chicken and salt and pepper tofu (off menu item) that the owner arranged. She's so amazing and we are incredibly grateful for the joy wrapped in each bite as well as the prompt and excellent service. I can't recommend XLB Kitchen enough. Make the trip to Cupertino! Get your grub on before shopping Santana Row or Westfield! LOVE LOVE LOVE XLB Kitchen! read more

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very good and yummy place to eat!! tastes very flavorful and good portions too. things came out really quickly and i am so gladly i came here to eat. all the food was delicious and filling. read more

XLB Kitchen - Szechuan Near Me - Cupertino, California

After shopping at Valley Fair with our pups, we were searching for a dog-friendly restaurant to eat dinner at. We were surprised this place came up, since most Chinese restaurants have indoor seating only, but they had an outdoor patio that was brightly lit with heating lamps and they could accommodate us for dinner. Service was great, they were very attentive and took our orders quickly. We ordered the following dishes: sautéed green beans, pork XLB, beef chow fun, half portion of smoked duck, and szechuan chicken. All our dishes came out relatively quickly, so we were ready to dig in. The green beans and XLBs were both solid dishes, you're getting exactly what you're expecting. The beef chow fun was good too, there was a good amount of beef in the dish and it was very tender/flavorful. I also really enjoyed the szechuan chicken, which had a decent kick, but it was more so numbing than actually spicy. The only dish that our table wasn't really a fan of was the smoked duck - we wanted to try it because we usually get Peking duck and never had smoked duck before so we thought it would be to our liking. I'm not a fan of sweet meat and it tasted very similar to smoked ham or BBQ pork, so wasn't expecting that! The skin was nice and crunchy though, just wasn't my favorite dish due to the flavor profile. Good Chinese restaurant for family-style eating. They have all the classic Chinese dishes here as well as some unique ones as well. :) read more

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Stopped by for a quick lunch while running errands. Interior was clean and bright. Ordered XLB, cucumber salad, and half of a smoked duck. XLBs were juicy with good flavor. Though, the wrapper was a bit on the thicker side and a couple of the dumplings were hard on the top. They also could have given a bit more ginger. Cucumber salad tasted fresh and the garlic was not overpowering. The best dish was the duck. Crispy skin, nice smoky flavor, tender and juicy. No excessive pieces of fat. I would come back just for the duck. read more

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My go to restaurant for soup dumplings(Xiao Long Bao)! The dishes are authentic (Shanghainese dishes!) and delicious! I especially like the outdoor seating - favorite seat is next to the little fountain - the sound of water feels very peaceful to eat to chill. Strongly recommend this place. read more

XLB Kitchen - Szechuan Near Me - Cupertino, California

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3.0: XLB. soup is too sweet. pork filling is undercooked. Wrapper is OK but not QQ. Not as good as Trader Joe's frozen XLB, or the version at Dumpling House in Palo Alto. 1.0: Pan fried pork bun. It's downright bad. Very bready and tough. Very little soup inside. The filling is not impressive. Not half as good as the version at Shanghai Flavor Shop in Sunnyvale. Not sure why there are good reviews for this item. read more

XLB Kitchen - XLB - Szechuan Near Me - Cupertino, California

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Sat outside. Got served water and tea. Had Dan Dan noodles, xlb, cumin beef and pea sprouts. The pea sprouts were the best. Service was good. Nice owner read more

XLB Kitchen - Szechuan Near Me - Cupertino, California

Love the food here. Every dish is a hit. My only complaint is that the glutinous rice pork dish (served in the bamboo) is very oily and can be a little much for some people. The rest were delicious though. I particularly liked the tofu dish (see picture). I hope to be back to try their Dan Dan noodles. Service was quick and the lot was large so parking wasn't an issue. read more

XLB Kitchen - Szechuan Near Me - Cupertino, California

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We walked in at Saturday 7pm and it wasn't busy. There's indoor and outdoor seating. We chose to sit outside and saw a rat chilling at the fountain decor. Shaded outdoor patio with a roof. Fast service. The couple appetizer (Fuqi Feipian) and intestine dry pot had Mala spice and was hella salty. The rest of the dishes were good. Parking lot shared with other businesses. read more

