Excellent! Skewers for bbq or order menu items to share. The cumin lamb and shredded beef were excellent. Terrific fried rice too! BYOB. Need reservations. Delicious and giant portions.
Victor H.
Came here during Xmas eve and it was fully packed. Parking is limited even with a exclusive parking garage designated for the place. Street parking is also limited. So be warned! We ordered multiple skewers, i feel the skewers were quite small as it didnt have any meat on it. Would have been better if they were a bit more fatter...
Mel T.
Came here for dinner when our initial dinner plans fell through. It was a Sunday around 7:30 and it was pretty packed. I believe there's a minimum order of 10 skewers per person. We were trying to understand the menu or have someone explain it to us but they only speak Mandarin so we ended up pointing at things and over ordering. For the skewers we got beef and lamb. They're all seasoned the same with that cumin flavor, so it gets tiring after a while. Some of the pieces were super fatty and I was biting into fat chunks. I did think the skewer rotator was pretty cool. It was fun to cook the skewers. Since we were only eating meat, we decided we needed some veggies so we ordered the stir fried eggplant. We would have been better off without this because it was drenched in oil. I think I would have had a better experience if everything didn't have the same flavor, and if I understood the menu. Tip - it's BYOB but only beer and wine (no soju)
Xuesong L.
We have mixed feelings about this one. We came here during holidays last winter with our friends on our trip to American Dream. It was Amazing! They serve authentic Northern Chinese Kabab, Korean cuisine as well as Chinese Cuisine. It's not usual that a chef could handle all three different cuisines so good together. Our friend who originally came from the Northeastern part of China said this was one of the best and authentic cuisine of her hometown eastern coasts. Not to mention their above average service and really good hygiene maintained. However, our second visit a year later was not great. We came back again on our roadtrip this fall, and paid another visit. The food quality served that evening was so much worse and two of the dishes we ordered were so bad that we barely touched. The server only offered to pack them for taking out. we were traveling and didn't want to ruin our mood to argue with him. I guess it's your own risk for dining here and just wish that your next visit would be better than my last one lol.
Vivian C.
My friend was super excited about this place and loves skewers and recommended to it to us. We were lucky enough to have no wait. I love a restaurant where you can have an experience and it's fun finishing up the cooking process of the skewers how you want it at your own table.We tried both the beef and lamb, I'm not the biggest fan of lamb in general, but I actually did enjoy these lamb skewers, didn't have the overwhelming gamey taste which usually is what I don't like. The beef skewer was pretty good and the seasonings they have are a great flavor boost.Though, the only thing is that this place is quite pricey for not a lot of meat, so though I thought it was good and fun to eat here, probably would only come here, every now and again.
Hannah S.
Lamb skewer was good! But nothing else was. All the red seasonings tasted like mala. We got fried squid which also tasted like mala. This place was pricey as they have minimum order limit for certain skewers. And they don't give you the charcoal heat for bbq unless you have an order of least 30 skewers.
Douglas K.
I haven't had skewers since I lived in China but Xiao Chuan Dian's skewers were on point. Before we visited, I called to get a reservation, since it is a popular spot on the weekends. One thing that might be important to keep in mind is that since the restaurant is frequented by Chinese and Korean customers it seemed like the staff were more comfortable taking the reservation in Chinese or Korean. When we arrived, we were taken to a small room with a charcoal grill. Like many skewer places, you can grill your own skewers. For dinner, we ordered lamb skewers, beef skewers, mushroom and beef skewers, fish cake skewers, cold noodles and a cucumber salad. The skewers all came out mostly cooked (we were told to grill the skewers for another minute) and were all delicious, though the lamb skewers were the best in my opinion. These skewers went perfectly with the refreshing cucumber salad and cold noodles, which contrasted nicely with the hot skewers. Service was good though things might have been easier because I could speak Chinese. The price was a little bit high given the relatively small meat portions. However, all in all, Xiao Chuan Dian is a solid skewer restaurant that is worth a visit if your craving skewers.
Jenny Y.
