The Porridge - Mei Garden
1706 N Milpitas Blvd, Milpitas, CA, 95035
The Porridge - Mei Garden Menu
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Address :
1706 N Milpitas Blvd
Milpitas, CA, 95035 - Phone (408) 935-9369
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
- Mon :11:30 am - 10
Specialities
- Delivery : No
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : No
Good For : Lunch
Parking : Private Lot
Bike Parking : Yes
Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Ambience : Casual
Noise Level : Average
Outdoor Seating : No
Wi-Fi : No
Has TV : No
Waiter Service : No
Caters : No
Categories
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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Jenny W.
Still amazing. This place is the definition of comfort food, and I always make a trip when I'm home. My favorites remain the bamboo shoots, bean curd noodles (gan si), napa cabbage (the shrimp makes the napa extra savoury), and celery with fu pi (bean curd skin). Lunch time is a steal!
(5)Louisa L.
This is a very popular place for lunch - expect to share table with strangers! It can be confusing/overwhelming once you stepped in - here is the guide: 1. Tell them how many people you have, they will tell you where to sit. 2. But before you sit down, go up to the front and pick your dishes! The meal comes with sweet potato porridge (or I did see some people ask for rice instead) and 3-item dish. They have a huge variety of dishes to pick from! You will find the flavor of most of them on the heavy side, that's why it's good to eat with porridge, which doesn't have too much taste to it, but at the same time you won't find the dishes extremely salty. It's a pretty good deal for the price ($7.25 after tax), plus you can get refill on the porridge. I usually went with my coworkers so we can share and try different dishes. My favorites are pig ear and eggplant, but they always have new items so I can't keep track anymore. They rotate dishes too! If one ran out they will either have refill on the same dish or bring out new ones, so I just pick whatever looks good to me at the time i order. This place is cash only!
(4)Andy W.
this place was okay this place was okay
(5)Kimchi K.
Food is good, lunch special is good! Only take cash. One time I don't have enough cash and they don't allow credit card... Had to go outside to get some cash which is bad Too many people waiting to get seated.
(4)Karen L.
Simple taiwanese style porridge place in milpitas. They have a variety of side dishes and unlimited porridge. (Ex: Fish filet, bean curd, tofu, veggies, pig ear, etc..) They are kind of pricey for what they are, but good for the cold weather and the days you don't want to cook. I was definitely surprised to see how busy they are as their dishes are extremely simple. Great to try at least once! 3.5 STARS
(3)Denise L.
My friend from Taiwan approved this place on Chinese New Year. At lunchtime they have a special: $7 for 3 items. Hey, let's get 6 items and share. What a bargain! As soon as you sit down... free porridge. Yes! Steaming hot and very comforting. You order up at the counter and choose from the available pre-cooked items. Yes, it's pre-cooked, but everything still tastes fresh. We got the eggplant, mustard greens, steamed fish, bamboo shoots, scrambled eggs, and preserved Vegan "meat". My favorite was the eggplant, but I might just be a sucker for eggplant. Everything tasted great, and you know things taste EVEN BETTER when they're cheap, right? $14 for 2 full bellies isn't bad at all. Staff is rushing around delivering food orders (super quick), cleaning up, and dropping off porridge. It's not super attentive, but I wouldn't expect that in this type of restaurant. They're helpful enough, and we got to take home the leftovers of our free porridge. I call that a win. DATE TIP: Bring 'em here to test their limits. You'll find out whether they're flexible or picky eaters and also if they appreciate true value.
(4)Samantha P.
YUMMY! This is the only porridge place I've seen since the one in Cupertino Village closed. EVERYTHING I TRIED WAS SO GOOOD! We ordered the Chinese sausage, bamboo shoots, pickled mustard with edamame, and the pork belly. The oil and salty flavors of each dish paired very well with the plain sweet potato porridge. Everything was a great balance of flavors and textures. Only complaint is that the tea they gave us was super watery and tasted like old tea. But whatever this is a porridge place not a tea house. Service was good. Ambience was really quiet when we came in though. Felt like I was eating in library hahaha. Definitely coming back soon :)
(4)Yilin T.
Yum yum, the porridge here tastes so comforting. The decor of the place was really homely. A simple place where you come in for a quick meal. I like the fact that they offered you a generous portion of porridge with sweet potato inside. Super healthy! Also, you can request for refills of the porridge. We ordered three dishes for two people and the portion was just right. The chicken in chilli oil was a good choice as it was so tender and flavourful. I love the Napa cabbage too! :) Overall, a really affordable meal that comes up to low 20 for two.
(4)Hairy L.
Great lunch deal for weekdays. Make sure they sit you at a table and you go to the front and pick three items. They put the stuff on a plate and bring it to you. They bring over a pot of porridge and you go at it. Want more porridge? Just ask.
(4)Ann C.
I guess the people in the kitchen changed to Taiwanese. It is not porridge at all!!!!! And they even don't call it porridge, it is something called water+rice! If you name it as porridge, do the porridge, the sweet potato porridge is from north China!
(2)Tianyi S.
I love The Porridge so hard, it's almost irrational. This restaurant has every single Taiwanese comfort food dish I know I can make at home, but am never going to make at home, because why would you when you can just eat here? At 11pm? The Porridge, as it is adorably known in English (or Xiao Liu Qing Zhou, as it is better known in Chinese) serves a traditional, unflavored yam and rice porridge, with an explosion of delicious side dishes. I love everything the chef makes, but I particularly love: 1.) The gan si: Thin noodle-like beancurd strips, tossed with sesame oil, julienned carrots and edamame 2.) The fried tofu: Because they are simply perfect, crispy fried cubes of soft tofu 3.) The slivered pig ears 4.) The fragrant, poached cold chicken with pounded ginger 5.) The small, crunchy fried fish 6.) And the omelet (because oh my fucking gad this is made so well. The outside is golden and crisp, and one pull gives way to a soft, runny center, fragrant with scallions, pickled veggies and rainbows.) The sides are greasy, but appropriately so, because the yam & rice porridge are on your table to pull all the flavors together and cut the grease in each bite. The chef also uses salt sparingly, which I appreciate. Customers pick and choose their side dishes at the front counter- all dishes beckon appealingly from behind a sneeze guard. If a favorite dish does not look particularly fresh, trust your intuition and order something else. You can always come back a different day for your dish of choice. Xiao Liu Qing Zhou is, to me, comfort food at its best- nothing is more satisfying than a bite of xiao cai followed by a spoonful of porridge and a gulp of tea. Cue endless loop for maximal enjoyment, and be sure to bring cash, plus your stamp card! Happy forevernoms.
(5)Michelle L.
Cash only!! Simple sweet potato porridge with tasty dishes. Very fast turnover, as the dishes are sort of Ranch 99-esque, pre-made food ready to scoop onto a plate, but totally delicious. Get the pig ear, napa cabbage, and something adventurous!!
(4)Kristen S.
Delicious! Healthy, tasty, not greasy at all. Chinese comfort food at its best. Recommend: edamame with pickled cabbage (é…¸èœæ¯›è±†).
(5)Amber H.
Mmmm .. For a meal of two for only 14 bucks with unlimited congee . SOOO CHEAAAP !! I can dig it . I got eggplant, salt and pepper shrimp, spicy chicken , and sardines. The spicy kick to it is something you don't want to mess with lol but I Iike it since I love my food with a bit of heat. I would recommend coming here right at Opening because it does get pack.
(3)Mimi T.
the only have 1 kind of porridge. Its bland and basic. I just brought it home and added my own twist to it. It's like a deli, you come in, order how many items you want and pay $7 dollars. Cheap, fast, Chinese food.
(4)Daniel L.
Very reasonably priced side dishes to go along with a nice porridge. Side dishes are seasoned a bit strong, but as the porridge has more of a bland taste the pairing is quite nice. Cash only so come prepared.
(4)Ee Vonn Y.
The service has improved magnificently since I've first reviewed this restaurant. It's either time or developed taste but I am in love with everything Mei Garden has to offer. Write your name on the clipboard otherwise you might be waiting around cluelessly. Good thing you don't have to wait long. It's hard to decide what to get here because everything is that good. Ground pork - you MUST get this upon every visit. Scrambled eggs and tomato - perfect. Eggplant - divine. Tofu and pork blood - great texture. Beancurd - great texture too. Mixed vegetable and meat dish - I'm running out of synonyms to describe tasty. For a grand total of $14, this was the best meal I had all week.
(5)Kim N.
Is this considered the Taiwanese military style cooking? I went to a similar style place in sunnyvale years ago where things are all in trays pre cooked. Out original target was closed so we ended up here as it was getting late. Eggplant, pickled cucumber, pig ears, beef shank/tendon, stewed pork, and sausage. All fairly good flavors but everything was lukewarm. Argh i hate that. It would be so much better if it were hot. Not much service except when they bring food in the beginning. Definitely quick though, maybe too much.
(3)Eddo C.
Decent Taiwanese porridge house - first time going here after our go-to in Cupertino Village Plaza closed down. Will plan to come back when we need a porridge fix. Each dish is $4 on up that you pick from a counter. Dishes are eaten with the unlimited refills of complimentary rice porridge.
(4)David C.
Gross. This is like what happens if someone's mom decided to open a restaurant. I guess this is really authentic Taiwanese food though. But I was sorta grossed out by all the food sitting out like a Taiwanese Luby's and the dude who just finished smoking his cigarette outside in the back come back in and filling up our containers to go. Huge vats of porridge, restaurant-size portions of Taiwanese homecooked dishes, and two dudes handling all the food makes me shudder. I'm not that adventurous and the food is super plain Jane boring.
(2)Alvin W.
Best spot for some porridge! This isn't your normal spot for Cantonese style porridge where the ingredients are cooked into the porridge. Instead this is a Chinese restaurant where you order dishes and you are served porridge in lieu of rice. The porridge is cooked with yams and all the dishes go well with the porridge. As you walk in, they'll seat you but you can walk up to the counter and select the items you want and they'll bring it to you table. This place is a bit pricey for the portions you get. If you're looking for a spot with a large portions at a low price, you should skip this place.
(4)L L.
The foods are tasty . Good variety . Service average. The only thing that REALLY IRRITATES me is no Credit Card , Cash Only - typical of a self centered, 'no regard for customer ' Taiwanese Businessman . They should change . This is America .Credit card is normal and no Tax evasion
(3)Eswina N.
