I've been buying food from this man for years and I've yet to give him kudos! Sorry, Mr. Chen!…read more These are THE BEST hand-pulled noodles in the north side of Austin, probably in all of Austin, honestly. These are ALWAYS, freshly-made, hand-pulled noodles made in house every single day. They are DELICIOUS! If you want authentic, thick, wide noodle dishes, look no further! Chen's got you. Spicy beef noodle soup, green onion pancakes, pan fried dumplings, hot oil seared noodles, spicy lamb noodle, sesame pockets, etc. All of these dishes I've had myself dozens of times. My wife loves the sesame pockets, and my kids could eat two whole servings of the pan fried dumplings in like five minutes. They're always excited to get Chen's noodle house and can't wait to go again. Quality is always there! Again, noodles are authentic and freshly made from scratch. If you want some of the best Chinese food from a hole in the wall in Austin, look no further! Especially if you are an out-of-town visitor, you've got to make a quick stop here. I've both dined in and ordered takeout, rarely ever waiting that long on my food. If I ever did, it was always because it was so packed and busy. Even then, it's worth the wait! Mr. Chen is super kind and hard-working. He makes great food with love for the community at large. Go support your local food chefs!

Classic hole in the wall Chinese restaurant! It's tiny inside with limited seating, I got my food…read moreto go. Spicy Lamb Noodle: 10/10: for $13 this was massive! Even after being in a container for a bit, the noodles were still chewy and not soggy. The noodles themselves tasted a little salty so it wasn't bland at all. The lamb was really flavorful and the onions balanced it out perfectly. Scallion Pancake: 5/10 Unfortunately these were a miss for me. These were super greasy and smelled faintly of old oil. Possibly caught them on a bad day, but I wouldn't be discouraged from trying their other menu items.

My last visit here I gave a pretty tough review. My grandchildren wanted to eat here on a recent…read morevisit with us, and so we went for dinner with them and other family. Overall, a great experience! Service was excellent. The chicken wings as an appetizer were delicious, perfectly fried and tender. The chicken eggrolls were good size and delicious! My hot pot, seafood base, was full of seafood and other good stuff that I had picked out. My daughter enjoyed her hot pot as well. My son-in-law had boneless chicken wings and although I don't remember the sauce, it was extremely tasty. Everyone had a great time and a great meal! Restaurant was clean, organized, and comfortable. Good value as well!

I love their hot pots. I feel if you get noodles with the hot pot, you don't need to order extra…read morerice but for the dry pot, it would be a good addition. The food comes out pretty fast and the owners are very nice and helpful. It can get busy and this place has been around for a while so you know it's good. The restaurant has good amount of seating and it appears clean. My only feedback is some of the dishes like the drunken noodles and the red curry is too oily for my liking.

A new(ish) hotpot restaurant in North Austin just east of the Domain. Most hotpot concepts that…read morehave opened in town have been all you can eat (AYCE) but Old Alley is strictly a-la-carte ordering which could be a more affordable option if you're not trying to bankrupt the casino. Located in the suburbs, there's sufficient free parking in the shopping center. The ambiance of the restaurant is great; they did a really good job "transporting" you to Chengdu - capital of Sichuan province, renowned for its spicy hotpot. Windows are tinted an interesting red to keep the interior very "vibey" and there are few restaurants in Austin that provide this level of fun ambiance. There's usually a wait time around peak dining hours; we had 7 tables ahead of us when we arrived although a lot of tables were also turning over so it only took about 30 minutes to seat three. Food quality is top-notch, typical of a-la-carte ordering places vs. AYCE which is more mid in quality. Keep in mind everything a-la-carte, including veggies and carbs. For those who are a bit order-shy, you can get the combo options which basically structure out a good portion of meat and fixins so you can dive right in. They have a fun little dessert and sauce bar that has some fruit (i.e. Asian dessert) and refreshing sweet "soups". The sauce bar is stocked with everything you'd expect from a hotpot restaurant. Overall really glad we have a place like Old Alley Hotpot in Austin. It's a good blend of authentic taste with fun vibes that expands what this city has to offer in terms of food.

I visited the restaurant with a party of three. We had a pretty wide selection of foods with our…read morethree-broth hot pot, including the wagyu beef and Kobe beef. Everything was delicious and the service was always prompt and polite. The decor in the restaurant is on-point; very hip little spot with bright neon lights and cool music. The food itself is fantastic, albeit pricy (it's hot pot, expect to spend ) There are other hot pot places in Austin that are slightly cheaper with a larger variety of foods. But if you want TOP QUALITY, this is the place to go.

