Love the vibes here. The food is super delicious. The spread is cute too! Highly recommend.read more

Great galbi jjim! Definitely my favorite Korean food spot in Hayward. The meat is tender and…read moreflavorful, portions are generous, and I love the unlimited fish cake. Always a satisfying meal!

This place is an absolute amazing find in Castro Valley…read more When those late night munchies arise, Garden Cafe is there to save the day! The food is fantastic. Always fresh, hot and full of flavor. I had the baked pork chop rice and man is that good. Pork chops are tender. That tomato sauce over the rice! I also got the clay pot chicken with jalapeños. This packs some good heat! Try the Taiwan boba tea. Probably one of the best I've had. The flavor balance is perfect. I love that it comes in a glass mug. They're open late night. Parking may be a challenge as it shares the lot with a liquor store and bar.

Garden Cafe is a solid, reliable spot right in Castro Valley when you are craving classic Hong Kong…read morecafe comfort food. It captures that authentic cha kaan teng vibe without needing to drive across the Bay. The Chicken Chow Fun here hits the spot. The rice noodles have great texture--tender with just enough chew--and they get a proper sear in the wok for that subtle smokiness (wok hei). The chicken slices are well-marinated and smooth, and the bean sprouts provide a fresh crunch that balances out the dish nicely. It's generous, comforting, and not overly greasy compared to many other local takeout options. To wash it down, their Hong Kong Milk Tea delivers on authenticity. It is strong, smooth, and brewed with that distinct, bold black tea base balanced out by sweet evaporated milk. Ordering it iced keeps the flavor rich without watering down as you drink it. The only reason it knocks off one star is that service can be a bit slow during peak dinner hours, and the dining space gets tight quickly. But for quality, everyday comfort food and a classic Hong Kong tea fix in the neighborhood, Garden Cafe is consistently a great choice.

This place absolutely one of the best dumpling place I ever been. Everything we had was great,…read morepacked with flavors. Small dining area, so be prepare to wait a little. You order at the counter pay for it and they bring the food to your table when ready. Pork XLB was delicious!! 5/5 Cucumber Salad with crispy cucumbers and vinaigrette. 5/5 Garlic Green Beans is to die for!!! 5/5 Green Onion Pancakes was perfectly made. 5/5 Mongolian Beef was one of the best I have had. 5/5 Shumai was just okay. 3.5/5 Differently coming back soon!!!

My friend picked up food to go for lunchie today. We ordered:…read more Several xlb: 4/5 we ate them when they were lukewarm and they were still tasty. Thin wrapping and lots of juice inside. Beef roll: 4/5 I normally wouldn't eat this but it was surprisingly very tasty! I think there was a hint of cinnamon or a spice similar to it. Chili pig ear: 3/5 thicker than I like and flavor was just ok. Beef noodle soup: 4/5 tasty! Good hearty broth and thick noodles, good amount of beef too. Popcorn chicken: 4/5 good

I created this Yelp account after I read so many disrespectful and nonsense comments from some of…read moreyou for this restaurant. Somebody has to stand up for these businesses!!! This is what happens when you never hear the word "NO" growing up. I love love love this restaurant. Food is great. Service is great. Yes of course, sometimes the foods are not as good as the usual, but that's normal for any restaurants. We are all humans. We cannot keep 100% quality at all times. Even when you go to a 5-star restaurant, you will be faced with this reality. Get over it! For those people who complain how the prices went up or the quantity went down, you should just stay at home and cook your own food. For some of us who don't have our head up so deep in b*tth*le, we know that prices EVERYWHERE have gone up ever since pandemic. In order for restaurants and other businesses to survive, they need to either increase the price or reduce the quantity. For those who keep saying this is your favorite restaurant but then again you complain about the quantity or the price or both, COOK AT HOME THEN!!! Here is Economy 101. Businesses exist to make money. I know that it's a BIG SURPRISE for some of you. If they don't make money, they will close. If you don't understand that, maybe you should go back to school. I really hope more people stand up for what's right. Not just for this restaurant, for others as well (whether they are restaurants, car wash, etc). I see so many complaints but rarely anyone defend them.

This place is pretty good IN PERSON. On both occasions that I have DoorDashed it and ordered it for…read morepickup, the pho did not travel well. The noodles did not cook well in the broth. I tried to reheat the broth on the stove, order noodles on the side, and both ways did not cook the noodles properly. Aside from pho, we enjoy their Banh Mi and rice plates. The steak and shrimp are some over our favorites. We love the runny egg on top of the rice plates! The staff is kind and patient. The food comes out quickly and there is plenty of seating. Their boba drinks are good. We love the green milk tea. This place is great for a quick, casual dine-in.

