Tasty and really good value for what you get. Got the advertised special of 3 dishes and a soup for $21.99. Big to go portions that were packed well and ready fast.
Ella S.
Good Taiwanese food. Very good value and the red fish, black pepper beef are the best.
Tiffany C.
The lamb pot is so amazingly good! We love the food and the owner's passion for bringing the best authentic Taiwanese cuisine!
薏
We took out the herbal lamp soup. OMG. This is the best I ever had in the US. Would like to try more dishes.
Joshua Liu
(Translated by Google) Object Jun Jia. The serving speed should be strengthened.(Original)物件齁甲。上菜速度要加強。
David W.
Never realized I never left a review for this place. Always a go-to for my Taiwanese comfort food cravings. Very mom & pop run, makes it feel like home. Very accommodating as well whenever I was making a rush order during busy times or even now right before they were to close. Consistent food quality and always available/nearby is great as well.
Victoria Y.
It's a hole-in-the-wall Taiwanese restaurant located in a small plaza -- the location is pretty bad which is probably why it doesn't seem like it's doing too well. We ordered food for the staff during work and the combos came with pork chops and fried fish, plus two veggie sides, corn soup and drinks. The food itself is not bad -- not amazingly good but not bad either. I don't think I would go out of my way to eat at this place but I liked the food and they gave pretty big portions.. I couldn't even finish half of the food.
Trudy L.
Excellent Taiwanese traditional foods no other places have. I worked at 99 Ranch for 1.5 decades in my prime before i became government employees while i cruised around to investigate facilities, similar to health dept of each county. I'd order scallops on shells, entrees with pork which is most popular Taiwanese dish.
Sanda S.
We've been going there about once a month. We loved the food... just like how grandma used to make simple yet tasty. The food came rather quickly. Atmosphere was homey. We served ourselves with water and takeout boxes. Only a man and a woman serving a packed restaurant. The man seemed quite stressed. Hope they hire some help for his sake and charge more. The bill came out to be only about $30 for five dishes we ordered.
C W.
This place, you either hate it or love it. Their food, it's traditional Taiwanese, meaning the flavor is mild and not super salty or spicy. As for the service? Like many Yelpers said, it's not much - because they are just understaffed and they try their best to help customers. As long as you are ok with those three concepts, you will be in for a culinary treat at O (for Old)Taipei Cafe. To expedite our dining experience, and to navigate through their dinner rush hours (sometimes they get packed!), this is what my husband and I do: 1. Seat yourself - we prefer sitting at the open dining area instead of the booth 2. Grab your own menu at the counter 3. Once you know what to order, go to the counter and place your order with the lady or the man (he can be awkward or impatient at times, but don't take it personally, that's just how he is). Make sure to tell her/him your table number (located at the corner of your table, or on the wall) *** their popular dish is the oyster pancake - show them the picture on Yelp if you order in English. Their oyster pancake is the bomb. It's like the way the street vendors make them in Taiwan. It's a plate of gooey goodness (it's the starch) topped with a savory sweet sauce 4. Once you order, go sit your butt down and wait for the food, which believe it or not, comes out pretty quickly 5. Once you are done with the meal, go to the counter, ask for the check, and pay 6. If you need to-go boxes, go fetch them yourself at the counter This is not the typical place to take your date or where you will get asked if you want to refill your tea every 5 minutes. BUT, if you want authentic Taiwanese family style food like the way Taiwanese mothers and grandmas make them, then this hole in a wall place is it. You will not see too many millennials here but you will see a lot of older Taiwanese people and families enjoying their meals - that's a sign this place is legit! We like their oyster pancake (yum!), fried shrimp, squid with celery (we ask them to add jalapeño to it), vegetarian rice noodles, oyster with tofu (plenty of oysters and good sauce - goes well with rice), and sautéed water spinach. The complimentary taro & mushroom soup is also good. Hope you find your favorites here!
First time there and just like some of the other reviews, this place is very outdated. Looks very old and dark inside with supplies by the entrance and just messy looking. I ordered cashew chicken which was pretty bland and not good at all. The fried rice was ok and Thai ice tea wasn't very flavorful. The portions are a good size though. I don't think I'll ever go back .
Vika C.
