In the area and was feeling like I wanted a light bite. Saw this place and decided to give them a try. Their combos are a really good deal. A drink and two appetizers for about $13. Their soy milk was solid, though I wish they had some sugar at the table to sweeten it with. Potstickers were deep fried and came with a slightly spicy sauce. Their rice rolls were what caught my eye. They were fresh but lacks a flavor punch. They were chopping up some bbq stuff for customers and smelled really good. I'll have to come back and try some of them ... and the laksa too. I need to come back for that soon. read more

Ordered breakfast. Amazing that they were open @9am while most other places aren't, and I didn't want a bagel. The combo congee 小米粥with 2 sides (peanuts and mustard w ground pork 榨菜), and chive pancake 韭菜盒子 that is unfortunately bland. I ordered potstickers on the side but the fillings were weirdly tasted like curry? And were extremely greasy 油炸的不是煎的 Wish the soy milk was sweet also read more

Laka - 小米粥 - Chinese Near Me - Millbrae, California

A few people from our office recently had lunch here. The insistence was from one person who I work with. Amongst soup choices, Chinese noodles are never at the top of my list. We only received decent service because someone in our group spoke Mandarin and Cantonese. This place is small and the servers are curt. I ordered the Pick Your Own noodle choice and was served a bowl of soup that would literally feed my entire family. My choice of soup base was the coconut milk base with my added protein and vegetables. The curry spices were very overwhelming. I could not eat this serving by myself. I did not take it to go. Very underwhelmed by this experience. read more

Laka - Chinese Near Me - Millbrae, California

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This is similar to hot pot. However there is no cooking appliance at your table. Mala tang is very popular in Singapore, where you fill a large stainless steel bowl with raw ingredients that you select. Here you mark a menu. I've eaten here four times since a Yelp elite event here. Each time is different as I keep selecting different ingredients. The spicy soup noodles were a great choice on a foggy summer night. read more

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You can customize a bowl of noodles here but be prepared for your bowl to be at least $20 by the time you add everything up. They also have a variety of HK cafe items if you're not in a mood for noodles. Service is good and even better if you speak Cantonese. The ambiance is relaxed. I like the booth seats. Parking was not bad on a weekday around 3pm. We got a couple of customized noodle bowls and I also ordered a spicy wok fried chicken $19.99 -- it was a good spice level and the chicken was very flavorful. I wasn't expecting the chicken to be boned though. The chicken broth was a little bland. I think $20 is a little steep. read more

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I've come here a couple of times to give it more chances but I'm just not a fan. Service is ok; very straightforward just in and out. The menu has a variety of options including a DIY noodle experience with seafood, meats, and veggies, noodle soups, and small Chinese apps. This store does have breakfast hours with congee but I've only been to their dinner menu. From the DIY menu, I've tried the Mala Spicy Broth Spicy, Chicken Broth, and Dry Mixed Base Spicy with some variety of Sliced Beef, Beef Brisket, Napa Cabbage, Enoki Mushrooms, Snow Pea Shoots. All of the broths were super oily but not flavorful. Each add-on is like $3-4 which is not worth especially for the portion of items. I've also tried their Fish Noodle Soup and Beef Noodle Soup; both were mid. My parents did like how the Fish Noodle Soup had noodles made from fish though! Overall, I wouldn't go back. read more

Laka - Dry Mixed Base Spicy - Chinese Near Me - Millbrae, California

This place was packed! Get here early and put your name down to account for the wait time. I ordered more noodles, and I got a giant bowl that took up 3/4 of the table width! It was packed with noodles - knife-cut And glass noodles! You can see how it compares in size to a regular cup, chopsticks, or hands. That giant bowl is almost 2x chopstick-lengths in diameter. Add as much stuff as you want to your heart's content! If you do the math, what I added to get this giant bowl was not bad in price! It is a good deal. They also have well-priced combos that come with noodles and either a sando or congee! No wonder why they are popular. read more

Laka - Giant bowl of noodles - laksa! - Chinese Near Me - Millbrae, California

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Their Chinese BBQ is the best in the area. I used to have to drive all the way to Ocean Avenue Ming Kee and stand in line for duck and soy sauce chicken to-go, but no longer! Laka offers fresh, juicy (and not too salty) meats that go so well with rice and porridge. I haven't tried their dine-in, though based on the menu and number of customers, it seems popular. read more

