3.5 stars! Chang Luong is actually a hidden gem--so hidden that I never knew about it until after I graduated from Berkeley. Service is interesting. Food is AMAZING. Ambiance is a little weird. FOOD [4.5/5] ========= + Twice Cooked Pork [5/5] A bit different than how I was expecting but in a good way! It's more tender and saucy, and less spicy than it's traditionally done. The portion size is great! + Pork & shrimp dumplings [5/5] I could eat these all day. They're made super well and are flavorful. They come with a generous portion of meat! Sauce provided is good as well. + House special fried rice [3.5/5] A typical fried rice, nothing too special about it. It was a bit dry. AMBIANCE & SERVICE [3/5] ====================== The restaurant is not in the cleanest of states and has a few flies + bad lighting. Service from the one-man show is not very friendly and he will give the bare minimum, even if you try to be friendly. But damn his food is good so... read more

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Chang Luong is the definition of a hidden gem. Tucked upstairs across from Cafe Durant, Chang Luong can be found down a dimly lit hallway that will leave your wondering if they are even open, a thought that only grows stronger as you emerge into a large dining space that is most likely almost entirely empty, staffed by a single person responsible for both taking the orders and cooking the food while you wait in awkward silence wondering how you wound up here. You'll shortly be rewarded for your efforts though, as you are served some of the best Chinese food in Berkeley, and at prices that can't be found anywhere else these days. Take a look at the menu pictures I posted and I promise you'll do a double-take at the date, as it feels like these must have been posted back in 2017 before inflation and supply-chain issues wreaked havoc on all of our dining experiences. They even have a whole menu of well-priced lunch specials perfect for the cost-conscious student roaming the streets of South Side. In terms of dishes, my wife absolutely loves the Fish with Black Bean Sauce and makes sure to order it almost every time we come back to Berkeley. We decided to try something new as well this time and went with the Yi Xiang Pork which was also excellent. I just don't think you can go wrong here, and it's a shame that so few people know about this place. Give it a try and you won't be disappointed! read more

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The 3.5 star Chinese restaurant rule definitely applies to this place (good Chinese restaurants have 3.5 stars because bad service but good food makes up for it. If you look at the one star review of this place, it's all related to service lol) This place is such a hidden hole in the wall gem. My friend told us to come to this "sketchy but super good" restaurant and we just trusted her. It's located upstairs of kimchi garden near Asian ghetto in Berkeley. Right as you walk in, there's probably no one to greet you or take u to your seat because it's a one man show. The chef does everything. Props to him. The food was DELICIOUS. The orientation looks meh like a home cooked meal but don't let it fool you. The flavors and seasonings are perfect and goes super well with rice. Definitely will come back and will even download Panda (the delivery app that they partner up) just to order delivery from them. Apparently the Berkeley Chinese students come here all the time and order from here so that's how you know it's good. read more

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Great food, great ambiance. Do not expect stellar service but you will eat delicious food.

My girlfriend and I were craving some dumplings the other night when we stumbled upon this hidden gem. It's tucked away inside a plaza, up a set of dingy stairs that almost made us turn back. At the top, my girlfriend hesitated, unsure if we should keep going--but I had a gut feeling that something special is just beyond the dim hallway. I insisted on checking it out and we are both so glad we did. We stepped into a large, welcoming dining hall that felt like we'd been transported to Asia. The restaurant is run by just one man, who takes orders and cooks everything himself. When we arrived, only one other customer was there, and I honestly felt sad that more people weren't experiencing this place. The food was incredible. The green chive pockets (Chinese empanada stuffed with egg and chives) were the best I've ever had in the US. The dumplings were perfectly chewy, thick, and hearty--the true northern Chinese style that's so hard to find here. This place is the real deal. I'm already planning to come back, sit down for a full meal, and try everything else on the menu. If you're looking for authentic dumplings and don't mind a bit of adventure getting there, this spot is absolutely worth it. read more