We don't live very close but always liked to come here for dinner when we're in the area. I think this place is very unique and nice for several reasons: 1. We like its menu having so many options. We would always get the braised pork rice on top of everything else. The portion is so big at such a cheap price. If you go to Arcadia you pay double the price with half the portion so let's be fair. 2. Their "3菜1湯" for21.99 combo is a great option. Honestly having been to so many Taiwanese restaurants in the SG valley I haven't had any vegetable dish that's even close to as flavorful. If you order their loofah dish you'll know what I'm talking about. I love it so much that I tried to do the same at home myself. I mean which other restaurant adds king mushroom and carrots for flavor in a loofah dish? The portion you get with that price is just unbelievably huge. We always get so much leftovers to take home. I would also recommend the salted port chops. Very authentic Taiwanese style! 3. People working here are very friendly! I'm surprised people holding such extremely high standard on a pretty good Taiwanese restaurant. I would recommend these people going to "Providence" near West Hollywood. It's a French style restaurant that will satisfy all your demands and expectations. In case you haven't been, we're talking about a restaurant you pay about $300 per person. I guarantee you'll give it five star. To the owner of O'Taipei Cafe: We'll keep coming back so keep up with the good job and best of luck for your business!
Tyler J.
2 Star for the restaurant 3.5 for the food Come here to dine if you wanna feel like you took a time machine to an old Italian Taiwan at xmas time with sticky floors andwhere you have to ask for your own check and grab your own to go boxes. Ordered 3 items plus hot tea all under $30. Don't get WALNUT SHRIMP. PORK CHOP RICE was good and BRAISED BEEF w/ SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS was fine but a bit salty and over sauced. The service? Have you not read the other reviews yet? You don't go here for the service or atmosphere. Or the hygiene...or the bathroom You can just tell by the layers of dust over the years and bizarre, dare I say, "decor" left over from the previous establishment from easily a decade or two ago. If you can turn a blind eye to all of the above, just order to go.
Jackson Y.
If you like hole in the wall places and is a fan of Taiwanese food, this is going to be a good one. Tucked away in the foothills of Rowland heights, lays this little gem of a place. Recommended by my close friend Chartlon C. Him and his mom visit this restaurant quite frequently and raves about it. Now that I've finally got to try it for myself, I've got to say that it definitely exceeded my expectations. O Taipei Cafe is a family restaurant that serves all sorts of Taiwanese favorites. Everything from night market inspired snacks (like skewers, fried tofu, squid, and so on)to traditional home style cooked Fujianese/Taiwanese dishes. They even got shaved ice if you are in the mood for something sweet. Selling point, you don't have to pay much to get a satisfying home cooked meal. $20 gets you three stir fried dishes, soup, and rice! What a bargain. You can always opt for something like what I got, which is the minced meat rice bowl, more common known as Lu Rou Fan. The rice is exactly what you would expect from a Taiwanese mom or grandma's kitchen. Fluffy white rice covered with delicious morsels of pork and the gravy like soy based sauce. The meat is braised in a savory soy sauce and cooked low N slow til it's almost melt in your mouth tender.. The picked mustard greens adds contrast to the rich fatty flavors as wells as texture like the braised bamboo shoots on the side. Lastly garnished with a tea flavored hard boil egg and some Japanese pickled radish. It's happiness in a bowl. Best part of all, it's less than $5! I call this a "win win." Sure it's hard to mess up a simple dish like mince meat rice bowl, so I ordered another popular Taiwanese favorite. It's called Taiwanese vermicelli or noodles. Pronounced as ô-á mī-sòa in Taiwanese. Now, I'm not Taiwanese or from Taiwan, but its good. Go get some.
Kelvin Y.
Taiwanese restaurant in Rowland Heights. The ambiance may be lacking but the food is delicious! O Taipei Cafe is a family run business and the food they serve reflects this (in a positive way). We had the usual Taiwanese delicacies of Stinky Tofu and Oyster Pancake. These were average. The Stinky Tofu was not pungent enough but it was not bad. The Oyster pancake had the requisite texture and mouthfeel but nothing special. What stood out were the Pea Sprouts, a Hakka "Hong zao "- red rice spiced Pork Chop and the Rice Noodles with Pumpkin. Full disclosure- I'm doing my best translating from the Chinese menu. The Rice Noodles with Pumpkin was a new delicious taste and texture sensation. The Pumpkin stir fried directly worked great with the Rice Noodles. The Hakka "Hong zao" Pork Chop had great texture and sweet/ umami flavor. O Taipei Cafe is also a bargain! Bonus - the free soup that was served with the meal was delicious with A generous amounts of Mushrooms, Pork and Taro.
