Bay Island Cafe - Great Value, Generous Portions & Delicious Food! Bay Island Cafe offers a great selection of Chinese and Hong Kong-style dishes at very reasonable prices. Their lunch specials are available until 6 PM, with generous portions and plenty of choices. You can also upgrade your drink to a large size for just a little extra, which is a great deal! My personal favorite is the Pan-Fried Sole Fish. It's perfectly crispy on the outside, flavorful, and absolutely delicious! Another bonus is that you can get extra white rice when dining in. The service is excellent, and the staff are very friendly. The atmosphere is fairly basic, with a traditional Hong Kong-style café vibe, but the food and value definitely make up for it. Overall, a great spot for affordable, tasty meals with generous portions. Definitely worth trying! read more

Although we come in a large group and they do not have a lazy Susan, we are still coming for dinner! The tables are long rather than circular so passing dishes around is an extra step, but my family enjoys the lunch special deals here especially the refillable milk teas. We always get fried sole fish, pork belly, and fried pork chops which never disappoint (except if they give us much less than usual which when it happens and it DOES HAPPEN, we do feel disappointed and a bit displeased). Staff are helpful, there's usually plenty of staff and flagging them down isn't as hard. Parking is still a challenge, filing busy times parking is a nightmare! Parking is one of the reasons why we don't come often... read more

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First time! Need to try more! Pork chop with honey garlic sauce It was hot and fresh! The meat was tender and the sauce was so good. Love the strong garlic flavor and the sweet honey taste together. Glad it wasn't too oily and not too salty. The sesame ball dessert was pretty good too. read more

Opened pretty decently late until 10 PM, which came in clutch when my friend and I wanted to grab some food after our concert ended on a Sunday night. We originally were planning to go to another business in the plaza, but there was a wait and we decided on prioritizing our time. Solid Cantonese food, wide variety of menu items, and huge portions. My friend and I ordered 2 dishes and 2 drinks and we had leftovers. It's a bit of an aged restaurant, but it's super nostalgic and you can tell it's loved by the community and families for generations. I mean, James Wang is on the placemat, if that isn't an indicator of what you're getting yourself into, I don't know what is. For our late night dinner we got: 1) Deep Fried Pumpkin with Salted Egg: -I've never had this before, but I love pumpkin and this was DELICIOUS. -Salted egg yolk batter fried onto kabocha pumpkin. Super crispy exterior. Moist, semi-fluffy pumpkin interior. Deliciously salty and savory with a slight sweet taste to it. Goes great with the unlimited rice refills. This would be a staple every time I go here in the future. 2) Ong Choi with Bean Curd Sauce: -Generous with the bean curd sauce. -Nutty taste, good crunch with the veggies. Not too salty. Went great with the rice. Very funny that we indirectly had a vegetarian meal. 3) Sesame Milk Tea: -Ginormous cup. Definitely enough to sip on throughout a meal, enjoy as a dessert, and for me to take to work to enjoy the next day as well! -Not too sweet and had a yummy roasted flavor with great texture as well. Slight graininess that wasn't too sandy. Another addicting order item that'll be another must order each time I visit. Don't mind coming back here again, especially for their huge milk tea! read more

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My childhood was all about these Chinese sit downs. The red rice bucket and dishes costing a reasonable price, this place has it! We ordered braised pork, Shanghai porkchops and eggplant. Also ordered the hong dou bing (red bean Ice) dessert. An issue we had with the red bean Ice, it was too much ice and no coconut milk! The person who made it seemed new, when we mentioned it to them, I think the manager came over to instruct them. We ended up with the dessert I fell in love with, it was made perfectly this time! I would honestly make this place one of our go to since the pricing is great, the taste is there and they got white rice for dine in! Would recommend for an old fashioned Chinese sit down. You might see me if you come by! read more

