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Name: Ark Chinese Restaurant
Address: 1405 Park St, Alameda, CA, 94501
Telephone: (510) 521-6862
Price range: Under $11
Rating: 3.73

Ark Chinese Restaurant

1405 Park St, Alameda, CA, 94501

(510) 521-6862
Store is closed

Ark Chinese Restaurant Menu

Appetizer

Cucumber And Peanut Salad

Spicy Baby Bamboo Shoot

Bean Sheet Cucumber Salad With Pork

Fried Cheese Crab Wonton

Vegetable Spring Rolls

Juicy Pork Steam Dumplings

Fresh Pork Dumplings

Pan Fried Fresh Pork Dumplings

Golden Family

Green Onion Pancake
Soup

Wor Wonton Soup

Wonton Soup

Hot And Sour Soup

Egg Flower Soup

West Lake Beef Soup

Chicken Corn Soup

Seafood Bean Curd Soup

Sizzling Rice Seafood Soup
Poultry

General Chicken

Kung Pao Chicken

Lemon Chicken

Sesame Chicken

Sweet And Sour Chicken

Salt And Pepper Chicken Wings

String Bean Chicken

Basil Chicken

Chicken

Szechuan Chicken

Crispy Chicken Wings
Beef And Lamb

Cumin Lamb/beef

Green Onion Lamb

Mongolian Beef

Mongolian Lamb

Broccoli Beef

Sizzling Black Pepper Beef

Beef With Chinese Broccoli

Hunan Beef With Baby Bamboo Shoots

Sizzling Black Pepper Beef

Beef Stew In Clay Pot

Beef Short Rubs In Honey Sauce
Pork

Sweet And Sour Pork

Mu Shu Pork

Salt & Pepper Pork Chop

Peking Style Pork Chop

Crystal Noodle Stir- Fry

Smoked Spareribs

Dry Fried String Beans
Seafood

Sizzling Platter Seafood

Prawns In Lobster Sauce

Crispy Prawns

Sauteed Snow Peas

Rock Sole In Black Bean Sauce

Braised Rock Sole

Chinese Green W.rock Sole

Salt & Pepper Squid

Sizzling Platter Seafood

Walnut Prawns

Fresh Fish W.flaming Chili Sauce
Tofu

Ark Braised Egg Tofu

Mapo Tofu

Crispy Tofu With Bamboo Fungus

Braised Tofu

Mongolian Tofu

Tofu With Mixed Vegetable
Vegetarian

Stir- Fry Mixed Vegetable

Stir-fry Broccoli

Meatless Chicken

Stir-fry String Beans

Eggplant In Hot Garlic Sauce

Pumpkin With Rice Broth

Meatless Chicken In Lemon Sauce

Meatless Chicken In Curry Sauce

Crispy Meatless Chicken

Sweet And Sour Meatless Chicken

Double Mushroom

Black Mushroom With Chinese Green

Basil Eggplant

Kung Pao Meatless Chicken

Crispy Pumpkin

Salt & Pepper Pumpkin

Stir-fry Chinese Broccoli
Porridge

Ark Seafood Porridge

Fresh Slice Fish Porridge

Prawns Porridge

Fresh Clams Porridge

Beef Porridge

Cilantro Mince Beef Porridge

Egg & Mince Beef Porridge

Chicken & Mushroom Porridge

Pork & Preserved Egg Porridge

Pumpkin Porridge

Plain Porridge

Chinese Fried Bread Stick
Chow Mein Chow Fun And Fried Rice

Chicken/beef Chow Mein

Shrimp Chow Mein

B.b.q.pork Chow Mein

Vegetable Chow Mein

Tofu Chow Mein

Meatless Chicken Chow Mein

Tomato Beef Chow Mein

House Chow Mein

Beef Or Chicken On Pan Fried Noodle

Garlic Noodle (vegetarian)

Beef Chow Fun

Chicken Chow Fun

Seafood Chow Fun

House Chow Mein

Beef Chow Fun (gravy)

Chicken Fried Rice

B.b.q. Pork Fried Rice

Prawns Fried Rice

House Fried Rice

Beef Fried Rice

Steamed Rice

Yang Chow Fried Rice

Vegetable Fried Rice
Baked Rice

Baked Pork Chop

Baked Taro

Baked Seafood

Baked Seafood

Baked Portuguese Chicken

Baked Chicken

Baked Beef Tongue
Family Dinner- A

Spring Roll

Wonton Soup

Sweet And Sour Pork

Chicken

Steamed Rice
Family Dinner- B

Cheese Crab Wonton

Wonton Soup

Beef With Broccoli

General Chicken

Steamed Rice
Family Dinner- C

Spring Roll

Egg Flower Soup

Kung Pao Meatless Chicken

Mixed Vegetable

Steamed Rice
Lunch Specials

Broccoli Chicken Or Beef Over Rice

Mixed Vegetable With Chickenor Beef Over Rice

Black Bean Sauce Chicken Or Beef Over Rice

Mixed Vegetable With Prawns Over Rice

Black Bean Sauce Chicke Or Beef Over Rice

Black Bean Sauce Rock Sole Over Rice

Mongolian Beef Or Chicken Over Rice

Mongolian Lamb Over Rice

Sweet And Sour Pork Or Chicken Over Rice

Sweet And Sour Prawns Over Rice

General Chicken Over Rice

General Prawns Over Rice

Curry Chicken Over Rice

Sesame Chicken Over Rice

Salt And Pepper Chicken Wings Over Rice

Salt And Pepper Prawn Over Rice

Lemon Chicken Over Rice

Lemon Prawans Over Rice

Kung Pao Chicken Over Rice

Mongolian Meatless Chicken Over Rice

Mongolian Meatless Pork Over Rice

Sesame Prawns Over Rice

Beef With Ginger And Green Onion Over Rice

Chicken With Strinh Bean Over Rice

Prawns With Lobster Sauce Over Rice

Beef With Tofu Over Rice

Beef With Tomato Over Rice

Roast Duck Over Rice

Bbq Pork Over Rice
Hand Pulled Noodle

Beef Noodle Soup

Beef Stew Noodle Soup

Ark Chow Ma Noodle Soup

Ark Seafood Noodle Soup

Chicken Noodle Soup

Hot & Sour Noodle Soup

Mushroom Noodle Soup

Beef Stew Lo Mein

Tomato Beef Lo Mein

Shredded Pork Cold Noodles

Bean Paste Pork Noodles
Chef's Special

Crispy Chicken Wing Sauteed

Cumin Lamb

Salt And Pepper Squid

Walnut Prawns

Clam In Black Bean Sauce

Ox- Tail In Clay Pot

Dry Fried String Bean

Sourkraut Soup

Twice Cooked Fat Pork

Roast Duck

Eggplant Cooked

Mapo Tofu

Crispy Quail

Healthy Meal suggestions for Ark Chinese Restaurant

Appetizer

Cucumber And Peanut Salad [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Spicy Baby Bamboo Shoot [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Bean Sheet Cucumber Salad With Pork [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Fried Cheese Crab Wonton [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Vegetable Spring Rolls [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Juicy Pork Steam Dumplings [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Fresh Pork Dumplings [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Pan Fried Fresh Pork Dumplings [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Golden Family [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Green Onion Pancake [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]
Soup

Wor Wonton Soup [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Wonton Soup [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Hot And Sour Soup [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Egg Flower Soup [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

West Lake Beef Soup [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Chicken Corn Soup [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Seafood Bean Curd Soup [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Sizzling Rice Seafood Soup [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]
Poultry

General Chicken [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Kung Pao Chicken [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Lemon Chicken [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Sesame Chicken [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Sweet And Sour Chicken [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Salt And Pepper Chicken Wings [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

String Bean Chicken [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Basil Chicken [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Chicken [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Szechuan Chicken [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Crispy Chicken Wings [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]
Beef And Lamb

Cumin Lamb/beef [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Green Onion Lamb [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Mongolian Beef [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Mongolian Lamb [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Broccoli Beef [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Sizzling Black Pepper Beef [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Beef With Chinese Broccoli [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Hunan Beef With Baby Bamboo Shoots [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Sizzling Black Pepper Beef [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Beef Stew In Clay Pot [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Beef Short Rubs In Honey Sauce [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]
Pork

Sweet And Sour Pork [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Mu Shu Pork [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Salt & Pepper Pork Chop [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Peking Style Pork Chop [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Crystal Noodle Stir- Fry [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Smoked Spareribs [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Dry Fried String Beans [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]
Seafood

Sizzling Platter Seafood [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Prawns In Lobster Sauce [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Crispy Prawns [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Sauteed Snow Peas [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Rock Sole In Black Bean Sauce [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Braised Rock Sole [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Chinese Green W.rock Sole [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Salt & Pepper Squid [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Sizzling Platter Seafood [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Walnut Prawns [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Fresh Fish W.flaming Chili Sauce [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]
Tofu

Ark Braised Egg Tofu [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Mapo Tofu [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Crispy Tofu With Bamboo Fungus [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Braised Tofu [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Mongolian Tofu [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Tofu With Mixed Vegetable [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]
Vegetarian

Stir- Fry Mixed Vegetable [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Stir-fry Broccoli [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Meatless Chicken [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Stir-fry String Beans [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Eggplant In Hot Garlic Sauce [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Pumpkin With Rice Broth [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Meatless Chicken In Lemon Sauce [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Meatless Chicken In Curry Sauce [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Crispy Meatless Chicken [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Sweet And Sour Meatless Chicken [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Double Mushroom [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Black Mushroom With Chinese Green [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Basil Eggplant [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Kung Pao Meatless Chicken [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Crispy Pumpkin [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Salt & Pepper Pumpkin [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Stir-fry Chinese Broccoli [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]
Porridge

Ark Seafood Porridge [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Fresh Slice Fish Porridge [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Prawns Porridge [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Fresh Clams Porridge [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Beef Porridge [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Cilantro Mince Beef Porridge [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Egg & Mince Beef Porridge [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Chicken & Mushroom Porridge [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Pork & Preserved Egg Porridge [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Pumpkin Porridge [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Plain Porridge [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Chinese Fried Bread Stick [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]
Chow Mein Chow Fun And Fried Rice

Chicken/beef Chow Mein [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Shrimp Chow Mein [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

B.b.q.pork Chow Mein [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Vegetable Chow Mein [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Tofu Chow Mein [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Meatless Chicken Chow Mein [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Tomato Beef Chow Mein [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

House Chow Mein [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Beef Or Chicken On Pan Fried Noodle [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Garlic Noodle (vegetarian) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Beef Chow Fun [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Chicken Chow Fun [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Seafood Chow Fun [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

House Chow Mein [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Beef Chow Fun (gravy) [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Chicken Fried Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

B.b.q. Pork Fried Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Prawns Fried Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

House Fried Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Beef Fried Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Steamed Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Yang Chow Fried Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Vegetable Fried Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]
Baked Rice

Baked Pork Chop [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Baked Taro [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Baked Seafood [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Baked Seafood [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Baked Portuguese Chicken [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Baked Chicken [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Baked Beef Tongue [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]
Family Dinner- A

Spring Roll [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Wonton Soup [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Sweet And Sour Pork [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Chicken [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Steamed Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]
Family Dinner- B

Cheese Crab Wonton [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Wonton Soup [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Beef With Broccoli [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

General Chicken [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Steamed Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]
Family Dinner- C

Spring Roll [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Egg Flower Soup [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Kung Pao Meatless Chicken [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Mixed Vegetable [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Steamed Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]
Lunch Specials

Broccoli Chicken Or Beef Over Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Mixed Vegetable With Chickenor Beef Over Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Black Bean Sauce Chicken Or Beef Over Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Mixed Vegetable With Prawns Over Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Black Bean Sauce Chicke Or Beef Over Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Black Bean Sauce Rock Sole Over Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Mongolian Beef Or Chicken Over Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Mongolian Lamb Over Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Sweet And Sour Pork Or Chicken Over Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Sweet And Sour Prawns Over Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

General Chicken Over Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

General Prawns Over Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Curry Chicken Over Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Sesame Chicken Over Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Salt And Pepper Chicken Wings Over Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Salt And Pepper Prawn Over Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Lemon Chicken Over Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Lemon Prawans Over Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Kung Pao Chicken Over Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Mongolian Meatless Chicken Over Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Mongolian Meatless Pork Over Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Sesame Prawns Over Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Beef With Ginger And Green Onion Over Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Chicken With Strinh Bean Over Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Prawns With Lobster Sauce Over Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Beef With Tofu Over Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Beef With Tomato Over Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Roast Duck Over Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Bbq Pork Over Rice [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]
Hand Pulled Noodle

Beef Noodle Soup [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Beef Stew Noodle Soup [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Ark Chow Ma Noodle Soup [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Ark Seafood Noodle Soup [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Chicken Noodle Soup [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Hot & Sour Noodle Soup [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Mushroom Noodle Soup [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Beef Stew Lo Mein [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Tomato Beef Lo Mein [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Shredded Pork Cold Noodles [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Bean Paste Pork Noodles [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]
Chef's Special

Crispy Chicken Wing Sauteed [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Cumin Lamb [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Salt And Pepper Squid [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Walnut Prawns [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Clam In Black Bean Sauce [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Ox- Tail In Clay Pot [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Dry Fried String Bean [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Sourkraut Soup [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Twice Cooked Fat Pork [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Roast Duck [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Eggplant Cooked [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Mapo Tofu [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Crispy Quail [ Carbohydrates (ms): 0, Sodium (s): 0, Saturated Fat (ms) : 0, Calories: 0, Sugar (ms): 0 ]

Visit below restaurant in Alameda for healthy meals suggestion.

Applebee’s ( 2263 S Shore Ctr )

Alameda Grill ( 1520 Park St )

Burger King ( 2200 Otis Dr )

Visit below restaurant in Alameda for healthy meals suggestion.

Applebee’s ( 2263 S Shore Ctr )

Burger King ( 2200 Otis Dr )

Write An Anonymous Review

Yvette R.

Just had the Chicken Chow Mein (homemade noodles) and their Broccoli Beef. I didn't love it. I was not impressed. Ambience is typical, nothing fancy. I'll take Great China in Berkeley any day over The Ark Restaurant. To sum it up, I wouldn't go back.
(3)
Alexa W.

I ADORE their soups! Yummy Won Ton, Chicken or Seafood noodle soup in MONSTROUSLY BIG bowls. If you are a normal eater, order the medium bowl (and nothing else... or maybe some scallion pancakes to share). The noodles are handmade to order. It's really fascinating to watch the chef hand toss them. I never ate anything but soups and scallion pancakes here, so I can't say anything about their orther dishes. Service super nice, the place could be a bit cleaner though. The menus were icky, sticky, dirty...
(4)
Tiffany H.

My family has been eating here for a couple of years now, but it was only recently did the stars align and I got to try it out! Even though the owners and chefs are Cantonese, this restaurant specializes in signature Shandong/Northern style foods such as chow ma mein (spicy seafood noodle soup), gan pong ji (dry fried chicken), zi ran yang rou (cumin lamb), and cong yo bing (green onion pancake). But they don't shy away from Cantonese dishes either--offering also xiaolongbao (which originates from Shanghai, but the Cantonese have extolled it by giving it a place in dimsum so I consider it Cantonese :P) and braised egg tofu cooked in a clay pot. Everything I've tried so far has been really good. The hand pulled noodles (which are in their soup noodle items) are the main selling point. If you're a noodle fan, you'll love The Ark. The noodles are wondrously chewy and offer a good balance of resistance and give in each bite. I've tried the chow ma mein (spicy seafood; not my top choice, but it is my family's favorite), the ching tang niu rou mein (plain beef noodle soup), and the hong shao niu rou mein (the braised beef noodle soup with stewed pieces of beef and tendon - the typical beef noodle soup one would find in Taiwanese restaurants). Their plain beef noodle soup comes in a bright clear broth that is surprisingly flavorful. Perfect comfort food. The broth in the braised beef stew is less impressive (I prefer a richer broth a la Mama Liang's), but it wasn't too bad. The plus, again, is the hand pulled noodles. The broth and the veggies in the soup are all just backup singers to this star. My absolute favorite dishes to get here are the xiaolongbao and the braised egg tofu. You won't be able to resist pork after trying one of their xlb, I swear. The xlb are SO juicy and the skin isn't too thick, but still firm enough to not break if you pick it up with chopsticks. Din Tai Fung's xlb have better skins, but I really think Ark's are juicier. Best xlb I've had in the East Bay!!! The egg tofu is also spectacular, almost as good as the one at Koi Palace. Can't recommend these dishes enough!!! Perhaps my only complaint about The Ark is that I get very sleepy every time I eat their food, even if I eat half the amount I typically do at a Chinese restaurant! This tells me they probably add MSG to some of their dishes :(
(4)
Killian M.

The hand pulled noodles are what stood put for me on my visit. They had just the right texture and tasted so fresh. I ordered the regular beef noodle soup and the juicy steamed pork dumplings. The dumplings were average as was the service. The noodles in the beef soup were the star and the reason that I'll will surely be back.
(4)
Na L.