Laka - Menu - Chinese Near Me - Millbrae, California

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Came here for dinner on a slow Friday evening. I like their menu choices and seems like they had a lot of variety to go for. We got some DIY hotpot bowls and a appetizer of "Mouth-Watering chicken" basically poached chicken with mala chili oil and spices. While the chicken was tender, juicy, and delicious (more numbing than spicy) the let down was their laksa, and it was the thing we were most excited to try. Simply put, the broth just wasn't flavorful like you would imagine a laksa broth to be. No hint of richness, coconut milk, and the curry strength was weak. I was expecting to be able to drink the soup like it was curry, but it was more reminiscent of a curry spiced chicken broth more than laksa, which is more thick and actually clings to your noodles and other toppings. If you see the pictures, it looks somewhat translucent... I normally wouldn't mind a thin broth but wished it had more oomph and body. Plus side was the options for your hotpot, they even had the sweet potato vermicelli that I do enjoy, and they give you enough of each of the toppings you request. It's priced decently but I wish they could improve their laksa soup since it seemed like it was their top option. read more

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When I come I always get this lunch set. Service is sometimes slow but I still like it because their lunch menu price is nice. read more

Laka - Chow Fun and Porridge Lunch Special Set - Chinese Near Me - Millbrae, California

A picture of the duck noodles by another poster drew us in. We ordered and were not disappointed. Juicy slices of duck, pickled veg, egg, and noodles in the tasty broth did not disappoint. Serving size was perfect and good price. We also tried the pot stickers which were also pretty good. The BBQ looked good so we ordered Char Su and ribs to go. Will come again. read more

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Pleasantly surprised by this restaurant and their portions! I pass by often but nothing ever intrigued me about this place until a friend recommended it. We tried their Laksa noodles, duck noodles, and small bites. The place is clean and price is good. There's also a good variety of food here. Perfect for a group. read more

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Stopped by this spot on our way to Living Spaces, and so glad we did! The service was swift and we got to our food very soon after ordering. Not sure if it's like this all day but at least for dinner they give you a board menu and you circle what you want which I thought was pretty neat and also environmentally friendly. I got the pickled greens noodle soup and my partner got a make your own mala noodle soup. We both enjoyed the noodles and slurped pretty much the whole thing down. read more

Laka - Chinese Near Me - Millbrae, California

The is my kids' absolute favorite restaurant. They particularly love Laka's the breakfast combos. The porridge is awesome and the kid friendly dishes like the rice roll, you tiao, chow mein, and spam sandwich are always a hit. Laka has changed up their menu probably 3 or 4 times in the last year. Most notably, they've added a Southern style BBQ menu. The BBQ is good, not outstanding, so I prefer the lgacy dishes. They used to have a menu where you could build your own noodle soup which was fantastic, but they've replaced that with non-customizable noolde soups. Amazingly, the price actually got lower, making an even better value out of a menu that was already a tremendous value for money. The service is very attentive and friendly. The place does get packed especially on weekends for breakfast and lunch so be prepared to wait for 10-20 minutes. Weekday dinner time is my favorite time to go. A must try. read more

You know a Hong Kong cafe is legit when every diner is speaking Cantonese and Instagram influencers are nowhere in sight. Noodles and Things is spectacular. I stopped by on a Saturday morning after doing an airport drop-off and the place was packed around 10:30 a.m. That said, I was pleasantly surprised on how quickly the line moved. Though there were five other parties ahead on the waitlist, my wife and I were seated in about 15 minutes. There are a lot of breakfast sets here but unfortunately, none of them had exactly what we wanted, so we ended up ordering our items a la carte. We got the fish congee, a fan tuan, sandwich, a soy milk, and a milk tea. In all, this came out to be about $35 after tax and tip. The youtiao in the fan tuan was soggy when I received it, but that's a fine trade-off for me considering I received it 30 seconds after I ordered it (meaning they have everything prepped, wrapped, and ready to go at the start of breakfast). For around $5, it's a steal compared to one from Xiaoman Riceburrito down in Sunnyvale for double the price. If you're craving a Hong Kong breakfast that reminds you of Tsui Wah, this is the place to visit. The food is solid, the prices are reasonable, parking is readily available, and the wait is not terrible. read more

