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    Ben's

    4.3 (165 reviews)
    InexpensiveChinese
    Closed Closed

    Ben's Photos

    Business Info

    BEN'S ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Good for kids
    Outdoor seating

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    Recommended Reviews - Ben's

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    Reviews With Photos

    Menu as of 01/04/2024
    Jesse R.

    First time here, jury out but we where welcomed in. Photos of menu with current prices. Older photos are have a $3.00 difference. Inflation. Place is small and Cash Only sign on counter. Beverages and some beer in the ice cooler. Tables needed to be cleaned off and floors too but I don't mind maybe they had a lunch rush. Food smell decent enough

    bens fried rice with bbq pork, chicken, shrimp, and the basics of fried rice.

    made the fried rice amazingly fast and it taster better! service was super nice and he let me take my time to pay. the ambiance was also super nice, clean chairs, clean tables and an old style american chinese feeling which i loved

    Entrance
    Justin S.

    For lunch on Wednesday I arrived for the day's special - crispy garlic chicken. The chicken had an appropriate amount of crispiness without being oily or dry. The accompanying cucumbers, while simple, seemed quite fresh. Quite notably, the table had black bean sauce that carried such a complex flavor of umami from anchovies that it must have been homemade. No mass-produced black bean sauce would be more ingredient than sauce and that fragrant. The experience of going to Ben's merits mention. Even at 11:45 AM on Wednesday, 15 minutes after opening, Ben's was already full. A quick rapport with David, manning the cashier and front counter, gave me an hour's estimate for the wait. which proved quite accurate. As I waited outside and grabbing some Tsingtaos from the fridge, David, despite the rush, made conversation multiple times (aside from suggesting the beers) and talked about what orders had been lined up and I could piggyback off/change to get my order more quickly. He also discussed what times of the day have off-peak hours and that Wednesday was extra busy w/the daily special. Despite the long wait, I had an enjoyable time, which offsets my normal annoyance. The meal, simple yet fresh and satisfying, accompanied with the homemade black bean sauce, cements Ben's as an indispensable place to me. For those looking for a quick lunch, this most certainly is not the venue for you. However, I quite enjoyed what I consider the epitome of the mom-and-pop experience.

    Viv W.

    This place is the diamond in the rough I have been searching for! Everything is so overpriced these days BUT NOT HERE. The quality is 5 stars. (the food was cooked perfectly, not overcooked nor undercooked, nothing burnt. Looks fresh and smells tasty!) The amount is 5 stars. (they give plentiful!) The taste is 5 stars. (spicy like it's supposed to be! used with the correct ingredients) The customer service is 5 stars. (great attitude) The wait time is 5 stars. (speedy cook) They have the sweetest guard dog which is a chow chow who tolerated my pom pom lol

    Garlic chicken Wednesday special

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    4 months ago

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    1 year ago

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    2 years ago

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    3 months ago

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    2 years ago

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    1 year ago

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    1 year ago

    Chicken special is lit! Only on Wednesdays! Love the family and staff. Super nice and delicious dishes!

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    1 year ago

    Great food if you know what to order...I order the same thing always. My vo worker wasn't happy with her order tho.

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    1 year ago

    Good food good value and quick service. The best value for your dollars and the taste always up to my expectations.

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    11 months ago

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    1 year ago

    I had the Mongolian Chicken, It was really good and taste fresh, the plate was a good amount for one person.

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    3 years ago

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    1 year ago

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    7 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Fast, easy, friendly, yummy. Make sure to bring cash, Ben will spot you if you forget, just get him back!

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    3 years ago

    I assume a small family owned business. Workers know their customers well. Food & service is aways great!

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    7 years ago

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    5 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    14 years ago

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    13 years ago

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    4 years ago

    This place is so good. Couldn't recommend it enough. The prices are so reasonable for this city and the food is top notch.

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    5 years ago

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    4 years ago

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    6 years ago

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    3 years ago

    Amazing. Great food, great service, great people. Highly recommend. Only complaint is they aren't open longer.

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    3 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    3 years ago

    I ordered chicken with broccoli over rice. I liked that the broccoli was cooked al dente.