The restaurant name is "The Porridge". This is another taste of Taiwan experience for me. I had never heard of this until my sister told me about such places so when we surfed around for somewhere close by in Milpitas, California, The Porridge came up as being a good place to try. Porridge is very much a staple of Chinese culture; it is often had at breakfast or a late night snack. I would categorize it as a "comfort food". Porridge is also often known as congee. It is basically rice cooked in either broth and meat and vegetables or water until it attains a porridge-like consistency. Many noodle shops will have a separate category for porridge or congee and you can get congee with different meats or a common favourite: Congee with Thousand Year Old Egg and Pork. In Taiwan porridge houses are common, plain rice porridge (often with yam or sweet potato) is served with small plates of savoury dishes. The Porridge was a little hard to find. We made the mistake of looking for a sign that said The Porridge. The GPS said that we had arrived and that the destination was to our left so we drove into the parking lot of the strip mall and of course we couldn't find it. I decided that we had to look at the unit number given in the address and lo and behold The Porridge had bright blue Chinese Signage and the words "The Porridge" was placed as a neck tie for the Chef Head that is part of their sign and barely visible! If you look at the photo you will see what I mean. As soon as you walk in someone hails you with "how many people?" We are shown to a table. It is a bright and airy place and at the back of the restaurant is the counter with a display case of the side dishes you can order. We go up and point to the various things we wanted to try: Pig Ears, Pork Tongue, Minced Pork with pickled vegetables, and Special Fried Chicken. As soon as we have reseated ourselves a large bowl of piping hot porridge with sweet potato is delivered to the table. Soon after the dishes we ordered arrive. The pig ears were perfectly cooked. Well braised and the cartilage tender enough but still with a slight crunch. The tongue was typical, tasty but not outstanding. The minced pork was a perfect complement, salty enough to add lots of flavour to the plain porridge. My favourite was the fried chicken. It had the quiet kick of Szechuan peppers and was crispy on the outside and tender. There were only 2 of us so we had leftovers to take home. There were lots of other dishes I would have liked to try so if you don't have the luxury of opportunity or time to go back for subsequent taste tests go with a big group. Prices are again extremely reasonable, most of the dishes were from $5-$8 and you get unlimited porridge while you're there. It costs us $26 for lunch but we had lots of leftovers, enough for another meal for both of us.
(4)Khoa N.
This place is garbage. It is like eating food chinese restaurant throw out and this place take that and serve it to you. If I want that shitty of a porridge I can microwaves some rice and water at home.
(1)Marry T.
Been coming here for 3 years (-: portions and a big pot of porridge never changed. Pig ears and Mapo tofu is a must! I always come here when I get a stomach flu (which is sadly quite often) AND IT MAKES ME FEEL SO MUCH BETTER.
(5)Brian Y.
This is an amazing place for breakfast or in my case a late dinner. The food is light, clean, and healthy. Most of the cuisine is vegetarian, but there are also a few meat dishes. I highly recommend the soy sauce pig's ears and sliced beef. The green onion sesame pan cake and eggplants are also very good. A few items were a bit unexpected and surprised me. The restaurant's name is The Porridge, yet they only have one variety of porridge: Yam Porridge. Never the less it was very good; the fail-safe option is white rice. Additionally, the procedure for ordering food is different than a typical restaurant. You have the option of ordering off the menu or you can head to the back and select a variety of dishes from a prep bar; it's a fusion between fast food and a diner. I enjoyed eating here not just because the dishes were good or because the meal was very affordable -- about $20.00 for two people -- but primarily because I enjoyed the serene and tranquil atmosphere -- everyone was talking very softly. It's not often I'm in a restaurant where the volume of my conversation isn't in direct competition with the volume of the TV or another table. :)
(5)Yi L.
They offer typical Chinese home dishes. They serve with a porridge automatically after we are seated. We choose what we like from a food exhibition stand, and they will serve a small dish of it. We could order other foods as well, and they will prepare and serve it later. Eating there saves a lot of time, which is a big advantage. There are various options of the food, and they are relatively inexpensive, which reminds me of my college life eating in the canteens in China. My personal recommendations would be spicy chicken (è¾£å鸡), soy source pork (红烧肉). They offer a loyalty card to keep the customer - each time you could get n points if your purchase is over n*10 dollars (hope it is a clear explanation:P). And they sometimes give dishes as a present to us - we once got a free Fried Tofu, and that is delicious! There are plenty of Chinese people eating there - most are elderly couples with kids - I guess they ARE loyal.
(4)Lila C.
$1 for a huge pot of porridge , and many delicious food! A nice health place to go with friends!
(4)Vicky T.
My brother and I looooove chinese porridge shops, and this is one of the few around and definitely an A++ for the food, service, and pricing! I do not consider any foods cooked heavily in oil and salt a light eat, but steep your foods in tea (if applicable) and you've got yourself a pretty good meal to sit well in most stomachs! Honestly I make it sound greasier than they are.. it's not too bad but they're definitely not lightly drizzled upon nor are they a salad bar chain so.. Go up to the counter to order for immediate dishes to be served, but don't forget to browse the available dishes they post in black print on vertical papers posted against the wall behind and above the counter servers' heads. Don't be fooled by the smallness of any of your dishes either... my brother and I eat like hungry football players and three side dishes were enough to satiate our appetite and stomachs! Lastly, I encourage you to tip!! Really, I think you would make their day a little brighter especially if they made yours too.
(4)Amy H.
I guess I shall review this place as I sit at the communal table. Man, if you are hungry or in a rush and want good food, this is the place to go! It is located in the lions supermarket so parking will be tough around lunch time. I remember how I wanted to check this place out but I forgot. Good thing the yelp email about cheap eats was sent out today so I could check it out. You order first at the pre-prepared stand and you get three entrees for $7.25. This will also include the unlimited sweet potato porridge at your table. You really can't beat that! I wanted a mix so I got ground pork, bamboo shoots and steamed sautéed fish. It doesn't come with rice but I guess that is what the porridge is for. The porridge was way too bland for my liking and it comes with few pieces of sweet potato. I thought it was a nice touch to have and maybe I need to try another pot of porridge but I would definitely not just order the porridge for a meal. All three of my sides were tasty even though remnants of MSG linger behind and I am super thirsty now. Regardless, I will definitely be coming back to try out their other dishes :) **TIPS** 1) Cash only. 2) Lunch special is three sides for $7.25 and unlimited yam porridge. 3) Enjoy!
(4)Lily L.
I'm not a fan of porridge so I have no business eating here or leaving a review so I'll only share my opinion of their system. Everything is already cooked and displayed like a buffet. You buy the porridge and then purchase toppings. For dinner, they force you to buy a whole container full of the item you want; you cannot mix and match. I would understand that if they need to cook it but it is already cooked and all sitting there on a steamer. So why can't they give me a little of each item and charge me a bit more? Instead they force me to buy a whole container of one item. Who wants to eat only one item with a big bowl of plain porridge? My dinner companion, who likes porridge, said the porridge was bland but the tiny fish topping he got was good. He prefers the porridge from Joy Luck in Cupertino. The guy at the counter was nice so I'll give this place 2 stars instead of 1.
(2)Qianqi L.
Favorite porridge place! The small dishes are all so yummy and affordable. I would recommend to anyone who loves porridge. It's hard to say which dish is worth ordering as everyone likes different Veg and meat but I would say none of the dishes I ordered failed me thus far!
(5)Miao X.
I came here for lunch at 12:30pm. There was no line. But people started to line up at 1pm. Cooked dishes are ready to serve. You can also request a menu and order. The flavors are fine, but I don't like dishes served cold. So big minus from me. 8 bucks for 3 dishes and porridge with sweet potato.
(3)Mark W.
This place is really good! I love the eggplant, pig ear salad, pig stomach w/ pickled vegetables, and the pig tongue. If you ask, you can get pork intestines as one of your dishes. The porridge there is really good and I love the fact that they put in yam. On weekdays, the price is cheap and is a good deal.
(4)Maureen C.
Before you come in here and eat the food, you have to prepare yourself for the fact that this is a Taiwanese porridge establishment and will not have Cantonese porridge, which means that the basic taste and feel of it will be different. This porridge is not going to really be salty like Cantonese kind because most of the flavors of the meal will be in the side dishes, and there are fat, chunky whole grains in the porridge so it's not as "soupy" with broken rice bits the way Cantonese porridges usually come. So, you sit down at a table, get some bowls and a big pot of porridge, and then you go to the back and order your side dishes. I suggest the fried tofu and white fish because those are my absolute favorites here. After you order, they'll bring it to your table. You have to be more forward about asking for water and extra servings of porridge for your table, because they will have only tea on the tables. Definitely suggest coming with groups or families so that you can try a lot of variety without ending up with too much leftovers. My dad used to bring this home for us after work so I have lots of good memories eating this food.
(4)Charles L.
One star for dinner price ... This kind of food is supposed to be cheap. Just ordered two small items ... It ends up about 15 usd with tip ... Serious ? ...
(1)Norman S.
It's been ages since I was here last and we happened to be close by after a shopping trek to the (not-so) Great Mall in Milpitas. Porridge is a near perfect food for those cold and wet fall/winter days. While not so cold or wet the day we went, still cool enough to warrant a warming bowl of piping hot porridge. I recall this place used to have a line out the door on weekends but not today. We got there 12ish and plenty of tables to be had. They point us to our table and we head straight to the counter to order. Shredded tofu - savory strips of tofu stir fried. Has a decent amount of flavor with the marinated tofu adding some complexity to an otherwise ordinary tasting dish. Sliced fish - braised white slices of fish with bits of celery and carrots for color and texture. Omelette with dried radish - a must have standard with porridge. This version is too salty mainly because of the radishes that are dried and salted. Probably too generous with them. Fortunately, complements the blandness of the porridge well which offsets the saltiness. Fried peanuts and anchovies. This simple dish was surprisingly tasty and best of the meal. The peanuts had an interesting savory flavor with the saltiness of the anchovies adding a dimension to the flavor. Who new? Porridge itself is served in a red container with chunks of sweet potatoes for texture and sweetness. You get unlimited refills if you're really hungry. Total tab came to just over $20 for 2 which is a bit pricey for porridge so not exactly fantastic for value.
(4)Liz C.
The place tastes good but it's nothing too too special. There's a lot of home comfort food that is authentic. You go to the front and pick out your dishes. We chose pig ears and beef. It comes with unlimited sweet potato congee which is burning hot so be careful. It'll be hard to communicate if you don't speak mandarin but you can manage with pointing. It's pretty cheap, the two dishes costed us about 16$ and its cash only. They give you a stamp card: every 10$ you spend you get one stamp. When it's full, you get 10$ off.
