My partner and I drive from NYC to Vermont at least once a year, and every single time we make a…read moremidpoint stop here. Taiwan Noodle consistently serves absolutely delicious food. The spicy wontons are our all-time favorite the sauce is incredibly flavorful, and unlike many places where the wontons are mostly dough, these are generously filled with meat. We also ordered the beef chunk soup and the salt-and-pepper fish. Even though I've been here many times, the salt-and-pepper fish was new to me on this visit, and it was fantastic crispy, perfectly seasoned, with little bits of fried garlic and a sweet-and-sour dipping sauce that was so good. If you're in the area, definitely stop by!

I am never disappointed whenever I'm here to satisfy my Chinese comfort food cravings. This is a…read moresimple and small eatery serving up tasty dishes that you'll come back for time and again. The overall ambiance is basic and clean. However, they are serving up big and bold flavors. Service here is always friendly and fast. I especially like that they offer complimentary hot tea, and it's really appreciated on chilly days! Actually, tea is my go to whenever I'm having Asian food. I am a creature of habit and mostly order my usual. On this visit I had spicy wontons, General Tso's chicken, stewed beef chuck noodle soup and eggplant with garlic sauce. All delish and certainly enough leftovers for another meal. You've got to try it! Side note, they have an attached private parking lot next to them and that's a plus!

Another fine dinner at Rain Modern Chinese Restaurant. Food,…read moreservice and ambiance was wonderful!

It's amazing how much better the food was then I remember. We walked in as a group of four and were…read morequickly seated by a window. Hot tea came out before we even had a chance to ask for it, which was perfect for a cold November afternoon. We were able to get refills on the tea without issues. When we ordered two servings of wonton soup the server asked if we would like the soups split into four smaller bowls, which we did. The rice came as a single bowl at the center of the table. The dishes were very well seasoned and a good portion size. It was great to eat family style and taste everything. They're fountain that's at the entrance reflected off the windows as we were sitting so it actually looks like it was raining outside, which given the name, is a cool effect. Overall, it's an excellent spot to stop by.

On a cold, windy day there is nothing like a bowl of piping hot soup. Absolutely nothing. On this…read moreparticular day, the wind gusted nearly 20mph and the temps hovered above 30 degrees. It felt brutal as the wind pierced through my coat. Winter still had us in its icy grip even if the calendar said that Spring was only days away. I was alone and I was happy to take refuge in the warm restaurant with its welcoming decor. There are pretty Chinese lamps at each booth as you enter. In the back, the large round tables were filled with families who appeared to be throwing a party. The server told me I could sit wherever I'd like. I chose the first booth. I was only too happy to come in from the cold and sit. Oh, the bowl of soup that I ordered turned out to be a dream come true! It wasn't just any soup. It was the Wonton Noodle soup lunch special at Shining Rainbow on Central Ave. in Albany. The menu is in both English and Chinese. After looking at the description, I thought I had an option to add some meat to the soup. So I asked for some roast pork. After I placed the order, a young man from the kitchen staff actually came out to ask me what kind of noodles I wanted in my soup: skinny, medium or wide. He spoke to me in Chinese. I must have really confused the staff because a second staffer also followed him out and he asked me exactly the same question in English. I was really surprised. I said to them in (Mandarin) Chinese, " Don't you usually use the thin noodles for this soup? I'll take what's easiest for you to prepare." So I realized later--after they'd gone--that I didn't actually answer their questions. I must have added to their confusion but they were so very nice and polite. About 10 minutes later, a server returns with a huge steaming bowl of soup. I'm still so cold and when I see the steam rising in the distance from the soup bowl, I'm smiling. He places the soup in front of me. It's a thing of beauty. It also had vegetables that I didn't ask for, but that's not a bad thing. I took one look into the bowl and expressed my shock, "Wow. It's huge." The server looked satisfied and walked away. Underneath the roast pork and bright green veggies, there were thin noodles swimming in soup. It smelled divine. But there were no wontons. Should I say something? No. Because this meal looked perfect. Despite the confusion that I might have contributed to-- I wound up with what I really needed--a delicious and healthy hot meal. I almost finished it, too. The servers packed the rest up for me. When the bill came, I wondered what it would be. The lunch specials which are offered Monday- Saturday are just over $10. Almost $11. Sure enough, that's what they charged me. I gave them a large tip. I think $5 or $6. They were just so nice. Perhaps I looked so cold and pitiful. Whatever the reason, it was an awesome meal that didn't break the bank and I hope I can order it again sometime with or without wontons.

