Top Singaporean Restaurant in Oakland
Lion Dance Caf
380 17th St, Oakland, CA 94612, United States
Warning: Extremely expensive for the experience and tiny portion sizes. Be prepared to spend well over $150 for 2 people. First of all, its reservation only and they charge $20 per person plus a dollar service fee just to make a reservation. My boyfriend and I paid $41 just to reserve a seat. That is not a deposit. It is misleading from their site. We were charged full price for all the dishes we ordered.We were told that most people order 2-3 dishes per person because its tapas style dishes. They mentioned we should order 5-6 dishes for 2 people. We felt pressured to order because of that recommendation. It was way too much food at the end and we really only should have ordered 3 dishes max. We ordered 4 appetizers, 2 entrees, dessert, coconut water, beer and our total was $155 plus 20% tip brought us to $186. Add the $41 reservation fee and our grand total was $227!!! How does that even make sense. Ill add pictures and see if it makes sense to pay that much. Dont be fooled, I zoomed into the food so it looks big but in actual reality, its miniature.When we arrived they were short staffed so there was no greeter. We sat indoors but it was extremely cold outside but also inside. There was no heater and I faced the kitchen and I can see staff doing the dishes right in front of me.For utensils, we got 1 fork and spoon each with chopsticks but no knives. We also received only 1 paper napkin each.We asked for rice to balance out the heat and spice but they said they dont offer rice which is extremely strange if you say youre an authentic Singaporean restaurant. We asked the waiter and he said its too overwhelming for the staff to manage a rice cooker. We were then suggested to get their sesame bread instead for $16. Even offering noodles would have helped balance out the super spicy food.The only dish that was worth it as far as taste in my opinion was the Laska noodle soup. Still steep for $25 given that the protein was tofu and not a lot of it either. We got like 3 pieces of tofu.The decor was of a hawker center in Singapore which weve both been to. The high price tag was out of touch from the service, tiny portions, and experience we got. Most of the dishes are extremely spicy and you should be cautious because my boyfriend and I both got stomach aches at the end of our night and the next day. We love spicy food and we eat most of our meals with hot sauce but this is not for the faint of heart. My boyfriends taste buds were fried to the point where he couldnt taste anything towards the end of dinner and I was choking up from the spices. Theres no reason to charge $16-25 per dish if the portion sizes are of appetizers. Flavors were good but nothing out of the ordinary that you wouldnt get from a Chinese szechuan dish.If they charge $41 just for the reservation, at least deduct that from our food bill. Its price gouging at best and we felt robbed at the end of our experience.We wont be coming back unfortunately. Unless they get rid of their expensive reservation system, add rice to their menu, add a heater to their building, give bigger portion sizes and or lower their food prices, you can count us out.
What The Cluck Oakland
815B Washington St, Oakland, CA 94607, United States
Omg this place really delivers on a dish that seems so simple. Once it hit my taste buds, I could NOT stop eating. I only had the khao mun gai classic, but will be back for more. Five stars ☆☆☆☆☆ you will not regret eating here.
Top other services in Oakland:
Lin Jia Asian Kitchen
3437 Lakeshore Ave, Oakland, CA 94610, United States
Came here due to the excellent reviews. The food we had - lamb dish and scallop dish with fried rice was very tasty but as warned the prices are high.A half dozen scallops, some lamb and spices with a smattering of scallions ($20), and a bowl of friend rice ($15) plus only water to drink came to $60 after taxes but before tip. Ouch.For sure food in the Bay Area is expensive and this is a nice safe location and the food is good quality but is it $30 a head nice? Unfortunately itll make us think about coming back.And in case you think we just picked expensive dishes - there were plenty much more than $20 a dish, and most if not all that werent appetizers were $15 or more. Maybe weve all been conditioned to think this kind of dish should always be cheap, or at least cheaper? I dont know.Anyway, no regrets on the food. The place is a bit loud - youll hear and see the kitchen busy making your food. The waiter was friendly and efficient. Only $$ is my concern.