(4)Eric T.
Snow fish is now $12. Was $10 last year. Soy sauced squids only taste like soy sauce. Chives egg is $4 or $5. Very greasy. All in all, this restaurant is very pricey for its portion. Will not come back again if this isn't the only place for porridge :(
(1)Candice H.
After Porridge Place closed in Cupertino Village, I was in search for a new Taiwanese porridge spot as there aren't many in the Bay Area. Luckily, I came across Henry W.'s check-in/review! Behind the hot food table, there's a variety of already cooked Taiwanese dishes to choose from or you can order additional items that can be made in the kitchen. However, if you're a non-Chinese reader, it'll be a problem because the additional dishes are written on strips of paper hung behind the hot food table. When we returned to our table after selecting a few dishes, a pot of porridge with yam was already waiting for us at the table. My only complaint is they're a bit stingy with the yam. The side dishes we ordered ( yelp.com/biz_photos/the-… ): -pig ears -bittermelon -preserved vegetables w/ pig intestine -bean curd w/ celery -baby anchovies -pickled vegetable All the dishes ordered were tasty. My least favorite was the baby anchovies, but that's because I don't care for anchovies. Overall, I enjoyed my meal here and can't wait to come back to try some other dishes. Note: Cash Only
(4)Kari C.
This restaurant was ok. The porridge bar was a good idea, but this is more of a place to be if you're not by yourself. I say this because as a single person going in for dinner, you can't order much of a variety, or you will end up with a lot of the same dish. I wanted a little bit of Chinese sausage, a little bit of tofu and a little bit of white cabbage, but ended up with four big plates of food, plus a big pot of porridge. I must have looked like a fatty to those sitting around me. There were stares. :P The food was generic, bland, and oily. It was decent but I'm not sure if I would enjoy coming here again.
(3)Maggie G.
First review as a Yelp Elite? should I put more "character" in my reviews now? ... nahhh I just tell it like it is :D Food: 4 stars Service: "OK" You can never go wrong with porridge, especially when 1. there's yam in the porridge and 2. you get to choose the sides to go with it! I've tried many dishes, all were good except the squid, it wasn't very fresh last time i had it. I recommend the bamboo (either kind) and the pork blood and tofu, both go so well with the porridge. I would also recommend asking for extra yams if you like that, otherwise there might only be a few pieces. The only downside of this place is it IS pretty pricey for the food. two people can easily eat about $25 for lunch, take it into consideration if you're budgeting. I'm always back here when we want some comfort food tho!
(4)Reid Y.
My Taiwanese wife and my Vietnamese-but-really-loves-Taiwan friend took me here. Not bad! Protocol is to go up to the counter on the right side and tell the server what you want. They will then bring the dishes to your table, along with some porridge with yams in it. Scoop the porridge in a bowl and then start picking at all of the food. Good dishes include the eggplant, bamboo shoots, fish, and tofu. Tons of grease and MSG to go along with your porridge. Go with a larger group to get a larger variety of dishes. Economies of scale also mean you only need to pay around 10 dollars for a ton of food and a variety of dishes. Cash only!
(5)S T.
Interesting concept. I came here for lunch with a friend. This was both of our first times here. I thought it would be your typical porridge/ noodle soup type of place, but it wasn't. They have lunch specials where you pick several items (3 items, I believe) to have with your "porridge." I put porridge in quotes because it's not your typical Chinese porridge you would get. It's like watery rice with sweet potato bits, different than I'm used to but still good. The food was flavorful and the price we paid for what we got was cheap!
(4)Meilan O.
Came here for the flavors that I've had at home since childhood. Food served here is of a specific style that I might translate as "white congee with tapas." Since the congee is not seasoned, we eat it together with several flavorful dishes of veggies, tofu, seafood, meat... The chefs know good techniques. So far ever dish I tried was perfectly cooked. Simple but not easy. However, do not expect normal service here. Treat it like a pick your own salad bar sort of thing.
(4)Melissa M.
OMG, I love this place. It's home cooking at a restaurant. I've been going here since I moved to CA. The lunch special price is amazing. The dishes are sooo good and the service is great. They are fast and always reliable. Food is flavored well. It makes me feel like I'm visiting Taiwan. Yummy!!!
(4)Sharon W.
Holy Moly.!!!!!!!!!! I get to visit TWO 5 star establishments in one day!? This is undoubtedly a FIRST for me! *Clapping hands* A trip to the nail shop brought me to this area, and my tummy told me , "feed me", so after a quick look around on yelp, We decided on dinner here. This is a Taiwanese porridge house. We came here for the $7 deal with 3 sides and unlimited porridge but I guess they only had "a la carte" when we rushed in 25 minutes before closing. We got 3 sides, white rice and porridge. The total was $20 for 2. Unlimited porridge, come hungry my friends..! We are immediately greeted at the door, and as we walk up to the buffet style counter, we are greeted again.. and in CHINESE! SCORE!! I look Chinese today! Woot! I'm usually spoken to in English :( We asked a few questions about the dishes, took time in selecting which ones we wanted and OH EM GEE, the service was excellent. I expected attitude coming in so late and right before closing. We start eating, and the food.. om nom.. it's so good. This kind of food is like my soul food. It warms me up inside and brings back childhood memories. We got the seaweed, soysauce beef and pig ears! Each of them were seasoned and cooked to perfection. I was worried that the food may be old from sitting out all day, but each dish was delish and fresh. We are checked up on while eating, and I need to mention this again, the service was 5 stars. If I could give 10 I would. It was not only just from one employee, but we got the same positive energy from everyone working there. Smiles from everyone. You can really see everyone is happy to be there. It's the worst when you can tell someone hates their job. Who wants to be around that!? I can say, I have not had this kind of service and experience even eating that the top 5 star restaurants in the Bay Area. I left this restaurant with a happy belly and in a great mood! The energy in this place is amazing.
(5)Yue L.
I love the porridge from this place. I love the yams mixed in and it's simple yet comforting. I actually get it here at least twice a month, usually on my way back to the East Bay or my lovely boyfriend brings it over when I need some comfort food. I've tried other dishes there and my favorite is the celery salad with tofu skin and beef cold cuts. They remind me of the kind of home cooked dishes my grandma used to make. You'd think a dinky little place like this will be MSG galore but so far I've been ok eating dishes from here. Hooray! The place is located in a shopping plaza, parking can be a bit hard to find. Cash only and the service is quick and prices are cheap. $1.50 gets you a large container of porridge that lasts 3-4 meals and dishes range from $0.99 to $7.99. Very affordable! I usually speak mandarin to them so I don't know how good their English is. Most of the cold dishes are laid out buffet style at the back of the restaurant so if you want food to go, it's easy and quick.
(4)Kaori M.
I needed to eat porriage because recently I had my wisdom teeth removed. The pot for porriage is big! I really liked it. I choose some of soft things, tofu, soft meat, and seeweed. All super tasty!!! I had not been eating real food after the removal, but for the first time in 2 weeks, I ate GREAT authentic food for dinner!!!
(5)Geoffrey C.
Think of this place as a Panda Express...but with real Chinese food, not the americanized, fried, sauce drenched stuff found at every other Chinese take out restaurant. Here at lunch its 7.50 to pick three items filling up a plate and then eaten with their house porridge (basically a kind of rice soup) or you can order rice to eat with the entrees. Their selection includes true Chinese foods like bamboo shoots, soy-braised pork, fried mackerel, squid, and various other classic Chinese side dishes. I came with my family and we each got our own plate of three entrees and everything I tasted was delicious and authentic. Definitely recommend getting the soy braised pork as that is a classic in Taiwanese cuisine. Overall everything tasted just like home and Is would definitely come back for a quick and easy meal. They get pretty busy at times though so watch out for that! Good authentic Taiwanese/Chinese cuisine at an affordable price gets a full five stars!
(5)Moe L.
Best place for Taiwan style porridge in Milpitas. My family buys some dishes to go occasionally as it is a bit far. All dishes we had are well made, but a bit greasy.
(4)Eric H.
It's one of the authentic Taiwanese restaurant with Sweet Yam Congee served with light dishes lunchtime. Considering the cost of $14 for two persons with Six different light dishes, it is truly a bargain. Highly recommended to get in either before 12:10 or after 1pm, as it gets packed very soon.
(4)Adele F.
I used to abhor this restaurant because I couldn't stomach the sweet potatoes that they generously mix in to their porridge. Then, one day I woke up, and I absolutely loved that class of starch (sweet potatoes, yams, taro, etc). Growing up comes with strange change. Yay for their frequent customer card (one stamp for every $10 increment, excluding lunch special meals. After 10 stamps, redeem the card for $10 off your receipt). Yay for said lunch special, which doesn't qualify for the rewards card but is much more affordable (3 dishes for $7.50 booyah). Yay for their unlimited porridge, of which you can take your leftovers home. If porridge ain't your thang, you can also request rice. Yay for their huge variety of awesome dishes, such as roast beef, pickled cucumbers, tofu, seaweed, bamboo shoots, and so much more. Get seated. Walk to the back and order. Return to table. Get served porridge and side dishes almost instantly. Devour. Pay. Leave satisfied.
(4)George F.
Last night didn't really know which restaurant we wanted to go to after grocery shopping so we headed to The Porridge. They have a variety of already cooked Taiwanese food and additional items that is made in the kitchen. The problem for non-chinese readers these items are on strips of paper written in Chinese hung on the wall behind the Hot Table. Good thing I paid attention in Chinese School. I think if you order a certain number of dishes they give you either fried tofu (see pics)or and order of xaio lung bao on the house. I guess if you are a non chinese reader go with some one who is or have the staff read to you what items can be made from the kitchen. This place is Cash Only.
(4)Edward W.
I recently discovered this place and I think it's my new favorite Taiwanese small eats location! You order all the small plates at the front and then they are delivered to your seat. This place serves porridge with yam and the best part is FREE refills! I ordered their seaweed, beef, tofu skin/celery/peanuts, lian ban gan su, and pig ear. It is safe to say that I loved all these dishes and they all go well with the porridge. For anyone who doesn't know what the dishes are, I'd go with the old tried and true method, whatever looks good just get it. Each dish is between $0.99 to $5.99 so just try as many as you can eat. For every $10 you spend here, you get a stamp and if you collect 10 stamps, they'll give you $10 more to spend.