The best noodle and green onion pan cakes place in Bay Area! Their beef handmade noodles was delicious. Highly recommended!
(4)
Khue M.

I'm not sure if they changed the chef or something, but i think the quality of this place has diminished. So we ordered some cold noodle and my favorite egg tofu thing. They brought out two bowl of cold noodle that had no flavor, It was plain, like boil noodle with some dice cucumber. It wasn't like this when i had it last time, either they deliberately forgot to season it, or it is a new thing that they think is okay. We just ate it with the table soy sauce and some of the sauce from the egg noodle. The egg tofu is still good, though i think the quantity is smaller.
(3)
Raquelle Z.

Recently a friend and I happened upon this place after searching on YELP for an Alameda restaurant. My friend ordered the sesame chicken. Her portion was large enough to share some with me, and the large pieces of chicken were batter-fried and coated in a tasty sauce. We were surprised that this dish was not served with rice. I ordered the beef noodles after reading that the noodles were made in house. I agree with the other reviewers that the noodle were not quite cooked enough because there were a little chewy. I ordered a side of broccoli, and I got a large plate covered with the green vegetable. There was plenty to share, and still more to take home. I thought the food was just OK, and I really don't think the food warrants a return visit for me.
(2)
Daniel A.

Adding an extra star. Came in for lunch today. The 2 servers were very sweet and the Mongolian chicken was amazing! The best I have had! Little sweet, little spicy, white meat chicken an lots of sweet onions. Lunch special was an amazing deal!
(4)
Paul L.

Dear Ark, I've eaten at your place at least 15 times in my many years here. I still think you are one of the more better Chinese eateries in the nearby area. That's high praise considering I've tried many Chinese places, and chinatown is a mere 10 minutes away. it has to be those egg tofu dish. oh my goodness it's so good. So soft in that delicious sauce. Love the Enoki mushrooms with it - so chewy. I order it every time. so good! hope all have a chance to try it out. but I like you because your other dishes are solid as well: the eggplants, the salt and pepper ribs, and can't go wrong with some seafood claypots. not a fan of noodle dishes though many say your noodles are great! there is much I want to say, but I'll probably see you soon. until then. warm up that tofu :)
(4)
Jason F.

Do not let the exterior (or the interior for that matter) of this place turn you down to what's going on inside. Let's be honest, the place is a little hole in the wall, but the food is amazing. From the Juicy Pork Steamed Dumplings to the Freshly Pulled Noodles with Beef Soup. Everything at the Ark Restaurant that I had for the for first time last night was deliciously prepared. My recommendations: Don't leave without getting the signature Hand Pulled Noodle Soup (with whatever floats your boat, beef or seafood) or the ARK Braised Egg Tofu... they are definitely musts. I am sure to return with friends in the future.
(4)
eric h.

Had delivery the other day and the wor wonton soup was not a clear, light broth and was very sweet. The cashew chicken had lots and lots of chicken in it; however, the cashews should've been on the side so they weren't soggy due to the delivery. The order had an error and they delivered the wrong dish. But pretty quickly resolved the issue and brought us the correct dish. Overall not bad... we are still looking for a "go to" Chinese restaurant in Alameda.
(3)
Cynthia P.

The Shanghai dumplings are amazing, and the soup with the handmade noodles was delicious (I got the hot and sour soup). Service is on par with other Asian restaurants with a similar "atmosphere" -- not rude, but not exactly attentive either. I was too full to attempt trying anything else, but I will definitely come back.
(4)
J S.

I love hand-pulled noodles, and this place was recommended to me by my grandmother, who had heard about it through the grapevine. I really wanted to like this place, but the quality of the food was less than stellar. Xiao long bao ($6.99): The skin was too thick, making the dumplings dry on the outside. The dumplings did have plenty of soup, but the wrapping overshadowed the filling. There are definitely better options out there. Beef noodle soup in medium-size ($6.99): While there was plenty of beef, the soup itself was not very flavorful. The noodles were also lacking in texture. Chicken chow mein ($7.50): The large chunks of onion in this dish were so raw that they completely overpowered the dish. There also wasn't much variety. Other than the chicken and overload of onions, there was only a handful of bean sprouts and two random strings of carrots. Green onion pancake ($6.50): This was actually the best part of the meal. Thick, chewy, yet crispy, the flaky pancake layers successfully made me forget about the awful taste of the chow mein.
(2)
Jenn B.

More like 3.5 stars. I came here for lunch today with three other people. We ordered the XLB, garlic noodle, sesame chicken, and the first Ark soup on the menu (I can't remember the name because it was in Cantonese). First came the XLB. 8 pieces for $6.50. I don't have XLB that often, so I'm not an expert. My Chinese friend who LOVES XLB said that they were pretty good. They were a little on the small side. Next came the garlic noodle. I had asked if they could use the hand pulled noodle to make the garlic noodle but she said no. Not sure why. The waitress said that this was one of the most popular things on the menu. They look very plain, but they were good. $6.99. I would order them again. Then came the sesame chicken, which was served with a few pieces of steamed broccoli. Nothing to write home about, really, but I still enjoyed it. Last came a gigantic bowl of hand pulled noodle soup. Since none of us (even two Cantonese speakers) knew the word in the menu, we had to ask about it and the waitress said it was a spicy soup with mixed seafood and pork. The broth is a pretty bright orange red, but I didn't think it was spicy at all. You could tell that the noodles were hand pulled because of the inconsistencies in thickness. Some bites of the noodles were just okay to me. I thought to myself "those store bought garlic noodles have better consistency" a few times, but there were also a few bites that were a great balance of lightness and chewiness. I didn't care for the broth or the items in the soup, and I wouldn't order this again. My friends agreed. I don't know if it's because we didn't LOVE the soup, but we ended up with a TON of leftover soup. It filled up an entire to-go container. The total came out to $38 before tip, so the value is definitely influencing my rating. I also appreciated the noodle man putting on a show for us when he noticed us staring at him. Parking on Park is also difficult, but not impossible. Bring quarters to feed the meters. The place was completely full today at 12:30 until we left at 2.
(4)
Stephanie F.

ARK Seafood Noodle Soup and Juicy Pork Dumplings are fantastic. Family run restaurant with excellent food. Always good eats!!
(5)
Catherine R.

I am definitely a new fan of the Ark Restaurant. I have eaten 5 meals here so far (4 in the last 2 weeks) and everything is excellent. I don't consider myself much of a Chinese cuisine enthusiast, but this place is so good that I keep going back. My recommendations: If you like veggies, go for the string beans dish-perfectly cooked, perfectly seasoned. Never too salty or oily or soggy! The salt and pepper prawns were fantastic- nicely spiced and cooked to perfection. I am gluten and dairy free (except I make room for soy sauce) and have found so many delicious and interesting options here. Check out the cucumber peanut salad-seems kinda weird but the sauce they cover it in is addictive. Order a side of rice to soak it up. The salt and pepper pumpkin tasted like a healthier version french fries. The portions are healthy too. The hot and sour was a favorite with my partner, as that is one of his favorite soups. I enjoyed the Westlake beef soup and the congee (rice porridge) although the congee was on the blander side (ask for extra ginger to perk it up). BTW, congee is the best ever food for flu or hangover recovery. I tried the tofu egg dish once, the first time I was there and really liked it. The chicken chow fun is great as well as the chicken chow mein with their homemade pulled noodles (according to my wheat eating partner.) The won ton soup (not for me) was delicious-the broth was light and flavorful. They end your meal with fruit art. Really, a cut above the usual...and, bathrooms are spotless and the service is wonderful. I don't think you can go wrong here-this restaurant offers top quality fresh and delicious Chinese food.
(5)
Eva Y.

Egg Tofu-Superb! Great with rice; Pea Tips- just right amount of oil in the stir fry; Chicken wings- not that spicy, crispy, tangy and yummy! They now serve beverages such as barley and red bean over ice, fruit juices, and they serve fruits at the end of each meal. Still a fan. Their noodles are pretty good too since it is handmade.
(4)
Velonda H.

hands down the best noodles in town.
(4)
Son V.

Love it. Was just here with my friend Andie Lentil for her birthday. We ate our assess off...
(4)
Vicky L.

Hand. Pulled. Noodles. AMAZING. We stopped in here to grab a quick lunch before heading up to SF to celebrate Mom's bday and OMG. These noodles were epic. We ordered the Beef Noodles, House Chow Mein (using Hand pulled noodles, extra $1), and a basket of XLB. The soup noodles were thin and perfectly chewy. The broth was delicious and the beef was tender. The noodles for the chow mein were thicker and slightly wider. The beef broth was the way to go... not the least bit greasy, perfectly flavorful and delicious enough that I thinking of driving back to eat. Chow mein was a bit more oilier but still good. XLB was nothing to write home about since the skins were definitely on the gummy side. I don't think I'd order these again but I'd definitely come back for the amazing noodles!
(4)
Shinny L.

Fresh noodles. HAND PULLED FRESH NOODLES. And zajang mien the way I ate it growing up - I call it "taiwanese style" - shredded cucumber, pickled cucumber, and ground meat in a brown sauce. Their green onion pancake was also quite delicious and popular. We had the braised cod plate, which reminded me of seafood claypot (one of my favorite dishes on account of the sauce and how the tofu is prepared). They gave us the wrong order of shrimp but the garlic shrimp that we got was pretty tasty so there was no complaining at the table.
(4)
Cassie C.

I want to try everything! This place is so yummy. Living in San Francisco, I literally embark on a 30 min. quest just to come for their hand-pulled noodles. Generous, reasonably priced portions. Sweet and catering servers. Free, decorative fruit plate for dessert. The hot and sour soup has never disappointed. There's also an element of entertainment, as the cooks will made noodles and dumplings in the back behind a glass panel. Bear in mind this is a homely restaurant, but for what it is, it is def as good as it gets.
(5)
Su K.

I was craving Xiao Long Bao (Shanghai soup dumplings), and I was determined to find a decent place in the east bay. And yes! Finally, I found Ark. XLBs at Ark are not huge like the ones at Joe's Shanghai in NY. I think the smaller size represents more authentic XLB. Of course, the size doesn't matter as long as it's full of luscious soup and flavorful pork filling. I actually prefer the smaller size, because you can put the whole thing in your mouth and let the soup pop inside your mouth. Yum!!! The skin is a bit on the thick side, but it's not too thick and it does a good job protecting the juice inside. There's nothing sadder than XLB with lost soup. They use black vinegar for the sauce and there was plenty of julienned ginger for each dumpling. I didn't try other dishes, because XLB was what I came here for. But I saw a lot of people eating noodle soups and jook (porridge). They make hand pulled noodles and they looked quite yummy. It's a small-ish restaurant and fills up quickly. We got here a little before 6pm on Sunday and had no problem with getting a table. By the time we were done eating, there were 2 - 3 groups waiting for a table. At the end of our meal, we got apples and oranges instead of those stupid fortune cookies. This made me very happy! If you're a vegetarian, you won't be able to enjoy any of their noodle soup. They only use beef or chicken broth. They do have other veggie dishes, however. They deliver to Alameda only. Parking around here is extremely challenging . . . I'm reserving 1 star because I haven't tried anything else in the restaurant. . . Next time I'm here, I think I'll try the green onion pancakes and noodles/porridge. Final verdict: Completely satisfied. I will be back at least every other week for XLBs!!!
(4)
Garry Y.

We were in the mood for chinese food and went to Ton Shen restaurant. They are closed on Sundays so we headed to Ark as our second choice. We really enjoyed the hand pulled noodles we ordered the chow fun, Ark house noodles and chicken and broccoli. All were flavorful,.the portion sizes were on the small side so thank goodness we ordered a little more. I highly recommend you try this place if you are in Alameda. Another visit, Oct. 2013 You can order lunch plate all day, it's basically an entree item over rice, we order a rice plate in addition to other courses if we don't want to pay for rice and share family style.
(4)
Nancy P.

Dear Ark: You know me and I know you. I love you dearly. Your juicy pork dumplings cause orgasmic explosions in my mouth and quite possibly elsewhere. Your hand pulled noodles are just that. Fresh and made to order. The braised egg tofu is so yummy - delicate yet infused with the best of flavors. The beef noodle soup is so soothing and satisfying. Mind you the spicy beef noodle soup gets quite salty. The fried spicy wings are sent from heaven. The garlic noodle - although no Crustaceans or Thanh Long, is very garlicy and tasty. On point. I'm in love and the older man may be in love with me. Hehe. I'm not tooting my own horn here. He's constantly pointing at me and mouthing unintellible comments to the Mister (non-Asian). I have yet to witness this though. Only told by the Mister. I try to go every other week. ARK, I dream of you in my sleep.
(5)
Jeremy W.

Egg Tofu= BOMB Dumplings= BOMB Chicken Wings = BOMB This place is crackin. Love the food here, so delicious. Wish I found this restaurant sooner.
(4)
Deborah S.

I should have had the noodles. I had a lunch special. Chicken with green beans. Plus was they added spice for me, negatives were rubbery beans, lackluster sauce, bland soy sauce and really bad egg drop soup. The tea was good, the prices reasonable but I was not inspired. Meh.
(2)
Austin W.

The garlic noodles, braised tofu, and beef dishes are really good here. I came here for the first time yesterday and these items I just mentioned seemed to be on every table. The specialty of the restaurant is their noodles so if not the garlic noodles, try to order something else with noodles. Pretty legit noodles. Be mindful of when you come though, because around 7:00pm, it gets really busy here and wait times can get pretty long. Parking is on the street so it goes without saying that if it's busy in the restaurant, it's probably even more busy on the streets. Good luck finding parking.
(4)
Krystal C.

I've been to this place twice now and really want to love it, especially after reading all these raving reviews on yelp, but I can't help but feel that it's just ok. It's possible that I'm not ordering the right things but wouldn't an amazing restaurant blow you away no matter what you order from the menu anyway? The first time I came here I ordered XLB and garlic noodles. I ordered a ton of XLB as that's what I mainly wanted to eat. It was pretty good but not the best I've ever had- maybe relative to Oakland/Alameda area it is the best. The garlic noodles was also just ok, nothing compared to Thanh Long garlic noodles. I had heard their specialty was hand pulled noodles so asked for that for my garlic noodles and was told that I can only have the hand pulled ones for the soup dishes. ok...... i mean they're all noodles aren't they? The second time I ordered soup noodles, since that's apparently what I have to get in order to get some hand pulled noodles around here. I ordered the spicy beef stew. I honestly didn't notice anything spectacular about the hand pulled noodles and the broth was good enough. I really can't help but be disappointed here. The staff is so nice and it's a small little place. I would potentially come out here again if I'm craving their particular soup noodle but I wouldn't go out of my way. I would strongly recommend Shan Dong over this place.
(3)
Patricia M.

Mmmmmmm.... friends and I tried the green onion pancake (delicious! crispy and not terribly oily like at some places. It had the perfect onion to batter ratio), egg drop soup (light, full of veggies, and refreshing), the green beans with pork, cumin lamb (mouthwatering!!!) the hand pulled tomato/beef chow mein, and the braised egg tofu (I couldn't get enough of it! Smooth, tasty, satisyfing.) Fast service and I enjoyed this comfort food. At times you can see the guy in the back slamming and pulling the noodles! I'd come again to try dumplings and the other varieties of noodles.
(5)
Kitty A.

Ordered Beef stew Lo Mien, hand pulled noodle. Beef was like rubber!!! I made 3 attempts to bite and my teeth bounced off. The beef also had a lot of artery tubes. Noodles were bland. 2 flies hovered the table. Cross contamination in kitchen because I found an octopus tentacle in my dish.
(1)
Stacey W.

Minus the reeedonkulous wait, that occurs in the evening time, I love this place! It is 10 min. from my house, you can watch a man make noodles live, the food is delicious, and the pricing is affordable. I reccomend any of the hand pulled noodle dishes, in particular I love tomato beef chow main and the noodle soups. For a starter, you have to order the soup dumplings, and of course you have to order the egg tofu, my ultimate favorite. I like that the food is reminiscent of someone's grandma cooking for you, and they have a great menu so there's always room to try something new. Definitely an Alameda gem for Asian Food.
(4)
Jesse C.

yummy noodles made from scratch! they got all my favs like xiao long bao, green onion pancake, beef noodle soup, garlic noodles, and some other stuff I don't remember but it was good. I am a fan and will come back to try their congee.
(4)
Christina L.

I love this place in Alameda. They hand-make their own noodles and it really makes a differences. Service: The service here is always pretty decent. They'll seat you quickly and immediately give you some tea or water. Food: I love their noodle soups and their shanghai dumplings. They have pretty good fired chicken wings as well. It's a little different from what I'm used to, but still hits the spot. But I must admit that their other dishes aren't too different from other restaurant. Their good, but nothing to rave about. I also like how they give you pieces of fruit for dessert. It's usually a slice of orange, a lychee, and a watermelon slice. Yummy. Overall: If you're in the mood for some noodle soup, I would definitely recommend this place.
(4)
Grace C.

