Top Chinese Noodle Restaurant in Castro Valley
Dumpling Kitchen Express
3295 Castro Valley Blvd, Castro Valley, CA 94546, United States
We came to CV market to purchase a rotisserie chicken for lunch around 11am, but Dumpling Kitchen caught our attention right after we paid for our chicken. We decided to get a couple chicken shiitake bao to go... but the delicious smelling food enticed us further! We decided to get the veggie chow mein and I just had to try the general tsos chicken. The kind server offered a sample but I declined as I could tell it was going to be delicious. We ordered a small portion and he began scooping paying attention to make sure he added veggies and sauce, then more chicken, more, more, omg is the box going to close, and still more being added! We devoured the hot and fresh lunch at home, the depth of flavor and freshness brought me here to write a review. Check their schedule as they have a rotating menu, the general tsos chicken is on Tuesday, along with another chicken and a garlic eggplant. Highly recommend, we are excited to come back and try more! 10/10 on all offerings today, my lips are still tingling from the beautiful red peppers perfectly balanced in the sweet and spicy general tsos dish ?️
Top other services in Castro Valley:
Lake Chabot Public Market
18911 Lake Chabot Rd, Castro Valley, CA 94546, United States
I live right around the corner and I couldnt ask for more!Theres mainly Asian Cuisine here and I cant complain.Right when you walk in, theres the Pokeatery to the left. As you may suspect, its the standard Poke Bowl concept. Its rather good and portions are hefty compared to some other places.Continuing down the left side, is Milk and Cookie Bar. Im sure youve seen the colorful ice cream creations all over Instagram. Milk and Cookie Bar definitely has some Insta-worthy treats and most definitely some mouthwatering flavors. Im a HUGE fan of their Ube. Ice Cream flavors rotate in and out so youll have to check in to see what flavors they have for the day!Shumi Ramen is the next staple in the food court. Not the best ramen place but not terrible either. It hits the spot on a cold day and when I dont feel like driving to Oakland just to get a solid bowl of ramen. Shumi Ramen offers a pretty extensive list of items so Im sure Ill be back to try more!T4 anchors the wall to the back of the Public Market. Youre standard boba place with a few other food offerings like egg puffs. I would prefer iTea over T4 but I cant complain too much about having a boba place around the corner from my house. :0)Last but very not least, Mama Chos sells some AMAZING Korean-Mexican fusion food. They sell meat and now, finally, PRODUCE! They have a great section of beverages that lines the back wall. Pricey but nothing too crazy. Ill sometimes come here to buy their Strawberry Milk and kimchi. If you love Senor Sisig or the Kogi Truck, Mama Chos has a similar concept.If youre ever in the area, perhaps having taken a nice stroll through Lake Chabot, you should definitely stop by for a bite or drink! Theres outside seating so you can sit out with your doggie! (I believe its service dogs only, inside)Yes, there are restrooms!
Pho Auntie 7
2690 Castro Valley Blvd, Castro Valley, CA 94546, United States
My husband and I came here for lunch on the Sunday before memorial day and it was BUSY! There were two tables outside and we wanted to the spot outside that just left. We walked into the restaurant and was greeted right away. We asked for the table outside that wasnt cleaned yet. The host called to another person to clean the table. The table cleaner was busy working on 3 to 4 other tables that was left inside. We waited some minutes for the table outside to be cleaned. The wait didnt feel long because my husband and I were enjoying the day. We were actually approached again by another person. They made sure we were helped.We got seated and it did feel like awhile before the server came out with menus. By this time we were very hungry. The menus came out and we looked through. They had many authentic dishes that were listed with pictures. I like to shop by the pictures so I looked for which picture looks best. In any case, we ordered shrimp ? rolls, banh beo, bun rieu, and noodle dish. They all looked very delicious.The banh beo was super fun to eat. We like the original one better than the one with the peanut sauce but in either case, both styles of banh beo was very tasty. Wed have to eat 20 of those too get full. I recommend getting this dish as an appetizer and to share. Also, their fish sauce was on point. It wasnt too plain. And one good trait that this restaurant did right was to have plain/raw fish sauce at the table for people like me that was it extra flavorful.They took our order and the food literally came out right away. Most of the dishes were hot. Though I thought my bun rieu could have been hotter but thats because I like my soups HOT. Even so, the temperature of the soup was good. I didnt burn my tongue. My husband thoroughly enjoyed his noodle dish because towards the end, he told me that he was full but he couldnt stop eating because the meat was so good so he kept at it until the plate was cleaned. We were so full and satisfied that we told our drinks to go.We ordered the plum soda and grass jelly drink. The plum soda was refreshing and flavorful. It was the perfect drink for a hot summer day. The grass jelly was fun to drink/eat. It cooled us down.