(5)Derrick H.
I use to work near Mei Garden, and it was definitely a lunch time spot! Their lunch special is pretty awesome (3 item combo with porridge). My favorite dishes are tofu with pork blood, peanuts with anchovies, and the seaweed. I absolutely love comfort food, and porridge hits the spot! I have nothing bad to say about the dishes other than wishing they were a bit warmer when served! It's okay because the hot porridge fixes that problem!
(4)Dan A.
Cash only. Authentic taiwanese porridge, It reminds me of no name porridge at Taipei, but of course not as good as that in Taipei. Their lunch combo are good for weekday lunch. For weekend and night, it's good to bring in large group of people. You can ask 1 extra portion of porridge shall you feel hungry.. (I usually just ask the sweet potato) which they gladly add it for me.
(4)Eric L.
Ya got freaking kidding me??? 4 stars rating!!! It isn't worth it. I duno it is scam or fraud. What I wanna say the food here is hella stale. The food was persevered and some of them r cold greasy. For small amount of good cost, the price is overpriced. Ewwwwww. Seriously my friend got diarrhea after he has eaten their food. Forget the food part, their services r hella "HORRIBLE"!!!!!! The waiter's attitude r so hideous. If u wanna tip small amount of gratuity for persevered(just like fast food), their staring eyes will kill you... So don't go there. There r brunch even much much much better restaurants just next to "The porridge"r worthier cheaper than this place.
(1)Francis L.
So how good can plain porridge be? I didn't think I'll like it that much until trying it. Its their sides that makes the plain porridge tastes so good. We had the good 'ol squid which are just tiny squids with everything inside. No guts or anything just some squid goo and squid eggs? The thin back bone is and the squid mouth is sometimes left in. Anyway, once you get used to eating them they were at the perfectly right saltiness. Then there's the pig ears and the jellyfish with cucumber. Both were excellent and I will be coming back when I get a plain porridge craving.
(4)Nicha K.
I really love congee. And I LOVE it that this place specializes in just that. I get all nostalgic for "kao thom" (literally translates to boiled rice in Thai) where my family would go to those roadside places where the rice porridge is a staple and there are lots of shared plates to eat with it. Like tapas. Same concept here. Every table gets a pot of that bottomless rice porridge and you pick your entrees from the serving table at the front. We did it family style and between the five of us we killed it. Stir fried tofu, garlicky vegetables, chinese sausage, eggs with radish, intestine, peanuts, pickled vegetables, minced porks, oh-so-many different options and things I couldn't name but happily pointed at and they put it on a plate for me. Why can't they be located closer to me? Can't wait to go again!
(5)Andy V.
I wish there were more of these places popping up, but The Porridge is something that's hard to find. The concept is simple, so I'm surprised more haven't sprouted up. Basically you get a big bowl of porridge and you can pick all these entrees to eat with your porridge. It's like Chinese dinner, but instead of rice, you get porridge. Simple enough right? Alas, there's no other place I can find something similar. Oh, and the entrees are really good too :)
(5)Ashley V.
I went into this place on a whim just because I am huge fan of porridge and was reading all the great lunch special reviews on yelp. I was at first overwhelmed when I came in seeing all the different choices for side dishes. I was really lucky with my picks because I ended up enjoying all of them! The three side dishes I chose were: sauteed eggplant, ground pork, and the pickled cabbage with pig cartilage (?). Each dish was flavorful and a great compliment to the porridge. Some people might think the porridge was bland. However, the purpose of porridge is like eating a bowl of rice. It is meant to balance the salty flavors of the side dish, otherwise, there would be a compilation of too much of salt! I definitely will be coming back here again! Since this is so close to my work.... Mei Garden, you can count on me as a lunch regular!
(5)Lindy W.
Taiwanese style porridge and small dishes, which is great for lunch and dinner. The yam porridge is delicious and light. However, I dislike how greasy a lot of the side dishes are. Parking in the plaza really sucks during lunch and dinner hours, so come early.
(3)Katie K.
I give them 2 Stars. I have had better one, especially I am used to a similiar Taiwanese restaurant in So cal. I think I did not like the fact that they used a lot MSG, I feel very thirsty after eating the meal.
(2)Mona W.
Simple formula but nicely executed. If you want a healthy meal this is a great choice. Rest assured you will be getting some porridge here so don't come here expecting to get a bowl of rice or some other Chinese dishes. A per-person charge for their sweet potato porridge will be included in your bill the moment you sit down whether you like it or not. All you need to do is just to walk up to the counter and pick out the toppings or side dishes you want with your porridge. They have everything exotic from animal internal organs to ordinary stir fried meat, seafood and pickled vegetables. Everything are very reasonably priced and you won't leave home hungry. The quality of food was excellent. I was quite happy with my meal and would recommend dining here.
(4)Michael W.
Reminds me so much of the biandang that I used to get as a kid. Came here for a late lunch (2:45pm) with a bunch of friends. For lunch, all the food is pre-prepared in trays behind the counter. You can pick 3 items for $7.50. Squid - My favorite thing ever Porridge - With yam! It's not super flavorful, but very simple and clean Eggplant is good Tofu and Blood - Good Sausages are a little dry Veggies Whole grilled fish is a bit hard to eat.. bitter in some places Some things are cold. It's really cheap! Like $7.50 for the lunch special.
(4)Stephanie C.
I was so sad when Porridge Place in Cupertino Village closed down a couple years ago, since it was my favorite restaurant in the square. When I came to try out Mei Garden, I was wondering why all the dishes looked so familiar when I was told the cook at Mei Garden was the former cook of Porridge Place in Cupertino! All my childhood memories of the good food came back to me as I ordered the same exact dishes that my mom and I used to when I was a child. My favorites are the tofu and the seaweed. I could eat these with porridge for every meal for a week and I would not get sick of them! I'm so glad I found this place for my Taiwanese food cravings. The only reason I've not giving this place 5 stars is the price. I was surprised when our meal for 2 cost over $25. Although I'd definitely pay a little more to eat at one of my favorite restaurants, I expected the prices for Taiwanese food to be a little lower.
(4)Grace V.
Simple, comforting, home-style rice porridge. I've only ever ordered from the ready-made section and have always been happy with the choices. This style isn't for everybody, but I love it because it's something like I'd eat at home for breakfast, well and simply made (not over-seasoned) and _consistent_. We always order bamboo shoots, beef tongue, fried seabass, minced pork. The pig's stomach, Chinese sausage, tofu noodles, and pig ears are also very, very good. My aunt from out of the country introduced me to this place over a decade ago. And between moving in and out of California, I've always come back to this spot.
(5)Tiffany S.
Too expensive for cheap food.
(2)Kimberly K.
One of my favorite restaurants to go for weekend lunches! I always order pig ears, bamboo shoots, and pig stomach with pickled veggies. The dishes aren't too salty or oily, so whenever I feel like having a light meal, I always come here. Been an avid fan of this restaurant since I was little and will continue to come here often.
(5)Corina G.
We went all the way from Mountain View to this place for lunch on Saturday specially to get the porridge and they just had some dishes for choosing no menu to choose and when I asked for porridge the waitress/cashier answered me in a very rude way and I couldn't even understand but I was too afraid to ask again and get another rude answer so we went away and never coming back again :(
(1)Stan K.
Delicious! We ordered the pork stomach with pickled vege, ground pork with pickled vege and cilantro beef slices. Regular dishes are $5/$6. Portions more than adequate for 2. All very good and yummy. Good and fast service on top of very reasonable prices. Went there last night, it is so good we'll be returning tonight! My son initially refused to eat but after trying a bite, he goes YUM!
(4)Grant L.
This place is like eating at your Taiwanese friend's house, only instead of making beef noodle soup like you were hoping, your friend's mom made porridge. Also, she's not a very good cook and doesn't keep her kitchen very clean. Basically you are served a pot of porridge with yams and you select the entrees you want from a smorgasbord of dishes, i.e. braised pork, egg plant, tofu, pig ear, cucumber, fish, etc, etc. I went to a place like this in Taiwan that was bomb and was super excited to find this spot, but unfortunately it didn't live up to expectations. We tried about 7 or so different dishes and all were just pretty edible. The place didn't feel very clean either. Probably won't be back unless I'm hungry, in the area, and nothing else is open. Considering there are a lot of options in the area, I probably won't be back... unless my friend's mom learns a few new recipes and cleans up her kitchen.
(2)Jenny L.
Cafeteria style restaurant that serves food that reminds me of my mommy's cooking. You choose the dishes you want at the counter and they provide you with free congee with yam. Delicious! Makes for a quick and cheap meal!
(4)Sophia H.
I love this restaurant because it serves Taiwanese style food with yam porridge. The lunch special is a superb deal and comes with 3 items of your choice. There are plenty of dishes to choose from and they are served immediately to your table. I like to go with at least one other person so that we can get different things and share because there are too many good dishes! A minor complaint I have is that the bowls are tiny, which gets kind of annoying since I have to refill my bowl bowl multiple time. Also, you only get one small togo container for the porridge. However to make up for that, porridge refills are free, so you always get to eat until you're super full while you're there. :)
(4)Lisa L.
Every now and then when I'm in the neighborhood to visit my aunt, she loves asking me if I want to get some porridge and Mei Garden is the place to go! We usually get it togo and what I love about the porridge is the sweet potatoes mixed into it! It's so nommy! Perfect for coldish days in Milpitas. I generally get the pig ears, bamboos and I forgot what it's called in English but in chinese they're call "choi bo." I used to like getting the sausage too as a kid but I realize how it's not as worth it :P My aunt treats me all the time so I'm not sure how much it is but for lunch I think it's like ten dollars most (don't take my word for this, I'm really not sure) for the porridge, and three entree's to go with it! yelp.com/user_local_phot…
(4)Qi L.
Cash only is a problem. But the food is soooooooooo good. The porridge is sweet and dishes are also tasty. U can pick the dish through the window.
(5)Jazzy A.
I ordered food there yesterday and now am so sick. I got up very early and ran to bathroom many times today! It sucks as i used to eat in this place many times as they have so many hot and prepared food to choose from. I don't have to wait. The only reason I think I get sick is that yesterday I ordered the food which is from the menu instead of those hot food I used to choose from the food counter. I ordered "three cup chicken" and fried spinach. The chicken tasted like they used the chicken meat which was preserved in the refri for a long time . But I didn't pay much attention to it yesterday as Chinese/ Taiwanese restaurant do that sometimes, until I got really sick today.... I checked the other 1 star reviews, seems like they might run into the same issue as I did. The hot and prepared food are their high runners so they keep it fresh everyday. But the ones on the menu, watch out!
