The lamb and beef's decent. Considering the price during happy hour, this place is worth going! But the lamb kidney may not be the best. read more

GAO's Kabob & Crab - Seafood Near Me - Milpitas, California

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The service was very nice, the food was good. The environment is very clean, the crowd was incredibly welcoming.

my first time trying this place. the place are very nice and the service are very good. we like all of the skewers. The favors are very yummy. read more

GAO's Kabob & Crab - Seafood Near Me - Milpitas, California

Quick check in to get seated. The wait wasn't too long. Staff is very friendly and greeted us right away. Food is super yummy. We even got here early enough for their happy hour! Worth ordering the wagyu skewers and they gave Free small cups of snacks to start. read more

Pretty average skewer spot that messes up your orders. We spent nearly 2 hours here because the kitchen took a long time to make our skewers. We had originally ordered 8 beef skewers in our first order and they brought us 4 saying the other 4 will come soon. We waited forever until they came to check on us and claimed we got 8 because they scratched it off on their receipt. They eventually agreed to bring us the missing 4 (with lots of hesitation) but at least the skewers were good (we ordered another 8 while waiting too). They also brought us orders meant for other tables twice - one of them was pig brains, which kind of ruined our appetite. Worth a try and love that it's open late but not worth the wait nor stress of making sure they don't charge you for items didn't order and didn't get. read more

GAO's Kabob & Crab - Seafood Near Me - Milpitas, California

I have seen the viral videos about this Korean hot spot on social media. I have been wanting to see what the hype is all about. We happen to be in the area and so we decided to check them out. We arrived on a Saturday afternoon for lunch recently. The Korean restaurant is located in a nice plaza off Milpitas Blvd in Milpitas. Parking is accessible in the parking lot out front. GAO's Kabob & Crab is a mid size restaurant with nice cultural modern decor and standout neon lights. There is plenty of tables for dine in. Customers can order their food and drinks using a QR code. The atmosphere is bustling and lively. We ordered 5 lamb skewers, 3 Wagyu beef skewers, squid skewer, 2 garlic skewers, cauliflower skewer, 2 garlic grilled oysters, Tsingtao beer, kids meal with fries & nuggets, 2 white rice, and plum juice. This was plenty of food for our party of 3. Everything was delicious and authentic. The lamb skewers were tender and juicy. The Wagyu beef skewers were scrumptious with every bite. Garlic grilled oysters were flavorful and grilled just right. The alcoholic beverages were refreshing and hit the spot. Overall we enjoyed our experience at GAO's Kabob & Crab. The staff were nice and accommodating. We appreciated the hostess giving us the information on how to order as soon as we were sat down. The $1.00 lamb skewers and $2.00 Wagyu beef skewers on the happy hour were such an excellent value deal. I also appreciated the complimentary kids meal for any kids in your party. The complimentary sunflowers seeds and edamame were a nice touch. Posting your experience on any social media platform for a complimentary drink was appreciated as well. We will definitely be back to share the experience with friends and family. read more

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We tried this place for the first time since our son's soccer game was in the area. We were seated right away at 3pm which was perfect coz we were all hungry. The server was so helpful and explained the ordering style on the QR code and gave us a good explanation of the popular food choices. Fortunately it was happy hour every day 12noon -6:30pm. We ordered the lamb & Wagyu skewers which were so tender and delicious. We also ordered grilled cauliflower, grilled garlic, grilled squid & garlic grilled oysters. All we're satisfying and yummy. A nice touch was our son was able to get a complimentary kids menu. He enjoyed it so much. The ambiance was authentic Korean with the music, music videos & decorations. The service was excellent. Will definitely come back for late night eats. read more

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Im always on the hunt for some asian skewers lol! Place is open late. Staff are very welcoming and super friendly. Menu, Options, Portions, Prices super affordable, Drinks "hella" cute and the taste of the food is top notch! Ambiance, Vibe and music is cool. I would definitely be back ! This is now my go to for late night skewers :) read more