This place offers hand pulled noodles, Shanghai (Xiao Long Bao?) dumplings, and a really yummy tofu/egg dish. Enough said. Go. Now.
(4)
Tom C.

I love the noodles here. It's really all about the noodles. They have 2 styles of beef noodle soup, a lighter one (West Lake) and a heavier beef stew noodle soup. Both are great, but I really like the beef stew noodle soup being Taiwanese Chinese. The tofu with egg is also a great dish. I personally avoid the more American style dishes like lemon chicken. It's actually not bad, but not my taste. It's also a great place to entertain even though its a bit small b/c the owner and chef will come out and make noodles by hand. It's always a treat to watch him do it and you know you're getting fresh noodles. I also like the touch of having the fruit at the end cut in interesting shapes. Only downside, and why I put 4 stars, is that the wait times can be a little long. Wish they had a larger place. But service is great once you're there and you can stand the wait. (perhaps it also helped that I used to live in the same apartment complex as one of the servers)
(4)
N K.

First time thought it was good, second time threw all the food away..people working there are really nice, but the quality of the food is really low...still in search of a good Chinese restaurant..they all seem to be especially low quality compared to almost any other cuisine.
(1)
Heather L.

Loved it! Handmade noodles: YES you can taste the difference! Loved the juicy pork dumplings (soup dumplings). Meal was great and service was quick and friendly. The only thing we didn't care for were the egg rolls.
(5)
Eric Z.

good~
(3)
Susan A.

Mostly everything that we ordered was real bad. The Beef Stew Noodles had a few little pieces of meat which was bland and overcooked mushy noodles. The Crystal Noodle Stir Fry had no flavor and the noodles were overcooked too and was just a big blob on the plate. Their juicy pot stickers tasted soured. Baked Portuguese chicken with rice was Curry chicken and potatoes. A few small chicken chunks and potato chunks. This was probably the tastiest out of all that was ordered but not what I expected from something labeled Portuguese. The only reason I gave them any stars at all is because they delivered and they were very nice on the phone too.
(2)
May W.

I went here from the raving reviews for this place and I wasn't disappointed in the handmade noodles but everything else was okay. Seafood noodle soup - 4 star! My mom ordered this and that was delicious! Very simple and light not heavy with oil or anything. It was just right and the noodles weren't too chewy it was set in the water for a right amount of time. House chow fun - 3 stars. Not as good as I thought it was maybe because the ho fun was not handmade. The mixture of beef, chicken, and shrimp was not a very good combo but it was decent. Braised Egg Tofu - 4 stars. This was very good! Very light and creamy inside very contrasting with the environment of the exterior which was very nice. I would recommend this to anyone that comes here! Baked Chicken Portugese over rice - 3.0 stars. If you wanted to eat something heavy, this would be it for you. I drank lots of tea just to accomodate this dish. It was good but it was too strong for my taste buds. The heavy curry taste was not what I was used to in a chinese restaurant.
(3)
Sarah W.

Wow! How did The Ark go from a 3.5 average rating to 4? This makes me sooo happy since The Ark is one of my favorite restaurants in all of CA! Good job foodies for giving The Ark a chance. Oh garlic noodles that are so perfectly seasoned, covered in minced garlic, and butter. I love the fact that they're homemade noodles. I loooooove how well they pair with the egg tofu, basil eggplant, and fried garlic kabocha. The perfect dinner date probably consists of the following: 1 order of green onion pancakes to start, 1 order of garlic noodles, 1 order of hand-pulled noodles, and 1 entree of either egg tofu, fried garlic kabocha, or the crispy garlic wings, You will have plenty tasty leftovers and a satisfied meal!!
(5)
Mike L.

I can say, without any reservation, the Ark is the best Chinese I have had in the U.S.
(5)
Rebecca H.

I wouldn't know, it was supposed to open at 11am, and by 11:30 it still wasn't open, no sign on the door, so my 80 year old in laws, husband and I walked somewhere else for lunch, rather than continue standing in the cold. We walked by much later and saw it was open, but who knows when that happened.
(1)
Beatriz U.

Great place for hand-pulled noodles! Whenever I come here, I usually get one of their noodle dishes and I've been able to try the beef stew noodle soup, beef noodle soup and bean paste pork noodles. My favorite is definitely the beef stew noodle soup! Mildly spicy, strong beef flavor, chewy noodles -- perfect for a cold, rainy day! (or any day, really). The beef noodle soup and bean paste pork noodles are both good as well but nothing too special. Flavored wonderfully, but nothing spectacular. Prices are pretty cheap and decent portions that will fill you up. This place is definitely a family-owned restaurant. It's small, simple and the more you come, the more you recognize the workers and owners (and their cute kids who are often at the restaurant!) Wait has never been too long for me, though it can get crowded because it's a small place. If you don't wanna wait, call in your order to-go! They get it ready within 15 minutes. Definitely worth a try! Make sure you get noodles!
(4)
G Y.

Hmm... little gem of a place! Mostly just ordered xiao long bao - these were delicious and not too big or hot, with plenty of soup in each! Would come back for the dumplings. They are known for their handpulled noodles, but we were preoccuppied with eating dumplings! Nice place to have lunch if you find yourself in Alameda and craving dumplings.
(4)
Dilys Y.

HAND PULLED NOODLES, enough said. It is rare to find a chinese restaurant that does fresh noodles. It is so time consuming. But i really like the noodle from this place. I ordered stir fried noodle and a soup noodle. I personally like the house seafood stir fried noodle a alot. I thought that the noodle soup was good but i preferred the dry noodle. The green onion pancake was also very good. Crispy and full of flavor. I also ordered the shanghai dumpling. I thought that it was good but not the best that I ever had. This place is very small and it gets packed. LINE UP EARLY.
(4)
Becky Q.

My boyfriend and I have been looking around for a good xiao long bao place. THIS IS IT! Perfect texture, fully cooked, soup isnt spewing out from an inadequate outer texture. YUMMMMM! Our friend took us here when we were visiting Berkeley from San Francisco. We also had their porridge with the thousand year old egg and pork. In addition, the side order of chinese donuts- yao tiu. The porridge is more on the thicker side, not liquidity. The yao tiu were a perfect texture, crispy, fresh, and not hard. We also ordered the beef stew mein/soup. The chef makes their own noodles here! I heard he usually stands behind the glass and pulls the noodles. Unfortunately, he wasnt there when we went on a Saturday. Nevertheless, we were able to try it. It was a perfect texture. Not sucking up the soup, no emanating weird noodle powder. Satisfying brunch!
(4)
Sarah B.

I've been to the Ark twice for dinner. Service is quick and friendly, and the food is very tasty and generously portioned. Good and filling, but not the best I've ever had. The place is small, but cozy. I recommend anything with the hand-pulled noodles - my favorite is the seafood noodle soup (white fish, cilantro, scallions, shrimp, itty bitty octopus, broth). Watching them make the hand-pulled noodles is such a fantastic treat! I know it's rude to stare, but I always jump up and watch at least once when they start pulling the noodles. Also, for dessert we were served a complimentary treat of artistically cut and arranged assorted fruit. LOVE that detail. Nobody wants another stale fortune cookie! (Side note - this has nothing to do with my rating or review. The only really off-putting thing about my experience is the sad, sad fishtank at the front of the store. They've got five or six large pet fish swimming, or rather, circling, in a tank that looks much too small. They look miserable! What's the deal??)
(4)
Michelle Z.

The food here is pretty decent, but I don't know if it'd be four stars worth because I was kind of expecting more after all the raving reviews I've seen. I guess I would give it three stars- IMO a lot of the food is regular chinese restaurant quality, and slightly oily, but my boyfriend loves it, so we'll bump this review up to a four star review, because yay, we are fans. Parking is no fun, since it's street parking on park in alameda. On a busy night, there can be quite a wait because the restaurant is very small, maybe 8-10 tables for two and two larger tables in the center. We usually get the restaurant's favorites: ark braised tofu and garlic hand made noodles (we ask them to add beef to the noodles). The hand made noodles are exactly what they sound like...noodles dipped in oil and garlic. So I don't see what the great deal about it is, but my boyfriend digs it! I've tried their green onion pancakes, which are a tasty appetizer, but again, nothing too out of the ordinary. Overalll, this is a decent place to check out (I'll probably return to try different dishes) , but really, nothing too special!
(4)
Doug C.

family owned chinese restaurant specializing in dumplings and noodles. everything handmade. XLB: signature menu item, very popular. Lots of juice inside compared to the average XLB restaurant. Not as delicate as Din Tai Fung, but best possible homemade version around. Haven't seen anyone better. Any noodle dish has either hand pulled noodles with slightly chewy texture or the harder yellow style hong kong style noodles which are not hand made. Make sure you specify before hand by looking at the pics or asking. Prices much lower than Cupertino and San Francisco. Small restaurant, staff works extremely hard to staff the table changes. 5 stars for hard working family run operation. A for effort. hard to measure quality as everybody wants someone different. some like orange chicken panda express style. some like authentic chinese flavors like what their grandma used to make some want a cheap price for all they can eat. can get almost all of the above. Impossible to get all the above in 1 restaurant.
(5)
Cyndi G.

I'm still a fan of this place but today, I decided to try something new: the baked pork chop and rice. I was so disappointed. It didn't look like the dish was baked at all and the tomato sauce, from what I gather, was just bottled ketchup with a few wedges of tomatoes. Stick with the noodle dishes, sauteed dishes and the fried chicken. I kept them at 4 stars because it didn't seem fair to knock off a star for not getting the baked pork chop dish right since there are other delicious items on their menu. However, I thought I should inform my fellow Yelpers of my recent finding.
(4)
Pat S.

The Ark has become one of my favorite Chinese restaurants in Alameda. You should definitely try their shrimp with spicy garlic. The shrimp contains a small amount of batter, is lightly fried, and tastes great. The garlic is sliced into very small pieces, is also lightly fried, makes the shrimp taste even better, and also goes great with other dishes that you may order. Chinese green beans accompany this dish, although not a whole lot of it. You also have to try their noodle soups. Their noodles are VERY fresh because they are literally made on a table inside of the restaurant behind a glass window for everyone to see. Their beef noodle soup and beef stew noodle soup are what I recommend since their beef is quite tender. The beef noodle soup contains thinly sliced pieces of beef in a clear broth with daikon (white radish). The beef stew noodle soup contains thicker pieces of beef in a dark (and heavier) broth. Other dishes that I've tried and liked are their rock sole with Chinese greens, Shanghai dumplings, and sesame chicken. At the end of your meal, you get a dish of fruit that is interestingly decorated (or at least this is the case for dinner time because I've never visited for lunch before). See the picture that I uploaded for an example. Don't come here expecting spectacular service... other reviewers have been accurate in saying that the service can be quite slow at times. However, I cut the servers some slack because there is usually only one or two people servicing the entire place, and in general they are nice to you in terms of their personality. In terms of price, the food is not cheap nor expensive.
(4)
Veronica C.

Beef noodle soup = yes Xiao long bao = not bad A small (medium? not large.) bowl is more than enough for me.
(4)
Jose O.

I had the following dishes and just loved the food. Eggplant in Hot Garlic Sauce. Vegetarian Fried Rice Hot & Sour Noodle Soup The Eggplant in hot garlic sauce is the best ever. The dish is normally served in a clay pot at 300 bazillion degrees not here. The Ark was able to avoid the clay pot and retain the entire flavor. They also added roasted garlic, which added a crunchy dimension to the texture of the eggplant. It should be noted the sauce is really not hot, it has a touch of spice and should be consider more sweet than hot. The Hot & Sour Noodle Soup is perfect for this Bay Area weather. The noodle (one long strand) is thick and heavy. A large soup is more than enough for two. The Vegetarian Fried Rice was nothing special but then again what can you really do to fried rice. When it comes to the staff I'm not sure if they are clueless or overworked. On a few occasion I had to point out the obvious to our waitress... Like utensils...and plates... The food seriously saved the day. I recommend the food and plan to return. Price: $28+
(4)
Deana I.

I couldn't resist my dumpling craving so I dragged Victor S. to take me here for a late lunch. We each got an order of the juicy pork dumplings (xiao long bao) and mongolian beef lunch entree. The dumplings came piping hot and I was amazed on how good it was. My only complain is that the dumpling wrap is noticeably thicker. The mongolian beef was a little too spicy for me, but it was still satisfying. I would come back here again.
(4)
Mai L.

Best hand-pulled noodle but I hardly finished, got to share. Try the fried chicken wings in special sauce. The portion is huge and very tasty.
(4)
suzanne l.

I get takeout from here ALL the time--it's one of my favorite Chinese restaurants in the Bay Area. No MSG, just delicious food. Here's what's on my menu rotation: - Seafood beancurd soup - Chicken and broccoli (I ask them to make it spicy). - Tomato beef hand pulled noodles - Minced pork bean paste noodles - Chicken corn soup - Salt and pepper prawns - Xiao long bao Their hand-pulled noodles are authentic and chewy. You gotta get them. The salt and pepper prawns have the most amazing batter too -- super crispy!
(5)
Lyn C.

Tasty Chinese dinner. Everything was great, and there's some entertainment in the back of the restaurant: You can see them making the hand pulled noodles. I will admit, the art of noodle making had me mesmerized me for a bit. Dinner: XLB- Soup dumplings (favorite!) Hand pulled noodles Eggplant chicken basil Average expected service, small restaurant, yummy food.
(4)
Mina K.

I'm extremely delighted to discover that my hometown offers a place which serves delicious Beef Noodle Soup. With chewy, hand-pulled noodles! The broth is flavorful, the meat is tender, and it comes in a huge portion at a reasonable price for Alameda. Everything I could ask for. And only miles away from my house!
(4)
Marc K.

Braised Tofu, and chicken wings are superlicious Tofu was soft circular goodness in a light skin similar to agedashi tofu in a japanese restaurant. Chicken wings were crunchy with a slight sweet flavor. Ark also has xiu long bao which is pretty good. All the hand pulled noodles are good, but dishes depend on what you like. The garlic hand pulled noodles were too sweet for my taste, but the noodles themselves were good. Restaurant is rather small and not particularly visible from the street, but it's good food. Still need to try the other beef soups as they also look pretty good and a lot of people seem to order them. There isn't much street parking around, but there is a parking garage around the corner from the Theatre that might make this restaurant more accessible. Not much for decor, but then again I didn't really notice as I was too busy talking to our friends and stuffing my face. Can't wait to try other things on the menu. -Hoi
(5)
Alice X.

I ordered the Beef Pan Fried Noodle for $6.99 and the portion was HUGE! Tasted pretty good.
(4)
Kris J.

Came here for lunch with my mom. their seafood noodle soup is so good! the noodle is bomb.com . seriously, just give me some noodles, some hot sauce, and I can eat it all day. its chewy, fresh, and they make it in front of you!!! the real deal! their tofu plate is good. Lamb is also very soft too! but the star is the noodle!
(4)
Greg M.

The Honest Truth: Hand-pulled noodles are great! Their other food is pretty standard for a chinese place. It's good, but nothing super special. Its tempting to order other things, but I would stick to their noodles. The Details: I originally came to this place because it was near the Alameda Teaway location (see other review of teaway). It turned out to be a great find! The restaurant is owned by a nice chinese family and their little daughter is often there to help out. I've had their beef stew noodle, chow fun, and juicy pork dumplings. My other friends have had their other hand pulled noodle dishes and they've all been good! Their soups have good flavor and the noodles are great. I haven't had their other dishes, but I imagine that they would be pretty good as well. The juicy pork dumplings are also good! The skin is a little thick, but their juice is nice and flavorful. The Chow fun is standard. It can get busy around lunchtime and dinner time. Come here if you want good noodles!
(4)
Kevin G.

I have walked past this place for years. I get my haircut right next door and have for over 10 years. I finally went in here the other day and man what a great place. The waiter didn't speak English so I had to wait for a girl to come over who could actually take my order. The food came hot and delicious! Tried the curry chicken and a noodle soup and both were outstanding. The cool part came half way through lunch when they start to pull the noodles, and yes it is done by hand. Lunch and a show! Talk about fresh! So here's where it lost a point. They open at 11 but I had to wait till 11:45 for them to open, that was kinda weird. Also I ordered an appetizer and it came at the end of my meal. Okay, so take these two small things off the plate and this place is amazing. I'll be going back.......probably every time I get my hair cut!
(4)
Courtney G.

Meat not the freshest in xiao long bao, skin too thick. Beef noodle soup broth not enough flavor, daikon in it! Ramen (hand pulled noodles) not very rameny. Clearly not made by Lan Zhou people Meat not the freshest in xiao long bao, skin too thick. Beef noodle soup broth not enough flavor, daikon in it! Ramen (hand pulled noodles) not very rameny. Clearly not made by Lan Zhou people
(2)
Alice C.