(1)Kim l.
Found this little gem on yelp. Plenty of parking in the plaza. My husband and I walked in and were directed to the counter to choose 3 items each. We ended up with: Pigs ear: 4/5 good flavor, crunchy! Chinese cabbage: 5/5 my fav! Minced pork: 4/5 I liked this dish, but hubby said it was a little bland Pork wrapped in tofu skin: 4/5 juicy, good flavor Tongue: 2.5/5 it was just a ok Bamboo: 4/5 yum! Porridge: 4/5 yes it was bland, but it made for great pairing with the different flavors of the side dishes. We even had some left overs to take home. $13 for the two of us. Great deal! We shall be back!
(4)Jenny Y.
This place is yummy and used to be my favorite spot for lunch. They have a good selection and unlimited porridge and the dishes are tasty. The reason I don't go here anymore and am rating it 1 star is because I got food poisoning from this place. I had lunch with my 2 aunts and cousin and a day later, we all got sick. I suspect it was the ground pork because my cousin and I ate the most of it and we were totally sick- to where we couldn't move. My aunts just had a couple bites to taste and they still got sick but not as bad as us. It really sucks because I used to LOVE this place. :(
(1)Leslie Y.
My coworkers asked if we could get off early and head to Milpitas for porridge...all I could think of, was YES!... So 5 of us headed down 880S, got there in 40 minutes, the place was kind of empty for a weekday....only one other table.... We got pigs ears, tofu and pork blood, fried tofu, pickled veggies, spicy pork, five spice beef, and another fried tofu....that proves how good it was.... All was gone in half an hour.... Since it was weekday, we got one order of fried tofu for free after spending 25 bucks..... This place would be so successful if they ever decide to open one closer to the City......
(5)lu z.
Love this place! Cheap and delicious. Each person can choose three items for lunch special. I love it's meatball, beef, and bamboo. The porridge is yummy and light. It is a great place to hear and learn chinese as well.
(5)Angelic L.
Wow, the porridge here is bland beyond saving, which is surprising to me considering that it's made with sweet potato. I thought the toppings would add some flavor to it, but I was wrong. Don't think I'll be coming back.
(3)Katherine L.
I've been here a couple times now and I've always had a good experience. All the dishes I've had were pretty good and I love that the porridge has sweet potato/yam in it. The service has also been good. They have been nice and welcoming. It isn't a cheap asian joint, but for good food, it's worth it!
(4)Chellam C.
Good varieties to choose. Nice place and service.
(3)Stephanie L.
I love that there is a variety of dishes to choose from to go with your porridge. It's hard to communicate with the people who work here, unless you know Mandarin. I usually just point at what I want. I love the bamboo shoots here! I would try to come with 2-3 other people to eat that way I could order more variety of foods to devour. I also like coming here when I'm hungover..
(4)Chen L.
This place is very healthy. Or at least I feel like the food is very refreshing. Nothing heavy at all. There are a bunch of options for you to add onto your porridge (each with different costs). But it's not as cheap as I thought it would be. Turns out, our bill came out to be around the same as what we usually get for other dinner meals. Would have thought it would be cheaper, considering it's a chinese restuarant and it's relatively easy to make the porridge...or maybe not? Friendly staff. They come and fill up your porridge bowl if you run low.
(3)Steve L.
This is one of my favorite place to have lunch because they have variety dishes of Taiwanese/Chinese food to choose from. They are good to go along with their yam/sweet potato porridge. However, if you do not want their porridge, you can always ask to have steam rice instead. Their dishes are way less oily than any other Chinese/Taiwanese restaurants. Whenever I want something else other than salad, they just pop right out of my head and be my first choice.
(4)Joy S.
I really like this place! You go up to the counter to order. Most of the dishes are pre-made and presented in front of you to choose. My family and I really enjoy the garlic eggplant, fish and veggies, soy sauce pork with tofu, and ground pork with garlic. They'll bring all your dishes and porridge to your table. The porridge has yams in it and is very tasty when you add the food dishes to it. The porridge is super hot which makes up for the dishes that aren't. We always mix the food into the porridge, which probably is what you're suppose to do? This is great when you're feeling under the weather or simply want something nice and warm to eat. This is a cash only place and also they have stamp cards. For every $10 you spend, you get a stamp. After accruing 10 stamps you get $10 off your next meal. Just a heads up if you get 10 on the day you show up, you will not be able to use it until your next visit.
(4)Michelle T.
I came here to get some porridge for my fiance when he was down with the flu. He was having chicken noodle soup for awhile because he was so sick. I got him porridge and he & I enjoyed it (him especially!). I ordered ground pork in delicious light sauce which was so perfect over the porridge and bamboo which was good as well. The porridge has yam in it. Overall it was a comfort meal for both him & I as I was feeling a little under the weather myself. I'll definitely come back for sick days. I was super disappointed when the porridge place in Cupertino closed down. This place will do. BTW - it's cash only here. I had to run over to the ATM after I ordered because I didn't have cash on hand.
(3)Kristi L.
When Yelp classified this restaurant as Taiwanese, they weren't kidding. This is legit comfort food for those who are craving authentic Taiwanese food. The layout of this restaurant is confusing at first if you're a first timer. When I walked in with my mom, there was no one in the front. But basically, this is how it works: you walk up to the front where there's like 20 cold dishes. You pick out the dishes you want, or you can order some other dishes they have on the wall that they will make for you to order. Then, they seat you at a table, where they bring all the cold dishes and other dishes you ordered, along with the porridge. The porridge is all you can eat, so you can refill it as many times as you want. The rest of it is typical of any restaurant, you pay at the end, and it's cash only. I didn't really come into this restaurant with much expectations, but as soon as they brought out the yam porridge, I was reminded of my daily meals in Taiwan. Apparently the food here also had affected my mom too, as she started talking non stop about her childhood back in Taiwan, so forth. It was definitely a great reminiscing moment for both of us, to remember the days where my grandmother wouldn't let me go with less than 4 bowls of porridge. They had a wide selection of cold side dishes, like seaweed, gan si (like sliced bean curd noodles, it's my favorite ^_^), sliced pig ears, tofu skin, cucumber salad, bamboo shoots, grilled mackerel, etc. The cold dishes were alright to me (I've had better), but my mom loved how the bamboo shoots were fresh and tasty. However, what makes this place worthy of 5 stars is the service. My mom is diabetic and is unable to eat most Asian dishes because they either add starch or sugar in the dishes. The waiter was able to accommodate her needs and make sure that all the dishes she ordered were cooked to her liking. Throughout our meal, they kept a very friendly and welcoming attitude, unlike most Chinese restaurants. My mom left very pleased with the service. Our meal earned us four stamps on their stamp card; they automatically offer it to you. For every 10 dollars you spend, you get a stamp. When you fill up all 10 stamps, you can get $10 off the next time you dine there. My family will be coming back here.
(5)Donna C.
It's a very affordable lunch and satisfying. I love their eggplant, dried fish, salted toasted peanuts, and minced pork dish. Service is fast and get there early for a table. I think this place is cash only. You can get as much porridge as you like to go with your selection. I also love that they have a sweet potato or yam in the porridge to give it some flavor.
(5)Melody L.
This is an overdue. On a Saturday late dinner night (maybe after 8pm), there were still a long line of people. But it's worth the wait. Lots of choices, delicious, authentic and reasonbly priced. Will definitely come back again.
(4)Audrey Y.
LOVE THIS PLACE. My new go-to spot for some yummy comfort food. System is kinda weird for first-timers. You enter the restaurant, let them know how many people are in your party, they show you to your table, acknowledge where you sit, then head to the back to pick out your dishes. After you pick 'em out, you take a seat and someone will bring them (along w your porridge) out to you. Then, ENJOY! I used to not be a fan of porridge w yams, but since I've grown older, my taste buds have matured (at least I like to think so). Porridge here is legit the perfect comfort food for me and the toppings are bomb dot com. I love the squid (mmmmm) and the bf loves the pig ears. Another favorite is the ground beef, yum. Try anything & everything here and it will exceed your expectations! Service is friendly & efficient and pricing is great (esp since you get unlimited porridge; come hungry!). CASH ONLY!
(5)Tracy Joy K.
This place is your Grandma's porridge (if you happen to be Chinese that is) plus a great array of sides to make it your own. Take a plain pot of porridge - literally no salt or seasoning - and add in some assorted dishes, you have a healthy and simply satisfying meal. The portions aren't huge so I wouldn't recommend it if you are super hungry. Our choices for the night were a Sea Bass fried fish (very flavorful though a bit pricey for such a small piece), Mustard Greens and Beef. The beef was great since it provided a bit of salt to the porridge and flavor. My favorite however was the fish. I love the fact that this place is open late and that it is a great deal for good food. Be aware that parking may be hard to find but with the Lion Plaza right there you could probably just find a bit farther parking. This place has both to-go and eat in, if you prefer to munch on your porridge at home. Excited for the next time I try this place and the new dishes I can try!
(4)Linus W.
$10/pp on the weekend for lots of sweet potato porridge and 3 sides (the sides we got varied from $3-$6), more than enough for 2 people. Nice change of pace from american breakfasts/brunches, this place hits the spot for asian comfort food. The fish fillet pieces were tender and flavorful without being overpowering, napa cabbage with mushroom and dried shrimp yummy, and the tofu noodles with its sesame oil flavor was refreshing. Don't forget that you can ask for more soup!
(4)Dorene S.
Plane landed at 8:00 am on a Sunday and had lunch here at 11:00 am. I pondered long and hard (yes, really!) over where I wanted to have my first meal in the Bay area as a Bay area resident and this place won over other places. Love the rice porridge mixed with sweet potato which always remind me of home. The selection of Taiwanese dishes are many. Today, I had deep fried tofu (made fresh to order, not deep fried ahead of time), stewed squid which had just the right amount of salt, and deep fried belt fish. PS. They only accept cash. KPI (Key Performance Indicators) ratings (1-5, 5 - best): Quality: 4 Delivery/Service: 4 Cost: 4
(4)Samantha C.
Good authentic porridge with good side dishes. The squid was my favorite. Other good sides were the seaweed, pig ears, cabbage, and cucumber ground pork. Good food and decent service so this will be my go-to place for porridge.
(4)Swenson L.
