Top Pan Asian Restaurant in San Leandro
Bonchon
1275 Washington Ave, San Leandro, CA 94577, United States
I have not had Bonchon before but the other day I had a severe craving for some Korean food and decided to ultimately give the place a try. I tried all 3 varieties of chicken, and a few different dishes which include the japchae, bulgogi, and pork buns. For starters the staff here is so awesome and friendly, they were incredibly inviting and let me know about their dining room opening back up as restrictions are lifting. The area around the restaurant is a bit interesting in its own way, but I will certainly have to come visit again some day soon.Chicken- huge portions, full wing, and fried to crispy perfection. I love all the chicken here and I think when you compare the size and price to your other chicken spots, this place takes the mark. The japchae was classic and delicious, but I do wish I got a bit more out of my experience with the pork buns and bulgogi. The pork buns are so tasty and could do with a bit more pork belly, probably a thicker cut would be great. I felt like after two bites it was all gone and what was left was a bit of slaw and the bun! Though, please know that does not discount the flavor which is perfect, just wanted a bit more. The bulgogi flavor reminded me closer to kalbi or maybe even gyudon, which is a bit lighter in its sweetness. As well (this is due to takeout and not being able to serve on a sizzling plate) but the bulgogi was missing that smoky, caramelized finish you get on the sauce. I ended up tossing the it in my wok and stirring it up until the juices had fully cooked down and the meat was beginning to char- at that point it was perfect!Anyway, I much enjoyed my first visit here. There are some things I would fix a bit from my perspective, but the one trouble I have when ordering at Korean restaurants is wanting a bit of everything while all the dishes are prized for groups of people or parties. Fortunate enough, I can get some Korean fixings at Bonchon for a reasonable price that goes well for 1 or 2 people to eat. Thanks for good experience I will certainly try again in the future!
Top other services in San Leandro:
Fifth Wheel Food
898 San Leandro Blvd, San Leandro, CA 94577, United States
With the capacity to only sit 30 people at any given time, it can be a contorting effort to squeeze down the aisle to one of the fourteen counter stools. So, dont be the dummy that comes to this eatery seven deep.$5.50 will get you two eggs, hashbrowns (or grits), and toast.$6.95 will get you two eggs, hasbrowns (or grits), four sausage links and toast.Why do I keep mentioning the grits? Because I love grits and theyre not always offered at every joint. But for $7.75, I went for the chicken-fried steak...with grits.My plate of food came unadorned with flavorless and out-of-season fruit garnish or curly parsley. It came uncoddled by waitresses asking me if there was anything else I needed every ten-seconds. It did come with tender cubed steak with an ultra crunchy exterior -- so crunchy it never surrendered to sogginess -- covered in brown gravy. It had correctly pan fried over-medium eggs with runny yolks and solid whites. Grits thick enough to eat with a fork, creamy enough to submit and mingle with the yolk runoff.I didnt notice the chicken-fried steak was naked of its usual country milk pepper gravy until my dining companion brought it to my attention whilst standing inside of a thrift store, 15 minutes later.
Top Hatters Kitchen and Bar
855 MacArthur Blvd, San Leandro, CA 94577, United States
We are a family of three including a 13-yr-old. We popped in having only heard of Top Hatters and driven by it so many times. No reservation, just a walk in and we were sat in minutes, even had a choice between inside and out. Got lucky. We sat outside.Its a concept menu thats not very kid friendly--but we managed. I dont mind QR ordering, though Ive only seen this ordering method at comedy clubs.The menu is very imaginative, and descriptive, though its tough to know if it will be enough food to satiate. The raw oysters were medium sized with an overwhelming taste of citrus--not extraordinary. Our small plate was tender meat bites wrapped in Viet herbs with a dipping sauce (see photo). These were a great way to get the palate jump started. The Kohlrabi Salad offers fresh flavor and crunch as well.Our main dish was a medium-sized Rockfish (see photo). The presentation is impressive, and the flavor pulls through from skin to bone. We were impressed how meaty and hardy the fish was, made for great fish wraps using the herbs and lettuce. Of all the sauces, the tamarind paired best with everything.Our 13-yr-old loved the short rib, especially the ramen that it comes with. We got lucky, but the short rib is likely the only thing Id say is kid-friendly.The front of the menu explains in great detail why they choose to use a QR code for ordering. One of the reasons stated it makes for fewer ordering mistakes. However, we were given the wrong side to our fish and I was left scrambling to my phone to double check. They fixed it, but it was strange I was the one who had to check the order.Service was very friendly and we were checked on by multiple people. The food and drink were well made, flavorful, and satisfying. However, as others have mentioned, it is tough to justify the price point when there are other options nearby that offer more variety.