I am not a huge fan of the location as I find it congested. Also, I am out of my element as this is…read morenot an area where I normally go. But, for good food I will travel. Luckily there's a Municipal lot next door and it made a difference. Street parking can be a pain at times... I walk in and immediately got a warm welcome. I liked the overall look and ambiance of the restaurant. Once seated, hot tea and menus were given to me straightaway. I especially liked that the menus had lots of visuals of many of their dishes. Especially if you are not familiar with many of their authentic Chinese dishes offered. I ordered their spring rolls and steamed dumplings to start and it was really good! I then had their Peking Duck, General Tso's squid, stir fried sea scallops and shrimp as well as their beef and vegetable pan fried noodles. The taste was excellent and their family sized portions did not disappoint. Lastly, I found the staff to be very attentive and engaging. They went above and beyond to ensure that I had a fantastic meal here. Their menu selection is large, so expect to have trouble deciding on what to order. You'll want to return as every bite is a party in your mouth. I cannot emphasize enough what a great meal I had here, and I will be back!

Really good! A business opened by the former chef from the much-loved ALA Sh-nghai in the area. It…read moreseems to be family-run by a Shanghainese family (ALA is Cantonese-owned). Although slightly pricier than comparable restaurants (very few serving similar items lol) in the area, the freshness & quality of the dishes make sense. Have had: Pork & Crab Soup Dumplings ("Sha lang bao") & Spicy Wontons are great. Honey Walnut Shrimp, Chicken Chestnut in a Pot (staff encouraged this items around the holidays instead of Chicken & Cashews - really good!), Beef with String Beans, Rice Cake with Pork & Capsella (tasty! Think chewy gnocchi tossed with a chopped leafy green. Slightly cilantro-like?), Shanghai curried vermicelli rice noodles, Lo Mein... Everything is great! Sleeper Hit is the appetizer Beef Shank in Soy Sauce ($11) - think finely shaved fall-apart roast beef with soy dipping sauce (a bit of grisle but collagen is healthy!) & House Aster Veggie Salad (not sure what this veg/herb is but it's light & fresh with bits of firm tofu). Not a huge fan of the Pan Fried Pork Bun or House Rice Shao Mai (sticky rice in a dumpling) - more carbs and little else. Dong Po Pork is a good traditional appetizer dish, but not a huge fan of eating around the pork belly fat. Note: the dumplings & wontons are best for dine-in & eaten right away. Don't let the wrappers get cold & tear! Decor is simple, clean and the restaurant staff is quick & family friendly.

During the first Covid lockdown in 2021, we isolated in our Catskills home. The infection counts…read morewere low in Greene county New York and nobody knew what would happen next. TV news broadcast dire predictions during every 24 hour news cycle. So of course, cooking and acquiring food while binging movies and TV shows on cable became the obvious means by which to deflect attention from the rising COVID body counts world-wide and dire predictions. High anxiety was the order of the day, and tippling, cooking, take outs and eating became a reliable means to blunt it. Between TV binging we continued our years long, fanatical search for Xiao Long Bao -- or anything Asian to cook of takeaway and eat TV-side. HU's is a small Chinese joint in Albany, near where we received our Covid vaccines, and a good 90 minute drive from our home. There was nothing that vaguely resembled a good Shanghainese take out joint any closer - so when we didn't care to cook Asian, we made the trip to Albany for takeaway. As it turns out, HU's makes some authentic and delicious soup dumplings, and other dim sum like shrimp har gow, perfectly seasoned sweet/sour soup and some very tasty Scallion pancakes and Peking style duck. It was well worth the 3 hour round trip to take away -- or even eat in. The restaurant enforced social distancing making the eat in experience feel safe and authentic. I dunno. It's been a while since our HU's excursions in 2021, but I think in hindsight the food is truly a solid 4 stars good. I can't get to 5 stars because I could not rate the service due to pandemic restrictions in restaurants. Service was diminished due to social distancing during Covid times - but the restaurant was sparkly clean everywhere we looked. I imagine the same is still true today. So if you find yourself craving Shanghainese when in Albany, NY - HU's is a solid choice. The fact that their food selection and quality was high during the worst pandemic in the last 100 years speaks volumes about HU's food cred. Top tip: Even though the dumpling skins are bit on the thick side, stick with XLB and dim sum. They are NY Chinatown worthy. The usual Cantonese dishes like egg foo young, chow fun and ribs are serviceable too.