Cannot get enough of the food here. Not a place to have a big dinner, but a perfect spot to eat simple and comforting things. The yam porridge is all-you-can-eat style. Among the small dishes, the anchovie fried peanuts and cucumbers are my favorites.
(5)Shan C.
This is a very good Taiwanese/Chinese cheap eating place; most of the dishes are pre-made and you just pick up from the counter ranging from 4-6 bucks, additional dishes are freshly made to order and cost a bit more but still not expensive. My favor are are the red and white tofu with ground pork, spicy fried chicken, sautéed little clam Taiwan style, pepper & salt cod.
(4)Bozena T.
Ate here for brunch, second time here and the food is very mellow, the porridge balances out all the oily and fatty foods. Pickled lettuce was alright, also got the cold tofu dish and pigs ear, but the favorite was definitely the fried fish! Mildly salty and tender fish filet went well with the porridge, or just by itself even! Dishes were either $3.99 or $4.99, but the fish was $8.99, and of course it's another dollar per person for porridge I believe. Service was good, staff was attentive. Overall fairly good brunch.
(4)Helen F.
We came here on a Sunday in search of porridge. What I had imagined was a simple fare of pi dan (preserved egg) or pork with porridge. Instead, you go up to the front & pick your dishes (mainly cold dishes - including things like pig's blood, vegetarian geese, and cabbage). They bring you a pot of porridge with sweet potato. You can also order off the menu (pieces of paper pasted above the counter). My only complaint is that you don't know how much it costs and if you're over zealous like me, you don't realize that you can order things like green onion pancake until after you've already loaded up on what's presented in front of you. Oops. The green onion pancake, fyi, is more like Beijing sesame cake...not a lot of onion, and pretty thick...very good though. We over-ordered - 5 or 6 small dishes plus onion pancake = $40 or so...not bad. I wasn't super in love with any of the dishes though.
(3)Liz C.
I love this place. It's just like the food at the now defunct Porridge Place in Cupertino. I'm pretty wimpy on my choice of entrees (no strange meats), but my favorites are the eggplant, bamboo shoots, dried bean curd, cold cucumber, edamame, and anything with tofu in it. I came in during an off time in the middle of the afternoon on Saturday and found a good selection of prepared dishes to choose from. I got 3 entrees and the smallest porridge container to go and it came out to $20.00. Order at the counter and was out in a jiffy. I'll be back again, I've really missed my Porridge Place. Only thing is parking is crazy on Saturday.
(5)Pauline F.
My friend and I came here for a light brunch on a Monday morning and we were so impressed with how fast we ordered and sat down within 2 mins of stepping into the restaurant. They immediately brought us the dishes including the porridge. Everything happened so fast! We were allowed to pick 3 side dishes each, and our favorites were the seaweed, pig ear, and tofu. The Chinese sausage was okay, nothing special, and the squid was okay, not a favorite tho. I liked that the porridge is refreshing and light, not an over-abundance of flavors or too heavy for a post-weekend meal. Considering it was Monday morning/noon, it got really packed really soon. I guess its a popular taiwanese eatery.
(3)Caya T.
I am not a big fan of porridge, but the side dishes was rather good. I thought all of the items I've tried here had good flavor and texture. My favorites are the bamboo, fish, pig ears, and the beef dish. Prices wasn't bad - I came here for lunch and paid around $12. It might be a lunch special of some sort because the person asked me for 3 choices and put them all on one plate, which was different when I first came here with my family and they put a choice per plate. Pros: Good food Good price for lunch infinite good porridge with sweet potato Cons: A bit unclear about how things are priced (different way of ordering things) probably better if you spoke Chinese Cash only
(4)Dora C.
This place is a very quick/tasty restaurant! Basically they serve you porridge , and you can pick out side dishes to eat with the porridge! Sometimes this restaurant's a little dirty...but those are the best testing places right?
(3)Ann L.
Don't get me wrong I love porridge! just not Tawainese style. Upon entering, you are suppose to pick out what you want then they will serve you. Honestly, after looking at the counter nothing really stood out to me, and the food is pre-cooked so you never know how long that stuff has been sitting out (unless it was a popular dish then it's mostly fresh). The only side dish that I enjoyed was the pig ears. Egg plant was okay, kinda too greasy. Bamboo shoots are not bad, tasted fresh, however lacked flavored. The porridge was really plain but I guess it helps if you are eating with those sides (for some of the sides are a bit saltier). *CASH ONLY
(2)Cindy K.
I'm not a super fan of this place, but one of my friends is. He raves and raves about how he loves this restaurant. Reasons? This place is traditional Taiwanese food, cheap, and free rice refills. These reasons alone will make any hungry Taiwanese boy happy. I think if you LOVE or WANT and good homecooked Chinese meals, you should come here. It's really great for that. Me, I'm not as enthusiastic about this place. That is because it's not my favorite type of food. I don't go ooh and ahh over this. Also, the food here is mostly precooked and and they just scoop you a portion. It's not always as fresh or hot. The portions are somewhat small, so you need to order several things. You're mostly going to count on getting full from rice/porridge.
(3)Robert S.
Went here with my GF. As a non-'Oriental' person, I have no idea what is going on in here, so I just had my GF take care of it. I don't remember what I ordered besides this pork side dish that was pretty tasty. We did the 3 sides + porridge lunch. $6 + tax is a great deal, even if you have no idea what you are eating.
(4)Sandra G.
Reasonably priced *delicious* dishes. Opens late for all your porridge cravings. (later than 9 PM, better than most restaurants) THEY GIVE YOU A STAMP CARD. (every $10 you spend) Awesome. My favorites: jellyfish salad, the tender fish filet chunks, the braised beef (I think it is braised, right?), and.. THE TOFU! The sliced hardened tofu that you taste and wouldn't even know it was tofu. Although in the photos, someone labeled it as vegetarian chicken. *shrug* They're all simple dishes but they hit the spot when you eat it with porridge. MMM.
(5)Oby S.
I come here pretty often. For first timer, this is how you order your food: Go to the counter to choose what dish you'll have. Once you finish ordering, they will bring your order to your table. The porridge is free and they will refill if you want more. All the dishes are good. There are several items that are not pre-cooked and you have to order them. These are items such as xiao long bao, sauteed water spinach (on-choy), and lion head. The lion head is really good. Lion head is a dish where they stew pork meat ball and napa cabbage and season it with soy sauce and chinese wine. The pork meat ball is huge and juicy. The napa cabbage is slightly sweet and savory. My other favorite dishes are the sliced beef with cilantro, fish fillet, sauteed napa cabbage and xiao long bao.
(5)Amy D.
THE BEST PORRIDGE YOU CAN PURCHASE- and I don't even like porridge! However, the porridge at Mei Garden is awesome- they make it with pieces of sweet potato, and it is on the thicker side, so you don't get thin and watery tasteless porridge. They also have a ton of dishes you can order (and see since they're in steam trays). My favorites are the marinated squid, eggplant, marinated seaweed, and bean curd noodles. The porridge is also amazingly cheap- a small for $1.67, easily enough for two people. Don't waste your time trying to make porridge at home and stop by here instead!
(4)Miffy L.
good quantity with decent price! i had the lunch special where you choose 4 sides and a big pot of sweet potato porridge. for only 7.50!
(4)Heather s.
Great place for authentic Taiwanese congee lunch! Pick your choice of dishes at the front, and they bring you a warm pot of congee with yam to your table. The congee is a little soupy for my preference, but perfect for my husband's. We tend to get the same dishes - squid, napa cabbage, ground pork with pickled cucumber, fried tofu. About $20 for 3-4 dishes and we always take home a little leftover. It's a clean, no fuss place to get your congee fix.
(4)Chris T.
Much thanks to Linda C. and Eric W. for dragging us out after a chilly rainy day and getting some porridge. I'm not the expert in Taiwanese food, but the best way I should describe this place is essentially fast food. We walked in, a woman pointed at a our table which had yet to be cleaned up. At this point I would be extremely confused, but fortunately I was with some locals who put there coat and purse down at the table and proceeded to the back of the restaurant and started picking out certain side dishes to accompany with the porridge. Once we finished ordering and walked back to our seats, the whole table was cleaned up and a hearty bowl of porridge was waiting for us. Shortly thereafter the side dishes came out, I had no idea what to order so I willingly took a back seat and left my fate to the regulars we were dinning with. I'm not to sure what exactly I ended up eating, but I really liked the eggplant, jellyfish, pig's ear and the lotus root dishes were pretty damn tasty. They also did a green onion pancake but compared to the flatbread versions I'm used to, this one was raised due to yeast. The porridge with nice little chunks of yams made for a nice flavor and texture. Nice quick meal, with tasty dishes for a decent price, Ill definitely be back.
(4)Eric W.
It is truly a shame when an otherwise great restaurant is done in by unruly patrons. Usually, it is not the fault of the establishment itself, but when it seems to be the common theme, one can't help but wonder. The final straw came this past Black Friday. Temps were blustery cold for Bay Area standards, so what did my favorite Yelper and I have in mind to warm up? Some good old fashioned, hearty porridge! We were both excited, chomping away on our assortment of lion head meatballs, eggplant, and bittermelon bean curd, when the tomfoolery began... Apparently, many of the parents who bring their kids here seem to think it's the McDonald's Playland down the block, letting them run around the aisles like maniacs, wreaking utter chaos. The worst offense was the constant opening and banging of the front door, allowing the arctic blast to gush into the customers' faces, blowing napkins all over the place. Okay, it's perfectly fine if this happens a couple of times, and of course if it's paying customers entering and exiting, no one would really mind. However, when it's the same old bratty kids opening and closing over and over again, it just about completely ruins the dining experience. All the while, both the parents of the kids and employees of The Porridge were either completely oblivious of the fact, or just sitting on their hands, turning a blind eye. I could tell that the majority of the other well behaved diners in attendance were visibly annoyed, but no one had the guts to say anything about it. I am not one of those to sit back idly. Finally, I had had enough, and gave the little buggers a piece of my mind. As expected, not much got accomplished. So, instead of wasting my time on this fruitless proposition, I went straight for the head... and done did gone straight Haystack ghetto on their parents, telling them to watch their darn kids, giving them the glare of death in the process. Those little punks didn't dare leave their seats after that. Bad parents are everywhere, and unavoidable, but if there is one thing I cannot stand, it's employees and management who don't speak up against unacceptable behavior in their restaurant. Sure, they probably don't want to lose the future patronage of the offending party, but on the flip side, wouldn't they want all the other honest, hard-working customers in the shop to return someday as well? Not this one.