Authentic Chinese cuisine with extensive menu. Upstairs location. Cash pay, no plastic accepted.

rudest customer service ever. What I ordered was not as described at all. Not only was the garlic chive pancake burnt to a crisp, but it had meat inside?? Nowhere on the menu did it say there would be meat (the person we ordered it for is vegetarian). Owner was super unprofessional and claimed that the photo "doesn't need to match what we ordered". Hell yes it does, that is literally the bare minimum. can you believe that dish cost $12? Avoid this dogshit restaurant at all costs, they don't deserve any customers read more

Chang Luong - Chinese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Amazing food, super authentic Chinese food and had so many options. Super great service! A hidden gem for sure.

HANDS DOWN my most favorite restaurant in Berkeley. I used to come here about once every two weeks and the owner started recognizing me hehe! This is one of those IYKYK places. It's at a super obscure location, up the stairs behind a bunch of restaurants. When you get there, you won't be greeted by anyone and you probably won't even see anyone at all. I usually go ahead, grab a menu, seat myself, and wait for uncle to come out and take my order. My friends and I can always count on the uncle the works this entire place to pull thru with that authentic Chinese food. Yep, ONE MAN works the ENTIRE place. Takes orders, busses, cooks, everything in between. A one-man show! So the service is super understandably not the greatest, but for a Chinese kid like me, the nostalgia that this man brings me is invaluable! Sometimes his kid is there too doing homework or playing video games. I feel like I'm literally at my uncle's place. I recommend his Shui Zhu Yu or water-boiled fish. Sooooo good. He cooks it with mung bean flat noodles and oooof!!! The stir fried green beans are delicious as well! Honestly everything I've gotten here was great because everything reminded me of home hehe. He's cash only but recently also started taking Venmo which is really convenient! read more

Chang Luong - Chinese Near Me - Berkeley, California

The food here is OK but the service is absolutely TERRIBLE. The restaurant owner talked to me sarcastically when I was merely asking him about payment options, saying I was "taking advantage of " him. Then, I specifically confirmed with him that I could dine in even if I ordered takeout on my phone since I know some restaurants do not allow to do so, but he changed his answer after I make the order and told me I couldn't eat in and asked me to leave, making me feel deceived. If you like delicious Chinese food, there are a lot of other options with friendly services at Berkeley. Please only come to this restaurant if you want to make yourself unhappy. read more

Reading these reviews is hilarious. Went here all the time during Cal days. Hidden gem / hole in the wall serving up good Chinese eats at affordable prices. If you're looking for white glove service inquire elsewhere. It's charming in its own way. read more

The food here is amazing! I recommend the dumpling! They are delicious! The service was amazing, very kind workers.

AMAZING food. Wonderful workers and wide variety of menu choices. Its wonderful and authentic!!

I wanted to order fried rice but he said no. Then I tried to order noodles but he said they are unavailable too. I just want food :( Why is he so mad at me read more

What a great little place to have lunch campus-side in Berkeley. It's in a tiny pedestrian mall half a block off Telegraph that has several other Asian restaurants, mostly on the ground floor. This one had a sign out on the main board that said "Northern Chinese cuisine." All right, I'll do that one, and if you can climb the flight of stairs to the second floor - I know, that's a big "if" for some people - it's tucked in the back, spacious and not only quiet but almost completely deserted, so a haven in the chaos that is Berkeley. One man seats you, takes your order, and then cooks the food. I tried a cumin beef lunch plate: one serving dish with the entree in one half and steamed rice in the other, adequate size. The beef was very cumin-flavored, the veggies (onion, scallion, carrots, celery) were not. It was more beef than veg without being overwhelmingly meaty, and the meat was fairly small and chewable pieces. Definitely tasty, not overwhelmingly expensive: about $14 including tax and tip. As a sign on the wall says, they only take cash or Venmo. Service charge is built into your (hand-written) bill. read more

