Honestly unexpectedly good food. The dumplings are top notch. The restaurant feels really messy and a little unhygienichonestly, although the staff was friendly.I see a lot of people to take out which I guess makes sense. Worth trying the dumplings for sure although if the owners clean up the place there's a lot of potential.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Dumplings
ailin hu
We ordered for takeout. But there is a hair in the fry dumpling. Disappointed.
Yi Ho
Love the vegetarian food here! Vegetarian dan dan noodles, spinach buns, leek & egg pancake… want to have it everyday !
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Dan Dan Noodles, Pan Fried Pork Buns, Spicy Wonton, Shenjian Bao
Jun Liang
The stuff is okay, but the store is too messy
Odelia F.
Cute authentic mom and pop shop with really juicy soup dumplings! FOOD- Soup dumplings: super filled with soup, moderate-thin skins, filling has good umami taste that is on the sweeter side. Ask for the slivered ginger to go with it- Pan fried soup dumplings: crispy outside, fluffy bun. Little soup inside- Scallion oil noodle: good flavor but oily. Would have liked fresh scallions as well to make it more fresh- Shanghai Ja Jang Noodles: it reminds me of bolognese with pickled cucumbers. The pickles cut through really nicely - Stir fried udon: really nice flavor with some veg, noodle texture is firm, I prefer it more QQ Service is friendly, English/Chinese speaking. Not the most glamorous or modern restaurant, but clean and simple. Parking lot outside but plenty of street parking around. No wait on Sunday dinner
Mariam Teimorzadeh
Food is great, we enjoyed the beef roll and the mapo tofu.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Beef Wrap
Liza M.
[allium-free vegetarian/vegan review]vegetarian sesame noodles are super tasty!! I order this every single time. portion is pretty big as well.beancurd salad - super good. also get this every time.fried rice - could pass on this, not my type of fried rice.mustard greens noodle soup - supposedly vegetarian broth seemed to have questionable fatty stuff floating (meat or something) so I did not eat this one -1star
Amando B.
This is, to us, the best place to get pan fried buns. They're the best here. For years, we would stop here after our dentist appointment in Daly City. We're from Hayward. Then, we changed our dentist and is now in Castro Valley :(Finally made it here again after 3 long years and the food is still so so good and how we remember it. We got fried buns to go as well since we missed them a lot.A hole in a wall away from the San Mateo Main Street. We always get the pan fried buns and Dan Dan noodles or Jja jang noodles ... yummm Highly recommend ordering these.
Mark Anthony P.
Zen Noodle Bar | San Mateo 1. Pan Fried Pork Buns2. Dry Fried String Beans3. Beef Chow Main4. Shrimp Pork Leeks DumplingsAlright, I came across this hidden gem on a sunny day in San Mateo after a long day at work. Zen Noodle Bar is a family-owned restaurant that serves affordable, authentic Shanghainese food. The interior of the place isn't the greatest, but you can instantly tell that the food is amazing because of the layout, which felt super homey. The servers were the owners, I think, and they were super friendly. The nice thing about ordering at this place is that it's done through a laminated menu, and you can easily write down how many things you want to order. They had a wide variety of items that ranged from dim sum to appetizers and soups. I luckily got my hands on their pan-fried pork buns, dry-fried string beans, and shrimp and pork leek dumplings. The one thing that stood out to me the most was the Pan Fried Dumplings. It tasted similar to a soup dumpling as the soup and meat are engulfed in bread that is pan-fried to have a crispy bottom, which was AMAZING. I honestly could have eaten like 10 of these alone because of how good they are!
We've ordered from them off doordash a few times and absolutely fell in love with their pan fried buns. Crunchy on the outside and soft and juicy on the inside. The outer skin isn't too thick either. My favorites are the jajiang mein and the beef noodle soup. Today we decided to dine in person and tried the chicken cutlet appetizer as well as the cold noodles with chicken. The cutlet was soooo juicy and the portion was huge for an appetizer. We were pleasantly surprised. The cold noodles had a creamy sesame sauce with a hint of spice to it. It was very refreshing on a hot day.
Polly L.
I had an incredible experience at this hidden gem of a restaurant. It's truly underrated, as it offers some of the most delicious dishes in town. I have been trying to find the percent pan fried pork bun that's juicy, fluffy and crispy. I FINALLY FOUND IT. The pan fried pork buns were juicy and with a flavorful filling. The Shanghai noodles were a standout, perfectly cooked and accompanied by stir-fried vegetables and flavorful chicken. The beef wrap was STUFFED with well-seasoned beef wrapped in a soft pancake. What makes this place even more special is the fact that it's a family-owned business. It felt like eating at home, would definitely recommend and come again! I want to try some of their rice dishes next time.
Jie Shuai
Amazing place. It would be a highly competitive restaurant even in Shanghai. I'm sure I'll come back and try out more dishes.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Noodle Soup
Amanda Louie
The dumplings here are delicious and juicy inside! Would highly recommend coming back! Nice people in the restaurant and they are heart warming folks!
Temp closed until 4/6.