I came here one Friday evening about 10 minutes before they opened, there wasn't a line yet but then immediately when I got in line a line formed. Everyone here was here for the happy hour from 5PM to 6:30PM Monday to Friday for their $1 Lamb Skewers and $2 Wagyu Skewers. Also when I went, they also had a special where if you spend $88 you get 1lb of blue crab for free. I noticed they have different specials so you can check what they have. Regarding the food, we ordered 40+ skewers (lamb and wagyu beef), as well as their stinky tofu, pig intestine with garlic, eggplant garlic, shrimp fried rice and watermelon juice. The table also came with complimentary sunflower seeds and edamame which was a nice touch. Food did take some time to come out since they are making the skewers fresh to order and lots of people are ordering skewers. Anyways - the skewers overall came with a generous amount of meat per skewer. I was surprised that for a $1 or $2 they gave so much meat on a skewer - definitely worth. The skewers could have been more spicy and salted, but you have an option to add some seasoning powder and if you ask the staff they can give you some chili powder as well. The stinky tofu was fried nicely but it was more fermented than what I am used to. The pig intestine with garlic skewer was okay - not for me I would say. The eggplant garlic was fine, and shrimp fried rice was a really small portion for the price and not much shrimp . The watermelon juice was a nice refreshing drink to share with everyone. Since we ordered more than $88 worth of food, we were able to get 1lb of blue crab for free, we ordered the blue crab with 13 spices mild spicy mala flavor. The crabs were very fresh, we saw them get rolled into the restaurant too. The flavor of the crab and the sauce were delicious - nice numbing taste even though we ordered mild. Overall, I want to note that it takes a while for food to come so I recommend ordering everything earlier and you can add things onto later. I will definitely come back again for their skewers. read more

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I've never been to a place like this, so I'm very impressed. It feels like having street food in Asia, so it's very lively. They have happy hour skewers of lamb for $1 and Wagyu for $2 each. While I liked the lamb more, the Wagyu was very good too. We also had the fried shrimp which was a little hard to peel, but was very tasty. Definitely a unique experience. Does tend to get busy, especially since it is open until 2am. read more

GAO's Kabob & Crab - Calamari - Seafood Near Me - Milpitas, California

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What an amazing late night find- yes they have skewers, but also so much more than that. In fact, our favorite bites were all non-skewer. The roasted eggplant is probably the best Chinese eggplant I've ever had in my life, no lie. Crawfish is comparable to some of the best crawfish places. read more

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Amazing food and fantastic service! The kabobs and crab were fresh and delicious. Highly recommend read more

GAO's Kabob & Crab - Seafood Near Me - Milpitas, California

Came here at around 8:30 on a Friday and had to wait over an hour. This skewer place is different from others I've been to. I can't believ they have seafood boils here! Skewers (5/5): Although they missed our squid, the skewers had the perfect amount of seasoning. Got the beef, fish tofu, oyster mushroom, beef tongue, tendon, and steamed bun. Dan Dan noodles (5/5): Not what I was expecting but it was still good. Not too cold but just enough. It was bit spicy so don't expect that refreshing peanut taste. It was super packed with flavor. Crawfish (5/5); For a place that doesn't specialize in crawfish, this was bussin. The sauce was packed with garlic and butter. The crawfish was sweet and plenty. Overall I recommend this place for a late night out read more

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I'm going to be quick on this review. I've gone here a few times now and it's always a treat on my wallet. For that reason and pretty good food, this place is now 5 stars! I got our usual (see my top few foods on my last review), but this time we tried the malatang. It's a spicy soup of veggies, glass noodles, tofu, mushrooms, pork blood and spam. The pork blood isn't as bad as it looks. It tastes like nothing jello. It's kinda missing the livery flavor. The soup is also kinda plain for mala flavor. This dish is actually a LOT of veggies and I find it an interesting compliment to our skewers. The service here is the same. The happy hour items such as the lamb took a very long time. I do appreciate that they at least got the kids' free food fairly quick. I absolutely love the vibe here. Our family drives 30 min to eat here. For a family of 4, we spent $42 plus tip. I don't think any Asian restaurant can beat that in the South Bay. Keep it up guys! We appreciate great value and good food! read more