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One of my favorite spots for both lunch and dinner. One thing that really sets this place apart is that their lunch specials run all the way until 6 PM, which is perfect for late lunches or early dinners. The value here is honestly hard to beat. With your meal, classic Hong Kong drinks like milk tea, iced coffee, and lemon iced tea are only $2.50. The drinks come in a giant togo cups with unlimited refills. The service is always quick, attentive, and genuinely friendly. Even when they're busy, the staff does a great job making sure you're taken care of. As for the food, the portions are huge, the quality is consistently good, and the prices are incredibly affordable for what you get. The only downside is the parking situation. Depending on when you visit, finding a spot can be a challenge and may require a little patience. That said, the great food, generous portions, excellent service, and unbeatable value keep me coming back again and again. P.S pictures of food are from various trips. read more

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Came during a weekday late afternoon, before their Lunch Special ended at 6pm. Parking was easy to find on their lot. The place was pretty empty with a few diners. We got the 枝竹茄子豆腐 or Bean Curd Sheet with Eggplant for $11.50, 椒絲腐乳通心菜 or Ong Choi with Bean Curd Sauce for $13.50, and 乾煎龍利 or Deep Fried Whole Fish for $11.50. We also got the 芝麻奶茶 or Sesame Milk Tea large size for $3.38. Lunch Special came with rice. The rice used to taste really good. This time the rice was alright, but still better than some restaurants. The 枝竹茄子豆腐 or Bean Curd Sheet with Eggplant tasted good. Be careful to not burn yourself when bitting into the steaming hot fried tofu. The 椒絲腐乳通心菜 or Ong Choi with Bean Curd Sauce was better this time and the flavoring was on point. The 乾煎龍利 or Deep Fried Whole Fish looked like they used old oil to fry the fish. It tasted alright. They made the 芝麻奶茶 or Sesame Milk Tea too sweet this time. Had to go home to water it down. Overall, food was tasty and affordable. read more

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Returned again and tried a new dish: braised beef with radish ($13.95). It was a good portion with several large pieces of beef and radish. It's very flavorful and tender. As for the scallop fried rice, it's still as yummy as before and a good portion. No complaints. Same busy ambiance with the bustling waiters to clear and serve tables. They have a restroom. Parking can be a challenge depending when you go. read more

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Came here with fam for lunch on a weekend. It can be so packed at this place bc it va be very busy! This is very lowkey casual ambiance so no need to dress up. Food is served within 10-15 minutes of ordering. Drinks can be added on for $2.50 when ordering meals and if you want to make it large they'll tack on extra 88 cents. The drinks do take a while to come out especially the teas bc they're freshly made behind the counter. Also, they seem to be so busy that it's hard to flag down servers unless they're brining food or drinks. The food is quite alright here and as expected for a HK / Canto style palate. Note they have 2 menus -- one that is bigger and more extensive, and a simpler one (photos are of the simpler menu). Prices are fair for the size of the dishes (they're not huge like other places but also most are under $15 a dish). We ordered the following and all was tasty: - sweet and sour pork ribs - egg over friend rice and gravy (the kids loved it) - seafood tofu clay pot - beef w mushrooms stir fry - yellow chicken Restrooms: they've got 2 separate ones. Decently clean, thankfully. Parking is FREE but quite difficult here in the plaza bc the lot is shared with so many other eateries in that McDonald's plaza. So either you wait for a spot to open or take your car down the block and walk a little. read more

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If you want your money's worth in a combination braised beef shanks in star anise, soy sauce, rock sugar, ginger Hong Kong Shrimp Wontons thin egg noodle soup, then Bay Island is probably your best bet if your looking for that Pho Large Size portion and not wanting to feel like the meal stopped short at somewhere. I'd say the soup base was on the blander lighter side compared to Delicious Food Corner and Alice's Kitchen, but in terms of amount of protein, wontons packed into a bowl...this would be the clear winner. Some pieces of the beef chuck were on the drier side but overall each piece of meat was fully marinated with the braise. Lunch on a Monday was full House. There's a lack of service because staff was busy, but overall this is a pretty solid Hong Kongnese Western Cafe. read more