LOVE this place! The skewers are seasoned beautifully. I especially love the lamb and chicken wings. Some of the skewers have minimums though (ie: you need to order minimum 10 for lamb). 10 sounds like a lot, but its very reasonable and easily sharable between 2 people. It's also fun to grill your own meat as well. As a note, this place is BYOB and there is a liquor store right across the street!
Eric K.
Yelp keeps mixing up the review and photos for Xiao Chuan Dian with my review for Dunhuang in Edison, NJ. I rated this place 5-stars due to its delicious cold noodles... and unfortunately when I tried to delete the old review for Dunhuang keep appearing for this place, it actually deleted my review for Xiao Chuan Dian. What a shame - Yelp, please fix this mix up issue.
Lesley K.
Food was good and service was as well. The lamb was seasoned well and no gamey flavor or smell. The beef skewers were oddly a bit gamey. The eggplant dish and the tang syeok was the best. Would Def revisit when craving lamb.
Prepare to be teleported to central china. This hole in the wall is as authentic as it gets. The food came out quickly and was delicious and affordable. The skewers are cooked on the table in front of you in a bed of charcoal. This is a great place to bring friends and have a night out of.
Jamie L.
Had a wonderful family dinner here! I see there are mixed reviews, but I think it's because it takes a bit of know-how to have a pleasant experience, which I'll explain below.The skewers are all really good - lamb, beef, sausage, marbled pork (雪花肉), and the mushrooms wrapped in fatty beef! Goes down perfect with some light beer. The staff don't exactly show you how to cook the skewers over the charcoal, unless they see you doing it wrong (which they did for us, haha). You're supposed to cook the skewers on the lower rack (~1 min for the standard lamb and beef skewers and a bit longer for the specialty ones, but they all come out a bit pre-cooked) and then keep them warm on the top rack. The menu may be inaccessible to those who do not read Korean or Chinese - there is no English. But you can ask the staff for recommendations and/or clarifications. I believe you have to order in batches of 10 skewers (except for the specialty ones). Also, if you want one of the tables with charcoal grilling (they're all a bit tucked away in the back of the restaurant and are semi-private rooms), be sure to call in advance to reserve it. When you make a reservation, you'll have two hours from the start of your reservation time to eat. So arrive on time, because if you're late you only have the remaining time to eat (since the reservation slots are back-to-back and get filled quickly).I also highly recommend their stir-fried dishes. So if you're not a huge fan of skewers, don't let this turn you away! There's plenty to eat among the veggie stir-fry dishes, including eggplant, egg fried rice, cabbage, etc.
Amanda L.
I was craving skewers and was happy to see that there was a skewers restaurant in pal park! But unfortunately, I did not have a great experience - to start off, the interior is not really pleasant and does not look very clean. The staff is somewhat friendly but limited in english. The menu is not in english - they had a simple english menu but it did not include everything they had. Also, there's a 30 skewer minimum to grill it yourself. Most of the skewers I got were $6-9 for 2 skewers so quite pricey. We spent about $60 for 30 skewers. Taste wise, it was good but I've had better skewers elsewhere. I ordered 10 beef, 10 lamb (both were $11 for 10) special beef, lamb, big beef, special big lamb. I didnt mind coming to try out this restaurant but I wouldn't come back.
Jinhee Lee
(Translated by Google) Sweet and sour pork is the best Korean restaurant I've been to while visiting San Francisco, New York, Boston, Springfield, and Hadley during my trip to the United States. Sweet and sour pork that was freshly fried was better than a Chinese restaurant I went to after being introduced by a guide in New York. I tried jajangmyeon, stone pot, and tangsyuk. Give a lot of quantity.(Original)미국여행중 샌프란시스코, 뉴욕, 보스턴, 스프링필드, 해들리를 다니면서 가본 한식당중 탕수육이 가장 맛있는집. 뉴욕에서 가이드 소개받고 간 모 중국집보다 바로 튀겨낸 탕수육이 맛있었음. 짜장면, 돌솥, 탕슉 먹어봄. 양도 많이 주심.
Andrew L.
Great skewers spot in Pal Park. Skewers come in a variety of meats and cuts mainly of lamb and beef. The meat is also accompanied by a very tasty chili powder that is used for dipping. Only problem I had was that in order to cook the skewers yourself, there was a minimum order of 30 skewers and depending on the meat there was a minimum of how many skewers you needed to order.