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Happy hour is such a good deal. Lamb skewers are $1 and wagyu is $2. Next time I'd just get the wagyu. The Yangzhou fried rice was incredible, I was not expecting to like it that much. The egg fried noodles were a close second, super garlicky in the best way. I also really liked the king oyster mushrooms. The kimchi fried rice was a miss for me, just didn't have much flavor and the fish tofu was just okay. The environment is also in the louder side, you would def need to project your voice a bit :) I'd def come back for happy hour. Such a great deal, plus there are two great boba spots right next door. read more

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Happy hour: $1 lamb skewer $2 beef skewer Tips: order at least 8 skewers per person. Their grill couldn't keep up. It takes a long time to get the food. If you need to order a 2nd round, expect 2+ hours for your visit. Must have: chicken skin skewers. For lunch, try to be there before it opens. read more

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I love this place so much! It's one of my favorite spots in the Bay and makes me sooo nostalgic for late night eats in Asia. The BBQ has the best meat quality + flavors compared to anywhere else locally! Their cooking is Northwestern Chinese (Hsinchuang/Xinjiang/新疆), famous for 新疆烤串 ئۇيغۇرچەUyghur BBQ. This spot is known for their $1 lamb skewers daily happy hour 5:00-6:30pm, and recently added $2 wagyu beef skewers deal as well. Kids aged 12 and under get a free kids meal: chicken tenders, French fries, and a kid's drink! You also get loyalty points using your phone number to order via QR code, which will accumulate to get you free drinks, desserts, beer etc. Traffic on weekdays getting to Milpitas for dinner from the South Bay is crazy so plan ahead and make a reservation especially if you're going on Fri/Sat during the HH deal. Here are some of my favorite staples I always order (# quantity pieces per order): Get a million of the HH lamb + Wagyu beef skewers! $1.00 big lamb skewer (1) Tender lamb skewer marinated and grilled, sprinkled with sesame seeds for added texture and flavor. $2.00 wagyu beef skewer (1) Tender wagyu beef grilled on skewers, seasoned with a savory blend of spices -------------- Favs from Regular Menu: $3.60 beef tendons skewer (1) Skewered beef tendons marinated in savory spices, grilled to a tender finish, and garnished with sesame seeds. $4.20 beef tongue skewers (3) Grilled beef tongue skewers, seasoned with sesame seeds and surrounded by dried chili peppers. $9.60 beef sashimi skewers (12) Twelve pieces of thinly sliced raw beef, served w soy sauce & wasabi. *pro tip: ask for side of peanut sauce! $5.40 bacon enoki mushrooms skewer (1) Bacon wrapped around enoki mushrooms, then grilled to achieve a smoky flavor. $9.60 tofu skin skewers (20) Tofu skin skewers, traditionally barbecued, offering a unique silky thin texture. $14.40 northern dan dan noodle (cold) Tender noodles topped with spicy minced meat, crunchy peanuts, fresh cucumber, and cilantro. -------------- read more

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Warm Atmosphere and lots of yummy snacks!!! They Introduced into the menu early and showed us what we needed to know! read more

GAO's Kabob & Crab - Interior - Seafood Near Me - Milpitas, California

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My wife wanted to check out GAO's Kabob & Crab for their Happy Hours specials. Gao's is located in Milpitas close to Kalesa, Sushi Umami, Sunright Tea Studio, etc. The parking is ok in this strip mall. The interior is unique, and has its own character with neon lights, tvs, mood lighting. Two unisex restrooms. The service is friendly, attentive, and welcoming. The nice part is they give you complimentary edamame and roasted sunflower seeds while you wait for your order. We went during HH, and the lamb skewers were only $1 each and the beef skewers were $2 each until Big Lamb Skewer: Tender lamb skewers marinated in a savory blend of spices, grilled to perfection, and garnished with sesame seeds (5/5). A flavorful blend of marbled lamb chunks. Juicy Premium Waygu Beef: Tender beef chunks marinated and grilled on skewers, seasoned with a blend of spices (4/5). Pretty good but some smaller pieces were over-done. Pig Intestine with Garlic Skewer: Grilled pig intestine skewers seasoned with garlic and sprinkled with sesame seeds (3/5). I wanted to try it and see. French Fries: Crispy fries with choice of Original or Cajun seasoning (4/5). Pretty good crisp on these fries. We'll definitely be back! Support your local business. read more