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COVID-19: Social distancing is not enforced at this establishment. Some of the staff wears a mask. All customers are not expected to wear a mask. It's optional now. The staff also wears gloves when handling food. There are some hand sanitizers available for customers to use. This place is available for take outs and has some indoor seating available with no limited capacity. They are not sanitizing in between customers. COVID-19 Vaccination Proof: This establishment currently does not require proof of vaccination. While I was grabbing my drink from this establishment several days ago, I asked if they had any special offers and they weren't offering any at the moment. They currently don't have happy hour. They also do not allow pets in their establishment UNLESS it's a service animal. Parking: The parking lot for this establishment is massive but that's because they share the lot with many other establishments. I avoid coming here on the weekends and during peak business hours because finding parking can be hella stressful. Some spots are smaller than others. Drink: I ordered a passionfruit black tea. It was like in the 80s and I was hot, so I looked for something refreshing and for a great price. For less than $6, I got this pretty big passionfruit black tea. It was incredibly refreshing on a hot day. Perfect! Not too sweet nor did it have too much ice. It was just right. Staff: The staff here are very kind, friendly, and helpful. They accept both cash and credit cards. There is a credit card minimum of $20. I paid in cash. read more

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Came here for lunch with family and it was busy inside when we went. The store isn't that big and there aren't that many tables so it's a more homey style place. Luckily, we didn't have to wait long for table but it could be a longer wait during the typical meal times. We ordered the French Style Stir Fry Beef, Pea Shoots, Honey Garlic Pork Chop, Fried Egg Tofu w/ Mushrooms and Veggies, and Braised Pork w/ Aged Vegetables. We also ordered the Honey Lemon Iced Tea because it only costs $2.50 for a very large cup and comes with refills! So worth! The dishes didn't take too long to be served and comes with white rice for free. We liked all the dishes except the Braised Pork because it was tough to chew and a bit dry. The other dishes were all very good, seasoned well, and not salty. They tasted very good with some rice. The Pork Chop w/ Honey Garlic sauce was better than I expected since it is fried and tasted great with the sauce. The portions were also pretty big for the price which is hard to see these days. Very authentic Guangdong dishes here. Will be coming back again for sure! read more

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I totally totally recommend this place they literally have all Day lunch specials well not exactly all day until 5:00 p.m. but their prices are reasonable their portions are pretty good and they have a large wide variety menu food items to satisfy everybody and if you purchase a entree you can purchase an add a drink for a very very extremely reasonable price and their drinks are gigantic they can't even fit in your cup holder this place is excellent for to go excellent for dining small parties or even large groups they can accommodate it could get busy at times but for in the Chinese restaurant their service is pretty good if I can say so myself read more

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This place offers reasonably priced Hong Kong style lunch specials that range from $10.99-12.99 between 11am-6pm everyday. Add a drink for $2.50. Not just your usual drink but you can order boba drinks too. What a deal!! A friend recommended this place, so we decided to give it a try on a Saturday lunch. There was about a 15 minute wait. We ordered the fried intestines (very tasty and crunchy), the honey pork chop (not bad) and the Ong Choy w/ Bean curd sauce (skip this - it was lacking flavor and had no bean curd). So food was sorta a hit and miss depending on what you ordered. We also ordered the large passion fruit black tea w/boba - huge and flavorful. HK style milk tea with boba (good) and the kumquat black tea (too sour for my liking). Overall, if you are on a budget, this place is great. I plan to return to try some of their other dishes and drinks. Service was minimal. It's located in the same plaza as McDonalds and a bunch of other restaurant so parking can be difficult. The place isn't that big so be prepared for a wait during peak hours. read more

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A solid spot for family style Chinese food with cheap lunch specials and good portions. The lunch special menu is huge and the dishes ranged from around $11 to $15. With a large table, ordering one item for each portion was more than enough food for the table. My favorites included the deep fried whole fish and the Hainan chicken. The salted egg chicken gristle (cartilage) was also a unique dish that I haven't tried before and it paired nicely with white rice. I also liked that the lunch special came with an option to add a drink for $2.50. I was worried that the flavored teas would be too sweet, so I asked for less sugar, but it was too watered down for my taste. Next time I would just opt for the normal sugar! It's great for larger groups so that you can try many family style dishes, but the wait can get quite long. read more