Tasty and really good value for what you get. Got the advertised special of 3 dishes and a soup for $21.99. Big to go portions that were packed well and ready fast.
Good Taiwanese food. Very good value and the red fish, black pepper beef are the best.
The lamb pot is so amazingly good! We love the food and the owner's passion for bringing the best authentic Taiwanese cuisine!
We took out the herbal lamp soup. OMG. This is the best I ever had in the US. Would like to try more dishes.
(Translated by Google) Object Jun Jia. The serving speed should be strengthened.(Original)物件齁甲。上菜速度要加強。
Never realized I never left a review for this place. Always a go-to for my Taiwanese comfort food cravings. Very mom & pop run, makes it feel like home. Very accommodating as well whenever I was making a rush order during busy times or even now right before they were to close. Consistent food quality and always available/nearby is great as well.
It's a hole-in-the-wall Taiwanese restaurant located in a small plaza -- the location is pretty bad which is probably why it doesn't seem like it's doing too well. We ordered food for the staff during work and the combos came with pork chops and fried fish, plus two veggie sides, corn soup and drinks. The food itself is not bad -- not amazingly good but not bad either. I don't think I would go out of my way to eat at this place but I liked the food and they gave pretty big portions.. I couldn't even finish half of the food.
Excellent Taiwanese traditional foods no other places have. I worked at 99 Ranch for 1.5 decades in my prime before i became government employees while i cruised around to investigate facilities, similar to health dept of each county. I'd order scallops on shells, entrees with pork which is most popular Taiwanese dish.
We've been going there about once a month. We loved the food... just like how grandma used to make simple yet tasty. The food came rather quickly. Atmosphere was homey. We served ourselves with water and takeout boxes. Only a man and a woman serving a packed restaurant. The man seemed quite stressed. Hope they hire some help for his sake and charge more. The bill came out to be only about $30 for five dishes we ordered.
This place, you either hate it or love it. Their food, it's traditional Taiwanese, meaning the flavor is mild and not super salty or spicy. As for the service? Like many Yelpers said, it's not much - because they are just understaffed and they try their best to help customers. As long as you are ok with those three concepts, you will be in for a culinary treat at O (for Old)Taipei Cafe. To expedite our dining experience, and to navigate through their dinner rush hours (sometimes they get packed!), this is what my husband and I do: 1. Seat yourself - we prefer sitting at the open dining area instead of the booth 2. Grab your own menu at the counter 3. Once you know what to order, go to the counter and place your order with the lady or the man (he can be awkward or impatient at times, but don't take it personally, that's just how he is). Make sure to tell her/him your table number (located at the corner of your table, or on the wall) *** their popular dish is the oyster pancake - show them the picture on Yelp if you order in English. Their oyster pancake is the bomb. It's like the way the street vendors make them in Taiwan. It's a plate of gooey goodness (it's the starch) topped with a savory sweet sauce 4. Once you order, go sit your butt down and wait for the food, which believe it or not, comes out pretty quickly 5. Once you are done with the meal, go to the counter, ask for the check, and pay 6. If you need to-go boxes, go fetch them yourself at the counter This is not the typical place to take your date or where you will get asked if you want to refill your tea every 5 minutes. BUT, if you want authentic Taiwanese family style food like the way Taiwanese mothers and grandmas make them, then this hole in a wall place is it. You will not see too many millennials here but you will see a lot of older Taiwanese people and families enjoying their meals - that's a sign this place is legit! We like their oyster pancake (yum!), fried shrimp, squid with celery (we ask them to add jalapeño to it), vegetarian rice noodles, oyster with tofu (plenty of oysters and good sauce - goes well with rice), and sautéed water spinach. The complimentary taro & mushroom soup is also good. Hope you find your favorites here!
Restaurantji Recommends
First time there and just like some of the other reviews, this place is very outdated. Looks very old and dark inside with supplies by the entrance and just messy looking. I ordered cashew chicken which was pretty bland and not good at all. The fried rice was ok and Thai ice tea wasn't very flavorful. The portions are a good size though. I don't think I'll ever go back .