Can your Chinese restaurant boast that they have a trophy in the corner for hand pulled noodles? Because this one can! Now these noodles were delicious and cooked just right, but HOLY HELL, THE CHICKEN WINGS. And the cumin lamb. I don't even like wings. Or lamb. And now I need a fan, because both these things have left me hot and bothered. For an awesome meal that consisted of 2 noodle dishes (hand pulled, of course), beef brisket in a clay pot (also so tender and flavorful), lamb, wings, and 2 bowls of steamed rice, the whole meal cost the 5 of us $60, INCLUDING tax and tip. And they even gave us a watermelon, lychee, and orange plate for dessert! You bet your brisket I'll be back...with elastic waist pants.
(5)
Sandra W.

Chinese cuisine on crack! haha jk, i only mean to say that everything tasted soooo goood!! What: house special chicken wings, beef stew clay pot, fried pumpkin, flavortastic garlic noodles, mu shu (insert meat choice), ugh so endless... The hand made noodles are amazing, each plate saucy and authentic, each strand so delicious! Yes, every strand deserves my attention and gets devoured evenly. Their house chicken wings remind me of the San Tung dried fried wings, so its really nice to not have to drive all the way to SF to get my crispy saucy chicken wings! Only downside is that this place can get crowded, but the servers do their best to get you in and out. They have 2 servers and they're fast and friendly. They actually have a very demanding environment so kudos to them! I never had to wait too long, maybe long, but not too long if you know what I mean. OK, so like never more than 25 min. Some of their dishes maybe typical chinese dishes. but they make it with care. Not to be over or under cooked. I think they take the extra time to make sure the dish is perfected rather than taking it out too soon. I actually dont want to give it 5 stars cuz then too many ppl will come and then I'll have to start waiting "too long"! haha
(4)
Yi Z.

The Ark is in an area with far too many "fake" Chinese restaurants. Due to its surroundings, I had very low expectations. The noodles are great! I'm not taking about the sauce/soup that the noodles are cooked in, but the hand-pulled noodles themselves. I love that they are not completely uniform in shape and size, which adds to the "hand-made" factor. The sauce for the zhajiangmian was just ok. The XLB remind me of the Nanxiang XLB in Yuyan in Shanghai. The skin is a bit thicker than what I like but at least none of the little pockets busted before landing in my mouth. I asked for a custom-made tofu dish. Although it didn't turn out quite how I had envisioned it, it was delicious nonetheless. (Try the crispy tofu). Finally, we got the cold mung bean noodle/sheets dish mixed with cucumber and meat. For a hot day, this was really refreshing. The sauce for this was excellent. The Ark is a bit expensive for an "authentic" Chinese restaurant but in an area with limited choices, this one is a good option.
(4)
My C.

This place always draws my attention with a picture of this Asian dude smiling pulling noodles by hand, because if you've ever tasted hand drawn noodles, you know, any other noodles just won't do. We finally had the chance to try it! Yums! Ze bf and I wanted to try a variety of things so we ordered a few different dishes. The Bake Portuguese Chicken Rice, The House Chow Mein, and the Dumplings. Baked Portuguese chicken rice was a surprise! To tell you the truth, I really didn't know what to expect, but it came out as a big baked plate of curry looking dish. Tasted like curry too, but with tasty potatoes. Again, not a huge curry fan, but this wasn't all too bad, and after the first bite, it became really delicious. The House chow mein was made with their house hand pulled noodles. Can we say scumptious? Yum! Meaty, tasty, and the hand pulled noodles really makes a world's difference. The dumplings were ordered by every other table, so we had to order it.. It was great, but I think Shan Dong in Oakland's Chinatown tastes better and fresher. they got a little overwhelmed with the full house so service was slightly slow. But food was delivered piping hot, so can't ever complain about that. I loved it that they hovered over this table that was leaving to pick up the tips... classic...
(4)
Mark L.

The first Chinese spot I hit up in the East Bay and I must say that this place is pretty legit and the prices are definitely not bad at all. You wanna know how I know that the place is legit...they make their own noodles. They open up at 430pm on the dot and you can watch the noodles get made right in front of you. That ain't the reason I know this place is legit, I love all the seafood you can order here, the dish with the Cod and vegetables is delicious. The tofu dish with mushrooms is bomb dot com as well; the tofu is nice and crunchy on the outside and perfectly soft in the middle. Oh, and the lamb dish we got is delicious too! The place is quite small so if your gonna have a big group I recommend you definitely let them know ahead of time so they can prep for you. The service here is great, and they definitely take care of you so tip them well. I know King of Thai is just down the street, but if you're tired of King of Thai and want some other Asian cuisine ARK is totally worth eating at.
(5)
Joanne L.

Super authentic food and of course the hand pulled noodles are super amazing. Will definitely continue to spread the word and tell all my friends about this amazing place. The funny thing is watching the chef pull his noodles and since his hands are busy, his assistant will hold the telephone to his ear while he continues his magic pulling noodles. We also loved the steamed dumplings. I look forward to the next visit to eat more delicious noodles. Prices are reasonable and great for family style.
(5)
Ryan K.

I took five meals to go. I had a wait a while, but it was worth it. The inside of the place is less than inspiring, but there was no doubt that I was going to be eating authentic Chinese food. I ordered five dishes featuring their homemade noodles. The chicken noodle soup was full of giant pieces of bok choy and a variety of mushrooms along with big pieces of chicken. My favorite was the pan fried noodles with chicken, which also comes with vegetables in a delicious gravy.
(4)
Ariana B.

Not very big portions, but very friendly staff and decent prices. The food tastes good, not greasy at all which is great in a "cheap" chinese restaurant. We'll be back again.
(4)
Michelle S.

Brought my mom here after we went shopping. It was packed, but we got seated quickly since some of the tables were finishing up. My mom was surprised that I knew what pulled noodles were so she was kind of skeptical whether they really did prepare the noodles there. I quickly pointed to the master behind the glass window and smiled. She was still skeptical and questioned how he could pull so much noodle for everyone so quickly and I told her he just stays there all day lol. She did not believe me until the food came. We ordered: beef stew low mien-noodles had a nice chewy texture (as expected of fresh pulled noodles), but my mom thought the beef was too salty. I liked it and thought that it was stewed to perfection. The meat was so tender! Spicy beef mien-this was the favorite dish by far. EVERYONE loved it, including my nephew that wanted fried rice at a noodle shop. We also ordered Beef noodle soup-that went away quickly. Again compliments to the chef for the noodles. It was perfect for a rainy day. Yang Chow fried rice-it was ok, but what do you expect of a rice dish when you're at a noodle house? service-good, but it took forever to get our food packed to go. The staff had a miscommunication whether we paid or not. They could have just asked if we got our bill or not. We already paid and had to ask the waitress where our food was and that was when she told the man that we had already paid. Overall I got a kick out of proving my mom that I do know what pulled noodles are and that I can tell the difference between fresh noodles and store bought :D. It was a PROUD day! I'll be back :)
(4)
Carlos G.

Too bad I can't give a -star. Finally made it to the Ark for dinner and what a nightmare .... Although we were quickly seated it took 15 minutes for the server to take our order.....3 items ( beef fun,salt and pepper squid and white rice ) After this order was given an hour went by but two tables that came 15 and 20 minutes after us were served (both asian occupied tables ..coincidence ?! maybe, maybe not as I did not mention earlier the host literally threw our menus onto our table ...was rude) So we just got up and walked out before the food arrived ...wish I could have seen the look on her face when she brought our food and we were at Burgermeister around the corner. Never again
(1)
Alton P.

The food is delicious and nicely priced. I suggest starting with the juicy pork dumplings and ensuring you include a noodle dish into one of your entree choices. If you'll excuse me I'll be in my food coma.
(4)
Que H.

This is my second time here. Garlic noodles, Beef noodle stew, Green onion pancake, General chicken, Beef chow fun. All delicious! My first time, ordered Beef noodle stew & Juicy pork steamed dumplings. Definitely try the garlic noodles and beef noodle stew! Absolutely delectable!
(5)
Brian Y.

Their hand pulled noodles are delicious! I've been here five or six times, and I've never ordered anything else, despite the fact that I have to compulsively order something new at every other restaurant. That's how good the noodles are!
(4)
D C.

garlic noodles. Garlic Noodles. GARLIC NOODLES!!! Order them. Why? Well, partly because I'm bossy and I just told you to, but mostly because they're in-freaking-sanely good. The texture of the noodles is just right -- toothsome with a little bit of chew. They're lightly sweet, coated with butter, and garlic, and I don't know... powdered magical unicorn love? Sumthin'. Sumthin' amazin'. Salt and pepper squid: Delicious! Maybe one of the best I've had, and I've eaten a LOT of it in my life. I'm especially enamored with the way it's served here because they give you the tentacles, and I'm a freak for crunchy little leggies. Crispy garlic pumpkin: Sweet, light, crispy, garlicky. Pretty amazing, but sometimes it's a little dry. I blame that more on the inconsistency from one kabocha to the next, so it's really not an issue for me. Xiao long bao: Yes, they're small. Small, but juicy. I'm a big fan of the XLB from the Shanghai Dumpling Shop in Millbrae, where they serve up more sizable dumplings with a thinner skin, but these are still great. Don't let the size deter you from ordering them -- there's a benefit to it -- they're perfectly suited to being popped into your mouth whole, where you can experience an unadulterated juice explosion without looking like too much of a savage. Green onion lamb: Super tender, not gamy. When the dish arrived, it wasn't what I was expecting, but I enjoyed it so much that I'll order it again. The lamb is cut not into chunks, but into strips/flat pieces sort of the way beef is cut for beef and broccoli. Green onion pancake: Meh. I have yet to find a place that makes them the way I like them (and make them at home), which is thin (1/4" thick or less, super crispy on the outside and just a tiny bit chewy on the inside). These are on the thick side, although nowhere near the bready, doughy monstrosities I've seen at a lot of other places. Barring the homemade variety, this is probably as good as you'll find anywhere. Ambience is... well, it's a Chinese restaurant -- there's not a lot to say about it, but sometimes you're treated to a show by the noodle puller, and that's always fun. Prices are decent, service is attentive, seating is slightly limited. Parking is a nightmare, but the garlic noodles are worth it. GARLIC NOODLES!
(5)
Patty P.

When I went here with my boyfriend they were attentive but forgot the egg in my egg drop soup. After I let them know they were very apologetic, but it was a bit frustrating! There dishes were yummy though!
(2)
Sharon R.

Handmade noodles, this place is THE place in Alameda to go to. I've tried other dishes and they're just OK, but the dumplings and noodles are great.
(3)
Lisa B.

I've eaten at the Ark several times and their service is very fast and the waiters are very friendly. The food is very good. They are famous for their hand-pulled noodles.
(4)
Rafael A.

Beef in claypot, meatless chicken, prawns in lobster sauce and tomato beef chow mein were actually really really good. Service is worse than horrible...Ill probably just order to go from now on.
(3)
Kenson K.

The restaurant has a bit of charm here. Honestly I would give it 2.5 stars. I had to wait a while for my noodles to come out, while my bf had already started on his noodles 5 minutes ago. We shared shanghai dumplings, which were good, but I found the dough on the outside to be rather thick. I've had shanghai dumplings in the city where the dough was thinner, which I like. Onto the noodles. I ordered the beef noodles. The noodles had a very nice texture, which I liked. I never had hand pulled noodles before. But, I do like my noodle broth to have a more robust flavor. I was expecting something that had a beef base, like pho or something. The broth , I found, was very light, almost clear. I had to add soy sauce to it. I typically like sapporo style ramen which has very "in your face flavor", or a good pho with beef or chicken flavoring. This broth was lacking in that department. But I guess like in Japan, ramen varies from region to region, so maybe the region in China where the chef is from has this style of broth. Where are all the good ramen places in the bay? I can't seem to find any.
(3)
Rrr X.

Come here if you like the idea that Chinese food is bad, lousy, cheap, oily, dirty and full of msg. If I could give it a zero star I would. I usually give business the benefit of doubt and have never given a bad review on Yelp, until now. And of course, the service is horrible. My family doesn't waste food so when it came time to get the check we got containers to go. One of the containers had mystery stains on the inside. We asked for a clean container and the waiter brings another dirty one to us. When we pointed it out, he slams the container on the counter, screams it's not the same one, and begrudgingly gets us a third container. PLEASE GO TO ANOTHER RESTAURANT TO SPEND YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY.
(1)
Jennifer L.

Why oh why do I keep letting these four Yelp stars trick me into thinking that I just ordered the wrong thing? After three separate experiences, I guess I just do not like The Ark.
(2)
MJ F.

The place looks doing good and packed on Sat night. I know their specialty is hand pull noodle so I went to try it. I had a pork soup dumpling and it was very good. But, beef noodle, I thought it was just alright. I need more "punch" in flavor of the soup. I also had salt and pepper prawn, I thought it was alright too. I can come back for soup dumping and give another try for something else. But, to be honest, it was not as much as I expected.
(3)
Kazoua T.

I love this place. It's in Alameda and it's convenient. I've never done take out before. Too scared to do that with soup. We usually order the following: 1. Beef Stew Noodle Soup 2. Bean sheet cucumber salad with pork - Only in the summer time though. it's so refreshing on a hot day. 3. Green onion pancake 4. Shanghai dumplings are only okay. I've had better so I don't order this often. 5. Ark Braised Egg Tofu is so yummy. 6. Baked Portuguese chicken and rice.
(4)
Troy M.

Green onion pancake has been consistently yummy.
(4)
Dawn T.

Don't ask questions, just go get the garlic noodles and the egg-braised tofu!!! They're so amazing!!! Sometimes I'll just get two or three orders of garlic noodles to-go and eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner (the goal is to make them last a week, but I usually end up getting about three days out of it, tops). I don't care if my husband stops kissing me! I also forgot that my dad hates Chinese food (thinks it's too greasy) and dragged my parents here when they came to visit, but he loved the food too! The restaurant itself is tiny and seating can take a little while on certain nights, so take-out is really recommended. Unfortunately their containers are pretty cheap; the bottoms usually crack by the time we get home and the sauces from all of the dishes leak all over the place. It's still worth it though; clearly I will forgo anything from kisses to cleanliness for some garlic noodles.
(5)
Vicky L.

Hand pulled noodles are the main draw at this small chinese restaurant on Park Street. As you are eating, the chef is putting on a little show behind the glass kitchen wall, rolling, kneading, molding, banging, a huge piece of noodle dough into what will be thin, slurpy, noodles in the soup of your choice. Try the Egg Tofu, a japanese tofu made with a mixture of eggs and tofu. Egg tofu has a great hot, soft, and silky texture that goes very well with rice. Pros: Good Chinese Food, relatively inexpensive Cons: Small restaurant, long wait.
(3)
Ken W.

Very disappointing experience this time. Or should I say the last time. I really like the food at the Ark and I also like their hot mustard very much. When I placed the order tonight, I specifically mentioned to add hot mustard to the order. Three times. After it was delivered, we opened the bag with the food and - surprise - no hot mustard. I called the restaurant and whoever answered the phone kept saying "we're very busy". I asked if they were going to bring some by and again, they said "we're very busy. We'll bring it next time". Unfortunately to the Ark owners, there won't be a 'next time'. I heard a quote about why people don't come back to businesses - "they leave because of indifferent attitudes of management and staff". Seems to fit well in this case.
(1)
Steve T.

Excellent hand-pulled noodles. This was a real treat. True, you don't get a bowlful. But the noodles you do get are wonderful. I ordered the beef stew and even took a picture of the chef pulling my noodles (cue rimshot). Even without the noodles, the dish is worth four stars. Excellent broth. Tasty stew meat. Fresh bok choi. Throw in wondeful noodles on top of that and this is a five-star restaurant. And it's cheap, too. Just $7 for what is truly a gourmet dish. Food doesn't have to have French Laundry prices to be gourmet.
(5)
Beebs A.

My family and I have been going and ordering chinese food from The Ark for years. The food is delicious, fresh and prepared in a timely manner. The service is nice and the restaurant is family friendly. It's small, but we've never waited more than 15 minutes. Darn....now I'm hungry for yummy chinese food :)
(4)
vic f.