Pad Thai Cuisine
3774 Castro Valley Blvd, Castro Valley, CA 94546, United States
By far, the best Thai food in CV. I had a dinner and ordered the namesake dish (Pad Thai-dinner). I had the prawns. There were about 10 of them in the scrumptious noodles and thats a good helping (even for a dinner). It was a very plentiful serving and was medium heat. Ask for the pepper tray to spice it further (red chillis in a fish sauce were hot and yummy).My only beef was with the hotness of the dish. I asked for it hot and the waitress nodded in agreement. But it wasnt that hot. I needed the pepper tray to spice it up a bit more. I was the only patron in the place and service was spotty. An employee was eating and facing away from me. So, I had to get her attention anytime I wanted my water topped off or anything else (like the bill?). I took a star off because of the lack of service and my wanting my dish hot/taste.Make no mistake, this is a good place. But the service was a bit lacking. Im sure eating a lunch here would be better, since there are more wait staff. The food itself was very good. The place has a homey feel to it (probably a former residence, I believe). Parking is a bit of a challenge but youll figure it out.Edit (2/22/23): ate lunch here today. Food is still very good and very reasonably priced. While most restaurants have increased prices 25%-35%, these folks have raised prices .50-cents on most plates/meals. You still get a small salad with a lunch special too. Their food quantity is still great as well (I barely finished my lunch special plate). I ordered their pad thai/hot and it was delish. It was a bit awkward/communication but I think my waitress was asian (english was probably not her 1st language). One of the very few thai places that still have a pepper-condiment tray. They keep their 4-star rating.
88 BaoBao
3330 Village Dr, Castro Valley, CA 94546, United States
Unexpecting hole in the wall.Honestly, was on the way to the post office, saw this spot out of the corner of my eye, and had to treat my lady for coming along the boring work errand ??♂️She found this spot online a couple weeks prior and we finally put 2 and 2 together. The previous photos looked good, so we gave it a shot.Walked in and was immediately sat. They give you a menu and dry erase marker to look over and select your items, but ultimately walk back up to order and pay.We ordered 2 XLB aka Xiao long Bao aka the best pockets of yummy soup goodness anyone could hope to enjoy. They have the right amount of chew and beautiful presentation. The folds were impeccable ?? S/o to the ladies and gentlemen in the back. We used the provided ginger, and table vinegar to make a wonderful concoction, ladeled on each soup pocket, along with a drop of house chili oil.You bite the top of the dumpling, CAREFULLY sip soupAdd some vinegar mixTop with chiliYoure golden ?? ??Then came the Bun. My lady got plain, but highly recommend getting it with condensed milk. Something about the light fluffy bread.. You just have to try it for yourself.We also got an order of the Leak, pork and shrimp dumplings, those came pan fried. Nice and crispy, great flavor. Watch for your bites, the juice will squirt out if youre not careful ?The front of the house were super attentive to our waters, and anything else we needed ??
Silver Spoon Gourmet Cuisine
3563 Castro Valley Blvd, Castro Valley, CA 94546, United States
One of two staple Chinese restaurants in Castro Valley, good choice if youre craving soups or some good noodles/rice. Best choice if you want to sit and enjoy your meal.