Really excited to have this new Vietnamese restaurant in the area! Everything we tried was…read moredelicious, but the Viet pan-fried rice noodles, sugar cane shrimp, and betel leaf rolls were definitely my favorites. The pan-fried rice noodles had those crispy, slightly charred edges while still being soft and chewy in the middle. So good! The sugar cane shrimp was juicy and flavorful with a subtle sweetness from the sugar cane. The betel leaf rolls were probably the standout for me. They had such a unique smoky, herbal flavor that you don't get from your typical Vietnamese dishes. Definitely order these if you want to try something different! You can tell there's a lot of care that goes into the food here. I'm already looking forward to coming back and trying more of the menu!

KL Dragon House (formerly Seadragon)!!…read more I'm so happy to report that it tastes just like I remember! For those who may not know, KL Dragon House was reopened this week by the second son of the original Sea Dragon family. Sea Dragon was one of the OG places for Vietnamese-Chinese cuisine in Austin, the kind of restaurant where community weddings, graduations, family reunions, and big celebrations took place. When it closed down, it was devastating. For many of us, it felt like we were losing another piece of Austin's Asian food scene. There are certain dishes and cooking techniques that are very specific to Sea Dragon, and I had my go-to dishes that I would order only there: cha gio tiếu châu, hủ tiếu áp chảo, bò lúc lắc, canh chua, and a few others. The reopening has a smaller menu, but IMO, it's basically the "best of" Sea Dragon, the dishes people remember and came back for. Here's what we ordered: * Bò lúc lắc (shaking beef) -- soft and tender. * Bánh bột, bò lá lốt (betel leaf beef rolls) -- these were large, had a lot of filling, and the beef was really moist. At this point, I think these might be the best betel leaf beef rolls in Austin. It's easy for other places to dry them out, but these were juicy and tender. * Pork sausage -- nice and bouncy, tender, and flavorful. * Lotus root salad -- this was perfect. Everything was fresh, and the lotus root had a really nice texture. * Salt & pepper shrimp -- really good flavor. I personally prefer head-on shrimp, but these were much easier to eat, and the seasoned lettuce underneath was still really good. * Cajun fried rice -- this was the only dish our group had a criticism about. We thought it was a little too salty. Since everything else was really good, I think this was likely just a simple mistake during the soft opening. I'll be passing the feedback along to the team so they're aware. Overall, I'm just really glad to see this family back and to have these dishes available in Austin again. Everything else we tried was fresh, well-prepared, and brought back a lot of memories. They're also currently offering 20% off during the soft opening. Our party of 8, are for only $169! If you go, please share your thoughts and pictures in the group to help support this new chapter for the family!

Some of the best noodles we've had, tucked away into an overlooked part of The Domain. Xian Sushi…read moreand Noodle is doing something right with an expansive menu full of Chinese classics and fun drinks. We arrived with a party of 5 and were able to be seated right away. The inside is nice and quaint but did have a strange music playlist. Not sure that really matters but was something we noticed. We ended up getting the soup dumplings, braised beef noodle soup, shoyu ramen, sticky lotus rice, and a lychee martini. The food came out at a decent time but in between ordering and getting our food a few members of our party ran into issues where the restaurant was out of things and they had to keep coming back to clarify what they did have which felt a bit off. Once the food came all was forgiven because it was pretty good. The ramen and braised beef noodle soup were both delicious, deeply rich with flavor and with perfectly textured noodles. The soup dumplings were ehh but the sticky rice and lychee martini made up for it because both were good as well. Xian Noodle is definitely a good, casual spot around a bunch of shopping making it a nice spot to just pop into. The food is good but the service, or at least preparation, could be improved. Either way the food more than makes up for it and is well worth a try.

We came on a Wednesday around 11am or so because we wanted to try the AYCE dim sum and sushi since…read moreit's only offered during the weekdays. There was only us and another table at the time with 1 server. We were sat promptly and scanned the QR code on the wall to view the menu and order online. It was not clear that you had to order the AYCE dim sum via the server. No worries, we switched to the paper menus. Everything was disappointing. - Char siu bao was still frozen in the center. We had to inform our server to get a "fresh" one made. Still was not good. - Xiao long bao, shiumai, and hot chili dumplings were at least hot but just ok - Honestly can't remember which rolls we ordered but they were just mediocre, at best. There was still only 1 server when 4 more tables started filling up. I guess one of their co-workers just clocked in for the lunch rush because we finally saw someone different when we paid and left. Regretted coming here.