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I've been here 2x and it's definitely a place that I would return to just for their XLB's. I've come here during lunch and for dinner. XLB soup dumplings - 5/5 - would come here for these only, but the other items on their menu are also pretty tasty. Pan Fried XLB's - 3/5 - they're a bit on the thicker side with no soup inside Szechuan Dan Dan Noodles - 1/5 - it was underwhelming and wasn't as spicy as I expected it to be. It was also made with a flour noodle which was soaking up the sauce too quickly. ~~Parking: The restaurant is located at the end of a plaza so it's a shared parking lot but both of the times that I've come here I've been able to find parking, but I did arrive on the early end of lunch and the early end of dinner. ~~Service: Fair. The servers are very nice. I just wished they wrote down the items we were ordering or had a tablet to put the orders in to make sure they're correct before sending them to the kitchen. ~~Worst Part: The second time the waitress accidentally put down the wrong order for us. We had ordered the Szechuan Chicken and what had arrived was the Szechuan Beef. I was trying to understand with my very elementary chinese skills and finally understood that she had misplaced the order, which makees sense because I noticed that she was not taking note of the 4 items we had ordered. ~~Return: yes. read more

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I've been going here for years, and this place indisputably has the best xlb soup dumplings in the Bay Area! Why wait for an hour at Din Tai Fung, when the soup dumplings here are much larger, have more soup in them, more flavor, and have thin skin that doesn't break. read more

XLB Kitchen - Szechuan Near Me - Cupertino, California

I went with my Chinese aunties, so I knew I was in for some delicious, authentic Shanghainese food! My favorite dish was the savory nian gao, made with stir fried oval rice cakes, veggies, and pork. Tough competition with my dads recipe of nian gao, because it was that good! But everyone loved the obvious dish to get: the xiao long bao, aka soup dumplings. The star dish, and most surprising find was the smoked duck! This is my first time having smoked duck, because usually I get Peking duck or roast duck and don't know where else to get it smoked. But now I'm on a mission, and the bar has been set HIGH. The duck was out of this world amazing. It seems hard to do duck without making it dry out, but each piece has plenty of tender meat. My dad would happily devour it. The soups were as they should be. I also loved the dessert with fresh cinnamon flowers inside. I had no idea that was what fresh cinnamon looked like! It was warm and not too sweet. Wish this place wasn't too far from me, because I would be a regular! read more

Good authentic Chinese foods. Owner Kathleen is super friendly. I love the Kong-bao chicken, Fried Rice, Pan fried dumpling, all kind of green vegetables and Tofu dishes. The space lacks ambience. read more

Went on a sunday for lunch. What We ordered: *Combination fried rice, it was good and flavorful. *Xiao long bao, the taste was a bit sweet for me *Garlic Pork belly was too oily, salty and the serving was small. *Fried pork bun was too dry, oily, dough was hard and chewy. The place was a bit tight, parking is good service was ok. read more

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We came here on a Tuesday night at 6pm and there was no wait. The inside of the restaurant is quite small so we chose to sit in the outdoor patio. The patio is nicely shaded with umbrellas and decorated with lights. I'd recommend making a reservation here if you're coming with a large party because I can see this place filling up quite easily. The owner and servers are so sweet here. Our favorite dishes were the chicken wings, glutinous rice with bamboo, sautéed green beans, xlb, and lion head meatball soup. None of the dishes were overly salty or oily. The only dish we probably wouldn't order again are the pan fried buns with pork. The bun had way too much breading and the pork was mushy. The XLB was good though. There was a sag to the dumpling and the juice was flavorful. This is a great spot for a homey and casual dinner. read more

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Very fast service, the workers were friendly. We ate out side and the area was nice and shaded. We ordered the pork XLB, although there are only 6 pieces they were quite large. The wrapping was a good flavor and texture. The pork itself was dry, but the soup made up for it. The pork texture was good. The flavor is good. If I am in the area again I would eat here again, but I would not make the 40 minute drive just for this restaurant. I would recommend for anyone near by. read more

XLB Kitchen - Pork XLB - Szechuan Near Me - Cupertino, California

One of my go to spots for Xiao long bao (soup dumpling); I've tried a lot of places and this one is the best in the South Bay! Super juicy and flavorful. If you want to try something more out there I would recommend the fried pumpkin with salted egg yolk-- the perfect combination of sweet and savory read more

XLB Kitchen - Soup dumping - Szechuan Near Me - Cupertino, California

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This place is always a hit for us when we are craving Xiao long bao or just a quick lunch. We love their Shanghai style noodles and their beef green beans stir fry dish! This will be one of our many regular spots. :) read more

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Been here so many times but never recorded how hot the xlb Bao's come out. So good with the dark vinegar/soy and ginger! read more

We came here soon after its grand opening, disappointed, and never again till now. Must say they have greatly improved. That said, I did not order XLB. Really, that first bad impression was hard to shake. The patio seatings were a big plus. It was a walled garden well-shaded either artificially or naturally. I just don't know what would it like when weather is bad. The star was the tea-smoked duck 樟茶鸭 -- good smoking aroma, well cooked duck, balanced flavors. The bamboo rice is really a fancy container that locked the juices (mostly fat) into the rice-bed. There was no fresh bamboo flavors. The pork-belly was excellently cooked, albeit on the fatty side. DanDan Noodles 擔擔麵 was authentically Sichuan, I enjoyed the little bit I ate, since it has peanuts that I am slightly allergic to. Pan-fried buns 生煎包 were disappointing. Dough too thick, filling lacks juice and sweet. I will come again and, strangely, not for their namesake flares. read more