Consistent Thai food from the Hayward outpost of this Thai Chain. This restaurant is located on…read moreMission Blvd, a few blocks away from the closed iconic Bancheros restaurant. Had lunch there recently, warm restaurant, not sure if they have AC, service was a little slow.. food is as good as their other chain restaurants. Chai Thai has a lunch where you can pick two items (Protein and Sauces), Rice, Soup or Salad (both lacking), and a drink (Thai Iced Tea or Coffee) for $2.50 more. I had the Green Curry with Chicken and Red Curry with Pork which were both tasty.

$53 for three items! I have always loved Thai food. One of my favorites is crab fried rice. But how…read morecan you call that CRAB fried rice when it's basically rice and scrambled eggs that don't taste like crab at all and there's barely any crab on the rice. Super tiny amount you could barely taste it! So I ordered extra crab on the side.... small container of it cost $5!!!!! Not to mention, they don't let you buy some of their lunch soup like the thai resto before them! This is probably the last time I will ever order from this thai resto. There are tons of better places like this anyway with people with great and friendly personality.. This place sucks over all!!!!! Wow, I see my old review.. I'm not deleting it.. Recently, I have ordered four times from this place within two weeks.. I ordered the same things each time but the last time, I ordered more food/ other dishes.. My total was over $100.. the woman that took my order gave me a hard time and guilt tripped me because I asked for some extra pineapple for pineapple fried rice and extra broth for my soup.. she totally gave me a hard time. She didn't even put my order in until my husband got there and paid for it- SHE DOUBTED THAT WE WOULD PICK UP OUR FAMILY DINNER!!!!! Why did I even give this place a try again? I feel like an idiot! That woman is not good for business. She made me feel so bad ordering from them. The point of ordering over the phone is so when we get there, the wait time would be minimal. But no, she didn't trust that we would get our food.. So my husband had to wait for a long ass time! And the fried rice sucked! I don't think thai people cook their food. It definitely doesn't taste like thai food. The guy that took my order the last two times was amazing. I wish that he would be the one taking ordes all the time. But I think I'm done with this place.

I had a wonderful experience at HL Peninsula in Castro Valley! The service was friendly, attentive,…read moreand professional, and the atmosphere was welcoming and comfortable. Everything was well presented, and the overall experience was excellent. It's clear that the team takes pride in what they do and genuinely cares about their customers. I would definitely recommend HL Peninsula to friends and family, and I look forward to coming back again.

The very best experience in subtle, delicious delight in flavor and quality. Transported. Thank…read moreyou. Highly, highly recommended. Will return with a large family group.

This place has been bookmarked for a while. So we finally got to try it on a random weekday. And of…read morecourse, it was the hottest day of the week during a heat wave because you know pho is life. the staff here are so sweet. We got seated immediately. We started off with some spring roll some egg rolls and their infamous chicken wing!! I would literally go back just for the wings. It was so tasty and piping hot when it came out it was a fan favorite between all of us, including the kids. Therefore, here comes with so much meat they do not skimp on the meat here. the broth is so tasty. I was so full. Reasonable price. We also ordered their pandan waffle was so tasty so aromatic so flavorful we had to get two. I hiiiiighly recommend, it's nice and soft,fluffy and chewy with crispy edges. Perfection. It's located about the market. The parking space can get tricky here since it's shared amongst all the other stores in and around the marketplace. Can't wait to go back! Great food great customer!

Food is pretty decent, at least the 2 food items I ordered. My first time seated here and the girl…read morewho took my order looked scared to take my order. I ordered the grilled pork Banh mi with extra pate, Banh Khot, & an avocado shake. My Banh mi sandwich came first and was asked twice what was wrong because I sat there just waiting for my other 2 items to arrive. Not sure why I didn't get my avocado smoothie first though. I was thinking she forgot to make it. My banh Khot was very crispy and 2/3 pieces were burned but I ate them all anyway since I was hungry. My observation is that customers can get ignored here and service seems spotty and slow. I see lots of 'to go' orders so kitchen is definitely very busy. Pretty average food compared to other Vietnamese places I've been to so food is okay. Not a spectacular experience in terms of service but I guess if there isn't any other Vietnamese place nearby or within walking distance then I guess this place is okay. When I asked for a bag for my leftover sandwich the guy said just put it in the box (a to go food container) and that their bags are big. I still wanted a bag though but he just looked at me and was holding his credit card machine ready to take my payment. Yeah, uh okay. I managed to get a container for my leftover smoothie as well. Not a great experience but food is just okay.

This location has housed a few different restaurants over the years, and having visited all of…read morethem, I have to say Ji Bei Chuan is the most satisfying so far. A major plus is their fusion menu, which combines Hong Kong/Guangdong claypot rice, Yunnan rice noodles, ramen, udon, and even fried chicken. This variety is fantastic since my family members all have different favorites. The claypot rice is especially good. While many places serve this dish, quality can vary wildly, but the version here definitely ranks among the best, and the portion size is very adequate. The rice noodles are solid as well, and the pricing is reasonable. Service is another highlight, the staff is attentive and even remembers returning customers' preferences, which is a huge bonus. I know they've been facing some competition from a recently opened Hong Kong-style restaurant nearby (I've tried that one too), but honestly, Ji Bei Chuan still offers the better overall dining experience.