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    6 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    4 years ago

    Is that really Ben behind the line? N- e-way who ever it is, is the last of the legends. Cooks fresh and tasty. Mongolian Beef

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    7 years ago

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    7 years ago

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    Page 1 of 5

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    Shan Dong - Sesame Paste Noodles

    Shan Dong

    4.2(4k reviews)
    0.4 miOakland Chinatown
    $$

    This place is just as un-fancy as it is delicious! Come mentally prepared to be kind of cramped and…read moreto eat in a somewhat chaotic atmosphere. Who cares though, because once you get your food, nothing else matters. The service is fast and efficient. The prices are super reasonable and portion sizes, generous. The noodles, dumplings and everything else we ordered was incredibly tasty and had that wok-infused flavor. This place is no frills and all taste. We ordered noodles, dumplings, some cold dishes and omitted egg in the veg dishes for the vegans. Everyone had something to eat and honestly for how much we ordered, it's tough to say there's anything you might not want to order. Just go with your gut! We came here after running the Oakland Marathon and left very happy and satisfied. (apologies for not being specific on what we ordered. I'll have to update later once I dig up the photos to post here.) Just come eat here, you'll be glad you did! My only gripe is that I don't live closer!!

    I never knew I could cry tears of joy over a bowl of noodles but here I am. It is absolutely…read moredangerous that Shan Dong is near my place in Oakland because I definitely will be a frequent visitor. Arrived at 1:30pm on a Sunday and the place was packed on that rainy day. I knew I was in for a treat when there is a busy spot close to closing time (3pm on Sunday), cozy vibes, and little ladies in the front making noodles. After about a 10 min wait (thank goodness for yelp waitlist), we were seated and greeted to warm barley tea at the table (nice touch). We definitely over ordered which is never the worst idea. It was definitely appreciated later that evening for dinner: Sesame Paste Noodles w/ beef - Ok, so lets get this out of the way, these were the clear winner. Hands down! Delicious and creamy noodles in the best sauce ever! Future me will be sitting in this restaurant, fat as heck, slurping up these noddles, with a big bottle os Tsingtao. Spicy Won Tons - These were the 2nd favorite, Yummy wontons dancing in chili oil. A classic. So good! Sizzling Shrimp w/ Rice - This was definitely the coolest dish out of the bunch. Shrimp and veg in a tasty sauce over a bed of rice crispies -esque rice. The best part was the snap, crackle, and pop of the rice when the shrimp was poured over. I loved how the veggies were sauteed but remained a little crunchy. I love when my veggies aren't completely cooked to death. Scallion Lamb - Like the name suggests, tons of thinly sliced lamb, cooked up with every scallion ever! This was really yummy when we first had it, but this was excellent after a few hours when the flavors married together. We had all of this and some beers! Such a perfect meal for a perfect rainy day.

    Photos
    Shan Dong - Dinning area

    Dinning area

    Shan Dong - Shan Dong Chicken

    Shan Dong Chicken

    Shan Dong - Wonton with Spicy Sauce

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    Wonton with Spicy Sauce

    Gum Kuo Restaurant - Egg White Dry Scallop Fried Rice

    Gum Kuo Restaurant

    3.9(1.2k reviews)
    0.3 miOakland Chinatown
    $$

    The duck noodle wonton soup here is worth the trip. Honestly, everything here is delicious. They…read morehave fantastic ricerolls, too. A huge assortment. They close super early, so get there in time for take out for dinner (I think they close at like 6?) Parking is an actual nightmare unless you're willing to pay or walk. But that's China Town for you. Service is fast and friendly. I like that they let me practice my Mandarin. It can feel a little crowded at times, but that's the price you pay for really good food.