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I wanted to give this place a 4. It's really a 3.5. Reason?-- we ordered a marinated duck which is supposed to be pale in color and made in chiu chow style. However, our marinated duck was duck marinated in soy sauce chicken marinade.... The soy sauce chicken flavor was great though! Just not what we wanted. Should have just listened to my gut and went to special Hainan chicken down the street. read more

I was attracted by those good looking roast duck. I bought one right out of the oven tonight. It looked fabulous. However, the duck had no taste. I have never tasted such bland and tasteless duck. It was much worse than ones I made at home. Please do not buy their ducks. It is a total waste of money. I will never go back to this restaurant again! read more

Decent food, service and price. We came in for the breakfast sets and ended up getting the sets C, E and I. The congees were nicely flavored with a decent amount of toppings and rice-to-water thickness ratio. It was a nice surprise seeing millet congee being served here since you don't see that often at restaurants. The Chinese doughnut had a nice crisp without feeling overly greasy. It was a pleasant experience overall. We would come back. read more

Laka - Chinese Near Me - Millbrae, California

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The soups are good here. Fast and friendly service Casual ambiance Overall not bad. Will be back :) read more

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Came here with the family in search of a quick dinner on Christmas Eve. This is your simple no frills Cantonese style cafe. The Hainan chicken rice was very tender but the rice could've been more flavorful compared to other Hainan chicken plates I've tried before. My sister loved her extra spicy mala tang broth with her own DIY noodles and toppings. My family also loved sharing the fried calamari which was fried to perfection. The servers were curt and straightforward which is what is to be expected at these kinds of cafes. Overall, a great fix if you're looking for some tasty Cantonese food. read more

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Wow I'm so disappointed Tomato soup 7/10 - mom got mild and said it was definitely mild - wasn't anything special but not disgusting - can probs lay make it at home Hot and sour soup 7/10 - fish noodle was an interesting texture but not bad - dad said it was OK nothing special Mala hot dry mix 3/10 - I got spicy but it was in fact not spicy at all. It tasted like peanut butter and chili oil. - wide potato noodles were good texture but lacked flavor - beef brisket is ok and seasoned Mala tang 5/10 - the saving grace are the noodles - super spicy is perfect and not "super" spicy The Mala tang took a lot longer to come out. We finished 2/3 of our food before that dish came out and that person sat there hungry for 30 min. They gave us sesame balls as apology but we were going to be late for our flight so we couldn't take that with us. Overall, this was a lackluster experience here. I don't think I'll ever come back here. read more

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Brought the fam here to try there breakfast sets and tbh it was just ok. I was definitely expecting more. I wish they had out more thousand year old egg in my jook. My jook was tasty and so was the Chinese donut. Service was good, quick and fast but I think there's a couple other spots in downtown Millbrae that I would choose over this spot. read more

Laka - @justgrindz - Chinese Near Me - Millbrae, California

Parking can get tricky during the weekends. I arrived on Saturday around 10:00AM and the lines were already out the door. Breakfast (takeout only): Disappointment. Chow Mein and Chow Fun was very standard and plain. Fillet Congee was ok, salty enough. Chinese Doughnut was smaller than expected. Got charged for the Rice Ball but wasn't in the bag. 2nd visit for Dinner: more disappointment. The broth for Hot & Sour Potato Noodle Soup and Picked String Beans with Ground Pork Noodle Soup was so so bland and oily. The only order that I liked was the plain fried dough with condensed milk. If you want better noodle soup go down the street and try 9 Noodle House. read more

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I think there's other items on here that I haven't tried that are probably way better than what I got. I opted for the wonton noodle soup (added noodles) as I had an upset stomach. The flavor was bland but I think they may do this intentionally so the diner can choose the amount of salt or spices they prefer. I liked the broth a lot. It's a fast paced noodle shop with pig in the front laid out. So don't expect to have 5 top tier service, this is come in, sit down order and ask for water yourself. Don't fault them for it...clean place and one lady who worked there did smile at me :) read more

Hands down best roast duck and bbq pork in this area. Fresh, juicy and cheap! You have to try it!