First off there isn't any significance to my 100th review being here but here you go anyways... Always wondering about the draw of the hand pull noodle versus ultra fresh machine made which I am used to from Oakland's YuenHop, I had to have a point of reference. So here we went for a late Sunday brunch. We ordered up the usual apps recommended by the Yelp peps. Onion pancakes - flakey delicate layers of dough and green onions, fried to crunchy goodness, good as other places such as Henry's in SF, but not a must do, give it a 3 Garlic noodles - cardiologist buttery garlicy goodness toss into super fresh noodles. A definite must order maybe even two, as in my opinon the order was a little skimpy otherwise a solid 4 Ark Special egg tofu - being a lover of the flavor carrier bka Tofu, this was on my list of definite must try. These guys got it right, silky egg tofu fried with a light crust so it keeps shape, then drowned in a mushroom chicken sauce. I say submerged only as in my opinion the sauce could have used a tiny more kick and less volume, maybe the "how-chu"/chef was having an off day, 3.5 maybe a 4 next time. Beef noodle soup - the hand pulled noodles definitely showed their unique texture off on this one, it is better than machine but the hype was a bit much. The soup consisted of the aforementioned noodles, bok choy, chinese turnip, and their version of braised beef. The beef definitely took the dish down a notch as is was too simple. Here I go again modifying the dish, it really could have used a old time Oakland CT beef stew with sauce. Noodles 4+beef 3, knocking down to a 3.5. Overall it is definitely a 3.5 that could easily be a 4.0, let me back into the kitchen. I will be back.
(4)
Jonas H.

Yes! I've been seeking hand-pulled noodles (lan zhou la mian) since I moved here 3 years ago. Now I've found them. They taste great and the broth is good too. Worth the visit, I'll be back.
(5)
Leily P.

Not a fan - maybe it was an off night, but the food took FOREVER to come out. To make it worse, the table of 5 next to us who appeared to be friends with the manager (?) ALL received their food way before us. We waited over 20 minutes for our xlb to come out, and then another 20 minutes for the rest of the food. The food was okay - ordered the xlb (the "juicy" pork wontons) which were good but not amazing, beef stew noodles which I do not recommend (the broth had a weird flavor and the noodles were just okay), schezwan chicken which was good but tasted like kung pao chicken, and chow fun - good but how can you go wrong with this dish. Overall not a place to come back, especially when there's a wait. The restaurant is really small and apparently has maybe 1 cook back there for the entire place. It's not getting 1 star because the food is actually decent, but the wait is just unacceptable.
(2)
Carrie K.

Our favorite Chinese food in Alameda. Delicious dumplings, and great homemade noodles that they make right in front of diners. Kid-friendly. I took off one star for the extremely slow carryout service we received one weekend. Also, they are sometimes out of menu items or advertised specials.
(4)
Sam W.

I'm not usually a huge chinese food kind of person, my first thought of chinese food is greasy galore! This place was different! Came here w/some friends while during the Nike Half Marathon weekend to carb up hahaha.. It's a small restaurant mind you, but it can fit a decent amount of people. Servers were nice, attentive as well.. brought back our food in a timely matter. We ordered probably 5 different things, but the one thing that stuck up the most was the Garlic Noodles (also hand pulled); it's for sure a MUST at $7 for a nice sized plate of super garlicy noodles- but its wasn't too garlicy where you would scare vampires away or anything, but just enough, and it wasn't greasy as well! A must for ordering!
(4)
Hungry And Brok E.

Disappointed with the food and surprised the reviews on yelp have been good. I've given this place multiple tries and each time the food was mediocre with my last order of basil chicken a disappointment. I could hv made better basil chicken. I could tastes some of the burnt parts where the pan was not cleaned off before stir frying my dish. Do not suggest you order this dish....only flavored with soy, so pretty bland and basic. The potsticjers are bland but so o if u use the dipping sauce. Hand pulled noodles! Texture was good, but flavor just wasn't there... For dumplings and good Chinese food, I'd rather drive out to the city and go to shanghai dumpling king!
(3)
Cindy C.

3.7 stars! Forgive me Sis! This place is good, but I had better. However, this is the best place for hand-pulled noodles and the chicken wings in Alameda. If you like Sweet Korean chicken wings, then you'll like chicken wings here.
(3)
Stephen S.

the steam pork bun is great, noodles are great, what they should work on is the soup. Don't have much flavor.
(4)
Tina L.

I am a sucker for hand pulled noodles; seriously watching them being made puts me in a trance but- home made noodles are hard to find! Ate here the other night and am kicking myself for missing out all these years. We actually debated on ordering ALL noodle dishes- but that'd be weird- just more reasons to come back :D, everything sounded scrumptious! 1- Fried Pork Pot stickers: I never order pot stickers- this is the 2nd time I can recall getting them (Plug for Koryo Jajang on Telegraph!) These were lightly pan fried; the wrappers were thick and uber chewy and the filling was flavorful. The dipping sauce was super vinegary- who doesn't love vinegar? 2- Garlic Noodles; enough said a MUST- $7 for a heaping plate of super garlicy noodles- but not garlicy enough to make you reek of soup 12 hours later (ha) and they weren't too greasy. 3- Ark Braised Egg Tofu: This was delish; super soft and pan fried. They were light, airy and flavorful- saucy but only by choice. The mushrooms were super chewy and there were thin strips of chicken to give it some umph. I'm definitely heading back here- great Alameda find. PS: The service was great; staff was super attentive and friendly- that is a big PLUS.
(4)
claudia y.

friendly neighborhood noodle restaurant. we had siulongbao, jajiang mein, and beef noodle soup. all were delicious and fresh. while we waited for our food, the award winning noodle pulling guy did some noodle pulling.
(4)
Andrew M.

Hand pulled garlic noodles. Their star specialty. Cumin Lamb. I can live on these two dishes alone. If you come here, do not fail to get the garlic noodles. This not an option. Its mandatory. If you like cumin, get the cumin lamb. You will not regret it. As usual when I tag along with the gf's family, they order a BUTTLOAD of food. Always too much to finish. Its an amazing sight.
(5)
Ami D.

I always get their Wonton Soup. So delicious! But the portions are big so it's best to come here if you want to eat family style.
(4)
Otney B.

Still love the Ark. I think they are closed on Tuesdays. The people who work here are so nice. DO NOT MISS THE VEGETARIAN CRISPY "CHICKEN." Which is like fried breaded gluten, I think. So very very very good. Also, the peanuts and cucumber. We go to this place over and over. Happy vegetarian diner, happy non-vegetarian diners all;
(5)
Tracy T.

New Addition: Hand pulled noodles! They even set up a glass window, so the chef can demonstrate his noodle pulling skills. It's an interesting sight to see how the chef twists the noodle dough like he going to make a pretzel, but pulls it with his fingers and out comes what is served in your bowl of noodle soup. The noodles are alright, they remind me of thick spaghetti noodles. The wait time for food is definitely longer now and a plate of boiled salty peanuts does not compensate for it. Very evident by the individuals that complained that their food was taking too long to come out to the whole entire restaurant. There is also a separate menu for different types of noodle dishes. Chicken noodle is good, but if you like spicy, the seafood noodle is even better. I still love the sliced fish porridge here, so good and such large portions too! This new addition has attracted more customers, but they need to start hiring more workers or people will complain.
(3)
Michelle M.

My aunt just took me here for a (belated) birthday dinner, and I cannot say enough about this place. We had two orders of xiao long bao, braised egg tofu (perhaps a Chinese agedashi), beef noodle soup, and green onion pancakes. We came out under $50 with tax. SO GOOD. The noodles are hand-made here; you can watch the chef if you don't believe me. They taste noticeably fresh! I'm rubbing the rice belly I now have for luck because it was just so delicious. I'm afraid to give this place too high a rating in the event it's overcrowded the next time I'm in town. It certainly made my birthday a memorable one!
(5)
RuffNReddy R.

Chicken noodle soup & sautÃ©ed Chinese broccoli. I crave this combo. Add sesame chicken and its golden. Also, for garlic lovers, the garlic noodles are amazing!
(5)
Shib W.

This place is great, but experiment with the menu to find things you like. This is not a cookie-cutter Chinese place, they have some specialties that won't necessarily be to everyone's liking. For me, I have my favorites, and they keep me coming back. Both the "Juicy Pork Steamed Dumplings" (XLB) and the "Fresh pork dumplings" are delicious. The XLB are the best around - not *perfect* but really really good. The hand-pulled noodles are delicious, but not all the sauces are going to be recognizable. Some are subtle tastes people might remember from the old country that play out as bland to our palate. For me, I stick with the "Bean paste pork noodles" - five star no doubt. They are good with lamb, so try a dish(cumin/mongolian or a special). Alameda is lucky to have this place.
(5)
Ralph C.

I really wanted to like this place, since I've experienced so much bad Chinese food in the Bay Area. I'm hoping they were having an off day. Here was my experience: Was seated for lunch on a Saturday only a few other tables were filled. Service is why they are getting one star instead of two. After being seated for lunch it took my server about twelve minutes to take my order- I was ready in about two. I always rate a Chinese restaurant on two of my all time American-Chinese favorites-either Peking Duck or Kung-Pao chicken. The Kung Pao chicken sauce was actually decent-but the veggies needed to be diced a little smaller. Peanuts were bland and poorly roasted. The server served my glass of water by caring it at the top of the glass- she should grasp it from the base. After quickly finishing the dish, I waited another twenty minutes for my check. I finally just placed the cash for the lunch and an extra two bucks for the astute service and left. I guess I should have had the hand-pulled noodles-but if they can't pull off a decent Kung-Pao chicken -its not hard- don't put it on the menu and focus on your noodle dishes.
(1)
Mei-Shan B.

The braised tofu dish is amazingly delicious. Even if you don't like tofu, you will fall in love with this dish. Make sure to order a side of rice so you can eat up all the yummy sauce it comes it. The hand pulled noodles are also pretty good. The downside of this place is that it's always crowded, so it's a pretty long wait for your food to come.. definately call in your order to go unless you have hours to kill.
(4)
Roman K.

I had seen the Ark restaurant whenever we was walking around Alameda center, but had not an opportunity to stop by. Finally, a good opportunity came, and we ventured in - and I wish I had done so a long time ago. As we entered, the cooking aroma was very enticing,we got attended by the wait staff immediately, who were quite ready to take our order immediately. The problem was that the menu had too many interesting items, and it took us (it was two of us at the moment) to decide on the two dishes we just had to try... In short, the two chosen dishes were crispy squash with fried garlic, and braised sole filets. Both were great, and the squash dish was unlike anything else I had a chance to eat in any of the Asian restaurants in the US, and was very impressive. The sole was very fresh and well cooked, and there was quite a bit of fish for the price. Strongly recommend the Ark, and will definitely try to go there again when in Alameda center...
(5)
JC N.

chicken wings, shrimp, garlic noodle, bamboo shot, and the dumpling was great. service: the waiter didn't really speak English though. but did attend to us when we need them. parking was ok price is ok. over all ill be back
(4)
Jen R.

Soupy craving during a cold day but ended up ordering non soupy stuff as well, yay! Porridge with old egg: thick but tasty, a better than average porridge Broccoli with beef: not so oily, crispy broccoli, meat was just right. One of the better ones I've had Seafood soup: generous portions of seafood, hand pulled noodles with excellent texture Lo mein with tomato beef: kinda like an Asian spaghetti with hand pulled noodles. tasted good to me.
(4)
Andrea F.

Hot sour soup sooooo good! You have to get the hand made noodles! Also the steamed dumplings are amazing. Good prices.
(5)
Christina C.

If you were an old italian man trapped in a little asian girl body, you would know how I feel. Especially now that this little asian girl has managed to lose some of the fluffiness that has haunted her all her life and is on her way to ROCK HARD ABS. Yes. I am renting out my rippled abs for Christmas. To be used as a serving platter for a burrito. I am so sick today. I have a runny nostril, only one. My other ear hurts. My throat hurts. I have a migraine that feels like Zeus parked his triton on the right hand side of my skull. And fevers and chills. Sounds great, doesn't it? My parents took pity on my and hauled my sick, drippy little asian self over to this place. Noodles are my comfort food. When I am sick, I want noodles. When I'm sad, I want noodles. I can eat noodles almost any time of the year. But. I want a combination of Italian al-dente and chinese chewiness. Al dente does not mean crunchy-raw-in-the-center. And Chinese noodles should not be mistaken for bulk rubber bands. We got the beef noodle soup, spicy beef stew noodle soup, and the seafood combination noodle soup. My always paranoid asian mother forbid me to have the spicy hot & sour noodle soup because it may damage my fragile lotus blossom sore throat. Or clear up my nostrils permanently. The broth for the seafood and beef noodle soups was very tasty. Clear, flavorful, and bright. Have you ever had a bright broth? It's worth trying. The spicy beef noodle soup was decent but lacked the richness of marrow and hours of simmering. And the noodles. PERFECTLY perfect. It was al dente. It was chewy. It was firm. But not hard. It was not on its way to being gelatinous. It was just the way noodles are suppose to behave. Imagine what cartoonish noodle-twirling on a fork looks like. Imagine it in a Disney-perfect way. And that is what I ate. The texture was so perfect, it kept slipping off my chopsticks. Or I was delirious, I don't know. My coordination is down in the dumps today.
(5)
Courtney K.

This place is pretty much a hole in the wall but the food is great! Me & my bestie found this place and everytime we go we get the handpulled garlic noodles, fried crab wontons, prawn fried rice & crispy garlic shimp with green beans! AMAZING! The atmosphere is very chill and they can get pretty busy but the food is worth the wait!
(5)
Tracy T.

This is the place to go for Xiao Long Bao (Steamed Pork Dumplings). Flavorful broth, tasty meat, the vinegar sauce is also quite good. I've heard from mainland natives/the well-traveled, that the skin is a little thick, but it does not bother me. I also like how they steam their Gai Lan instead of fry it (oil just means extra calories, and you're eating vegetables- TRYING to be healthy, so steamed is great)
(5)
Joan T.

You got to try there Ark egg tofu special. It's delicious!
(4)
Christine C.

I have a big gripe with this restaurant, and it involves racial insensitivity. I ate here with my children today, and I cannot believe the treatment we were getting from this one waiter. First he asked if my kids spoke Chinese, and I replied back that they knew little. He then starts talking about us to his co-worker about how shameful it is that my kids can't really speak Chinese and that they don't even drink tea. The place is small, so I heard everything since I can speak Chinese! The food is decent and I like the noodles, but I have my pick of many other Chinese restaurants so it's sad that they have lost my business for now. The only saving grace was the regular waitress who served us later; she's really nice.
(2)
Annie D.

Their egg tofu is to die for! I can never replicate it at home. How do they make the tofu perfectly crispy and so soft in the middle? Every time my family and i visit, our usual order would be the egg tofu with enoki mushrooms, chicken wings and the garlic eggplant.
(4)
tony c.

the ark is probably my favorite chinese restaurant on the island! so many tasty goodies. the braised tofu is a great yelp suggestion if you're into silken tofu - it's definitely not ultra firm or crispy. can't go wrong with anything containing dry braised string beans- my favorite thing on the menu. get something with hand pulled noodles! and make sure you eat there so you can see the guy flinging them around and slamming them against the counter while he stares off into space an chats angrily through his bluetooth headset on a phonecard assisted long distance call next to a shelf with bad sterling and bv wines that no one will ever drink. there's probably a lucky cat around there too. seriously though, it's kind of entertaining to watch. and it gives you something to do other than obligatorily chit chat about the weather with your dinnermates. anyway, check them out. you won't be disappointed.
(5)
Christine K.

If you want quick cheap/affordable Chinese food this is the place for you. If you want clean/sanitized Chinese food. This is definitely NOT the place for you! After my boyfriend and I finished our meal, we decided to watch the man make the noodles. We thought to ourselves..."Hey that's so cool!" After a mere second of watching we noticed the sink next to him. We were absolutely flabbergasted. The sink was covered in green, black, orange mold! Need I need to say more?
(2)
Tony U.

I think this is a 3.5 Star place; I'm gonna knock it down to 3 starts because of the lousy floor foundation which makes the ground wave up and down when any waiter, patron, or waitress walks by. To this place's credit, I do believe it has the best Chinese in Alameda. They serve very good quality spicy noodle soup, reminiscent of San Wan Soup Noodles (in SF's Japantown). They also serve Juk (congee) here and it was pretty good. I had the minced beef with cilantro. They do not serve my favorite juk which is liver/kidney juk, but that's ok. This place also must have a Macau influence as they serve Portuguese Chicken Rice which is chicken and rice topped in a mild but sesame-ish flavored sauce coating...kind of like how Foster Freeze Ice Cream is Coated with Chocolate, only this isn't dessert. At the restaurant, the noodle hand puller does his show and it's fun to watch. The service is quick and reliable and although the fly factor annoys me, it wouldn't prevent me from coming here again. Although I only give this 3 stars, it's a good 3 stars but just not quite good enough to be bumped up to 4. With little modifications, this could easily be 4 stars, but not beyond that.
(3)
Kim R.

WOW!!! I haven't had good Chinese food like this since I came back to the States!!!! When Cynan & I went; we were 2 patrons that didn't speak Cantonese! I tried to get by with the few words that I know. The soup dumplings were amazing! Hell, everything we had was amazing!!! I would go again!!!
(5)
Rafael N.