Excellent! Skewers for bbq or order menu items to share. The cumin lamb and shredded beef were excellent. Terrific fried rice too! BYOB. Need reservations. Delicious and giant portions.
Came here during Xmas eve and it was fully packed. Parking is limited even with a exclusive parking garage designated for the place. Street parking is also limited. So be warned! We ordered multiple skewers, i feel the skewers were quite small as it didnt have any meat on it. Would have been better if they were a bit more fatter...
Came here for dinner when our initial dinner plans fell through. It was a Sunday around 7:30 and it was pretty packed. I believe there's a minimum order of 10 skewers per person. We were trying to understand the menu or have someone explain it to us but they only speak Mandarin so we ended up pointing at things and over ordering. For the skewers we got beef and lamb. They're all seasoned the same with that cumin flavor, so it gets tiring after a while. Some of the pieces were super fatty and I was biting into fat chunks. I did think the skewer rotator was pretty cool. It was fun to cook the skewers. Since we were only eating meat, we decided we needed some veggies so we ordered the stir fried eggplant. We would have been better off without this because it was drenched in oil. I think I would have had a better experience if everything didn't have the same flavor, and if I understood the menu. Tip - it's BYOB but only beer and wine (no soju)
We have mixed feelings about this one. We came here during holidays last winter with our friends on our trip to American Dream. It was Amazing! They serve authentic Northern Chinese Kabab, Korean cuisine as well as Chinese Cuisine. It's not usual that a chef could handle all three different cuisines so good together. Our friend who originally came from the Northeastern part of China said this was one of the best and authentic cuisine of her hometown eastern coasts. Not to mention their above average service and really good hygiene maintained. However, our second visit a year later was not great. We came back again on our roadtrip this fall, and paid another visit. The food quality served that evening was so much worse and two of the dishes we ordered were so bad that we barely touched. The server only offered to pack them for taking out. we were traveling and didn't want to ruin our mood to argue with him. I guess it's your own risk for dining here and just wish that your next visit would be better than my last one lol.
My friend was super excited about this place and loves skewers and recommended to it to us. We were lucky enough to have no wait. I love a restaurant where you can have an experience and it's fun finishing up the cooking process of the skewers how you want it at your own table.We tried both the beef and lamb, I'm not the biggest fan of lamb in general, but I actually did enjoy these lamb skewers, didn't have the overwhelming gamey taste which usually is what I don't like. The beef skewer was pretty good and the seasonings they have are a great flavor boost.Though, the only thing is that this place is quite pricey for not a lot of meat, so though I thought it was good and fun to eat here, probably would only come here, every now and again.
Lamb skewer was good! But nothing else was. All the red seasonings tasted like mala. We got fried squid which also tasted like mala. This place was pricey as they have minimum order limit for certain skewers. And they don't give you the charcoal heat for bbq unless you have an order of least 30 skewers.
I haven't had skewers since I lived in China but Xiao Chuan Dian's skewers were on point. Before we visited, I called to get a reservation, since it is a popular spot on the weekends. One thing that might be important to keep in mind is that since the restaurant is frequented by Chinese and Korean customers it seemed like the staff were more comfortable taking the reservation in Chinese or Korean. When we arrived, we were taken to a small room with a charcoal grill. Like many skewer places, you can grill your own skewers. For dinner, we ordered lamb skewers, beef skewers, mushroom and beef skewers, fish cake skewers, cold noodles and a cucumber salad. The skewers all came out mostly cooked (we were told to grill the skewers for another minute) and were all delicious, though the lamb skewers were the best in my opinion. These skewers went perfectly with the refreshing cucumber salad and cold noodles, which contrasted nicely with the hot skewers. Service was good though things might have been easier because I could speak Chinese. The price was a little bit high given the relatively small meat portions. However, all in all, Xiao Chuan Dian is a solid skewer restaurant that is worth a visit if your craving skewers.