We came for breakfast on a Saturday. There's was about a 10-15 minute wait at noon. We had the combos. Set D is the mini chow fun with a milk congee; Set I is the boat congee with a Chinese donut and a small dish of fried squid $10. I would recommend not get the milk congee if you never had it before. As for the set D, there are better places for congee. The outstanding dish was the small fried squid. It had this mild spicy powder that made it work. Service was slow but the kitchen was fast. read more

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My girlfriend and I went here for breakfast. We had the Sandwich and Pork Dumplings which were amazing! Great service! Definitely coming back again! read more

This is strictly for their happy hour menu. What a deal. All for under $10 with tax. They were able to swap out Thai tea as my drink of choice. The food came quick and it was hot and fresh. I really want to come back for their chow mein. The noodles I got were good and the sandwich was hot and decent. The milk tea was also good. Definitely coming back for their happy hour. I really want to try their jook next time. read more

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Laka Spicy is now Laka! Even the Chinese name changed from 辣客(spicy guest) to 臘客(BBQ guest). Still the unseen 文哥 is at work after this major switch form Szechuan build-your-own noodles (Noodles and Things/Laka Spicy) to Cantonese BBQ and Hong Kong Cafe breakfast/lunch (they still have some of their popular noodle dishes from their previous iteration!) Anyways, onto the visit... Went with a party of 4 and we all were craving siu yuk. Service was kinda slow, and the wait was 20 minutes. With a few tables waiting, I think they should expand! The walls were filled with many Chinese quotes, and the sound of Chinese Singing Competition clips filled the restaurant. Ordering, however, was 10x faster than getting seated. The eats: BBQ- Siu Yuk (4.5/5) and Soy Sauce Chicken (limited menu item made on occasion)- 4/5. They each were a "quarter portion" for $10 per plate. Pork is crispy but not exactly too tender (still good for siu lap tho!) and the chicken was freshly roasted! (They do stuff in batches unlike Cheung hing where they mass cook everything in three distinct portions of the day, so there will be something fresh when you dine :D) they also offer to go for these by the have chickens, ducks, and pounds for pork. Beef plate ribs noodles (my favorite from their previous iteration., 3.5/5)- kinda got a little more bland and tendony. I needed the chilli oil to save this one. Breakfast menu items: - Chinese Donut - Preserved Egg and Congee Jook - Spam Musubi - Shanghai Sticky Rice Rolls Your average breakfast.food... inconsistent, one Chinese donut was fried golden to a crisp, the other yellow as can be. Chinese donut in the rice rolls was not as crispy. I did not have the spam musubi (picky eater wanted it). Overall, decent food, fast, polite service, just be prepared to wait if y'all come during the lunch rush! Would come back again for dine in or BBQ takeout. read more

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===TL;DR=== - Got the "design your own" option - C13 Hainan Chicken Rice - S08 Braised Meat Combo - S19 Salf & Pepper Tofu - C01 Dan Dan Noodles ===TMI=== Very satisfying meal. If you like Tang Bar from Stonestown you would enjoy them too. They're very similar except you don't physically grab your toppings but you circle what you want on their menu if you want to build your own. They also have broth or dry mix base here. Let me warn you... their proportion can easily be very big so be aware! (I don't mind if cause I love a 2nd meal for another day). On the back of the menu, they also have other food and meal options so if you don't want to build your own, you can explore that side. Every dish was in point besides the Dan Dan noodles, a bit bland. Loved their spicy chili hot sauce on the table.. some might say it's packed with heat so sample as you go! Easy comfort food.. good for all occasions. Parking wasn't too bad as there are meter and public parking lots available. Don't forget to take a Dum Dum lollipop on your way out to end your meal! read more

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Authentic Hong Kong style breakfast, down to the loud chatting and crowd,with porridge, fried cruller, and bun. read more

Laka - Bun, porridge, and fried cruller - Chinese Near Me - Millbrae, California

I went to Millbrae UPS store, saw this restaurant on my way and want to trying out. I had Laksa Seafood Noddle Soup is so Delicious comes with (Shrimps, fish balls, small clams, a lots of filed fish) Quality and quantity-Highly recommended to everyone. read more