Not your average Chinacan place!!!!! baked rice dishes Fried spicy pumpkin w/garlic Hand pulled noodle dishes (not ur noodle hand pulled) lamb boiled peanuts Minus just cuz it kinna small n the food takes a while. So if ur starving or fighting n not in the mood for convo maybe another day.....
(4)
Niki B.

this place was crazy delicious!!!!!!!!!!!!!! loved everything. best crab rangoon, scallion pancake & dumplings. all the noodles were awesome - especially the garlic noodles. cannot wait to go back!!!
(5)
Nathan W.

I can't believe that I took so long to finally check this place out. Had I known how good it was, this would have become by default Chinese spot years ago... Brought the family in recently and ordered a mini feast. We started with their version of pot stickers, which come ten to an order and can best be described as pan-fried heroin. Addictive. The wonton soup was simple and delicious. The chicken chow mein with hand-pulled noodles showed off one of this restaurant's specialties, and was rather popular at the table. The chewy noodles were awesome. The superstars here, however, were the Mongolian lamb and prawns with spicy garlic. The lamb was tender and succulent, and the prawns were some of the best that my wife had ever had. This dish was served dry, and topped with crisp bits of fried garlic. A thoroughly lovely presentation... The room is cramped, with led to issues with some larger parties that had came in after we were seated. The staff doesn't speak the best English, but they are very friendly and try their best to accomodate you. A genuine smile always goes a long way. All in all, we as Alamedans are lucky to have a place like this...
(4)
Internet S.

It was good. I had the shrimp chow mein with house noodles. It was served hot with three of my favorite things: onion, green onion, and shrimp. I just wish I could have ordered the garlic noodles with house made noodles but it is not served that way. The atmoshpere was nice. Was greeted and told to sit anywhere. They brought a pot of tea. When they brought the check they also brought a plate with nicely sculpted orange, apple and pineapple. The price was reasonable, $7.99 and it was filling. Would recommend going.
(4)
Uland W.

100% great place! Try one of their hand pulled noodles. I suggest the Beef Noodle Soup or their Shredded Pork Cold Noodles. The place is small but has a lot of character. For one you might be able to catch the chef coming out on occasions to make noodles for someone's dinner order. If you haven't tried Steam Dumplings before, I suggest you order a serving. Just becareful it's really juicy and people been known to squirt sauce out when biting. One of my favorite places to eat Chinese Food.
(5)
Beanne N.

The wait during dinner time was horrible. When we were finally seated we pretty much knew what we were going to order since we had so much time to look at the menu by the door. Ordered the soup dumplings and the beef stew noodle soup. The dumplings were good, maybe I was just too hungry at this point. The stew was also good but something was missing. However the hand pulled noodles did gain some points in my book. Great texture!
(3)
Monica W.

Ark's claim to fame is their hand-pulled noodles and they're good, but not great. You can watch the chef make the noodles as you sit, which is cool but the actual noodle dishes are good, but not fantastic. I guess my biggest gripe about them is there's always a few really thin or really fat noodles in my bowl. This means they weren't completely pulled evenly. I've had the chicken noodle soup, ja jiang mien, and tomato beef noodle. The broth was decent, a bit sweet but not really unremarkable. The tomato beef is like an asian version of spaghetti, except sweeter. We had the fried lamb skewers last time which were actually really good, but the portion was SUPER small - not worth the money. The egg tofu was actually really good, especially with rice so I recommend that. They have a pretty ghetto menu in that it's bound by one of those clear report covers you use in high school. The location is small and service is what you expect of a Chinese restaurant (aka, pretty much non-existent). If you're in the area, I say it's worth a stop to try the hand-pulled noodles but they're not worth a special trip.
(3)
Stephanie D.

If it weren't for my brother I wouldn't have bothered trying out Ark. I just figured it was another Chinese American pop up in Alameda. That is hardly the case. There was only one place I would head to for hand pulled noodles and that's in Oakland. Now I have an even CLOSER place. Ahh what joy. All that we ordered was a hit for our family. We had a spread of soupy dumplings, green onion pancake, chicken wings in special sauce, mongolian beef, the bean paste pork noodles & sizzling rice soup. There's so much more that I wanted to try, thank goodness we've scheduled another family dinner for as soon as this Friday. This place is tiny and a bit stuffy but was well worth the wait. The staff was so helpful and so very friendly. This is the type of joint I enjoy.
(5)
Rossi K.

Good food at a great price. Our favorites are: ark braised egg tofu, crispy chicken wings w/special sauce, crispy prawns w/spicy garlic and garlic noodles. *drool* Wait time could be any where 30 minutes+ during peak hours due to the tiny size of the restaurant but totally worth it!
(5)
LauraLuna X.

Okay, so I lived a year in Shanghai, and like anyone who lives in a spot for a while, I got really hooked on some local dishes. I lived for my Saturday lunches - on break from teaching English to a class of 40 ten-year-olds - because I would always get the same delicious thing: Niu Ro Mian (nyoh roh myenn), a murky beef stew with noodles and baby bok choy, and Xiao Long Bao, little steamed dumplings with thin skin, containing a pork meatball and some seriously scalding hot broth. I added hot chili oil to both of these dishes liberally and they always made me deeply happy. Back in the states, it proved pretty impossible for me to find these things. My reading Chinese ain't that great, and "Niu Ro Mian" means literally "Beef Noodle Soup," so you can imagine the pitying looks I got from restaurant folks, who were like, "Yeah, we've got 15 kinds of beef noodle soup. Care to be more specific?" One Shanghainese place on Geary was almost okay, but the soup wasn't spicy (at all!) and the skin on the dumplings was too fat and flabby. Then they closed. Then....then I found The Ark. Like the biblical rescue vessel it's named after, it saved me from drowning in a sea of mediocre soups and flabby dumplings. Their Xiao Long Bao are *perfect* - hot as hell and delicious with hot chili oil, and their Niu Ro Mian (though not as full of bok choy as I like) has warmed many a winter's day for me. Their chef also hand-pulls all the noodles, resulting in a fresh, springy quality that simply can't be replicated by rehydrated dry noodles. And it's affordable! And it's a mile from the house! Service is a little disorganized, but everyone I've interacted with is really sweet. So - why only 4 stars? The interior of the place will never win any decorating awards. And someone needs to tell them how to get rid of the 2 or 3 flies that seem to have taken up permanent residence. That said, I eat there all the damn time and look forward to it each time with an almost embarrassing intensity. Check it out, please oh please. I want this restaurant to stay in business in my hood so I can get my soup & dumplings forever.
(4)
Christine S.

I recommend their garlic noodles and egg tofu are some of the best dishes. Service for the most part is friendly and accommodating. It's a little dark inside and a bit janky, but the food is delicious. I love that they make their own noodles.
(4)
Elena H.

Came here based on recommendation of a co-worker. Excellent food. We had the xiaolong Pao, yuzi tofu, seafood hand pulled noodle and taro seafood baked rice. They were all delicious. We will definitely come back again.
(4)
Patty L.

Like mother like daughter. We both love to enjoy good food. We pig out together and mother daughter bonding follows suit. My mom saw an ad for Ark in the Chinese newspaper and convinced me that we had to go there, so we went on a sunny Saturday afternoon. I'm normally terrified of Chinese restaurants; dishes overladen with grease and heavily salted meats usually don't sit well with me. There is also the MSG factor. Oh dear. Ark, however, was the most pleasant surprise. Elegant dishes were served piping hot to us, and they were tasty as hell. I could not stop eating! While waiting for our food, I was thoroughly entertained by watching a young chef stand behind a glass wall, twirling a giant slab of dough in a very skilled and artistic manner while yapping away with his bluetooth headset. Indeed, he was making hand pulled noodles. He stretched and weaved the dough so perfectly between his fingers that what resulted looked like perfect strands of spaghetti. Amazing! The service is a bit slow, especially around lunchtime when it's crazy packed. It helps to have a mama who speaks fluent Chinese and is aggressive enough to remind them about our food. Otherwise, I'd give this place 5 stars!
(4)
Barney F.

Still yummy and service is still inconsistent. See prior reviews.
(4)
Sun L.

I'd say, it's pretty much the most MSG-less Chinese restaurant I've been to. I'm very sensitive to MSG, and I don't think I taste any! My favorites here are egg tofu, salt and pepper prawns and house chow mein. If they ask you if you want hand-pulled noodles or regular, always get hand-pulled. Fairly large portions, so if you're a girl, it's best to share.
(5)
Kat W.

Hand pulled noodles are to die for here!! You can even see the chef making them while you eat! How cool is that. I think the owners must recognize us by now because we've been going to them since they first opened and the quality has just gotten better and better. I wish I lived closer to this place!! Whenever I go here I am so satisfied and happy but sad that my stomach can't support more. Every dish we order is always good and I can never get enough garlic noodles and egg tofu. Must try items: spicy garlic pumpkin, egg tofu, chicken wings, cumin lamb, beef noodle soup, salt and pepper fish(usually listed as squid but if you request fish they'll do fish because THEY'RE AWESOME!), garlic noodles We still have to try more things but we keep loving the same things and get too full to try something else. I wish I knew their egg tofu recipe because it is heavenly soft and silky and goes so so well with rice. Anyway, order a lot and take what you can't finish home so you can eat happily for a day or two after. Save the garlic bits as well!!
(5)
Victoria F.

Home made noodles! Enough said.
(5)
Hans T.

Average Chinese food. Friendly and warm service. Expect a half-hour wait on peak times
(3)
Jenn H.

Argh, I don't speak Cantonese. Mandarin, but that's fine, they know what I'm saying. If you didn't see my comment on the steam pork buns, then please read it. Oh wait you just kinda did. This place serves them well, juicy, full of soup and plump. Yum. Don't forget the hand pulled noodles! Those are great too! They are chewy and the right length unlike where people use pasta machines or premade "put in a pot and boil" noodles. I get the beef stew noodle soup, just the right amount of spice and usually the beef is tender. :) Service yes can be slow. Waiting on a to go order that I just sent in. But it's bareable, its not like 30 minutes, maybe about 10-15. Which actually isn't bad. Free tea like some Chinese restaurants. The true specialty is the hand pulled noodles, can't find them anywhere. What's great is it's in alameda and not in milpitas and eNoodle doesn't had pull, I think.
(5)
Victor G.

the ark is approximately named since it has different kinds of chinese cuisines represented on their menu. ark's walls are light greenish and beige-tinged multicolored decorated with pics of entree items. sampling: -(spicy)beef noodle soup (hong xiao niu nam tong 6.50) designated as hand pulled and hot/spicy, it wasn't spicy at atll. the broth was soy sauce and msg. beef briskets was in large chucks and mostly tender, few strands of cabbage. noodles very scarce. -xlb(8/6.50) small baos with lots of juice and a small amount of very tender meat. similiar to baos in other eateries. coincidence? leftovers -relatively cheap prices. -portions on the small side, i left still hungry. -sales tax charged at 10 %. -hand pulled noodles not so al dente, a little chewy. performance at front of kitchen truncated from san dong version. noodles not pulled enough. thus, still chewy. -noodle demo so benihana, all show, no substance. -restaurant cramped, service oriented towards bigger tables. chinese lessons (mandarin) -colors cai se black hei white bai green lu blue lan red hong orange chang brown he purple xi
(2)
Bella L.

3.5 stars. Was the food enjoyable? Yes. Is it worth the drive to Alameda? No. We ordered the fried chicken wings (yum) and I had the jajun (black sauce) noodles. The noodles are definitely handpulled, as evidenced by the guy in the back flexing his muscles pulling and twisting a ball of dough. The seasoning was just right - not too salty, despite the blackness of the sauce. The fried chicken wings were delish, but I'm a fan of most things fried, especially chicken. My dining companions ordered the seafood noodles and the chow ma noodles, which they seemed to enjoyed. Portions were very hearty. Overall, the food had a homestyle feel to it but service was painfully slow.
(4)
Albert V V.

Service: the suck. they put us in a corner and seemingly forgot about us for at least 10 mins. Food: 4.0 Price: makes it worth it. Started with juicy steam pork dumplings. bonne. Hand pulled noodles beef soup. :) Beef was good, had plenty of veggies, the noodles were good, and the soup was awesome. Also ordered their crispy chicken wings with special sauce. its like a sweet /salty/garlic mess of goodness. and the wings are hella crispy despite the sauce. Regardless of their bad service, its a asian restaurant thats cheap, good, and an excellent choice for a casual dinner. will definitely return.
(4)
Jon W.

Slap me with that noodle please! Its rare to find a hand pulled noodle shop nowadays. When you order any noodle dishes, make sure you request the hand pulled stuff. You will see a guy in the back behind a large window, kneeding, pulling, and slapping a slab of dough. He does this a few times with each piece until it magically somehow seperates into fettucine size strips. This guy must have Popeye arms. Long noodles = long life. Pretty cool. Had the chefs special - peking ribs with honey sauce, shrimp with lobster and chicken chow mein (of course hand pulled noodles). Portions on the smaller side, but the 2 of us left very full. Park in the new parking structure around the block. Be patient if its busy, cuz service will be slow, but friendly. Bathroom smells like old mop water and be patient with the electronic towel dispenser too, it shoots out 3 inch sections at a time (short towels=wet hands, confusious say). With teas and waters we got outa there for $35 including tip. We will be back for some more good noodle slappin times!
(4)
Bill B.

The noodles are terrific. The dumplings were awesome. However, the service was a bit sparse. It took too long to get a menu, our drinks and food. The good news is, while waiting we got to watch the noodles being made. I will return again and again.
(4)
leland k.

BEST beef stew noodle soup EVER. I'm a noodle soup fanatic and have to admit, their hand-pulled noodles are absolutely phenomenal. Imagine Al-dente textured in a bowl of tasty, yet not-too-salty, star-anise beef broth. Couple that with lean beef stew and a few pieces of Bok Choy. FANTASTIC. This is the only thing I think of when I'm visiting my friend (as far as I'm concerned there's nothing to do in Alameda).
(5)
rugbarn d.

Update: they've finally updated the awning! Yay, looks so much nicer. I've concluded this is my favorite Chinese restaurant in Alameda (and I'm Chinese!), second is HK City Seafood Restaurant. Overall rating 4.5 (up from 4) First time coming here tonight on a sat night. Very surprised and delighted at how delicious everything was. We ordered the sizzling pepper beef, which was very tender and not overly "puffy" like a lot of beef @ Chinese restaurants that use baking soda. Excellent flavor had my hubby and I scraping the sauce of the skillet! We also ordered the hand pulled noodle dish -shrimp chow mein, again very good with a unique seasoning blend, and mixed veggies, perfectly tasty. I would give the food 5 stars, service 4.5 (they bag your leftovers for you and give you a closing dish of decorative fruit, and the staff was very friendly), aesthetics-2 (shacky in appearance and restrooms not bad but could be improved). Would definitely come here with Chinese friends looking for authentic food, but not necessarily with folks who need the fancy stuff.
(5)
Judie H.

I always drive past this place. The street light blocks your view. The Christmas lights block the sign. When you look at the sign you're more drawn to the golden gate bridge than the faded yellow Ark. Don't they know they're in Alameda and NOT San Francisco? What does an Ark have to do with "Lai Mien"? And why is the Ark hovering over land instead of water? *shrugs shoulders* If my parents did not read the "lai mien" sign and squeal in delight, I would have kept driving and opted for sushi or something. The seating is very crowded so you need to squeeze past tables to go to the restroom. So be ready to give profuse apologizes for knocking someone's purse or jacket on the floor. The floor shakes every time someone walks past your table. It's hard not to duck under the table each time this happens given years of earthquake drills from elementary school to high school. The restroom is men AND woman...Ewwwwww...'nuf said. However, the food was such a surprisingly pleasant experience that it tipped the balance way over to the positive side. 1. The peanuts that they serve you are really fresh. These peanuts are pretty different from the roasted and lightly salted peanuts other restaurants serve because they need to be soaked and peeled before being served 2. The cucumber & peanut salad was totally not what I expected. I thought we'd get something like what they serve at Thai restaurants with vinegar sauce. However, it was very Chinese-ish, really good taste but on the oily side. After eating this, we had to drip the leftover oil-sauce from our plates back on the empty dish, somewhat gross. It would have been nice to just get new plates after this appetizer or to have been given a separate small dish they could have easily taken away 3. I have not eaten shanghai dumplings done RIGHT in a LONG TIME. You know it's done right when there is lots of good juice when you bite in. The sauce that went with it could have had more vinegar though 4. The fried chicken was SOOOOOOOOOOOOO good. My mom isn't a huge fried food person and she ate THREE! My baby sister was definitely getting her grub on with this one. She eyed the last piece for a good while all wide eyed and drooling not wanting to seem greedy. Oh please...just take the last one geez 5. The famous garlic noodles were actually on the bland side for me. The dish was small so we ended up getting two orders. Being lai mien however, the texture was very good. I added a little salt and it was much better 6. Seafood noodle soup was A-ok, nothing spectacular, a little on the bland side as well. The lai mien is what made it better. Nothing better than slippery noodles that are refreshingly chewy 7. Fruit at the end...BANG BANG FIREWORKS. I was expecting oranges cut in quarters. We got this lavishly cut dish including logan and dainty toothpicks?...What?...that's wusup! Four people, a little over $50 with tip. Overall pretty good, you have to try the lai mien, it's in the restaurant name for god sake! If you're in a group, know to sit facing the kitchen for the show of how they make lai mien...otherwise you might get a crook in your neck straining to watch. I'll be here again for sure, gotta bring my sister and Mr. Fiance.
(4)
Jocelyn C.