Genghix Asian Fusion
20855 Redwood Rd, Castro Valley, CA 94546, United States
Great neighborhood restaurant. This restaurant offers Asian Fusion so they have Japanese, Chinese and Thai dishes. Their food is very taste and fresh and the drinks are delicious as well. My favorites are the spinach garlic noodles, crispy salmon skin maki, Kumamoto oysters and ahi tuna tartare but everything is very tasty and staff is friendly as well.I would just love for the restaurant to be a bit brighter
Garden Cafe
20390 Lake Chabot Rd, Castro Valley, CA 94546, United States
The interior is very clean and organized. Service is not bad. It could use a bit more improvement by having at least 1 or 2 staff check with customers in the back a bit more often.Now, the to the actual problem I have is with the food I ordered. I had a Baked Porkchop over Rice with Tomato sauce. Being my favorite dish at Hong Kong style cafes since I was very young, I was left very disappointed, which was unexpected.- First, the sauce lacks a lot of tomato flavor and thickness to the sauce. Most of the tomato flavor was from a single tomato slice in the dish.- Second, the rice is just as off-putting, but with the taste and feel of old rice made with too much water? Thats the best I can describe it, at least.- Third, the Porkchop meat cuts are way too thick with a weirdly strong pork taste. This made it very hard to finish the dish, so I tried to eat as much as I could just to be polite...Lastly, the cheese was the one component of the dish I could enjoyFor the rest of my families orders, the rice was the same as mine and more.My fathers curry was much to salty, quote, Like salt over already salty curry.My sibling said his chow mein lacked flavor, and the meat was rough and hard to chew. I also ordered a Hong Kong Milk Tea. The taste was almost there, but there was more tea than milk. I would have excused the fact that black tea was used instead of red tea if there was more milk to tea. It kinda helped wash down the feeling from the baked porkchop for a couple of minutes, so Ill give it that.All in all, I have been left with the feeling of an upset stomach and a slightly forced smile or more of a smirk if anyone looked at my face. I really do hope the menu items can be improved, but I have to disagree with anyone and everyone who says the dishes are authentic.
Canyons Barbeque
3341 Castro Valley Blvd, Castro Valley, CA 94546, United States
Background: Over 35 years in Texas means I know barbecue and Tex-Mex, neither of which is easy to find in the Bay. I do have a smoker so I know how to make it myself, but Im always on the prowl. This place Id call a solid contender for the area and having read the other reviews, Ill address some of the claims vs. what I witnessed.Theres no such thing as barbecue tri-tip outside of CA, so I wouldnt order it here or anywhere. Just dont do it. Barbecue competitions always focus on ribs and brisket for a reason. On to seasoning of the meat: you dont season smoked brisket with anything. Not even salt & pepper. Canyons was flavored by the smoke, exactly as it should be and it was delicious and moist. The brisket was very tender and was cut across the grain exactly how its supposed to be cut. Some places remove the fat layer, but they left it on the slices. Thats a non-issue--its just the way brisket is and you cut it away. I also ordered the hot links on a combo plate and they were dead-on exactly what I hoped for. I havent had a decent hot link in ages, so these took me back. My wife ordered the chicken plate and she was happy with the smoked taste on the moist meat that was properly cooked. We had both the regular and the hot barbecue sauce; I esecially liked the spicy sauce. If you think your food is bland, put the hot BBQ sauce on. Its not crazy hot, just a nice kick.I got the baked beans and was pleased to find a little brisket here and there in them--something you dont often see in other joints anywhere. And they tasted pretty good. I also got the cole slaw and it has a light sauce with a slight sweatness which is my preference vs. the swamped kind. And then we ordered both the corn bread and the garlic bread. Both were just fine and as expected.The plates came with pickle slices, pickled jalapenos and pickled onions-all made in house and tasty. Zero heat on the jalapenos. We had fountain drinks and no beer this time. I got the Stubborns craft soda root beer which was perfect; wife had iced tea. Total cost was $25 and change per person, which is decent for BBQ in CA.In the end, Canyons isnt all the way there against the really good and famous BBQ joints like you find in KC, St Lous, Fort Worth or Austin. But to my mind, this joint just slid into first place in East Bay so far as were concerned. Its better than that one that burned down and relocated downtown, way better than that historic one near Jack London (sorry) and definitely better than the famous one out of Walnut Creek that makes a lot of good bottled sauces sold everywhere but their restaurant food is weak. So Im going to give it a 5 for the area and to offset the low-ball slams against them, while itd be a 3.5 or maybe 4 in St. Louis or DFW.