Laka - Laksa Seafood Noddle Soup. - Chinese Near Me - Millbrae, California

Stopped here for a snack and was throughly surprised! Ordered the spicy pig ears and crispy pork belly. The pig ears were tender and spiced just right. The pork belly was on the leaner side but seasoned to perfection with an extra crispy crunch! Will definitely be back for more when in the area! read more

Like others have mentioned, Noodles & Things have rebranded and is now Laka Spicy. I'm a huge fan of malatang and DIY noodles so I was excited to try this place. Everything has its own price including the broth. I ordered the spicy mala broth and it had just the right amount of spice for me. However, keep in mind that if you're not used to spicy foods, it will most likely be too spicy. They have other broth options such as laksa and chicken broth. I like that they have fish noodles as an option for an additional dollar. Perfect for carb-conscious people like me who still want some kind of noodle in their soup. There's a good variety of toppings to customize your own bowl. If you choose 8 toppings you get a free entree! If you don't want to customize they also have pre-fixed options as well. There were also your typical spicy Szechuan appetizers available. The popcorn pork looked good and we saw someone else order the chicken wings and they were huge. We weren't as hungry this time around so we didn't order any appetizers but we definitely will try next time. Depending on what you add to your bowl, it gets pricey pretty quick. Our total for just two bowls before tax was around $50. Not cheap, but very filling and hits the spot for when I'm craving malatang and don't want to drive all the way to Stonestown for Tang Bar. read more

Laka - Chinese Near Me - Millbrae, California

Came here for a late lunch on a weekend after doing some shopping nearby. We needed something quick but also filling. Laka fulfilled that well. We saw that the noodle soups were huge so we immediately went to that. Got the seafood one and the fish noodle (the noodle itself is made from fish) one. Both were great and yes, they were huge! We added some spice to the fish noodle one and that made even jazzier lol. Great place for noodle soups and we'll come back when we get a chance. read more

Laka - C11. Seafood Noodle Soup Combo - Chinese Near Me - Millbrae, California

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I tried it before they offered the Peking duck station. I enjoyed the spicy broths which you can customize. I braved it out and got the spiciest they have and I cleared my sinuses with just the smell! I've always have good service - no complaints. read more

This used to be Noodles&Things, but I think this is an improvement. I love the menu style that lets you customize spicy noodles and offers a wide array of broths, toppings, and noodle styles. It's great if you like spicy, but you can also make it not spicy. Portions are large so you can take some home. The broths are warm and have depth. I really enjoyed my Spicy Fish noodles with beef balls and tendon and enoki mushrooms and lobster balls, scallops, duck blood curd, snow pea sprouts. The meat was cooked to perfection. You might have to wait as the restaurant fills up! Service is quick and good. read more

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Decent food and reasonable portion for a price you can't get any where else in Millbrae. Friendly staff in the morning and my daughter enjoyed her food with her little children set they provided. I forgot to ask them not to put sugar in my milk tea but surprisingly, it was not too sweet. We will come back to try other sets. read more

Laka - 2 Set I, Set C and Set D - Chinese Near Me - Millbrae, California

I believe this is the first malatang restaurant in the Peninsula area. My friend and I came by on a Wednesday around 5:30pm. Restaurant started to fill up around 6pm. We decided to order the malatang and chose our own toppings. Be mindful here - the more you add, the more pricey it gets! I added: Fatty Beef Spam Pea sprouts Tofu skin Sweet potato noodles My bowl came out to be around $25! They also ran out of enoki mushrooms so that was a bummer. The broth is very tasty but soooo spicy!!! Even when I chose the lightest spicy option... it didn't have too much chili oil on top so they must put some kind of peppers inside the broth. Don't let the color of the broth fool you.... My mouth was on fire but it was worth the pain. I will definitely come back to try the laksa broth next time. read more

Laka - Light spicy was more like a medium spicy!!! - Chinese Near Me - Millbrae, California

Like the space with the wall mural and the added deli with bbq pork, duck, and other meat in the front, but the food is still just okay. Service is good and probably the best thing about the place, but it's slightly overpriced, serving size isn't great, and it's just average-to-below average. read more