Their food is legit. Always love the spicy fish fillet dish and the menu is quite extensive…read more There are lots of Asians eating there every time I go, so you know it is authentic. But what got me wanting to leave a review was their takeout. They have the best packaging of to-go items I have ever seen. With items individually wrapped in plastic wrap to keep it from leaking out and cardboard dividers to keep your items from getting crushed, these guys know how to do takeout right. Thank you Asia Cafe for the high level of excellence in everything you do!

Asia Café is a very strange restaurant. The location is good, the interior design is beautiful, and…read morethe food is great, but the service is the most disappointing I have experienced in Austin--or perhaps in my entire life. My family and I used to go there regularly. We also had big meals there with friends. The dishes we particularly liked were the Spicy Beef and Fried Tofu with crushed pepper. I did not understand why many of my Asian friends didn't like the restaurant until I met an extremely rude cashier one day. Early this year, my husband and I came to Asia Café. There was a customer ordering at the front desk. After she finished ordering, she went back to her table and started talking with her friends, so I approached the counter. The cashier shouted at me with a hateful expression, "They haven't finished yet. Stand there!" I was shocked. Later, it was my turn. My husband and I usually ordered two dishes. However, it was a day of celebration, so we were thinking about ordering one more dish. I asked cheerfully, "Three dishes for two people should be okay, right?" She replied coldly, "How do I know how much you eat?" Hello? I came here to eat. I didn't owe her anything, and I certainly didn't deserve to be treated as if I wasn't welcome. The next few times I went there, I was still served by the nice lady. But one day, I met the rude older lady again and was mistreated. I stopped going. I do not recommend this place at all.

I used to come here pretty often when I lived across the street from here and was feeling homesick…read more It's the only place in Austin I have found that serves banh hoi as an entree on the menu. It's one of my favorite childhood dishes! I also enjoyed their bun thit nuong cha gio many times as my other go-to order. I believe my mom enjoyed the banh xeo and pho ga when I took her here the first time she visited Austin. Service is usually quick and the music or TV was never too loud. The noise level in general does go up as it gets more busy but not overwhelming. I wish I still lived nearby to get my Viet food fix!

Came here with family for an early dinner and the restaurant was ~25% full so we were able to snag…read morea table right away. I had the bun rieu (noodle soup with a pork based broth, tender spare rib, crab cake, and tomato) while hubby had the bu luc lac (beef cubes cooked over a high flame with lemongrass, onions, and garlic spices. Served over lettuce and tomatoes with a side of salt & pepper lime dipping sauce). We ordered the lemongrass stir fry vermicelli (lemongrass stir-fry on top of vermicelli bowls filled with fresh herbs, shredded lettuce, cucumber, pickled carrots, and crushed peanuts. Served with a side of house sauce with chili and pickled carrot) for our child and didn't realize it was spicy. She ended up downing an entire glass of water and couldn't finish her meal. The bun rieu broth was lacking in flavor and there were barely any crab cake pieces. It was disappointing since it looked like it was one of the top mentioned dishes on Yelp. The bu luc lac was decent and hubby enjoyed his dish. For dessert I tried to order che ba mau (coconut milk poured over layers of sweet mung beans,soft red kidney beans, green pandan jelly, and crushed ice) but was told that they didn't have the ingredients to make any of their shaved ice desserts.

The reviews on this place got our attention so we decided to stop in. Hubby had the twice cooked…read morepork. It was amazing! delicious ! the flavor was nice and spicy with plenty of veggies and pork, loved the flavor. I had the combination stir fried rice. The serving was enough for three people. It was huge! Really enjoyed all of the protein in the rice. We also had the spring rolls. They were full of pork and shrimp and delicious. Our server was very attentive and very nice. This restaurant is extremely clean. Bathrooms were clean. I give it four stars.

I think the fried rice is good, the mapo tofu is good too, they are very generous with their meat…read moreportion in the mapo tofu. The salt and pepper dishes are too sweet. Same thing with the pig ear, too sweet for me. 3 cup chicken is interesting. Their scallion pancakes are very delicious and greasy.