(3)Alice C.
I'm probably less critical about restaurants around Fremont, since I'm so often homesick for the Chinese food here, but I seriously love this place. I've lived in NYC for over four years now and have not found or heard of a place like this, so I love coming here when I am in the area. Basically, you choose your dishes up front by the cash register (you can also order things not shown behind the glass) , then you sit and enjoy everything with the porridge they provide. You can also just order rice too, I guess.. but let's be serious-- rice + water + yams = a lot better. Service is always pretty nice. Quick on bringing the dishes to you, as well as refilling water and porridge (FO FREE!). Lunch on weekdays is also super cheap. You pick three dishes (pretty generous helpings that fill a plate) for only ~$7 including tax and tip. Just be sure to come before the lunch rush, because parking can be a real bitch.
(5)Foodie L.
Highly disappointed. I thought the porridge would be much better. I had some porridge in SF that was right amount of salty and so delicious. This porridge was bland and doesn't look like porridge with big grain of rice fully visible. The side dish (fish with some vegetables) was okay but nothing to rave about. It's cash only too. I don't think I will be coming back here since I don't find the food enjoyable. :-(
(1)Anthea L.
Seriously long line at 9pm but worth the wait. Cash only, but great dishes that you get to go up to the counter and order. The porridge with yam is Delish! Favorites are the minced meat, the sausages, egg with basil, clams and assorted veggies. Very loud and crowded but amazingly good.
(5)Olivia W.
I love this place! I never expected to love a porridge place so much. The food is great and it always makes my tummy happy. The rice porridge is pretty bland but once you add the side dishes into it, it's amazing. You go up to the front of the restaurant and choose the dishes that you want then the waiter brings it to your table along with a big pot of rice porridge. If you run out of rice porridge they give you more for free. My favorites are the pig ears, cabbage, and white fish. They get really busy during lunch time. They open at 11:30am and they are already packed within half an hour. Service is friendly and efficient. This is a great place to have lunch and dinner especially if you're dieting and want something light.
(4)Carina S.
Porridge is like a comfort food for our family. Came here couple times and the tables were full. This place is always busy during dinner hours. Variety of menu. The food is fresh. Everything we've had were yummy. The unlimited porridge was good. The service was actually awesome. The servers were attentive, friendly, and incredibly fast. The only cons: too pricey for this kind of meal.
(4)The S.
A lunch-time gem and true value. The dishes here are prepped in an a la cart style setting. You pick three items and it is then served with porridge. Come here with two or three people and you will then be able to share all of your selections and have a wonderful varied lunchtime meal. Each of the dishes are uniquely flavored and while are preprepped, are quite delectable. Some of the more adventurous stuff I wouldn't be brave enough to order myself, but when ordered by my friends and tried for the first time turned out to be quite good. I love this place for lunch. Sadly, the value of this place is flipped completely upside down if you come here for dinner as the pricing for the same food is spun completely around. Come here for lunch and I would advise doing so no later than 11:30. The parking and serious lack of mental processing power from all the Chinese folks that attempt to park make it a dangerous and frustrating experience to eat at this place during peak lunchtime hours. I don't know what the undying urge for Chinese folks is to have the closest possible parking spot is all about when there are may be free spots nearby. But oh wells, genocide is a bad word *sigh*..........
(4)Ferdinand H.
Fresh congee and fresh toppings go a long way in terms of porridge. While I'm a fan of thicker congee, with emphasis on Japanese and Cantonese styles, this was pretty good stuff. The addition of carrots in the congee is pretty standard, but also welcome. Prompt and friendly service is also a plus. Price point is low, and flavours authentic. If you're craving baizhou, this is the place to go in the south bay!
(4)Shirley N.
Being Chinese this restaurant really hit home, it's something my mom would cook! It's set up and served a la cart style so you choose three items+ bowl of porridge (unlimited). I chose bamboo (favorite), pig ears(favorite), and fish. The porridge is very bland (that's how porridge usually is) so get side dishes with a ton of flavor..They have a huge selection of things you can choose so your bound to find something you like. Prices are super cheap--i believe it's cash only! I'd recommend coming with a friend and each picking out 3 items, that way you can try a bunch of dishes!
(3)Wendy L.
Been coming here for over 10 years now. No one else makes the best spicy intestine pot as they do. I love their stir fried veggies. They make it really well. Highly recommend this place if you're in need for comfort food!
(5)Chloé N.
After I had surgery with my stomach, for a while I can only eat porridge, so I searched and tried almost all the porridge restaurants around the area and found this one, and ever since it became my favorite one! Even though it's a bit far from both my house and my work, it definitely worth the drive... Lunch special is cheap with plenty of delicious choices. When you feel like eating something light yet nice, this can be a very good choice! Parking can be tricky around lunch time, but I was fortunate enough to find parking in a short time each time :)
(4)Yen H.
MMMmm....Porridge...Anytime is a good time for porridge! Even on a hot 90+ degrees day like today. Ahem, well that is only because this place had AC so I couldn't feel the heat. So I've been hearing good things about this place from my good friend's mom. Apparently his parents come sometimes and they love the side dishes. I finally was able to drag my friend here even though he's not a fan of porridge...I mean it's only natural since his parents were the ones who recommended it. Right when you enter, they asked how many people in your party. You answer and they pick a table for you. However you don't sit right away since you have to make your way over to the front counter to browse the different selection of side dishes. After picking 3 side dishes per person, you then go back to your table and they will bring you the food. The sides we picked were: tiny salted fish, bamboo shoots, cold bean curd (recommended by the server), salt n pepper prawns, pig ears, and stir-fry fish fillet with veggies. I thought they sides were okay. They weren't bad but they weren't awesome. I think my top 3 side dishes are: 1) pigs ears 2) bamboo shoots 3) tiny salted fish. Least favorite was the cold bean curd recommended by the server...That was a total fail. haha I'm a huge fan of porridge so I was expecting a lot from this place. I think I would return again if i'm in the area but I think I will try other porridge places before returning.
(3)Mavi T.
Went here because I was looking for something to eat on Yelp. Exactly what everyone says. You walk in, the guy at the counter asks 'how many?'. Points at the table for you to sit at. You walk to the food counter point at the three items you want or order from the non-english menu. Then go back to your table, the porridge is there and they bring you your food. Came on a weekday after lunch 2 pm, still had the lunch special for $6.50. The food was just okay, but I was huuungry! Porridge is rice, yams and water. The food I got was the yelper's choices, pig ears, bamboo shoots, blood pudding, green onion cake. Nothing spectacular or anything I'd want again. The service is rude which was expected. The thing that bothered me is that the guy at the counter kept staring, is it because I'm not Chinese? And when he came to clear the table he seemed upset that I finished everything. Why? Do they put back the left overs or something? Then when I was leaving, he didn't even say good bye or thanks come again just 'More tip!" and he walked away. Probably because he doesn't want me to come back, which works out because I'm not coming back. I can get better food, better service somewhere else for the price that they charge for lunch.
(2)Fenny G.
Don't expect the porridge to be flavorful... Even though the name is The Porridge, they only serve one kind of porridge (bland with yam) but they sell a bunch of good side dishes! So get a bunch of different kinds. I like their bamboo shoot, pig ears, pickled veggies... CASH ONLY! Service was very nice!! =D Note: If you are Indonesian like me, it is different from bubur ayam with tons of flavors.. (where could I found it beside making my own? I miss it!)
(4)Ron L.
To get four stars for a lunch place, these are my requirements: food has to be good, it has to be quick, and it has to be under $10 with tax and tip. I think Tetsu and I found a new place to add to the rotation. When you first enter, you are shown your seat...but don't sit down! Go instead to the steamer table that is loaded with your side dishes. Select three, then go back to your seat and you'll find your pot of porridge waiting for you. It's best to go with a group of people and get different items to share. This trip we tried the bamboo shoot, braised eggplant, baby squid, sausage, twice cooked pork, and grilled mackerel. In my opinion, the veggies had more flavor than the meat dishes, but that's me; your mileage may vary. For the adventurous, I saw pork blood stew, beef tendon, tripe, and pig ears. I know those will be on my lineup next time. Unique concept - you go to this restaurant for the side dishes, not for the signature dish. Yeah it's authentic, yeah it's cash only, yeah it's cheap...and yeah... I'm coming back.
(4)Susan L.
Squids, pig ears... the works. It works too if you're craving some chinese style porridge. Porridge is cooked well with yams inside. Tasty but I think they're overcharging the side dishes! We ordered the rice for the kiddos since they don't do porridge and it was pretty tough. I think the rice they prepped is for making porridge. Either way, good to come when it's cold. You go up to the window and pick and choose your dish.
(3)Jennifer W.
Came here after our road trip and I am glad I made the detour. They brought you a bucket of rice porridge with sweet potatoes. Plain and simple. Then you came up to the counter and order a bunch of plates of side dishes. From normal dishes like tofu/beef stew/ veggies dishes to exotic like pig's ear/ offal dishes. Plenty of varieties to choose from. 3 people, 5 side dishes later, and many servings of the rice porridge, we could safely say that we were stuffed and happy!
(4)Amanda B.
I have never been to a restaurant that was set up like this. The owner was very helpful and friendly in explaining and suggesting dishes! You get to chose from either rice or porridge as your rice dish. Then you chose your flavorful side dishes. My favorite dishes were the Chinese cabbage, Minced pork, and Bamboo Shoots. YUM! :D I will definitely come back for more!
(5)William H.
Hangover remedy for sure. Rice is an excellent sponge. Great place for Taiwanese style porridge (not flavored like Cantonese style, but they do add sweet potato). The dishes are tasty. I recommend the marinated beef/tendon slices, seaweed, sauteed anchovies (little fish), and the soy bean skin with celery.
(4)sueann s.
Came here alone for dinner one night because the hubs had plans and I needed a quick bite to eat. I had bookmarked this place because I love porridge and was so excited that eating alone didn't damper my enthusiasm... I was waved to the back counter where all the side dishes are displayed. Overwhelmed, I started reaching for a menu but was told that the menu was unneccessary and to simply point to the items I wanted. The server mentioned some general pricing and asked me what I wanted to order. I pointed to 2 items that looked familiar: some ground pork dish and a side of pickled cucumbers. I sat down and I was quickly presented with my choices alongside a big pot of porridge with some yams. It all was very delicious and completely hit the spot fulfilling my search for some comfort food. The meal was pretty cheap, I think I was only charged $1 for the porridge itself but next time I'll bring a friend so that we can share/taste more of the dishes. Deducting one star only because it's not clear what the dishes are or how much they cost. It would be great if ordering was not so mysterious for newbies like me.