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Can't go wrong with Bay island when you go on a weekday. Parking here is usually terrible I wouldn't recommend it on a weekend. The service is good. Food was good. The corn Egg drop soup was kinda bland. The braised pork was so good we got 2. Not too busy on a Thursday night, good vibes. Once again highly suggest NOT to come here weekends. It's usually a wait and no parking. read more

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This restaurant is in the strip mall with McDonalds and Sam Woo on the corner of Walnut & Valley. There is a decent sized lot, but most of the time it is very crowded as all of the businesses in the mall are popular. However, the back part of the lot where BIC is located is usually lighter trafficked and has at least some spots. This place is billed by some as a HK style cafe, but it is more of a traditional Chinese restaurant with some HK influence. They do not have the typical HK cafe style dishes like chicken steak, baked fish, HK fried egg sandwich, etc. The service here is better than ABC Cafe, HK Cafe, and many other restaurants in San Gabriel. They have an extensive menu and the pics currently on Yelp seem to most just be the lunch special menu. We took a picture of both menus on every page, but I doubt Yelp will properly post them as they regularly will not post my pics. We tried to post the menu pics rather than our food. Maybe I will try to post the food to the restaurant link directly rather than this review. We got the salty fish and chicken fried rice, chicken chow fun, garlic cauliflower, and curry chicken. The salty fish in the rice had a string flavor which was great, but the rice was fried a little different from other places and was ok. The curry chicken is the yellow not the brown kind. It had the SE Asian coconut flavor, but not too strong like most other places abs so was only a little sweet with just a hint of coconut. We do not normally like the coconut flavored curry because it is too sweet and we don't care for the flavor, but with just a hint of the flavor and very light sweetness, we liked this one and would order it again to see if the quality is consistent. We like getting American style broccoli stir fried with garlic, but BIC had cauliflower, so we tried it. It was not American style cauliflower and was very good with slices of garlic in it. We would definitely get it again. The chicken chow fun had the medium rather than the large wide noodles that we like and the failover and quality was just ok, comparable to most other places on the area. The had super large ice tea plastic to go cups that are refillable--this was very nice. On the whole, we had a great meal here and would return to try more of our favorite dishes. We recommend giving them a try. read more

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Absolutely love this restaurant - you cant really go wrong with any of the dishes. They have all the classic Chinese dishes that you are craving and everything is well made. My favorites are always the salt and pepper pork chops, the bean curd with mushroom, and their fried pumpkin was soo tasty. We came on a Sunday around 11am and there were already some people inside. Service is really fast and our food came out fast too! read more

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Food - 3/5 - The food here is pretty standard for authentic Chinese food. I think it is a great spot for lunch or dinner. Price - $$ - They have great lunch deals and the portions are pretty big for a good price. Service - 3/5 - The waiters are really fast and very typical to any Chinese restaurant. They are quite attentive. Ambiance - 3/5 - Very typical Chinese cafe spot. The interior is clean and decently spacious. Location - 1/5 - There is practically no parking in the big lot due to how many popular restaurants in this plaza. Please be advised to be diligent to get a parking spot. ____________________ **Note: Location rating does not affect yelp review, this is just for informative purposes of other patrons only. read more

I was in the area looking for a lunch spot and happened to be walking through the plaza when I saw Bay Island Cafe. At first glance, it reminded me of Bay Cafe in Alhambra, so I decided to give it a try. In fact, later I found out they both have the same owner. I just never knew this location. The lunch special menu is quite extensive--there are a ton of options, which I appreciate, though it did make it hard to decide. I eventually settled on the Dry Beef Chow Fun, which is my go-to dish for judging Hong Kong-style cafes. I also ordered a lemon iced tea, another classic item for this type of spot. Unfortunately, the chow fun wasn't up to par. The noodles were too light in color, lacking the rich, dark soy sauce flavor they should have. The beef was dry as well, which made the dish feel even more underwhelming. The iced lemon tea was just okay--refreshing, but nothing memorable. Service was lacking, though it could've just been the lunch rush, so I'll give them a little grace for that. Overall, while the variety on the menu is a plus, I think there are better options for Hong Kong-style cafes in the area. read more