I took a trip to Albany with my family to visit the Capitol, and we were on the hunt for a good…read moreplace to eat. A quick Google search for ramen led us to Tanpopo Ramen. Pulling up, I'll admit--I was a bit confused. From the outside, it looked more like an old-school diner than a ramen spot. But at that point, we were committed (and not about to turn back toward NYC), so we decided to give it a shot. I'm really glad we did. The interior is no-frills and a bit tight for a family of five, but the staff made it work and got us settled comfortably. We started with edamame, which was perfectly seasoned, and shrimp and vegetable gyoza that the kids absolutely devoured. I also grabbed a Sapporo to wash it all down--solid start. Then came the main event. We ordered a mix: chicken ramen, beef stew ramen, two tonkotsu with double chashu, and a red curry ramen. The only dish that didn't quite stand out was the chicken ramen--it wasn't bad, just not as flavorful as the others. The tonkotsu ramen? Total hit. Both of my kids demolished their bowls--nothing left behind. My wife went all in on the beef stew ramen and loved it so much it sparked a debate at the table about how it stacks up against some Manhattan spots. And then there was my dish--the red curry ramen. Shoutout to our waitress for the recommendation. It had the perfect balance of salt, savory depth, and heat. The broth was this vibrant, bright red that just looked incredible--and tasted even better. Easily one of the top three ramen bowls I've ever had. I had my doubts walking in, but don't make that mistake. This place is a hidden gem. My only knock on the place is the table size for a family of five. Service was great. Now I need more excuses to come up to Albany just to visit this place!

Decided to come back after not visiting in probably the last 8-10 years as I was really craving a…read morebig bowl of ramen. Service was very blah. Upon entering, the girl behind the counter just stared at us. No greeting. No direction on where to sit. No smile. We assumed it was self seating so we found a booth. She came over, poured our waters, still said nothing. We had about 45 mins until the restaurant closed so I'm unsure of what the cold attitude was for, as there were still 4-5 other patrons there eating as well. My friend is a vegetarian and ordered the veggie dumplings, and I had the same but with meat. Once the plates arrived, the one set in front of me was green, and his not. I figured I would double check to make sure we had the correct ones - I didn't want him to end up eating the meat ones if it could be avoided. Sure enough, the plates were mixed up. Honestly seemed to be done purposefully because it's very clear they are 2 different orders. The texture was chewy/foamy and they also tasted like old grease. Disappointing but we still had soups to look forward to. Our ramen finally arrived and I was hoping it would be the redemption moment of the evening but it wasn't. It really lacked any depth of flavor. Again the meat was chewy instead of tender. More distracting was how we awkwardly felt rushed as the server was shutting off lights and music...again...with at least 15 mins until the kitchen closing time. She seemed annoyed we asked for to go containers. At no point did she check in with us, refill waters, or even crack any resemblance of a smile. I used to love this little spot when I was in college. It was cozy, delicious, inviting. Couldn't have had more of the opposite experience this time around! And for this reason I would not return. I will travel to Colonie for Kuma Ani for better food and MUCH better service. TLDR; this place is extremely overrated

Very good bowl of ramen. Tasty broth, lots of noodles. I had with grilled shrimp that were nice…read more Came at a quiet time and service was fast. Pleasant, professional young man working the tables. I like it and will return when I'm on the area.

This is just the best thing! Spicy Cucumber Garlic. That's it. That's the caption. Marinated…read morecucumber, peanuts, fresh cilantro, with reeeeally nice sweet, spicy, & garlicky notes that just make you SMACK! It's so damn good with so many textures and FLAVOR! The first time I had it there was some sort of delicious spicy green sauce for the marinade, but they have since changed the recipe! IM NOT MAD AT IIIIITTTTT!! Big bonus note: they're kindest people! I've never dined in, but the atmosphere is very inviting! Get there people!