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Came around 12pm or so on a Saturday, and was seated right away. They have some discounts or happy hour at this time of day, and we got lamb and beef skewers for $1 and $2 respectively. The beef was a bit tough but we got decent portions for the lamb and was flavorful and well worth the price. The skewers came out fast and I like that they give you complimentary boiled peanuts to go with it. Some of my favorites were the chicken wings and the squid. Overall everything was flavorful and seasoned well, lots of spices to choose from and great discounts on the lamb and beef. read more

GAO's Kabob & Crab - Seafood Near Me - Milpitas, California

My party of 4 came during happy hour to feast and watch the FIFA World Cup game. The happy hour deals are pretty worth with the lamb skewers and wagyu skewers being $1-2 each. Beer was also buy one get one. Definitely a steal to come during happy hour. We ordered an assortment of items, including the golden buns which were delicious and crackly, lamb skewers, wagyu skewers, chicken skin skewers, garlic grilled oysters, onion rings, corn, tofu, Dan Dan noodles, beef tongue, etc. My favorites were the lamb skewers and wagyu skewers which were grilled nicely and flavorful, garlic grilled oysters, and golden buns. Chicken skin skewers came cold and weren't crispy and were full of oil. Onion rings were burnt and were mostly batter with only a sliver of onion slices. Dan Dan noodles were really watery and sat in a pool of liquids, I felt like they should've been dry noodles. Beef tongue was nothing to write home about. Overall good restaurant and would definitely recommend their happy hour. read more

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We ordered: *3lb Crawfish Combo *Skewers: Wagyu Beef, Xinjiang Lamb, Chicken Skewers, Crispy Chicken Skin, and Golden Corn Kernels *Golden Bun (SO GOOD) *Northern Dan Dan Noodle *Grape Soju Once we ordered, the food just kept coming! It was great. Cute spot! read more

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Came on Monday night, good thing is they open late, bad thing is everything is sold out. Past 9pm, this place is getting filled, mostly younger adults. Most of their food is spicy or heavy in seasoning. We ordered 1-2 sets of combos and it came with a whole bunch of food, Korean cold noodle soup, stir fry clam, stir fry octopus, crawdad rice (super spicy!), lobster tails with corn cobs, the skewers were massive! Chicken liver, chicken heart, lamb, chicken, chicken skin, beef, tiny corn kennels. They are mostly seasoned with cumin, except the lamb and chicken, most skewers have a small amount of meat only, but taking a few of them do fill up quickly. We also got a spicy crawfish and gloves were provided. I am not a big fan of crawfish as it has very low ROI, lots of finger works for a tiny small amount of meat. The seasoning is strong so the meat does have good flavor. The most loved is probably the fried man-tou with condensed milk. When it's warm, it's so delish and a great tool to cool down the spice. It's a good place for a big party to dine and chat, only if you are not tired of cumin or spicy food. read more

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Food = great. The skewers were just okay, but I liked their cooked options. Love that there are multiple veggie options. Ambiance = great - there's a huge monitor playing music videos. Service = okay. Compared to other similar restaurants, they're slower. I think we were there for at least 1.5 hours, mostly just waiting for the food to come out slowly. It's definitely the type of place to come and hang out with friends. Just be warned, the wait time to get seated may be long because of this (everyone chilling at the table/slow turnover). We waited 30 min on a Thursday at 9pm They gave all the tables complementary sunflower seeds at 10pm. read more