JP Seoul Tofu House
14393 Washington Ave J, San Leandro, CA 94578, United States
After all the restaurant debacles this particular location has gone through, JP Seoul Tofu House looks like it has what it takes to stay for good! And I hope it does. I need another local Korean go-to since CV Tofu House closes Sundays.The yuk bae jang broth was excellent, perfect spicy level and very savory. The pulled beef was a little overcooked and there were maybe too many onions, but I would think about getting it again.My boyfriend got the naengmyeon and galbi combo. It was a hot day so of course the naengmyeon hit the spot, and the galbi had great flavor.9 types of banchan, and even though the restaurant was at ~80% capacity on a Sunday night, the waiter actually came by and asked if we wanted more sides when he saw 3 empty dishes. Ive never experienced that at another Korean restaurant! For that alone I pushed my 4 star rating to a 5. ?Service was very good. Although our waiter confused our naengmyeon for the spicy version, they brought out the correct one right away. And I heard him explaining to other tables very patiently about how certain sojus are or the spiciness differences between medium and mild. I could tell he was working very hard. He brought our check and to-go containers without delay. From what I could tell, it was only him and an older woman doing all the front house work.The menu was pleasantly surprising in the wide variety of their dishes and how nicely paired their combos were. Id love to come back often to try out everything! Its unfortunate that Korean food is always so pricey (although understandably so!) or else Id come here every week!
D T Dim Sum & Tea
1970 Lewelling Blvd, San Leandro, CA 94579, United States
I usually go in and buy preserved egg and lean meat porridge, pan-fried buns, glutinous rice chicken, and barbecued pork buns for breakfast as soon as the door opens??. But today...⋯...all the steamed buns were not obtained?! I didn't get the glutinous rice ?! The extra two minutes for pan-fried buns actually means the extra five minutes?! ! Although my child has to catch the school bus, he insists on buying the preserved egg and lean meat porridge. However, today's porridge is too salty and lacks the previous texture. Every trace of lean meat is no longer present. It feels like it is too salty. Same as egg porridge... ???The price has been increased, and the service staff in the morning has also been increased to two, but it has completely changed???Please improve it??????? I hope you will rebound. Alas! Thinking about how I used to help him all the time, I cant bear to give up. Cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry cry.
Lotus Leaf
277 Parrott St, San Leandro, CA 94577, United States
I used to eat here 1-2 times a week on my way home from work for years— it was a a wonderful, quiet, relaxing place to unwind, have a glass of wine and a wonderful meal after a hectic day.The waitresses were friendly and attentive, knew what I always ordered, and the service was very quick. But things changed drastically in the beginning of January 2023. Apparently the wonderful women who had worked there for many years all retired and were replaced by very young men who have never worked in a restaurant before and who have no clue about the word “service”. To get a refill on my drink, get extra peanut sauce, get another napkin, etc all have required a visit to the desk to get service. These young guys never made rounds of the tables to see if anyone needed anything else; they should be working in a fast food joint! What a shame as the food is wonderful but it's all spoiled by the poor service. I have stopped going there and now go the extra block to Soleil in Pelton Plaza. So I give Lotus Leaf 5 stars for the food and 1 star (being generous) for service. So sad.