We don't live very close but always liked to come here for dinner when we're in the area. I think this place is very unique and nice for several reasons: 1. We like its menu having so many options. We would always get the braised pork rice on top of everything else. The portion is so big at such a cheap price. If you go to Arcadia you pay double the price with half the portion so let's be fair. 2. Their "3菜1湯" for21.99 combo is a great option. Honestly having been to so many Taiwanese restaurants in the SG valley I haven't had any vegetable dish that's even close to as flavorful. If you order their loofah dish you'll know what I'm talking about. I love it so much that I tried to do the same at home myself. I mean which other restaurant adds king mushroom and carrots for flavor in a loofah dish? The portion you get with that price is just unbelievably huge. We always get so much leftovers to take home. I would also recommend the salted port chops. Very authentic Taiwanese style! 3. People working here are very friendly! I'm surprised people holding such extremely high standard on a pretty good Taiwanese restaurant. I would recommend these people going to "Providence" near West Hollywood. It's a French style restaurant that will satisfy all your demands and expectations. In case you haven't been, we're talking about a restaurant you pay about $300 per person. I guarantee you'll give it five star. To the owner of O'Taipei Cafe: We'll keep coming back so keep up with the good job and best of luck for your business!
2 Star for the restaurant 3.5 for the food Come here to dine if you wanna feel like you took a time machine to an old Italian Taiwan at xmas time with sticky floors andwhere you have to ask for your own check and grab your own to go boxes. Ordered 3 items plus hot tea all under $30. Don't get WALNUT SHRIMP. PORK CHOP RICE was good and BRAISED BEEF w/ SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS was fine but a bit salty and over sauced. The service? Have you not read the other reviews yet? You don't go here for the service or atmosphere. Or the hygiene...or the bathroom You can just tell by the layers of dust over the years and bizarre, dare I say, "decor" left over from the previous establishment from easily a decade or two ago. If you can turn a blind eye to all of the above, just order to go.
If you like hole in the wall places and is a fan of Taiwanese food, this is going to be a good one. Tucked away in the foothills of Rowland heights, lays this little gem of a place. Recommended by my close friend Chartlon C. Him and his mom visit this restaurant quite frequently and raves about it. Now that I've finally got to try it for myself, I've got to say that it definitely exceeded my expectations. O Taipei Cafe is a family restaurant that serves all sorts of Taiwanese favorites. Everything from night market inspired snacks (like skewers, fried tofu, squid, and so on)to traditional home style cooked Fujianese/Taiwanese dishes. They even got shaved ice if you are in the mood for something sweet. Selling point, you don't have to pay much to get a satisfying home cooked meal. $20 gets you three stir fried dishes, soup, and rice! What a bargain. You can always opt for something like what I got, which is the minced meat rice bowl, more common known as Lu Rou Fan. The rice is exactly what you would expect from a Taiwanese mom or grandma's kitchen. Fluffy white rice covered with delicious morsels of pork and the gravy like soy based sauce. The meat is braised in a savory soy sauce and cooked low N slow til it's almost melt in your mouth tender.. The picked mustard greens adds contrast to the rich fatty flavors as wells as texture like the braised bamboo shoots on the side. Lastly garnished with a tea flavored hard boil egg and some Japanese pickled radish. It's happiness in a bowl. Best part of all, it's less than $5! I call this a "win win." Sure it's hard to mess up a simple dish like mince meat rice bowl, so I ordered another popular Taiwanese favorite. It's called Taiwanese vermicelli or noodles. Pronounced as ô-á mī-sòa in Taiwanese. Now, I'm not Taiwanese or from Taiwan, but its good. Go get some.
Taiwanese restaurant in Rowland Heights. The ambiance may be lacking but the food is delicious! O Taipei Cafe is a family run business and the food they serve reflects this (in a positive way). We had the usual Taiwanese delicacies of Stinky Tofu and Oyster Pancake. These were average. The Stinky Tofu was not pungent enough but it was not bad. The Oyster pancake had the requisite texture and mouthfeel but nothing special. What stood out were the Pea Sprouts, a Hakka "Hong zao "- red rice spiced Pork Chop and the Rice Noodles with Pumpkin. Full disclosure- I'm doing my best translating from the Chinese menu. The Rice Noodles with Pumpkin was a new delicious taste and texture sensation. The Pumpkin stir fried directly worked great with the Rice Noodles. The Hakka "Hong zao" Pork Chop had great texture and sweet/ umami flavor. O Taipei Cafe is also a bargain! Bonus - the free soup that was served with the meal was delicious with A generous amounts of Mushrooms, Pork and Taro.