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The food is great. I have nothing negative to say about that. The service on the other hand was terrible. It seems like they completely finish a tables order before they move onto yours. If you see a big party in the restaurant, it's probably better to eat elsewhere if you're hungry. We waited over 30 minutes for two skewer orders to come out. The hot plate was never lit, but we didn't really get any of our orders so it didn't even matter. There's no communication on what the status of your order is. We tried calling the servers over 5 times, used the website's "Ask for help" function, and still nothing. We wanted to cancel our order but they said it'd be out in 2-3 minutes. Ended up waiting another 10-15. We just got everything to-go. I don't recommend coming here if you're hungry or you have plans afterwards. If you have time to sit around and wait then it's the perfect place for you. It's the second time I've eaten here. I thought the first experience was a fluke but it's definitely an ongoing issue, judging from the other reviews. Would I come back again? Unfortunately, yes. I'll need some time to forget about how bad the experience was. read more

The BBQ skewers were delicious and full of flavor! The meat was tender, the seasoning was perfect, and the variety of skewers made the experience even better. Great food and a fun place to enjoy with friends. Definitely worth trying! read more

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Had a great experience at Gao's BBQ & Crab in Milpitas! We tried their $88 Seafood & BBQ Feast, and it was more than enough food for 2-3 people. The seafood boil came loaded with shrimp (I swapped the crawfish option), lobster tail, corn, potatoes, and sausage. Everything was flavorful and cooked well. The BBQ skewers were a highlight--especially the Wagyu beef and Xinjiang lamb skewers, which were juicy and packed with smoky flavor. I also loved that the combo included a main dish, drinks, and golden fried buns for dessert, making it an excellent value for the price. Beyond the food, the atmosphere was lively and fun with live entertainment, great music, and plenty of menu options ranging from Chinese BBQ and seafood to noodles and desserts. It's a perfect spot for a family dinner, date night, or gathering with friends. Definitely a place I'll be coming back to when I'm craving seafood and BBQ in the Bay Area! read more

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I've been wanting to try this place for a while bc I live nearby and it's ALWAYS packed. I finally got to try it from open table rezzies, it's so cute and the food is really tasty. Perfect to pair with some drinks! I love it here.... We got the combo for 2 and extra skewers because we were a group of 4. Everything was super flavorful 10/10. read more

GAO's Kabob & Crab - Inside - Seafood Near Me - Milpitas, California

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Some coworkers and I came in after work because we saw there was a special meal set. When we got there we found it was happy hour and decided to do that instead. We got lamb and beef skewers and cold noodles. You order on your phone and they say to go ahead and order quickly and add more later if you want. They get very busy and it's better to not have your food take too long or wait too long in the kitchen. Most of the time they brought the food to the right table, but one server got confused and brought another table's food to us. Good thing we knew what we ordered. The meat was nicely seasoned and there is more seasoning on the table, if you want. The cold noodle was also pretty good. The decor is fun and interesting. read more

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Good taste!!! Perfect to hangout at late night. It is worth to try if you never been here before. read more

GAO's Kabob & Crab - Seafood Near Me - Milpitas, California

Chinese style bbq skewers, good stuff, good deal. If you're in Milpitas come try it out. You won't be disappointed. Be warned there can be a wait, the place isnt that big. But worth the wait. read more

GAO's Kabob & Crab - Seafood Near Me - Milpitas, California

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The skewers here are amazing! The happy hour is probably one of the best offerings I've ever seen. The barbeque is done extremely well with a light and yet flavorful flavor. Would come back again! read more

I love the northern noodles. Skewers are pricy but season and cooked well. Favorite was beef. read more