Had an order of the Ma Pao Tofu (~$9-10): soft tofu w/veggies in a sauce with rice. Food was delicious, staff was unseen, and the ambiance was banquet-friendly. read more

The service and ambience are barely existent, but the food here is solid. It's nothing fancy but it's good homestyle cooking. As another reviewer wrote, the food here is seasoned well and not overly salty or oily. It's the best Chinese food I've had inside Berkeley itself, and I'm actually surprised that this restaurant isn't more popular - the price point is similar to others in the area and the food is at least as good. The negatives: -Cash and Venmo only (no official receipt). -15% tip required. -Service was very very slow, but we didn't experience being yelled at like some other reviewers did. -I recommend coming with a Mandarin speaker if you can. The lunch specials are a really good deal. Most are around $10 pre-tip, and the serving sizes are huge. I recommend the tomato and egg, shrimp and egg, and liver; however, friends have told me that some of the lamb and beef lunch specials are not good. I wanted to try their skewers, but they're not available anymore. The dishes I've tried are: Good: -Tomato with egg ($8.95 lunch special) - yummy. The slightly sweet flavor is really tasty. The eggs weren't as silky as in the shrimp dish but they were still pretty fluffy. And yes this is something easily made at home, but three other tables also ordered this when we were there, which must mean something :) -3. Prawns with egg ($14.95) - mostly egg and not that much shrimp. The egg texture was perfect and the shrimp was cooked well (not rubbery or overcooked at all). Personally I found the egg slightly salty (saltier than the other dishes in fact) and the shrimp smelled fishy to me, but my friends really liked this. -1. Braised pork with Napa cabbage and rice noodles ($14.95) - really flavorful. The dish is mostly noodles and cabbage, with chunks of not bad pork belly throughout, and I really liked it. -2. Fish fillet with pickled mustard ($13.95) - not spicy (vs e.g. at a Sichuan place) but the flavor was good, and the fish texture was on point. They actually scored the surface of the fish fillets before cooking. -Slices of the liver point ($8.95 lunch special) - thinly sliced liver and veg stir fry. They do this dish well. The liver we got was fresh and had a slightly creamy texture, and wasn't dry or overcooked at all. It does taste like liver (iron) so only get this if you like liver. -6. Stewed chicken with mushroom ($13.95) - flavor was great, but the chicken meat was slightly dry. It comes with a lot of glass noodles. OK: -6. House made dumplings w/ shrimp, chives, pork, egg (12 pieces) ($9.95) - really rustic and homemade feeling. The skins are quite thick, doughy, and chewy. Filling is pretty good, neither juicy nor dry and on the not-so-salty side. I would try a different dish instead next time. Not great: -12. Garlic chive pancake (3 pieces) ($9.95) - these were just ok. The filling contained ground pork, some chives, and a small amount of egg and glass noodles. The skins were kind of hard and dry, and the ends were still cold, showing that they weren't reheated properly. -Coke wings - I haven't tried this but my friend said they're bad - both too sweet and too salty. read more

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Very unassuming hole in the wall with authentic Northern Chinese cuisine. Don't let the 1 man show scare you - everything we ate was hot and tasty. The braised pork glass noodles brought much nostalgia - needless to say I was happy. You could taste the ginger in the dumpling fillings as well as the shrimp in the chive pancakes. Yum. Seasoned well, no complaints. Would get the glass noodles again for sure. read more

the guy serving us couldn't really speak english, but the food was good. We got our own water, but it's ok because I think it's just the one guy running the entire place. read more

Chang Luong - Shanghai Dumplings w vinegar sauce - Chinese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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The only thing I could say so far: this is an excellent lunch place (if you want to experience a real taste of Northern China) Dined in around two in the afternoon and beside me there was no costumer at all. I started to wonder if the food here does not taste good but turns out I was completely wrong. Portions are generous while the beef tastes amazing. The design is not in antique style but you can sense the atmosphere of a mainstream Chinese restaurant. They even have great recipe books on their shelves, although those are written in Chinese. It is in a very hidden place (just right across Durant Cafe on the second floor). The position could be the reason of its unpopularity. Certainly worth a try. read more