I haven't been to a bad Chinese restaurant in a long time. In fact, I don't think I ever experienced a bad Chinese Restaurant before. LOL I am not a big fan of this place. I have never had such bad honey walnut prawns in my life. Although, they did have good chow fan & other dishes I tried, but this place is still not good enough for me to go back.
(2)
Johnson B.

#NAME?
(4)
Charlie W.

Great noodle and good soup. But poor service. We came here for lunch on a Sunday afternoon. The place was packed and we had to wait a bit for a table. That's not a big deal. But once I get seated, I realized that the wait was due to unskilled waiter/waitress. I was a bit disappointed. We'll come back to that, but let's talk about their food. So what sets this place apart from other Chinese restaurants? Well this place specializes in hand pulled noodles. They make their noodles fresh when you order. They also specialize in Shanghai cuisine, which is a regional food of Northern China. Their shanghai dumpling is really good. They are able to maintain that juice inside until you bite into it. The texture of their noodle is unique in the sense that they don't use artificial ingredients and they texture is both chewy and texturized. Superb craftsmanship by the chef. If you order anything other then their specialties, you are better off just going to any other Chinese Restaurant. Because everything else just tastes like panda express to me. In regards to their service, I feel like they just didn't have the staff or the experience to handle a crowd. When there are people standing by the door, the waitress/hostess/bus person (all in one) starts to panic and yell at the staff in the back. It's actually kind of funny to watch, but it's annoying when you are waiting for a table in hunger. I recommend coming here during non peak hours and try their noodle soup. It's actually pretty good. But in terms, of service, they certainly have a long way to go.
(3)
sidney c.

Originally went to Alameda planning to try out Toomie's Thai food but while walking past here, my mom wanted to try their hand pulled noodles instead. Boy, am I happy we came here! We ordered three dishes and an appetizer. Tofu chow mein and house special fried rice (ordered by my mom and grandma) was OK. Both were vegetarian so I was bummed there wasn't any meat at the time since I wasn't in a vegetarian mood. Green onion pancake was delicious! It was slightly crispy, chewy, and was just the right amount of thickness. The best dish was the spicy beef noodle soup. Yummy!! Very simple dish yet satisfies you in every way. I love spicy food and this was just the right amount of spice! There was plenty of beef in the dish and they were so soft and tasty. Wished I had the whole bowl to myself instead of sharing it with my family! Their hand pulled noodles was not bad but I think it can be better. I guess I like my noodles thin instead of thick. As for service, I don't have much to complain about. Had no problems ordering and the food took a while but that was because they had to make the noodles so it wasn't a big deal. The surprising thing was it took a while to get the check but that also wasn't a big deal since we were waiting for two extra entrees we ordered to go. Would love to come back and have their noodle soup again!
(4)
Ashley H.

Extra star because we ordered from them for the first time in months last night and the kung pao meatless chicken was actually really spicy! yay! And they gave us the free spring rolls with delivery even though we forgot to ask for them. :)
(4)
Jen L.

Five stars for great hand pulled noodle soup and inexpensive lunch specials. It is definitely a place I go to often when I am in the area. Even though they get a lot of business, I never have to wait long. The service is quick, and the ambience is normal for a Chinese restaurant. Nothing to complain about!
(5)
Sherry G.

Came here on a recommendation from old friends and was floored with amazement at the fact that I've lived in the Bay Area my whole life and never stopped in here before. The chef wasn't in yet when we sat down to order the hand pulled noodles so we started off with a bunch of small dishes such as the xiao long bao, dumplings, chicken wings, green onion pancakes..., etc. Delicious! After 20 minutes the chef came in and started working on the hand pulled noodles. It was fun getting to watch him through the plexiglass do his thing. The noodles were delicious, chewy, just the right texture, and tasty whether it was sauteed with chicken or in the beef brisket soup. No wonder they're award winning! Definitely putting this on my favorites list and going back.
(5)
Will M.

I keep hearing about how good the hand pulled noodles are from this place from my asian elders so I gave it a go. The beef noodle soup was absolutely fantastic. The broth was flavorful and spicy with tender crumble in your mouth soft stewed beef chunks. The star of course was the noodles and they were absolutely fantastic. Al dente to the max and oh so ever chewy. I imagine the noodle house in "Kung Fu panda" makes noodles that taste like this. The sweet fried chicken wings were also absolutely fantastic. So damn crispy, but their sauce has hints of honey and maple that I was as if I was eating crispy savory candy. It's been awhile since I've had shanghai noodle dumplings done right as well. Service was absolutely fantastic and I really applaud the waitresses for being able to navigate so well in such a tiny cramped space. The place is always packed, and there's a reason for that. Go check it out
(5)
Tracy L.

Things you should definitely get: beef noodle soup (the spicy kind) Cumin Beef the tofu special (I forgot the real name of the dish but there's a picture on the wall) I been here quite often and those are the three things I would always get. If you go as a big group you get a fruit platter at the end. Quite decorative.
(5)
Brandon Y.

Food: this food is great. the noodle soups are my pick. they have hand tossed noodles. the stuffed tofu with noodle is great too. This place is great for not meat eaters too. they have fake meat. Not my favorite but it works for them. Atmosphere: Typical hole in the wall Chinese restaurant. Service: It is quick and good. I would go again. Well I have many times.
(4)
ChuB K.

I used to like their beef noodle soup, but for some reason it does taste as good as before, service was slow and people wasn't that nice. No I won't go there again and yes I'm very disappointed.
(2)
Mary A.

Lots of delicious dishes but beware of the shrimp. Have you ever fished at a Trout Farm and the water was so algaed, the fish tasted like algae? Well, a few of those shrimps here had an algae taste and they are "farmed." That means forced antii-biotics and growth hormones leading to horrible cramping in your calves. :Lucky's Supermarket uses these same shrimps because we get horrific cramping in the calves. Beware of any "farmed" products in restaurants and supermarkets - poison for your body.
(3)
Brendan J.

Ordered food to go on a Saturday night. The food was ready on time and I was impressed with the quantity. I enjoyed the General's Chicken but was not a fan of the beef noodles dish. The Chinese Porridge with mushrooms and chicken was also very good. The fresh fruit that came along with the order was delicious. The ambiance of the restaurant was not bad too. Clean & bright. If I'm getting Chinese food in Alameda I will surely consider The Ark. Though parking around there can be difficult, take out orders dont have to deal with that. Caution indicators, double park, in & out in a jiffy.
(4)
Henry H.

not bad the price is reasonable.
(3)
Monica R.

Thus far, this restaurant is overall good for the entres that I typically order. That being: Lemon Chicken White Rice BBQ Pork Chow Mein Kung Pao Chicken The food is great. Unfortunately, the prices are high for the amount of food they serve but it is okay due to the fact that it is delicious. I would be bothersome with expensive = Yucky food which was not the case when I went!
(4)
Ahmed S.

Went here with a few co workers. The place is good. Lunch is cheap, like $6. I ordered the sesame chicken. It comes with soup as well. Food is decent, portions are on the smaller side, but that's actually a good thing. We were full after lunch but not stuffed. I will definitely return here. It's not the greatest food. However, it's quick and cheap and decent.
(3)
Michelle L.

3.5 stars! after walking by this place a gazillion times back in high school a few years ago, i finally decided to come in here for lunch with my friend. i ordered a seafood baked rice with cream sauce and my friend ordered a hand pulled noodles with beef and veggies. we also ordered a basket of tiny steamed pork dumplings (xiao long bao). the food was pretty decent! i thought my baked rice was on the bland side but overall it was still really good. the xiao long baos were good but i thought the skin was a bit too thick for the dumplings. but overall, GOOD! i was more entertained with the hand pulling noodles chef behind the counter than of the food. he was so professional and i really liked how he pulled the noodles in front of customers as a side show :) prices were reasonable and cheap in my opinion! i would definitely come back here to try the noodles
(4)
Kalimah P.

Best Chinese food in Alameda! Handmade noodles! Vegetarians order the crispy meatless chicken!
(5)
HM H.

Best hand pull noodle in town, food is not oily. Worth a try.
(5)
carlita g.

The Ark was the worst dining experience of my adult life. The food was strange and not in a good way. The seafood noodle soup was tasteless and when I told the waitress so, she yelled at me and told me I had to pay for it anyway. Last night I had a very bad dream about this awful woman. The sesame chicken tasted like sugar and vinegar. (And way over fried!) Even my hungry cousin didn't like it. It was so sweet, my 9 year old complained. They didn't bring us any water and when I asked for some, it came with mysterious floating material in it. The Fish dish came with tofu mixed in like these people think we're idiots, like we couldn't tell the difference between sole and over fried tofu. Not to mention the sauce tasted like burnt oil and the vegetables were totally soggy. As for the pulled noodles, novelty noodles can't undo the culinary crimes this awful place committed. I would not wish this place on my worst enemy, or maybe I would.
(1)
Frank F.

I'm ready to return to this place now and we just ate there for lunch today. Thanks to Yelpers, we had the xiao long bao, hand-pulled garlic noodles (not overcooked and just the right amount of garlic), and egg tofu!!!! Man, I was in HEAVEN! Nothing else need be said.
(5)
Kwieyang L.

Nice dumplings!
(3)
Rachel N.

Being a stickler for Chinese food, a place has to be pretty good to get me to come back again. That being said, I like The Ark Restaurant a lot. They had pulled noodles (which was a great plus) and a nice pull to get people through the door. But personally, I'm all about taste and decent pricing, that's where they hit the mark with me. They have a wide variety of soups that incorporate their tasty noodles. The best buy is the seafood noodle soup that you can get for $7 for a medium serving (very filling). As for meats, most place tend to be a hit or miss. But at Ark the beef is deliciously tender, not to chewy, and their chicken holds in the right amount of moisture that you can taste all it's flavors. What I like best is the after meal fruit plate. On it is Liche, Apple, and Oranges. Not only is the fruit fresh tasting, but they are also carved beautifully. It makes the meal come to a lovely end.
(4)
Doctor G.

I ate here once when they opened a few years back. It was a hot day, the restaurant was hot, and the food was so spicy, I started sweating profusely. Haven't gone back until recently. Started with the pan fried fresh pork dumplings and juicy pork steamed dumplings. The fried dumplings were pretty typical, but the juicy steamed dumplings were excellent. I've had them at other restaurants, but this version was the best I've had. We moved on to a couple of soups, both featuring their hand stretched noodles. Watching the kitchen guy hand make the noodles is interesting and keeps the kids entertained. Never been to a hand pulled noodle shop before. I thought the green onion lamb and the beef short ribs with honey were both great. They gave us wonderfully cut up fruit for dessert Not much decor here. You're here for the hand pulled noodles. Street parking is difficult, but the increasingly popular city parking structure is 1.5 blocks away. I'd eat here again.
(3)
C P.

The food here is fresh and very delicious. You can watch the chef hand-pull the dough for the noodles at the counter. Most dishes are around $7 and are very filling. The restaurant is small and can get quite busy, but they do their best to make sure their customers are happy. I will definitely be eating here again soon.
(4)
cyndi L.

Came here on a last minute recommendation, it was just down the block from a friend's shop. They specialize in hand pulled noodles which I'm a fan of. Here, they were just ok. I've had better. Of the dishes that we ordered the one that really stuck out was the West Lake Beef soup, which is kind of crazy as most places just make it really as an after thought. Service was a little slow. It was unclear who was supposed to take our order, so that took a bit of time. After that it was alright.
(3)
Albert Y.

Get any of the entrees with the noodles, and you'll be good. The price is also right, with a lot of dishes 7 or 8 bucks. I also recommend the flaming chilli fish. Oh yeah, the service is also great here -- very friendly staff!
(4)
D C.

Of course on New Years Day one of the few restaurants open are Chinese restaurants! The whole family, cousins and all, had new years day brunch here. Overall, everybody thought this placed deserved a four star review. My aunt did all the ordering since there were so many of us, it was my first time here. We started off with fried onion pancake and chicken wings with special house sauce. The onion pancake was crispy but I would have liked more filling. The chicken wings with the house sauce was hands-down the favorite item for everybody. The wings were perfectly fried and had a great sweet and sticky sauce. They can be eaten with rice or by themselves. While waiting for the other dishes to arrive, I was entertained by the impressive skills of the chief making the hand-pulled noodles. The steamed dumplings were nice and the broth was flavorful. Unlike potstickers, you have to eat these carefully by taking a small bit from the exterior and sucking out the broth or else you will get broth ALL OVER your shirt or plate. By this time, most of us were starting to get full and then came the beef noodle soup and the beef stew noodle soup (slightly spicy) and both with hand-pulled noodles. The first soup was pretty basic but nice after a night full of drunken debauchery. The beef stew soup was even better b/c it cleared my head b/c of the spicy broth and the awesome texture of the hand-pulled noodles. The last item was the chicken lo mein, it was okay but I would have preferred the lamb with the hand-pulled noodles. I think on my next visit, I'll try some of their more spicy dishes. Oh, and just a tip the restaurant is small, so visit in a small group or a weekday b/c there was about 20 people in our party and we took up half the restaurant!
(4)
John K.

Noodle dishes are great here. The dude pulls them fresh to order for the noodle soups. Braised shortrib noodle soup is solid. XLB wasn't very juicy but still had flavor. Service is adequate but isn't warm or friendly. Shocker right?
(3)
Denice L.

We went with a group of 9 for lunch. I had been told that it was really good. If you are Chinese, don't bother, you will disappointed. I have tasted so much better. The only thing that earned them the extra star was the fresh hand pulled noodles, too bad the sauce was bland. It took them 50 minutes to bring out all our food and my noodles were last. I literally almost had to pay for another 1.5 hrs in the meter! So disappointed.
(2)
R O.

I was expecting a loud dining hall bustling with patrons because they do hand pulled noodles but instead a nice quiet dining room. This spot is good for conversation and eats. Ordered up the salt n pepper chicken wing, black mushroom and bok choy, beef stew clay pot, and tomato beef chow mein. Chicken wings, black mushroom/bok choy was pretty standard. Beef stew on the other hand needed help, more tendon than beef and it was a bit dry, what happened? Now the reason why we came here is for the noodles. Tomato beef chow mein was decent. The noodles even better. The one reason why I need to come back... BTW no peanuts offered and water came half way thru the meal, again what happened?
(3)
Julie G.

have tried almost every high rated (according to yelp) xiao long bao place in the south bay and l.a., including the ding tai fung in arcadia (which really let me down -- no where close to being as delicious as taipei's, to the point that i feel like going there again would be a waste of money). i have been really disappointed and let down at every place. my gf seriously couldn't understand why i liked and was obsessed with xlb, because none that we tried (she came on every xlb hunting outing) were good. but one night, in alameda, i discovered the best damn xiao long bao outside of taipei. seriously. if you crave taiwan quality xiao long bao (shang hai style, however, not taiwan style) GO HERE. right this second! you will not regret it! my gf is now hooked, too! everything else i've had there is good too (noodles are yummy, especially both kinds of beef noodle soup). update: in addition to being hooked on their xlb, i've since discovered their crispy sweet and spicy chicken wings (not sure on the exact name, will update later...). these things are addictive! you WILL be thinking about them the next day, and the day after that, and...you get the picture. perfectly seasoned, perfectly crisped, perfect everything. just try to contain yourself enough to wait for them to cool down a bit after they're brought out, since i'm usually so excited i try to eat them right away and end up burning my tongue a little. you've been warned.
(5)
Alana D.

Ark has some gifted chefs who do fun and fancy fruit and vegetable carving - really pretty. My 10-year old enjoyed the lemon chicken. The cumin lamb is Oh, My, Goodness. SOOOO good. I don't normally like lamb much, and I'm not that crazy about cumin. But this dish is a don't miss. Really, you lamb-o-phobes out there, give it a chance. It's addictive. I found myself wanting to move to Mongolia and herd sheep just so I could mince them into pieces and coat them with toasted cumin seeds and sautee them till they're fabulously carmelized and serve them over rice. Take that. Ba--aaaah. On the other hand, we had a sort of baked thing with a tomato sauce that was just blech, awful. It tasted like ketchup rice. Go with the cumin lamb.
(4)
Joe D.