Just about a year later and it's our second visit. The last two days had been unbearably hot…read more Tonight, there was a strong cold wind felt while walking the dog. After we got home, I decided that I wanted a nice hot bowl of noodle soup for dinner. Where to go? Where to go? I didn't want to drive far and we hadn't been to Ji Bei Chuan in over a year. Let's give them another shot. We got parking very close to the front of the restaurant. We were greeted as soon as we walked in and given our choice of tables, either a two or a four-top. We took the four-top because we don't enjoy being squished into a small table. There was a table topper with a QR Code but then the server brought over menus. We spent a few minutes looking it over. Seems like they've added a few dishes. When it was time to order, I started by asking for the Fried Fish appetizer. They were out (sigh). I changed it to Korean Fried Chicken Wings. I would simply rename them Fried Chicken Wings. They were quite good and served very hot. I'm not sure that they were Korean style though. I ordered the Tonkotsu Ramen. It was okay. It was not the18-hour Bone Broth that I was hoping for. The ramen was very soft, and the pork was on the dryer side and somewhat bland. She got a Roast Duck with Rice Noodle Soup. For that, they present a Chicken Broth, which we both found to be bland as well. She said that the roast duck was dry and seemed to not have any fat. One of our favorite late-night meals is a bowl of Chinese Roast Duck Won Ton Mein. This one did not hit the mark. Service was so-so. When the Chicken Wings were served, they were place in the middle of the table, and then the server walked away. We had no plates. When our soups were served, I got mine about two minutes before she got hers. At the end of our meal, we had to ask for a to-go container for her leftovers (barely touched). We were given one that wasn't large enough at the same time that the check was presented. Then we had to ask again for a second container. The server brought a smaller one that was too small. He returned a minute later with an appropriately sized one. The saving grace of this meal was the great conversation I had with the guy sitting at the next table. Our conversation spanned politics, jazz, motorcycle riding, American history and more. All in a span of maybe 15 minutes. Where was my wife? Munching on Chicken Wings!

Who goes to a noodle spot and doesn't get the noodles?…read more This fool apparently. But their other stuff was just so good. I'll definitely be back for the noodz but this time I was in an xiao long bao mood. And man they delivered. Best East Bay XLB spot in my opinion. The right thickness of skin. Juicy, tasty filling and a great chili sauce to boot.

I don't get treated with respect here. My orders always come out later than others. I even brought…read moremy relatives here. It was so embarrassing! They didn't serve the meals at the same time so I just watched other people eat. I had just driven six hours with my family and chose this as my end-meal. I hate it here now. The food is good but I'm obviously not Chinese.

Tonkotsu ramen: Noodles dont feel high quality. Its unslurpable, when I pick it up with chopsticks,…read moreit feels plastic-ey and looks plastic-ey. The noodles looks like they repel each other. They are slightly bigger than instant ramen noodles. The noodles also dont take in flavor that well, doesnt taste bland but the noodles lack flavor, I have to eat the noodles then sip some soup to get flavor. The chashu is pretty good, its moist, meaty, the right size, I like the sauce they add on to it but the pieces with sauce also taste good in the broth. Still not the best chashu I've had Soft boiled egg is alright, doesnt look that pretty, yolk is cooked a lil too much, the egg gets the job done. Even tho soft boiled egg is usually my favorite in a ramen dish, this one wasnt. The bamboo is standard, lots of flavor, crunchy while being chewy too. I rate this highly Naruto pieces also taste good, they dont have the naruto swirl but good texture and flavor. I dont like bean sprouts, they got in the way of my noodles. But they're nasty flavor didnt get in the way as they usually do. It was just texturally in the way, I dont wanna hear crunch crunch when eating my noodles yknow. I barely had the corn, it sunk down into the soup before I got to it Soup is good, im not good at describing flavors. Flavor is light, but tasty. I chose tonkotsu and non spicy. My ranking of ingredients 1. Chashu 2. Soup 3. Egg 4. Bamboo 5. Naruto 6. Noodles 7. Beansprouts 8. Corn Extra Fast service, got my food almost instantly Pretty empty on a tuesday at 1pm. As I was here, I saw one person get pickup, a guy delivering the ingredients, and another dine in. Order up front, and pay before u eat like fast food. Right after ordering, cashier hands u napkins and chopsticks. Music is very soft and peaceful, can barely hear the music, which I prefer. There is a self order machine but it hasnt been working I think. Last time I came, the card machine didnt work so they only accepted cash. Luckily they fixed it by the time I came back today It's not bad, I dont feel offended, but I think I prefer instant ramen. The slurp is invaluable 4/5

Ramen was mediocre…read more Tried the lion king roll and it was good. We might come back for more rolls next time