Papa Murphys Take N Bake Pizza
699 Lewelling Blvd #296, San Leandro, CA 94579, United States
When I dont feel like spending over $22 on pizza, this location is my go to place. The service is always great here.I always order and pay for the pizza through the Papa Murphys app, which makes it easier. The great thing about Papa Murphys is they always add WAY more toppings on the pizza compared to other pizzarias, but the downside is you have to cook it at home (which I dont necessarily mind!).This pizza I ordered is a new pizza they offer called the Double Bacon Cheddar pizza and it was delicious! It comes with nacho cheese, bacon, canadian bacon, green onions and mozzarela cheese and for the family size it was only $15.99!Incredibly gooey cheesy pizza and the bacon/ green onion really add to the overall flavor. At $15.99 for this giant pizza, its truly a steal. If youre in the area and have an oven, try this place! You wont be disappointed ;)
San Leandro Plaza
1287-1499 Washington Ave, San Leandro, CA 94577, United States
I usually dont go there! Putting out bad press and all. Let me lead with strengths. This particular Safeway location is laid out with a wide variety of products for consumer selection. It is well stocked and staffed.But heres the real! This particular Safeway profiled me upon immediate engress at their main point of entry. Just be aware because my choice was not to stay silent about what was a blatant premeditated act of profiling by the store manager and security gaurd; really tough situation, and I only wanted to shop. Instead I ended up pitted against forces of machinations of a reinforced negative narrative in the minds eye of a Safeway manager and a contracted guard.I contacted the Safeway headquarters in Pleasanton California, as well as the local Chamber of Commerce. I secured the numbers and names of contact for each entity in which to lodge my concerns. I went no further! However, Im happy to share my thoughts and reflections of my experience on this platform.San Leandro Safeway you cannot strong arm customers for their dignity! Implying a person is a criminal to justify criminal treatment of a perceived unwanted group will not fly.I no longer shop at this particular Safeway location.
Dough Zone Dumpling House San Leandro
1376 E 14th St, San Leandro, CA 94577, United States
I normally dont like to post negative reviews and understand restaurant business are hard to run nowadays. This review is simply for the front desk host and the restaurants way of managing people in line. I added my name on the waiting list for a party of 3 (1 adult and 2 kids) and arrived when no one was waiting. The lady at the front desk told us we were the first on the list and will get the next table. We waited for almost 30 mins for two tables to become available. One of the tables is 4 seats and the other is 6 seats. However, the lady gave both tables away to two parties of 4 that came after us. We asked them for an explanation on why they were able to get to a table before us. The answer was because our party was for a small table (2-3 people) and that other table has 4 seats. I had a quick glance and noticed only 2 tables were for 3 people but they are really meant for 2 to sit comfortably. This is not normally how I would expect to happen especially after waited for almost 30 mins. I walked away and brought my business elsewhere. Would love to try this place otherwise.If you still want to try this place, just be prepared that your table might not be guaranteed even if you are next on the waitlist and the waiting time might be longer than expected due to how the restaurant prioritizes table by party size instead of waiting list order.
New Sang Chong Market
13756 Doolittle Dr, San Leandro, CA 94577, United States
Busy on the weekdays and chaotic on the weekends, New sang chong caters to the oakland san Lorenzo and san leandro community that is looking for a safe and relatively clean place to shop for groceries.As with most if not all Asian supermarkets, it has it all. Fresh seafood, meat counter, Chinese BBQ, small bakery etc.Theres a very good selection but the store is too packed. Theres an empty space next door where the Ace hardware used to be but they havent expanded into it. It would help with the congestion..Prices are low to moderate. The store gets busy and fresh food items turn around quickly. Fresh fruit is sold outside in front of the store and there is a large selection.The whole complex is being remodeled and updated restaurants are opening. There is a chinese seafood restaurant right next door.If you like to eat where the locals eat and perhaps shop where the locals shop, give new san chong a try.