GAO's Kabob & Crab - Seafood Near Me - Milpitas, California

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If you want to come for happy hour, come early because it gets full FAST! The $1 skewers are to die for, and they have a good amount of other options to keep you from getting sick of the countless $1 lamb skewers you'd be ordering. The lamb is not gamey. I came a few minutes after they opened at 5PM and it was already almost full. The happy hour menu is really to die for, because the skewers are really that good. You scan to order, and the food comes out quite fast, even when you see other parties ordering countless skewers. The skewers come seasoned, but they also have extra seasoning options on the table in case you want to adjust the house flavors. Some of the lamb skewers were a bit overcooked but I'm not the one complaining when they're $1 per skewer lol. The vibe feels like a nightclub/karaoke bar skewer house in China, full of neon signs, lower lighting, and towers of alcohol. A great hangout spot for all hours, and given how late they're open, they must have a great customer base for people coming in to drink and eat skewers. Solid menu diversity, great prices, and fast service considering it to be freshly grilled Chinese BBQ, it's no wonder this place is the GOAT for skewers. After eating about 10 lamb skewers, I started to truly get sick of the lamb and forced myself to finish the rest... Just make sure to come early or you will be stuck waiting a while since it fills up so fast. read more

GAO's Kabob & Crab - Seafood Near Me - Milpitas, California

I really hate that I have to make this update but we went back again today and got seated at 6:10 PM. We immediately placed an order for lamb skewers and follows up ten minutes later witj rice, dan dan noodle and tofu skewer. The Dan Dan noodles came out in less than 5 minutes and the tofu maybe 10 minutes later. Our lamb skewers are no where to be found and it's been 25 minutes or so. We assumed maybe they're back logged because it's happy hour and they have a full house. But then we noticed tables getting skewers that came In after us. At around 6:45 someone finally comes by and asks if we've gotten everything. Please note, our table literally has one skewer stick and one dan dan noodle... so it was obvious we didn't. We told them we're still waiting for our skewers and rice. They nod and walk away. It seemed like our order was forgotten about or lost since other tables that came after us even got theirs. 15 minutes later at 7 PM (50 MINUTES after we ordered) we finally get the rice and skewers. This is honestly absurd. No apologies or recognition for the wait. Honestly don't know if it's worth coming back even for happy hour. The service was horrid read more

GAO's Kabob & Crab - Lamb skewers - Seafood Near Me - Milpitas, California

They now have new flavor. The 3 new flavors are very rare and i only see them here. They are perfect with the bbq read more

GAO's Kabob & Crab - Seafood Near Me - Milpitas, California

From the moment you step inside, captures the perfect evening mood. The ambient, low lighting paired with warm interior accents creates an intimate yet lively backdrop for dinner. Whether you're seated at a cozy booth or near the bar, the music and chatter create an energetic, welcoming buzz without being overly noisy. read more

GAO's Kabob & Crab - sunflower seeds - Seafood Near Me - Milpitas, California

My friends and I came here on a weekend for their special deal of $1 lamb skewers and $2 Wagyu beef skewers. The place itself is pretty small, but we were able to get seated right away. Each table has a QR code for ordering, which made it easy for everyone to place their own orders. Since it was my first time, I didn't expect the wait for the skewers to be so long. We only ordered a couple rounds per person, but it still took quite a while for them to come out. We also ordered a few other dishes, and those took even longer, with one dish never arriving at all. The skewers are placed on a small grill at the table, but it's not actually heated, so you have to eat them quickly before they start to harden. That said, the seasoning was really good, and I especially enjoyed the lamb skewers. I also liked the squid and chicken hearts, and the eggplant dish was surprisingly good as well. Overall, the food was decent, but the long wait times and service issues made the experience a bit frustrating. I probably wouldn't come back. read more

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Great food, good happy hour with $1 lamb skewers and $2 wagyu beef skewers. Good and quick service.

We stopped in for their valentine special. For $88 we were served more than enough food. While the skewered meats were tasty and the mini hamachi kept them hot, they all had the same seasoning on them. The seafood boil was finally a different flavor and very delicious. I wish they would have had better gloves to handle the crab and lobster rather than the cheap plastic ones. The Golden Fried Buns were the second thing served, we thought they were trying to fill us up on these before the meats came out. If it wasn't for this, the service was outstanding. We will be back. read more

GAO's Kabob & Crab - Seafood Near Me - Milpitas, California

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