Came by for lunch the other day and it was a decent experience. XLB Kitchen took over Erik's Delicafe and their menu seems to be remarkably similar to another Shanghainese shop in Mountain View years ago... Parking is available on the street or in their private strip mall lot. Dining is available indoors or in their patio. Started off with their smoked duck and it was quite tasty. Smoky, fragrant, and flavorful. The duck was quite meaty too. The beef noodle soup was huge. Plenty of noodles along with tender chunks of beef. The xlb were decent and seemed homemade. Service was quick and efficient by the staff. ~$33/head after tax and gratuity for lunch with plenty of leftovers for at least another meal! read more

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An absolute staple! Favorites are XLB, fish sauerkraut soup, salted egg pumpkin, and fried rice. Everything we've tried has been a hit except maybe the shanghai pork buns. Spacious outside patio area that's dog friendly as well. read more

Great patio and service for satisfying meal. Review coming soon after two separate visits read more

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Food: 4.5 stars Service: 4.5 stars Outdoor Ambiance: 5 stars FOOD * Our favorites: - Smoked duck - great smoky flavor, tender meat, and a slight crisp to the skin - Salt & pepper fish - Light batter - Egg with soy sauce fried rice - Simple and delicious - Stir-fried cabbage - Has a unique, delicious flavor. We usually order it without the pork and mild spicy. - Beef with green onion - Aromatic and tender. - Stir-fried rice cake: Chewy and delicious. * Our go-to staples: - Xiao long bao - Juicy - Green onion pacakes - Lighter than typical versions - Mixed cilantro with shredded tofu - Great starter SERVICE * Noticeable improvement from several years ago. Staff are now attentive and friendly. * Owner is welcoming and makes an effort to connect with customers. OUTDOOR SEATING * Pleasant ambiance with water fountain background and umbrellas with LED lights. * Dog-friendly, which is rare for Chinese restaurants. read more

Obsessed with the dan dan noodles. Admittedly, I haven't had many types of dan dan noodles, but have had enough sichuan flavored food to be obsessed with this place. Also tried the chili oil wontons which were equally delicious, but if I'm going to be honest, I'd choose the noodles over the wontons. Noodles had a great balance of creaminess, a slight numbing spice, and peanut-y taste. PARKING: There is a decent sized shared parking lot on this plaza. Came on a weekday so can't say how busy it is during the weekend, but seemed fine for lunch. There is a fairly large covered patio for comfortable seating. SERVICE: Staff was friendly and helpful. Nothing spectacular, but overall a good experience. Will be coming back! read more

XLB Kitchen - Chili oil wontons and dan dan noodle - Szechuan Near Me - Cupertino, California

Pork belly rice is a must!! Fried rice has a good wok aroma so that is always on my list! Soup dumpling are supper and garlic ribs and a must.. service is always fast ...no long waits and its a casual dining place.. read more

Easy to miss spot when driving by, but you don't want to miss it if you like XLBs! The XLB was big and the soup was so... thick? Not literally thick, but it was so flavorful and hearty. Awesome The chongqing chicken was plenty but not as spicy as what I've usually had (pro or con depending on who you ask). The sautéed string beans were kind of addicting because it also had pieces of pork and must've been cooked with some pork-ness. I only do not recommend glutenous rice pork bamboo thing. It's gimmicky and tastes way too porky. The pork itself was almost as mushy as the rice so I didn't really like that. I searched for every green onion I could find to cut through the mushy and monotone taste. read more

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Spontaneously decided to come here for dinner and loves the homey feel and taste of this place. Here'e what we ordered: - XLB (4/5): This is one of the better XLBs. It is a little bit sweeter but theres so much dense, flavorful broth which I don't see in as much xlbs. - Sauteed string beans (4/5): Good flavor - lots of ginger, pork, and maybe garlic? I wish it was more sauteed for us - Chongqing chicken (3/5): Loves the small pieces (theyre practically boneless) and the amount they provide but I wish it was spicier. - Pork Belly with glutinous rice (4/5): Really unique dish. Maybe slight flavor of bamboo in it? A little pricey but would come again if we want a homey meal. read more