The food is always good, I would suggest more than two cookies for a party of six. Because that was…read morekind of disappointing when we went to go get them.

These people are unethical and irresponsible!!! extremely despicable!…read moreI ordered from here on an app since my first choice Chinese restaurant was closed. I SPECIFICALLY STATED: NO PORK! Did you know they not only put pork in the VEGETABLE fried rice but my Muslim friend mistakenly ate pork that was in the VEGETABLE egg roll. This infuriates me! These people have no respect and NO regard for people's religion or health! there are people de to religious reasons or health reasons that don't eat pork!!! If I am allergic to mushrooms and I asked the restaurant to please no include mushrooms...what does that tell you about the restaurant if they include mushrooms in dishes? the restaurant is unethical and cruel! I understand you have no morals, but why would you hurt customers? I shouldn't feel that from now on I have to dissect my food before I eat it because I am paranoid they will put in an ingredient that I specifically stated to not put in! You don't play around with someone's faith! that is foul! That's like serving a Jewish person who eats kosher a dish full of ham! just pure evil! I am so irate to the point of tears! DESPICABLE!

This place is very good Chinese food Great shrimp and good spare ribs. There wasn't a lot of long…read morelines and the seats were comfortable. You can get a pot of tea with the meal. The wonton soup was great also. The only thing I would say is that if you plan on eating ice cream bring your own shovel it takes forever to use their little scoops and their is usually a line of people trying to dig from the bats of ice cream I finally gave up in just a fruit. This is a good place I would come back.

Some of the food was cold. And other food was good. Issue I had was the small clams was plain with…read moreno spices n had no taste whatsoever. The staff was friendly n one of the cooks came out n talked with us. They did make us some littlenecks with flavor which were good and flavorful.

My refrigerator was empty. I was hungry. They were super fast!…read more That about sums it up. I've never ordered from this place before but my husband has. It's not fancy, but there's a notice in the window indicating it's up to code. The people are super nice. I went online to order lunch specials. Curry chicken. Beef with vegetables. Together, they cost just over $16 including your choice of soda or soup. I have to admit, I thought the food would be Cantonese style, but was soon as I walked in the staff was speaking Mandarin with me. So then I immediately realized the curry chicken wasn't going to have any yummy potatoes, which is classic Cantonese. Too bad. Still, it was well cooked and presented. The beef dish featured a bunch of different types of cool mushrooms. Since I don't usually eat fried rice and that's the only type of rice they offer, I found the meals a bit heavy. I was better off eating less rather than more. They made lunch possible and I'm glad for that.

- really fast delivery - they take card orders over the…read morephone - u can add your tip to the receipt upon arrival - plentiful portions - I may have gotten diarrhea - I did not like adding brown sauce to steamed vegetables - rib tips were good - shrimps were large - food has zero reheat value - did not like sesame chicken - ribs were alright - they give a buttload of rice

The Plum Blossom has been a Troy fixture for decades. Same owner and family since it opened…read more Had lunch here on an early Monday afternoon with my mom. We were given hot tea, water, crunchy noodles and dipping sauces to start. The lunch menu had a variety of choices, including vegan. I ordered a starter of Char Sui. For main entree platters, my mom ordered the pan fried tofu dish while I ordered the cod filet with Thai eggplant. I paid for a different side, thin rice noodles, since I didn't want the rice that came with the platter. Finished our meal with a pistachio layer cake and hand dripped coffee. Everything was enjoyable; well balanced and deliciously seasoned. A wonderful variety of Asian flavors in more traditional dishes. It is ornate, and brought me emotionally back in time. The service is more like the 70s and 80s, before food service became a rush for quick turnover. If you are looking for a spot where you can relax and not feel rushed, enjoy unique interior decor, and flavorful distinctive cuisine come here for lunch!

Been driving by Plum Blossom for many years on drive from NH to NJ and then NH to Schenectady…read more Certainly eye catching exterior and I was not disappointed when I saw interior. Stopped for lunch and ordered sesame chicken. Tea, water and some snacking noodle with 2 sauces. The wonton soup was excellent with large pillowy wontons. The sesame chicken was right portion and fried chicken pieces were hot and crisp and sauce dark sweet and tangy. Pieces of chicken were not uniform which I liked. Great service, great food and the vibe was what I had always imagined it would be from driving by.