Bay Island Cafe - Dry Beef Chow Fun and iced lemon tea - Comfort Food Near Me - Rosemead, California

Solid choice for Chinese food although I've only done take out orders.. this place always has the aunties eating here so that's a good sign! I'm a fan of their steamed cold chicken and always order additional dishes for an easy meal at home! They have all the classics at an affordable price so it's a win! read more

Service was really fast and most of the food was amazing. The pork chops were a bit dried. Parking isn't great and it's always crowded. My milk tea was sour but they replaced it quickly. Overall it's still a solid place. read more

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There is a nice place to dine. There are plenty of dishes to choose. The food is good with affordable prices. The waiters are friendly with good service. It is a place to meet with friends or family. read more

Nice little Hong Kong cafe style of a restaurant, extensive menu selection, along with a fairly large drink section too. Food is tasty, drinks are good, some are free refillables, which is a plus. Dining area was fairly clean, and staffers were generally good, except when the place is packed during the lunch and dinner rush. The only negative thing about this place is the parking, as you may find yourself driving around in circles looking for a spot. The parking lot is just too small for the amount of businesses located in this strip mall, street parking is available, on the opposite side of Walnut Grove. Parking tip - plan to eat at this restaurant during off peak dining times. Before 11:30a, between 2p to 4:30p, or after 8p. Good luck on the weekends. read more

First, parking is nightmare here. It's in small shopping plaza next to McDonald's. Their most popular is fried chicken but this time it's very salty and can see crystals of MSG all over. Pork intestines 3 cup sauce - not recommended - just a bunch of bellflowers..I never really liked bellflowers in any Asian dish so this is a No. read more

Bay Island Cafe - 3 cup sauce pork intestines - not recommended - Comfort Food Near Me - Rosemead, California

One of the Hong Kong cafes that I frequent in the area. They share a parking lot with McDonalds and Dragon Noodle House, so it can be hard to find at times. They have a pretty extensive menu, and my favorites that I usually order are the honey garlic pork chop, deep fried fish (can be a hit or miss sometimes with the freshness as the meat was dry and flakey last time I went), and bean curd with dried scallop & mushroom. A big plus is the large drink menu - the prices on these are great for how large the cups are. I recently got the grass jelly with coconut milk drink and the cup was almost overflowing. read more

Bay Island Cafe - tofu with minced pork and salted fish - Comfort Food Near Me - Rosemead, California

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Go to spot for our family gatherings. They know my family here and always are able to accommodate large parties. Their food is exquisite! Definitely recommend the garlic honey pork chops! Great for family style lunch/dinner. Don't miss out on their lunch special! You also get free refills on most drinks if you dine in. Either way their cups are huge and drinks are definitely worth the try. Don't miss out on this hidden gem in the SGV! read more

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I recently tried this restaurant with my parents. The food was pretty good and the portions surprisingly generous. Standouts for me this time was the whole fried fish and scrambled eggs with chives. Will come back with my family again if in the area. read more

This is my first time here and the food is amazing and the service is amazingly fast. I ordered the HK Lemon Tea (Cold) and it only costs $2.50 in a large cup. Also the drink is refillable. Savoy does not do this! The ambiance is casual and getting busy once they open at 11am. Great place for a gather of friends and family! I would love to come back again. read more

This place has the best deal on the block, and the food are not bad, service was good, the place is not that big, but they can move table around to accommodate up to ten people. There are no fancy decorations, pretty much eat quickly and leave. They have good milk tea drink for a good deal too. read more