Honestly unexpectedly good food. The dumplings are top notch. The restaurant feels really messy and a little unhygienichonestly, although the staff was friendly.I see a lot of people to take out which I guess makes sense. Worth trying the dumplings for sure although if the owners clean up the place there's a lot of potential.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Dumplings
We ordered for takeout. But there is a hair in the fry dumpling. Disappointed.
Love the vegetarian food here! Vegetarian dan dan noodles, spinach buns, leek & egg pancake… want to have it everyday !
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Dan Dan Noodles, Pan Fried Pork Buns, Spicy Wonton, Shenjian Bao
The stuff is okay, but the store is too messy
Cute authentic mom and pop shop with really juicy soup dumplings! FOOD- Soup dumplings: super filled with soup, moderate-thin skins, filling has good umami taste that is on the sweeter side. Ask for the slivered ginger to go with it- Pan fried soup dumplings: crispy outside, fluffy bun. Little soup inside- Scallion oil noodle: good flavor but oily. Would have liked fresh scallions as well to make it more fresh- Shanghai Ja Jang Noodles: it reminds me of bolognese with pickled cucumbers. The pickles cut through really nicely - Stir fried udon: really nice flavor with some veg, noodle texture is firm, I prefer it more QQ Service is friendly, English/Chinese speaking. Not the most glamorous or modern restaurant, but clean and simple. Parking lot outside but plenty of street parking around. No wait on Sunday dinner
Food is great, we enjoyed the beef roll and the mapo tofu.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Beef Wrap
[allium-free vegetarian/vegan review]vegetarian sesame noodles are super tasty!! I order this every single time. portion is pretty big as well.beancurd salad - super good. also get this every time.fried rice - could pass on this, not my type of fried rice.mustard greens noodle soup - supposedly vegetarian broth seemed to have questionable fatty stuff floating (meat or something) so I did not eat this one -1star
This is, to us, the best place to get pan fried buns. They're the best here. For years, we would stop here after our dentist appointment in Daly City. We're from Hayward. Then, we changed our dentist and is now in Castro Valley :(Finally made it here again after 3 long years and the food is still so so good and how we remember it. We got fried buns to go as well since we missed them a lot.A hole in a wall away from the San Mateo Main Street. We always get the pan fried buns and Dan Dan noodles or Jja jang noodles ... yummm Highly recommend ordering these.
Zen Noodle Bar | San Mateo 1. Pan Fried Pork Buns2. Dry Fried String Beans3. Beef Chow Main4. Shrimp Pork Leeks DumplingsAlright, I came across this hidden gem on a sunny day in San Mateo after a long day at work. Zen Noodle Bar is a family-owned restaurant that serves affordable, authentic Shanghainese food. The interior of the place isn't the greatest, but you can instantly tell that the food is amazing because of the layout, which felt super homey. The servers were the owners, I think, and they were super friendly. The nice thing about ordering at this place is that it's done through a laminated menu, and you can easily write down how many things you want to order. They had a wide variety of items that ranged from dim sum to appetizers and soups. I luckily got my hands on their pan-fried pork buns, dry-fried string beans, and shrimp and pork leek dumplings. The one thing that stood out to me the most was the Pan Fried Dumplings. It tasted similar to a soup dumpling as the soup and meat are engulfed in bread that is pan-fried to have a crispy bottom, which was AMAZING. I honestly could have eaten like 10 of these alone because of how good they are!
Restaurantji Recommends
We've ordered from them off doordash a few times and absolutely fell in love with their pan fried buns. Crunchy on the outside and soft and juicy on the inside. The outer skin isn't too thick either. My favorites are the jajiang mein and the beef noodle soup. Today we decided to dine in person and tried the chicken cutlet appetizer as well as the cold noodles with chicken. The cutlet was soooo juicy and the portion was huge for an appetizer. We were pleasantly surprised. The cold noodles had a creamy sesame sauce with a hint of spice to it. It was very refreshing on a hot day.
I had an incredible experience at this hidden gem of a restaurant. It's truly underrated, as it offers some of the most delicious dishes in town. I have been trying to find the percent pan fried pork bun that's juicy, fluffy and crispy. I FINALLY FOUND IT. The pan fried pork buns were juicy and with a flavorful filling. The Shanghai noodles were a standout, perfectly cooked and accompanied by stir-fried vegetables and flavorful chicken. The beef wrap was STUFFED with well-seasoned beef wrapped in a soft pancake. What makes this place even more special is the fact that it's a family-owned business. It felt like eating at home, would definitely recommend and come again! I want to try some of their rice dishes next time.
Amazing place. It would be a highly competitive restaurant even in Shanghai. I'm sure I'll come back and try out more dishes.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Noodle Soup
The dumplings here are delicious and juicy inside! Would highly recommend coming back! Nice people in the restaurant and they are heart warming folks!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Beef Soup, Fried, Dumplings, Noodle Soup, Pan Fried Pork Buns
Quiet little spot, hosts were very nice and the price point seemed pretty damn
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Dry Noodle, Dumplings