LOVE this place! The skewers are seasoned beautifully. I especially love the lamb and chicken wings. Some of the skewers have minimums though (ie: you need to order minimum 10 for lamb). 10 sounds like a lot, but its very reasonable and easily sharable between 2 people. It's also fun to grill your own meat as well. As a note, this place is BYOB and there is a liquor store right across the street!
Yelp keeps mixing up the review and photos for Xiao Chuan Dian with my review for Dunhuang in Edison, NJ. I rated this place 5-stars due to its delicious cold noodles... and unfortunately when I tried to delete the old review for Dunhuang keep appearing for this place, it actually deleted my review for Xiao Chuan Dian. What a shame - Yelp, please fix this mix up issue.
Food was good and service was as well. The lamb was seasoned well and no gamey flavor or smell. The beef skewers were oddly a bit gamey. The eggplant dish and the tang syeok was the best. Would Def revisit when craving lamb.
Restaurantji Recommends
Prepare to be teleported to central china. This hole in the wall is as authentic as it gets. The food came out quickly and was delicious and affordable. The skewers are cooked on the table in front of you in a bed of charcoal. This is a great place to bring friends and have a night out of.
Had a wonderful family dinner here! I see there are mixed reviews, but I think it's because it takes a bit of know-how to have a pleasant experience, which I'll explain below.The skewers are all really good - lamb, beef, sausage, marbled pork (雪花肉), and the mushrooms wrapped in fatty beef! Goes down perfect with some light beer. The staff don't exactly show you how to cook the skewers over the charcoal, unless they see you doing it wrong (which they did for us, haha). You're supposed to cook the skewers on the lower rack (~1 min for the standard lamb and beef skewers and a bit longer for the specialty ones, but they all come out a bit pre-cooked) and then keep them warm on the top rack. The menu may be inaccessible to those who do not read Korean or Chinese - there is no English. But you can ask the staff for recommendations and/or clarifications. I believe you have to order in batches of 10 skewers (except for the specialty ones). Also, if you want one of the tables with charcoal grilling (they're all a bit tucked away in the back of the restaurant and are semi-private rooms), be sure to call in advance to reserve it. When you make a reservation, you'll have two hours from the start of your reservation time to eat. So arrive on time, because if you're late you only have the remaining time to eat (since the reservation slots are back-to-back and get filled quickly).I also highly recommend their stir-fried dishes. So if you're not a huge fan of skewers, don't let this turn you away! There's plenty to eat among the veggie stir-fry dishes, including eggplant, egg fried rice, cabbage, etc.
I was craving skewers and was happy to see that there was a skewers restaurant in pal park! But unfortunately, I did not have a great experience - to start off, the interior is not really pleasant and does not look very clean. The staff is somewhat friendly but limited in english. The menu is not in english - they had a simple english menu but it did not include everything they had. Also, there's a 30 skewer minimum to grill it yourself. Most of the skewers I got were $6-9 for 2 skewers so quite pricey. We spent about $60 for 30 skewers. Taste wise, it was good but I've had better skewers elsewhere. I ordered 10 beef, 10 lamb (both were $11 for 10) special beef, lamb, big beef, special big lamb. I didnt mind coming to try out this restaurant but I wouldn't come back.
(Translated by Google) Sweet and sour pork is the best Korean restaurant I've been to while visiting San Francisco, New York, Boston, Springfield, and Hadley during my trip to the United States. Sweet and sour pork that was freshly fried was better than a Chinese restaurant I went to after being introduced by a guide in New York. I tried jajangmyeon, stone pot, and tangsyuk. Give a lot of quantity.(Original)미국여행중 샌프란시스코, 뉴욕, 보스턴, 스프링필드, 해들리를 다니면서 가본 한식당중 탕수육이 가장 맛있는집. 뉴욕에서 가이드 소개받고 간 모 중국집보다 바로 튀겨낸 탕수육이 맛있었음. 짜장면, 돌솥, 탕슉 먹어봄. 양도 많이 주심.
Great skewers spot in Pal Park. Skewers come in a variety of meats and cuts mainly of lamb and beef. The meat is also accompanied by a very tasty chili powder that is used for dipping. Only problem I had was that in order to cook the skewers yourself, there was a minimum order of 30 skewers and depending on the meat there was a minimum of how many skewers you needed to order.