    Getting right to it, 4 stars because it's so affordable! However, there are some things I want to…read morepoint out that would actually make this spot more of a 3 star visit. 1. The attached parking garage charges $2/every half hour. Granted, this is no where near SF parking rates, it's still an additional fee. Street parking is super hard to find, and the streets are hectic, but you can test your luck (and patience). They use little tokens now that you have to pay for before exiting. Make sure you hold onto it because a lost token will run you $48 for the day rate. 2. The spot is poppin. It's not a complaint, that's a great thing! However it's really small inside so if there's a wait, you do have to line up in a single file line along a divider wall, where you can watch diners eat. Right next to you is the take out line for BBQ orders. It can get really claustrophobic. Tables do move fast as they're quick to bring out food, however you may be asked to just share a table with someone else. They have a couple round tables for the communal dining, or larger groups (up to 8). This is an ideal spot for 2-4 people. 6+ may cause you to wait longer for seating. 3. The tap water tastes kind of weird. They bring you a hot cup of tea too but the herbal taste is a bit too strong for me. 4. The bbq items are just okay :( I did a 3 item bbq combo with rice for about $21. You get a generous portion of meat, rice and a few pieces of steamed Chinese broccoli (gai lan). No sauce to dip or anything, but they do have a black bean sauce on the table to use. The sauce is pretty salty though, so just keep that in mind when you're adding it on. No spicy condiments on the table unfortunately. The duck was decent, but the bbq pork was a bit too lean for me. It wasn't overly sweet though so that was nice. The roast pork wasn't crunchy at all!! For some reason, they thin sliced it, instead of cut it into cubes. I love roast pork for the crunch so this was disappointing. The skin was more chewy than crunchy. All of the meats were tender though! 5. Fresh shrimp rice roll was hot and steamy and the price is cheaper than some dim sum spots ($7.50 for this one i think). However, you also get less shrimp. The sauce poured on was also kinda thin, and not sweet or umami enough. The rice roll itself had a good chew though, silky but a little thick. It holds up well while eating. The proportion go shrimp to rice noodle is waaaay off though. 6. Wonton noodle soup was good! This seemed like the crowd favorite as most everyone ordered this. The noodle could have had a bit more chew to it, but the wontons were bouncy and the broth comforting. You get a couple pieces of chinese broccoli with this too which is nice. The service was efficient and our main server was nice. She spoke english and actually smiled back. They take card payment too, so that's convenient. You really get some bang for your buck here, but I'd probably stick to taking food to go.

    Photos
    Gum Kuo Restaurant - Inside full crowd

    Inside full crowd

    Gum Kuo Restaurant - Beef Chow Fun

    Beef Chow Fun

    Gum Kuo Restaurant - Rice Noodle Wrap with Chinese Doughnut

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    Rice Noodle Wrap with Chinese Doughnut

    Ming's Tasty Restaurant - Happy Lunar New Year

    Ming's Tasty Restaurant

    4.3(698 reviews)
    0.4 miOakland Chinatown
    $$

    This past weekend (Sun 15 Feb2026), my sister, niece and I went out for a dim sum brunch for an…read moreearly celebration of Chinese New Year. My sister had remembered an article in the SF Chronicle's Food section which ranked Misty's Tasty as "top-ranked" and "best, authentic dim sum in the East Bay". Behind a graffiti'd exterior, you enter a smaller restaurant than most and it was definitely buzzing. We got there early-ish(btw 1030 & 1100) and there was already a short waitlist. There is nothing fancy about this place and don't expect white table cloths and napkins. Once seated, be ready to order off a paper menu which also doubles as their to-go menu. Our selection consisted of * 2 orders of snowy Baked BBQ Pork buns * Pea sprout dumpling w shrimp * Steamed Shrimp dumpling (Har Gow) * Steamed spareribs in black bean sauce * Preserved meat w rice in a claypot * Rice noodle roll w beef cilantro *Bean curd skin rolls (Fu Pei Guen) * Chicken feet w Peking Sauce * Deep fried meat dumpling (Ham Sui Gok) * Deep Fried Taro dumpling (Wu Goo) * Pork and Shrimp dumpling (Sui Mai) The service was fast as each dish came out "piping hot". Each dish is categorize under Small, Medium, Large and X-tra Large. When we were leaving, there must have been 20+ folks waiting We will definitely return to try other options. Each item is priced appropriately, good portions and tasty!!

    I was on a grocery shopping run and read about Ming's Sui Mai. I had lunch with a friend of mine at…read moreanother restaurant in Chinatown before we did our shopping. We both ordered one dish of Sui Mai to go so we could try it out. My wife and I actually liked the taste, texture and flavor. The dish includes 4 Sui Mai for $7.99 but the menu shows $6.45 for the dish so a bit confused on the price difference. We plan to go back but dine in next time so we can try the other many dishes. Based upon the Sui Mai, this is definitely worth trying out for Dim Sum. I forgot to take pictures of the Sui Mai but I did take pictures of the menus and restaurant. Review Update Paragraph: Correction to my original post, I can't do math in my head. We paid $14.99 for two orders which comes out to $7.50 each so I'm guessing the difference between the Owner's response and what we paid might be for using a credit card.

    Photos
    Ming's Tasty Restaurant
    Ming's Tasty Restaurant - Snowy Baked BBQ Pork Bun

    Snowy Baked BBQ Pork Bun

    Ming's Tasty Restaurant - Interior Glimpse

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    Interior Glimpse

    Ben's - chinese - Updated May 2026

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