XLB Kitchen - string beans - Szechuan Near Me - Cupertino, California

saturday lunch in cupertino and wanting to try the different dumpling restaurants in the area...trying xlb kitchen...a short wait, but didn't wait too long to be seated...at xlb, so had to order the xlb (soup dumplings) $10.95 for 6...deliciously soupy and holding the soup well...very well done...taking a mapo tofu $14.95...sauced contained a higher concentration of numbing spice, so a warning....needing rice $2...it was good, but mouth numbing spicy...trying the beef stew noodle soup $16.95...again, broth was quite high in the numbing spice content...xlb kitchen loves their numbing spices...pork dumplings with chinese cabbage with numbing spice oil dip $12.95...the dumplings were quite delicious...luckily the numbing spice oil dip was on the side, so we can opt out of dipping...had enough of the numbing spice...food is good...prices are reasonable for the portion sizes... read more

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Don't be fooled by the plain exterior and interior of this small restaurant. This is the place to go for no-nonsense good Chinese food. There's additional seating outside on the patio and it's decorated with pretty lights! Garlic Cucumbers: 4/5 Portion is large! I was very surprised to see that it wasn't covered in chili oil like most cucumber dishes at Chinese restaurants. However, you can ask them for chili oil and it's great with the cucumbers! Chongqing Spicy Fried Chicken: 3/5 The numbing, tingling spice is definitely there and is the best part of this dish! However, the way they chop up the chicken leaves a lot of small pieces of bones in the chicken so you have to be careful when chewing. Also, some of the pieces of chicken are just pieces of skin, bone, or fat that's been deep fried, so it's not all chicken meat. XLB: 5/5 My favorite dish here! The dumpling skin was not too thin and not too thick. There was plenty of delicious broth inside and the pork was juicy and flavorful! Shanghai Style Rice Cakes: 4/5 These are rice cakes stir fried in a delicious, savory sauce with a few small pieces of pork. Very fun to chew! Dan Dan Noodles: 4/5 These dan dan noodles came in a broth/sauce (?) that was peanutty, creamy, and spicy. The noodles were thin and on the softer side but still kind of chewy. The noodles and the sauce paired well together and you get some of that numbing, tingling spice too! Overall, the food was good but nothing mindblowing. If you go, you must try their XLB because they're well known for it! read more

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XLBK is one of our "goto" places for a family dinner out. We've been here several times, and I just didn't get around to writing this overdue review. One must have is the steamed buns, or XLBs. We usually go simple+good, so this means the pork buns are a favorite. We had them this time and they were great as usual. The skins are skillfully wrapped and trap in the soupy goodness. The sauce on the side is tasty and plentiful Another favorite is the "Glutinous Rice with Pork in Bamboo." The dish is served in a bamboo log and tastes great. I like the way the glutinous rice absorbs all the sauce and complements the tasty pork bits. It is also an interesting looking dish as you can see in the photo I uploaded. A family fav, and regular order, is the Sautéed String Beans. Well selected beans that are not tough or overcooked. Tasty sauce with good amount of garlic and other flavors. This time we went for the Tofu Skin with Pork. We had intended to get a somewhat different Tofu skin dish (Vegetables wrapped in tofu skin) but we had a slight mixup and then decided to just go ahead and take this dish, which was once again something we liked a lot for the chew texture of the tofu skins. Also the skins absorb a lot of flavor from the sauce. There were just two of us at dinner this particular night, so we had plenty of leftovers to bring home and enjoy later. Additionally, our service was prompt and courteous. We went a little early (~5:30pm on a weekday) and did not have to wait to be seated. I believe it is much more crowded on weekends and later in the evening. read more

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Came by on a weekday afternoon for lunch. Really wanted dumplings so decided to check this place out. It's kind of small inside so you may have to wait for a table if they get a bit busy. Service was friendly, enjoyed the atmosphere. We ordered 2 orders of their soup dumplings, beef noodle soup, and smoked duck. Their soup dumplings were alright, i like it better than din tai fung, but i think there's some better locations that make the soup dumplings a bit better in SF. Their noodles were good, but it was a surprising take on beef noodle soup because it had a bit of sour and numbing spicy to it. The noodles were thin flour noodles, it got kind of mushy really fast. I still enjoyed eating it though. Their smoked duck was the star of the show! Beautifully smoked, with an amazing crispy exterior. The duck itself was really tender. Great smokey flavor to it. Really glad we got to check out this spot, especially because of the duck! read more

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If you're going to name your restaurant after a dish, you need to make sure that dish is one of the best in town. This is NOT! The dough is too thick and you only get 6. Soup is meh and the place is pretty dingy. The other star is for one if the lady server who was nice. Try Din Ding Dumpling House in Newark or Fremont. You get 8 huge, thin dumplings full of juice and flavor...and it's CLEAN! read more