Chang Luong - Mongolian Beef - Chinese Near Me - Berkeley, California

There was only one waiter and he was also the front desk and the cashier. We ordered shrimp wonton soup and lamb rice. We spent $31.90 in total. $12.50 for me. The wonton soup was so hot. I liked the bamboo, carrots and vegetables in the soup. cards were not accepted. We could only pay cash or Venmo. We did not know what Venmo was. read more

Chang Luong - shrimp wonton soup - Chinese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Come for the fantastic food, not the service. Chang Luong is truly a gem in the wall restaurant-- hidden, poorly lit and overall kind of sketchy looking...but the food is pretty great. If you are not Asian, tell them that you can eat spice though or they will turn down the heat, which is a disservice to the food. That being said, try to order about half spicy and half non-spicy dishes so that you have a good range of flavors-- many of the spicy dishes start to taste a little too similar to each other. I went with a group, so we ordered many dishes which I'll go through below. Some highlights of the dishes: - potato dish- very spicy because the potato absorbs the spice! But very crisp and delicious. - spinach dish- the stir-fried egg was incredibly tender and the spinach was cooked to perfection. The thousand-year egg also lent a wonderful flavor to the dish. - the sichuan boiled fish- the fish pieces were so tender and delicately cooked in the spice-- just amazing! read more

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Terrible, terrible service. After 4 years of college, I finally buckled down to try this place days before graduation. I've always seen their advertisements for their skewers and after trying skewers in Flushings, NY, I wanted to see if this place could replicate it. I got my favorite lamb skewers (3 of them), along with a mushroom, beef, and chicken skewer respectively. They were greasier than the ones in NY if that's possible, but they weren't bad. It's only that they got a little cold and it wasn't spicy like I told the lady to make it. The ones in NY nearly burned my mouth, just the way I like it. Chinese skewers are seasoned with cumin, red hot pepper, salt, and probably black pepper. It's due to the fact that there are Muslims living China which is why the lamb skewer exists along with some Middle Eastern seasonings. The ones in NY were also half the price. I'll probably come back since I love Chinese skewers, but the service here is terrible. The lady was curt and rude and didn't know how to answer my question of "what type of mushroom" is the skewer here. The ones in NY were enoki, BUT the ones here button or straw mushrooms. Either way, she was dismissive of my questions and seemed like she just wanted me to order and get out. read more

I'm from Northern China, and had really been missing food from my hometown when I stumbled across this restaurant. Their braised cabbage with pork and glass noodles was one of the most comforting dishes I've had away from home; will definitely be coming back soon! read more

Chang Luong - a bowl of soup with chopsticks - Chinese Near Me - Berkeley, California

The food here is legit. That's what we are looking for on Yelp, right? Good food? People need to calm down about the fixed tip. If you read the other reviews, you will see that most people are complaining about the fixed 15% tip, but overall the food seems to have good reviews. Don't make assumptions of a place by their star rating. Also, their prices are pretty decent compared to other places- they could raise their prices 15% and no one would care. They probably get stiffed a lot from people who don't understand the importance of tipping in a tipping country which is why they have that policy. If you are going out to eat, expect to pay for someone to bring you food no matter their professionalism. If you want to be cheap, stay home. Places like Ippuku and others in Berkeley charge insanely high service fees and people are ok with it, but I've had truly terrible service at these places. I don't go to Yelp to complain about their mandatory tipping and give them one star, I might factor it into my rating, but tipping is institutionalized and I realize there is nothing I can do. I don't want families to starve because lets face it, being a tip worker is hard and without reform we should not be penalizing those who are just trying to make a living. /rant This is a hole in the wall truly family style Chinese restaurant serving a wide range of dishes but specializing in Northern Chinese food. Their menu is extensive and there are options for pretty much any type of eater, vegans included. I'd recommend trying their skewers, the seasoning is really bold and it reminds me of eating street food in China, without the food poisoning of course. Their soups are really yummy, the hot and sour and the egg drop soups are both really nice ways to start a meal. Everything is jam packed with more than just broth. If you are Chinese and missing homestyle dishes or want to see what Chinese people actually eat at home, there are many veggie stir fries and dishes like eggs and tomatoes which were really delicious and flavorful. Everything is seasoned well and not overly salty or fried. They use a lot less oil than other Chinese places which is a big thumbs up for them! If you are craving your Panda Express Chinese food, this is also a great way to get it. They have everything from sweet and sour chicken/pork to kung pao and general tsaos chicken. I'm not gonna lie, I have a soft spot for these "Westernized" Chinese dishes. The service is nice, not French Laundry status, but they are helpful. The service is also fast as well as the food. I appreciated how they were extremely accommodating of my large party and for my picky food preparation requests (such as no MSG etc). read more