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Parking here is a lot to navigate! There are 2 short term (20 min) parking for quick food pickup! Be prepared to circle around for a parking spot. I am giving this place 5 stars bc the variety of choices in menu items, the quality of food, and quantity of food. Great portions if you want to take leftovers home. Decent Chinese food in this main drag of Valley blvd. Another plus is their inexpensive drinks! $3.88 for a large drink with boba! I even see someone from another table getting free refills but they may have ordered lemon teas of some sort Love that you can order from the lunch menu up to 6pm for those of you who are now back to working in the office. read more

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A great place for affordable and tasty food! Highly recommended. Try their fried chicken or fish, and their other dishes are also great. No extra cost for rice (isn't that the best deal?). My friends, my family, and I go there all the time. Service can be rude, but if you expect the worst, it cannot get any worse. We're there for good and affordable food, aren't we? read more

Lookin' for an affordable Lunch Special? Can't beat excellent Chinese dishes starting around $11+ .... Crazy how that's a great price nowadays huh! Fast service, variety of dishes, tasty drinks, in a clean environment! Try the weekdays, or go early on the weekends cause this place can get super busy! And that means "good food".....Enjoy. !!!! read more

Food 100% amazing. Price 100% affordable (~$14 ish depending on your dish, but worth for the portion). An entree follows with rice. One entree "unlocks" one drink for min. of $2.50 depending on size and type of drink. I always just order the Iced Lemon Tea. Always amazing! Love it! Service I'd say 95%. It just takes some "hands up" to get their attention for ordering rather than them coming over. Even with "hands up", they come fast so I will not dock off a star this time around. This place has always been my regular. Will keep coming back as long as food and price is reasonable based on portion! read more

Bay Island Cafe - Honey Garlic Pork (Extra Crispy) - Comfort Food Near Me - Rosemead, California

This place is so good. Authentic, delicious, reasonably priced, and big portions. Highly recommend SQ7 - squid with stir-fried garlic green beans (干炒四季豆) ($17.99). We also enjoyed C44 - sauteed sliced lily root with preserved meat ($13.99). The portions were both huge - those 2 alone could've comfortably fed 3-4 people. It was quite busy on a Saturday night, with people waiting outside even around 8pm. Service was a bit slow, understandably, but still good. The drinks also seemed to be really popular here. They're only $2.50 and have a lot of varieties + extra topping choices. Overall, a solid spot whether you need a light or full meal. read more

Bay Island Cafe - Outside - Comfort Food Near Me - Rosemead, California

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Purchased 11 orders for Chinese New Year. It was very crowded. I ordered ahead of time and when I arrived my order was ready. The service was excellent.. super courteous and friendly. Gave them a great tip and were very appreciative. They thanked me twice and wished me a happy new year. 5/5 All their dishes are consistently good and/or very good. My favorite is the lettuce wrap. 5/5 My goto place for great cantonese food. read more

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I enjoy coming here for the all day specials. Parking structure is in the back. During weekends, may need to go a the way to the top. They have a number of dishes to choose from. Each dish can add a drink for $2.50. All the dishes I tried were good size and tasted good. read more

Food was tasty, price was okay, and the drinks were 10/10. As a frequent visitor of Hong Kong style cafes, this one is one of the handful who still does unlimited refills for certain drinks. Service was a bit slow since they only had two servers. The restaurant is quite small, so if you have a bigger group, I would call ahead. Overall I would visit this place again. read more

Bay Island Cafe - Beef Noodle Soup - Comfort Food Near Me - Rosemead, California

Food is always fresh and arrives quickly. Take out is great too. You definitely can't come here expecting great service (although there are some nice waiters or waitresses at times). The food makes up for it. Parking is always tough to find. read more

I just pick up my to go lunch special. Does anyone notice the take out actually has a much smaller portion than you eat in the dining area? The beef chow fun has included other stuff like onion, bean sprouts and green onion to fill up noodles space, and it tastes so bland (no soy sauce favor). Does anyone know where is a good place for beef chow fun? I will never order take out here again. :-( read more

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