WARNING: There is MSG in the food here! Having had a noodle craving since yesterday evening, and having heard of The Ark for half a year now, I decided to give this place a try for lunch today. We ordered the little steamed pork dumplings, the beef stew noodle, and the seafood noodle. The dumplings were ok. The noodles were not. The broth of both noodles were tasteless. They tasted like water. On the menu, which was flimsy and dirty, the beef stew was designated with a chili sign. When the order arrived, not only was there no chili flavor or kick, there was practically no flavor. The noodle did not have much of a bite and had no flavor because it was cooked in water and then served in the bowl of hot colored water, which only an idiot would call "broth". The little bits of spring onion added nothing. The pieces of beef brisket were soft, but fibrous, as if it had been boiled in too much water with inadequate seasoning for too long, It also had no flavor (probably because it had been all boiled out). I might as well have chewed cotton balls. It came with two whole, nearly intact heads of baby bok choy that were tough. They could just as well have been a couple of trees thrown in for the hell of it. With each bite I took, the more disappointed I became, and the more damaged I felt. the seafood noodle came with a clear broth--that, again, tasted like water. The fish was some kind of white fish with an unfamiliar flavor. I didn't taste the mussels and other stuff. Because of how watered-down all the flavor was, I couldn't taste the MSG at first, but when I got to the car, the effects were unmistakable: My tongue and palate started to go numb and feel dry. It was not a terrible parching thirst (like I would get with Katana Ya or Hong Kee in S.F.), but the effects were unmistakable. That nastiness lasted around thirty minutes. This despite me consuming only half the noodle and only a few spoonfuls of the soup. (Thank Goodness for the Caraway Candied Orange ice cream at Ici's; that offered welcomed relief.) Nowhere on the menu is MSG mentioned in one way or another, so the cautious patron should not assume the best. Even if the cooks don't add any, that doesn't mean they don't use ingredients that don't contain any. Comparing this with the noodle at Izakaya Sozai in S.F. is like hell versus heaven...for nearly the same price. My experience here taught me a few lessons: 1. One cannot trust yelp reviewers, which leads to #2... 2. Democracy in the U.S. is broken because the people who vote don't know diddly-squat. 3. I'd rather drive the 20 miles to Sozai or starve than to suffer this hell again. What I was served was worth 1/5 of what I paid. What I lost in health and time was irreplaceable. No thanks to the yelpers here!
(1)
Alison N.

Hand-pulled noodles and soups are great. No MSG added and prices are reasonable. Whenever I get sick, I enjoy soup from The Ark. Atmosphere inside isn't too great, but food more than makes up for it. During meal times, the line can get really long!
(5)
squishy b.

Smoosh and I went here to try some hand-pulled noodles. Parking was a little difficult considering it was just about dinner time and the place is around the corner from a movie theater but we managed to find parking. Ark is decorated with photos of their food, laminated style, and they had a fish tank of gold fish. We were seated, given the usual tea and paper menu. Smoosh and I ordered the Salt and Pepper Squid, Beef Noodle Soup, and two bowls of rice. The squid was tasty... until I got some hard shell, or something to that effect, in one piece. It might have been overly tough but it felt like some kind of shell. Down from four stars to three. The hand-pulled noodles tasted good but nothing to shout on the mountain tops about. Beef was tender and the broth was really light. I checked the bok choi, like I normally do, and it was clean. So, yey for that. I'd still give it three stars. They forgot our rice so Smoosh had to ask a second time for rice. It was a little too dry for my taste, but my man eats anything rice related so he was content. Good enough for me. We got our bill and a plate of fruit, lychee, two slices of apples and oranges as a desert. The oranges were ice cold and sweet and the apples were crispy. Lychee was just as good as lychee gets. No complaints there. Overall, I wouldn't say I'd come back again. It's not really a place for the "convenience" minded. If you are there to check out a movie and then grab a bite to eat I'd suggest going somewhere else. It really wasn't worth the price and the portion size was just ok... nothing spectacular in my opinion.
(3)
Stanley L.

3.5 stars Came here with my pops after some yardwork to try their hand-pulled noodles. We had the stewed beef belly noodle soup and a side of fresh-made pork pot stickers for lunch. FYI: this place is SLOW-cookin. The noodles are in dough form until you order it. You'll see the chef do his thang behind the counter. While you wait, there's complimentary boiled peanuts. Our serving was kinda 'old' but I was hungry! They also served us some soup. The name escapes me.. The potstickers were crisp. The sauce needed more vinegar, but noodles were served so I didn't care. The broth was good. This one has a lil kick at the end of each taste. The noodles however were too hard, as was the stewed beef. There's not much to write home about. I'd definitely come back if I was craving hand pulled noodles. Come back and pray for softer noodles and a better batch of beef. Note: I've been tipped. Ask for thinner noodles so it's less hard and try the Sui Long Bao/Shiao Long Bao aka Juicy Pork Steamed Dumplings
(3)
kevan h.

Didn't have a very good experience here when I ate with a bunch of friends for dinner. We did family style, and a couple people got noodle dishes. Didn't taste very good. And the hand-pulled noodles (which is kind of the Chinese restaurant equivalent of getting freshly made tortillas at a taco truck) were a dud. BUT rumor has it the shiao-luong-bao is the best in the East Bay. Haven't tried them but that's next on my list. That's the only reason why this place has three stars and not two. Stay tuned.
(3)
Jimmy J.

Six words: Hot and Sour Noodle Soup, baby. I'm all about the Hot and Sour Noodle Soup, even though I strongly suspect there's chicken in it. I don't want to know because I don't do chicken. I don't do chicken on account of my grandfather grew up on a chicken farm. When I was a kid he used to regale me with tales of life on a chicken farm and made me privy to the general hygiene habits of your average chicken. This had the effect of putting me off of chicken. For life. I'll give you details some time if you wish, but if you dig chicken, and want to continue to do so, trust me, you really don't want to know.
(4)
E C.

After reading the raving reviews on Yelp, I ventured to The Ark. I have a quite a large family and we pretty much took the entire restaurant. The space has 2 large tables and a bunch of tables for 4 with very little walking room. We got about 6-7 dishes for 8 people. When the dishes arrived, I couldn't believe my eyes... The dishes were tiny! There was only enough for everyone at our table to have 1 piece or 1 small helping. Of the 1 piece of chicken, 1 piece of veggie, 1 dumpling and a few strands of noodles, the only thing that deserved a star was the garlic noodles. We should have just gone to get burritos... Bottom line: Service: TERRIBLE... we had empty dishes piling up on our table... Food: Below average with TINY portions.
(2)
Willis L.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Beef Stew hand pulled noodle This is hang-out spot for many of my friends, and I frequently frequented this place for lunch. Their hand-pulled noodles are of course what most people come here for, and my personal favorite is the beef stew noodle. It is a pretty small establishment, total capacity of maybe 40 people or so, with two large tables and the rest 4-seaters. The color is a little drab and the lighting is bad, but hey, it's a Chinese restaurant. Their lunch specials are a little on the weak side--overall very sweet and saucy but not very balanced. Their Shaolong Bao is also pretty good, though you have to be careful not to let all the liquid spill out before it reaches your mouth! The service is good, with the two ladies I see there always on top of things despite looking obviously frazzled by how many people are there sometimes. My roommate once started coming here very, very often, maybe three times a week. One day he worked up the courage to ask the noodle guy if he could become the apprentice to the noodle pulling style. The chef simply laughed and said that the tuition will be $5000! My roommate was obviously distraught, but if you want to learn the trade it seems $5k is the going rate!
(4)
Jason W.

Went here with my family. Family style lunch with fresh hand pulled noodles! We even watched the chef make the noodles. Try the dumpling. great food, tasty and fresh. The restaurant is a little on the small side, but the food's good!
(4)
Jason D.

Giving this place 1 fortune cookie. This may have been the worst Chinese food I've ever eaten. 'beef chow fun' had almost no beef, sesame chicken was heavily fried with thick, cold sweet sauce, and even the fortune cookie tasted old and stale. Nothing was good and I'll drive to oakland Chinatown next time around for real Chinese cuisine
(1)
Raymond M.

My family and I ate at ARK after a recommendation from my aunt. She suggested we order a noodle dish and the clay pot beef stew. The head chef (and I think owner too) is an award winning hand made noodle maker. We ordered four dishes. We ordered the tomato beef chow mein, oyster chicken with broccoli, clay pot beef stew, and walnut shrimp. They were out of the clay pot beef stew. Figures. We ordered the BBQ pork as a replacement. The food tasted good. The tomato beef chow mein looked like spaghetti; however, the noodles are awesome! Definitely order noodle dishes if you're in the mood for noodles. The BBQ pork contained plum sauce and was sweet. Overall, my family and I were satisfied. The prices are on the lower side and you get less portions compared to other Chinese restaurants charging typical $8-$9 for chow mein. If you want to spend less money, ARK is a good place. Service is slow. There is only one table for a big party. The rest of the tables are for small parties four or less. The restaurant is small. Highly recommended if you and your party wants noodles.
(4)
Alex C.

I have to give 5 stars for this place. I found this place by chance during lunch time because I was craving for chinese and noticed that they have hand-pull noodles. I ordered the chicken noodle soup and was blown away. Out of the noodle soups, I prefer the Beef Noodle Soup. For appetizers I suggest ordering the Crispy Chicken Wings with Special Sauce and the Beef Ribs. Their shaolin dumpling was good, but it's kinda tiny. I suggest getting the pot-stickers instead. The garlic noodle is good too if you love garlic. The place is small and you have to wait awhile for the food to come out. That's because everything is fresh, made-to-order. If this place was near my home, it would a "regular" for my family. It's close to my job so I go there once a week for lunch.
(5)
Erika C.

I recommend: garlic noodles black bean hand pulled noodles egg tofu dish shao long pao yummmmy, i'll be back soon to try others
(5)
eliza w.

Hand pulled noodles means that this place gets packed even midweek. It's still not the jajangmein of my dreams (not even close, sorry), but it's a good meal at a pretty good price. The folks are friendly, and I haven't had a bad meal there yet...
(4)
Mark H.

This is one of my favorite Chinese restaurant in the area. We order from them at least once a week. Their Hunan Beef and Baby Bamboo Shoot is awesome. The Vegetables Rock Cod is pretty good too. They give good portions and the price is reasonable. The draw back: just a hole in the wall restaurant, limitted seating and tend to be overcrowded at night.
(5)
Mscee M.

My friend was raving about this restaurant and now I see why. The food is very delicious! It's definitely not greasy and the noodles are made fresh. I can't say I have a favorite because what we ordered was awesome and tasteful choices. For sure I will go back and try other dishes.
(5)
Doris L.

The Ark is known for it's hand pulled noodles and it's garlic noodles. The garlic noodles was a BIG disappointment. It was actually a bit dry and a bit too hard and a bit of ... nothing special. Will definitely NOT be getting that next time around and would not recommend it to anyone looking for something good. The service was a bit too slow as well, with 20 minute gaps in between when we got our first two dishes and when we received the last 3 dishes. The portions of the food are a bit small compared to other Chinese restaurants, but I can tell you that the quality of the food is definitely better. Prices were decent. The food was alright. Service was alright. It seemed like everyone there was eating the noodle soups which the bf and I plan on getting next time around since the noodle soups have the hand pulled noodles. Other than that I will have to update this review when I try it again next time and hopefully I will rate them 4 stars. Only thing to rave about was watching the Chef pull noodles in front of us.
(3)
David W.

Nice little restaurant that has surprisingly good Chinese food. The Garlic noodles are pretty good (but a bit oily), and their braised tofu is also really good. I would recommend those 2 dishes if eating family style. If you are going individual, their beef noodle soup is pretty good as well. The only thing is if you are eating in, and it's busy, it can take a while to get service at your table, and I can imagine since the restaurant is small, having to wait a while to get seating.
(4)
Cynthia Y.

I have eating in this place a couple of times now. My all time fav is the chicken wings with special sauce. This item is like crack once you have it you have to have it over and over again. We have been known to order this one item and nothing else. But all the other food here is also good. The chicken noodle soup is great. Must be the fresh noodles they make right in front of you. The service is not the best and it is why they don't get the 5 star but then again what can you expect from a Chinese restaurant definitely not the service ever lol.... Try it out if you have not you wont be disappointed.
(4)
Allison L.

Oh, Ark. Baby, you've blown it for me. The food is good. The price is right. The service is decent and this, combined with a great Park Street location, has kept me coming back for a few years now. But what's up with the screaming kids? Seriously. Tonight Adam and I went in around 6 pm hoping for a quiet dinner. Good luck. Apparently the owners couldn't get a babysitter and so their kids sat banging and shrieking in the dining room. Hey, I can feel some empathy. In theory. In reality, if I'm handing over my cash for your services, keep your screaming kids well away from me. We canceled our order, left, and had an awesome meal at Toomie's down the street.
(2)
Chris B.

Love this place. The chef is very skilled at making hand-pulled noodles that are delicious (and interesting to watch him create). The pork dumplings are also handmade and just wonderful. Vegetarians should try the salt and pepper pumpkin. I am most definitely not a vegetarian but I really like it. definitely one of the best Chinese restaurants in Alameda.
(4)
Todd H.

My girlfriend, who grew up in her family's Chinese restaraunt business, agrees with me that our chicken pan fried noodles was delicious, perfectly made with crunch textures and without the old grease favours often found at other places. She said it reminded her of home. That's pretty good, huh?
(5)

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Address : 1405 Park St
Alameda, CA, 94501
Phone (510) 521-6862
Website https://arkalameda.com/
Click To Get Directions

Opening Hours

Mon :11:00 am - 3:00pm

Specialities

Takes Reservations : No
Delivery : Yes
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Lunch, Dinner
Parking : Street
Bike Parking : No
Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Ambience : Casual
Noise Level : Average
Alcohol : Beer & Wine Only
Outdoor Seating : No
Wi-Fi : No
Has TV : No
Dogs Allowed : No
Waiter Service : Yes
Caters : Yes

Claim Restaurant

Chinese Cuisine

The popularity of Chinese food in America can be adjudicated by the appearance of China Town in many major cities in the United State of America. The popular trend of ordering or opting for Chinese take away food isn't unknown in America. Chinese take away food comes to rescue when you're too tired from work or too exhausted to cook. No one can resist the temptation of eating spicy noodles, shrimp, chicken, beef or pork cooked in the sweet and spicy sauce. The cooking method of authentic Chinese food is a lot different compared to what is served in America.

Generally, Chinese use dark meat small bones and organs to cook dishes but this changes when you are eating American-Chinese fusion food prepared using white boneless meat cooked with broccoli, carrots and onions. Back in China, the food is less spicy and oily as they favor steaming and braising method for cooking the most popular dishes. So, if you have a taste for authentic Chinese food, then try finding a real Chinese restaurant in the city. You can also try the most popular fusion Chinese food like Pecking Duck, Chicken Feet, Hot Pot, Shrimp Dumpling Soup, Mapo Tofu, Wontons, Chop Suey, Egg Rolls and not to forget Fortune Cookies.

There are not many restaurants in America serving authentic Chinese food. A little research on Restaurant Listings directory can help you locate the best Chinese restaurants in the city. Chinese cuisine is continuously evolving, and you can find a variety of dishes categorized as the food for lactose intolerant, gluten intolerant, vegan, vegetarian, and diabetic friendly. So, if you have a group of friends with different taste patterns, save the hassle and visit the nearest Chinese restaurant in your city.

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Ark Chinese Restaurant

1405 Park St, Alameda, CA, 94501

Ark Chinese Restaurant Menu

Appetizer

Soup

Poultry

Beef And Lamb

Pork

Seafood

Tofu

Vegetarian

Porridge

Chow Mein Chow Fun And Fried Rice

Baked Rice

Family Dinner- A

Family Dinner- B

Family Dinner- C

Lunch Specials

Hand Pulled Noodle

Chef's Special

Healthy Meal suggestions for Ark Chinese Restaurant

Appetizer

Soup

Poultry

Beef And Lamb

Pork

Seafood

Tofu

Vegetarian

Porridge

Chow Mein Chow Fun And Fried Rice

Baked Rice

Family Dinner- A

Family Dinner- B

Family Dinner- C

Lunch Specials

Hand Pulled Noodle

Chef's Special

Yvette R.

Alexa W.

Tiffany H.

Killian M.

Na L.

Khue M.

Raquelle Z.

Daniel A.

Paul L.

Jason F.

eric h.

Cynthia P.

J S.

Jenn B.

Stephanie F.

Catherine R.

Eva Y.

Velonda H.

Son V.

Vicky L.

Shinny L.

Cassie C.

Su K.

Garry Y.

Nancy P.

Jeremy W.

Deborah S.

Austin W.

Krystal C.

Patricia M.

Kitty A.

Stacey W.

Jesse C.

Christina L.

Grace C.

Tom C.

N K.

Heather L.

Eric Z.

Susan A.

May W.