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Not the prettiest place but certainly one of the best tasting food I had in a long time.

The fried chicken is super breaded and doesn't taste that great. The salt and pepper chicken had barely any garlic and chilis.

This place shouldn't be in business. When my brother and I came, we arrived at an empty restaurant and stood around for about 10 minutes before anyone showed up. When a lady finally arrived, she rudely demanded us to sit and order quickly. We barely even received our menus when she demanded that we order faster.... (are you kidding me?) Out of sympathy for small businesses, I hastily ordered 3 dishes as to not arouse her anger. She then told me that there was a minimum order limit of 4 dishes... When I asked for more time to decide on a fourth dish, she yelled at me for being slow.... At that point my patience ran out and I informed her we would be leaving. My request was met with a slew of epithets and a demand to pay for the tea that we neither ordered nor received. Please avoid this place at all costs read more

The food here really brings me back to my home in China. So authentic! I understand why you guys complain about the bad service here. I don't deny it. But It is only because the waiter are from China. The service here is not considered rude if th e restaurant were in China.( yes it's bad . But not rude! It is a cultural difference!) I hope you understand this point and enjoy the wonderful food here. read more

Best northeastern Chinese food in Bay Area! Especially the 红烧肉炖粉条 小鸡炖蘑菇 炝炒土豆丝. Ask for their featured dishes, you won't be disappointed. They also serve BBQ at night. Overpriced for the taste. read more

Chang Luong - Chinese Near Me - Berkeley, California

Delicious comfort food! Best simple and authentic Chinese in Berkeley area at reasonable prices for collage students

Not to plagiarize the Yelp review sample text, but this is THE definition of a hole-in-the-wall gem. TLDR: this unassuming, extremely tucked away Chinese restaurant above Kimchi Garden has one of the most authentic tasting Chinese food I've encountered eating at a restaurant. It truly tastes like home to me. So this place is almost invisible if you don't look for it. To get to it, you need to go into the building where Kimchi Garden's entrance is, and go up a flight of stairs. If you know how to get to Cafe Durant, it's the same/similar staircase, iirc. The northern chinese food which I was raised on, is what stands out to me. I love their dumplings and zhajiangmian (fried bean sauce noodles). Both these stood out a lot to me since they taste almost exactly like my family's cooking. That's something I wouldn't say for any other Chinese restaurant. The place is pretty hole-in-the-wall though - the interior is not the prettiest. And yes, I'll also admit the service is not great because the servers mostly speak Chinese and are older. They may not be as responsive if they have a harder time communicating. However, all in all this place is really close to my heart. Disclaimer though: I'm writing based on my past experience and I'm not sure what changes COVID has brought to them. I just want to give them a little support during this time! read more