Hawking Bird
4901 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609, United States
When this place first opened I became a super fan, as a gluten free person so was so happy to be able to get gluten free friend chicken. It was great, I'm also a chef who has ran chicken restaurants in the south so I'm pretty picky. Over the past couple years though the quality of the food has deeply diminished. About a year and a half ago I ordered the fried chicken rice plate to go. Got home and my fried chicken wasn't fried all the way, it had raw flour tucked into all the folds of the chicken. I was so grossed out I threw up. I decided not to go back for about six months, next time I went I was sure to order it extra crispy. Got home and the same thing happened. I gave up, recently my friend surprised me with lunch, it was the fried chicken plate from here. I took one bite and bit into raw flour again, I gagged and threw up. Then had horrible stomach pains for the next two days. My boyfriend who seriously eats anything, took one bite and threw it in the trash.Hawking bird please fry your chicken properly. If you use chicken with skin or folds flour gets inside of it, it must be cooked all the way. If you are only temping to 165 that flour that's tucked inside the chicken probably isn't cooked throughout. Make sure you are temping, make sure when your temp it's not over the fryer, make sure when you temp you stick the thermometer in the thickest part of the chicken. You should probably over temp because it's better to have crispy chicken then raw soggy fried chicken.I probably won't ever come back, but hopefully my honest review will help your kitchen improve and not get anyone else sick.
Gum Kuo
388 9th St STE 182, Oakland, CA 94607, United States
Food delicious, large quantities, cheap, what else could one ask for?! This restaurant has great Hong Kong style food. Their porridge is the best Ive ever had outside Hong Kong (because, you know, Hong Kongs where porridge is from). Its nice and thick, and they dont skimp on whatever you get with your porridge. Their BBQ pork and duck are so good; very flavorful, the right color, and you can ask for lean meat for the BBQ pork :). Everything is freshly made, and its all delicious. We also usually order (some subset of) the porridge, rice noodle rolls with BBQ pork (the rolls are so fresh and they make the skin right then and there!), wonton and BBQ pork rice noodle soup, Singaporean-style noodles, wet beef rice noodles, dry beef rice noodles, baked pork chop rice (tomato sauce with fried rice underneath and pork chop), clay pot meat rice (classic Hong Kong dish), and occasionally a Hong Kong style milk tea. I doubt any Hong Kong style dish on their menu would be bad. Try it all!
Shooting Star Cafe
1022 Webster St, Oakland, CA 94607, United States
*1/11/2024I tried the lunch special at Shooting Stars, and it was really worth the price. Just a heads up, though – the special deal is only for folks dining in at the restaurant.The soup of the day, probably chicken soup, was a nice surprise. It was super tasty without being too salty, and it went really well with the Hai Nan Style Chicken and Special Rice. The Hai Nan chicken was good, and the special rice had this cool coconut flavor that made the dish even more interesting.The Beef Chow Fun didnt let me down; it tasted just as good as I expected. The wok hay added a nice touch, making it a dish I can count on.For dessert, we went for the Hot Desserts with Taro and Yam Balls on a Grass Jelly Base. We thought it would be cold, but surprise, it was warm! It was okay, and the taro and yam balls werent too squishy, but I wouldnt say its a must-try. There might be better dessert options on the menu.*One thing to keep in mind is that they automatically add a service fee to your bill, so no need to worry about tipping separately.9/22/2023Craving some delicious beef chow fun, and Shooting Star is the first restaurant that comes to mind. We ordered the Beef With Tender Green Chow Fun and the Mini Egg Puffs with Fresh Strawberry, just like we used to. The fragrance of the chow fun is delightful, and it tastes amazing too! The egg puffs are as delicious as I remember from last time. No complaints about these two dishes! They are always my go-to choices at Shooting Star Cafe!8/21/2023The beef chow fun was decent, though a bit lacking in flavor even with added spicy sauce. The Mixed Fruit Crepe, on the other hand, was a delightful conclusion - sweet and refreshing. However, the Tako-Yaki disappointed with its overly wet texture and minimal octopus content.*Worth noting is that a 15% tip was automatically added to the bill.7/11/2023I recently discovered Shooting Star Cafe in Oakland while craving a late-night snack, and I must say it deserves a solid 4-star review. What drew us to this place was the fact that its the only restaurant in the area that stays open until midnight.On our visit, we decided to try the Beef With Tender Green Chow Fun and the Mini Egg Puffs with Fresh Strawberry. Let me tell you, the Chow Fun was absolutely amazing! The flavors were outstanding, and every bite was a delightful explosion of taste. The combination of tender beef and perfectly cooked green chow fun noodles was a winning combination.The Mini Egg Puffs with Fresh Strawberry were also a treat. They were tasty and satisfying, providing a delightful contrast of flavors with the sweet strawberries.