Honestly the interior is not the prettiest, but the food is actually so good and authentic! My friend got the beef noodle soup and I got the eggplant with potatoes and bell peppers. Good price and large portions. It's legit like having your parents or grandparents cook for you. I would come again read more

the food here is just amazing. it's like a home cooked meal but better. i'm not sure why this place isn't filled with people all the time, i think it may because of the location. it really is a hole in the wall. literally the best food i had in berkeley and in the bay area. the chef was just so caring and nice. will be coming back more often and hate myself for not trying this place sooner. the vegetables were so fresh and rice was yummy. the prices are the best too. i got 1 chicken king pao for $15 and shared it with another person and still had leftovers for the next day! easily can be 3 meals. only accepts venmo and cash so be sure to have one of those but there is a chase and bank of america walking distance away literally at the corner. read more

Forget these haters. Hard to find, up some stairs, the times I've been here it's basically been a one man show catering to Chinese speaking customers who understand what they have here, the real deal. Authentic, delicious Northern Chinese dishes. The Mongolian beef I had was incredible. Dimension, tangy, perfect texture to the beef. The service is fine. The care is there it's just not totally American style. That's fine. This is gem. I actually like paying by Venmo. That's a good idea. Highly recommend. read more

Lousy attitude and service. Refused to give bowls and tell you that you either bear with it or don't come. They have a fixed 15% tip. We refused to pay tip because of their attitude and service, and they call the police. However, since they print the 15% so called service fee on the menu, this is freaking legal. Therefore we have to pay it. Also, there's a sign on the wall saying "cash or venmo, card not work". Pretty sure this place is undergoing tax evasion. I will never come to this place again. read more

Really yummy Chinese restaurant! Glad I decided to go, service was good and good was fantastic.

If you want good authentic Chinese food. You must go. If you want proper English communication with standard Western courtesy, you must look elsewhere. It is extremely obvious that the owner doesn't know how to run a good business. She is basically like, sit, you should know what to order, here is your food, pay me( cash or Venmo), leave. But her family and staff REALLY know how to cook. By the end of the day, do you want server circling around your table and giving you white washed American Chinese food or dead serious authentic Chinese food with the boss not giving a shit about where you sit? I'd choose latter. Why? The "good" server doesn't truly give a shit about anyways. But here is you can get good food. Why bother? read more

Food (4.5 stars): If you are craving for Chinese style kebabs, this is for sure the place to go! They have a huge variety of choices for chinese barbecue (probably not so healthy/clean). Anything you want from lamb to chicken hearts, you name it! My favorites are the lamb, beef, and green onions wrapped in tofu skin. They also have chinese sticky grilled corn! You can't find those kinda corns in anywhere else besides ranch 99 or family chinese markets. They also serve other northeastern chinese comfort food. We tried: sliced tomatoes with eggs, sweet and sour schnitzels , and tofu skins with green peppers, and they all tasted so nolstagic and delicious. The restaurant is run by a very traditional chinese family, so the food is unquestionably authentic! Every time we dined here, 99% of the customers are international students from China. Having lived in Beijing for more than half of my life, this is a hidden gem in a college town! Service (1 star): First, the servers don't really try to greet you or to please you in any way. They know they'll always have business because lots of people eat there no matter what, so they don't have to try so hard. When we wanted to order, the server would come and take our order like lightening speed, no eye contacts, no communication whatsoever. You just have to be very patient with them. The time it takes to bring out the food also frustrated us. We only ordered 10 skewers or so and it took nearly 30 minutes to bring everything up. We also ordered some to go and that took even a longer time. In total, we spent almost 70% of our time there just waiting! It was ridiculous. Moreover, the server will include a 15% gratuity before you pay the bill, which is kind of a rip-off considering how terrible the service is... Price (3 stars): A skewer costs around $1.30 depending on what kind of meat it is. If you order around 10 skewers per person and two dishes, it would be around $25 per person, not bad considering the quality of food. Overall this place is a three-star. I definitely don't want this place to go away because it is so delicious and it tastes like home! But I just wish they could improve their service just a bit! read more

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They added about 13 percent to our bill saying it's for tad purposes, when obviously they are not paying tax by accepting Venmo only.