(4)Jackie S.
I went here for lunch, and the food was extremely oily. The food was also really salty too! It seems like everything taste the same. I ordered the jellyfish, fish with vegetables, and tofu. My fiance ordered bamboo and two tofu dishes. The porridge wasn't spectacular either. I guess I ordered the wrong stuff. However, lunch was cheap for $6.50/person. Cash only place.
(3)Cindy T.
Not having tried much Taiwanese food, I hear that this place is good. I've been here a handful of time getting food to go. Food is pretty darn cheap here, I must admit...and good, too! Not too oily, which I like. I love the bean curds with pork, cold beef shanks, cold tofu strings and the fried tofu the best, but there are so, so many choices - all ready to go! Love that they open late which make good late night eating very convenient.
(4)Brian W.
I could taste the MSG from their food four hours and I don't know how much water later. Fortunately the event I was at after lunch had an open bar, where I promptly sucked down two more drinks. It's kinda like what my friends make at home, only with a lot more variety... but sadly, a lot more MSG.
(1)Lynn N.
I love coming here for lunch when I was working in Fremont. You get an option to choose three sides and it comes with a big pot of porridge. For guys who think they can't get full off porridge you can ask for rice as well. The only bad thing I would say is the parking during lunch time. Come around 11:30am and you should be fine. I wouldn't recommend coming here for dinner.
(4)Michelle L.
I have never been to a place like this, the concept is new. I really like the food. I would just preferred if the small dishes were warm and not cold.
(4)Wasabi L.
This is the only Taiwanese style porridge restaurant I have seen in the bayarea so far. Tried few of their items with family today: 1. Sweet Potato Porridge - A Okay, the congee taste a little bland, and the texture is not as good as the ones I have tried in LA 2. Pig Ear - Pretty good, I like how they marinated the pig ears with sesame oil 3. Napa - overcooked 4. Seaweed - don't recommended at all, they don't chill or refrigerate, tasted like warm jello.... 5. Pig stomach w/sour cabbage - is okay, nothing special 6. Minced Pork & Sour Veggie - Good , recommended for rice or porridge combo 7. Tofu & Pork - Good, not as spicy as I like it, but is acceptable 8. Pig Intestine - Average, they serve it pretty much steamed, place ginger and oyster sauce on top 9. Little salty fish - Average, nothing special 10. Squid - Good We had 9 plates the bill came up to $55, is not bad for 6 adult and 2 kids. It is not cheap as well. I think the price is more reasonable during weekdays, they served combo plate: 3 sides and porridge for $6 bucks. Service is good, the waiter constantly fill up our porridge for us.
(3)Chun L.
Came here for lunch today. The price is not cheap if you order special dishes printed on the wall. All the dishes are prepared ok. It is tasteful, But honestly, a little too greasy for me. The place is old and does not look very clean. You have to go to the counter to order first. Then the food will be brought to you. Service is acceptable. One thing though, this is a cash only place. It can easily go near $40 bucks after tax and tips if you order 4-5 things. Make sure you have enough cash with you.
(3)Tony U.
This is a pretty good Taiwanese home style cooking food sort of a place that serves food in a point at the dish and then sit down and wait for them to drop it off to you (usually in mock 5 lightening fast speed). Service is excellent and don't be intimidated. Yes, they actually do speak English. My Mandarain is limited to Nay ho mah and yee ar sam and they took care of me. Someone wrote of the onion sesame bread. Thanks for the recommendation and yes, I dipped that pleasureable morsel in the garlic soy sauce and was in tastey heaven. Didn't care too much for the drunken chicken. The fried tofu was good. The pig's blood wonderful (with soft tofu). The cold beef was even awe-ite. I'd definitely come here again cause it's affordable and the atmosphere is pleasant.
(4)Johnny T.
Probably one of the best porridge places I've ever been to in the SF bay. Little hidden restaurant next to Lion supermarket (easy to miss if you can't read Chinese). There are a variety of dishes that you eat the porridge with, but watch out, those small dishes can add up if you don't count what you're eating.
(4)Stephanie J.
When it's breakfast you should eat porridge! When it's cold out you should eat porridge! When you are sick you should eat porridge! When you do not feel like eating anything heavy eat porridge! When you can not chew, you eat porridge! haha~ Porridge is such a stable symbol of Chinese breakfast. Growing up, i recall my mom will always cook us porridge in the morning. It's easy to digest and it tastes so yummy. Lately i been coming here a lot with friends and now finally my boyfriend. My Chinese friends all love porridge so we come here every time we crave porridge. And as of yesterday I finally convinced my stubborn boyfriend to come here with me as well. Before that he is not fan of porridge at all, he actually hates porridge. So of course it took me a long time to finally drag him to come here with me. At the end of the battle, I won the victory. =) I think I might just win him over (he mainly love the side dishes I order). Here are some of my personal tips and favorites: 1) Do go during lunch, it's a lot cheaper. They have a lunch special where you pick 3 item, plus unlimited porridge. All for $7 bucks... very affordable. (Dinner time goes by what you order. A lot of small dishes can add up, especially if there aren't many of you) My absolute favorites are 1) the bamboo shot!! 2) the seaweed 3) the white fish with mix of veggie 4) Vegetarian Chicken I had also tried the basil eggs, which I am probably going to skip next time because it was so simple, something I can make myself. I tried the green onion pancake, which was the most interesting green onion pancake I had tried and got to admit I do not like it that much. But as long as I have my favorites plus the porridge. I am all good!
(5)Lynda H.
Like most Asian establishment, this place only takes cash. I was really surprised at how busy it was at lunch time. Service was fast and food was fresh. I had pig's ear, bamboo shoots, and a tofu looking dish. I hadn't had porridge in a long time so everything was yummy. My only complaint is that the signage to the place is super small. I had to drive around the parking lot twice looking for it.
(4)B B.
i am fan of this place....it is a perfect place for lunch. you pay $7.25 per person...you get 3 different kind of small dishes with unlimited porridge or rice. or you can just buy it as a bento box to go. very decent price and good food!
(4)Jeanette L.
i like this place and come here every once and awhile. they offer many sides and unlimited porridge. the yam makes the porridge all the more better so that its not plain. I usually order, fried tofu, fish, clams, and seaweed. i went here today because i just got my wisdom teeth pulled recently and porridge is one of the things that i CAN eat. the employees were different from the ones that ive seen throughout the years. back in the days i would have rated this place 4 stars. but with the new staff id rate it 3. this is because i noticed that they mixed up orders and i even heard some people singing in the back. along with that employees seemed very bored. haha the food is still good [except my clams had some sand] but other than that i would still come to this place like i used to. definitely no other place in east bay that serves just porridge and makes it good as well.
(3)Shinny L.
Love this place. Like eating at home with more oil and more variety. Been eating here for many years now - a few favorites: Small Squid White Cabbage the Fish A-vegetable Beancurd The bamboo Well the list goes on... Anyways, still one of my favs. Word of caution - the place is pretty authentic, so don't expect something else.
(4)Nick L.
MSG MSG MSG MSG, my mouth felt like an open dry dessert afterwards, but can't avoid it esp. when it's pertaining to chinese food. I ordered the pig stomach, seaweed, and fried tofu. It was a good amount of food for two people. Total came out to be $17.28. Nothing special, maybe I ordered the wrong side dishes?
(3)Jonathan G.
They have a great lunch special. All you can eat sweet potato porridge and 3 choices of dishes. The fried tofu, bamboo shoots, and cabbage are all really good, but my personal favorite has to be the pig intestines. I haven't been to another place that makes it as well as they do.
(5)Lolia S.
The Porridge has perfected the Taiwanese porridge experience. In our home, we would have plain porridge with some pickled vegetables, preserved eggs and leftovers. I had no idea that Taiwanese porridge restaurants existed, places where you can choose from a large variety of tasty small dishes to go with your porridge; beats having leftovers at home. I wish I could make it here for the M-F three items (little dishes) for $5.55 + tax lunch special. For $1 per person for porridge, you get all the porridge you can eat. It's a thick, hot porridge with broken down bits of yam - meant to be plain. The fun part is choosing from all the little dishes (they range from 99 cents to $6.99 for seafood dishes). The dishes are meant to be shared (eat it family style) and eaten with your porridge. Go up to the register and pick out the ones you want (plus some are not displayed, so you may want to ask for a menu). There are specials (fish) on the wall but they're written in Chinese. Note, many of the dishes are cold/room temperature and already prepared. Stir fried pork blood with tofu ($2.99) was superb if you like pork blood. They give you big cubes of blood and the spicy sauce goes well with the blood and the tender tofu cubes. I usually don't like cold tender beef salad ($4.99) but their beef is so flavorful. It's thinly sliced and served with ample amounts of cilantro. The steamed fish ($6.99) is a winner too: very tender, topped with very thin strips of green onion, and a light soybean sauce. Another dish, the bean curd strips, was too plain but still tasted good mixed with the other dishes. All of these dishes could have been too salty but they weren't. I'm not sure that this place is for everyone. It's simple Chinese comfort food. If you don't like porridge though, you can get rice for $1 a person instead. Cash only.
(5)Stephen W.
Porridge was pretty easy to order and figure out how it works even though no one in the group spoke Mandarin. The guy behind the counter where all the food selections were was able to speak good english and help us figure out what was what. Ended up with: Chinese sausage... good. Ordered off recommendations here. Not anything special if you've had it with porridge before, but a strong recommendation for people who've never eaten chinese sausage before. The slighly sweet flavor is fairly different from western sausage. Bamboo shoots... OOO SOOO GOOD! Great salty, oily flavor that went really well with the porridge. Vegetarian chicken... interesting. I normally love trying out faux meat, but I think because it was served cold I quickly lost interest in this dish. Eggplant... must have been quite good. My wife gobbled it all up and we didn't have any leftovers of this dish. I'd recommend 1.5 dishes a person to get a good fill.
(4)Bobby l.
This was a different experience for me as I've never been to any place specializing in porridge. I'm used to my moms porridge where pork/beef with thousand year old egg was cooked in the porridge. We added salt/pepper, cilantro, green onion, and cut up long Chinese "donuts". After seated, we were going to sit down, but the server directed us to pick out dishes at the front. Their were prices and Chinese words on the back wall, but I didn't see any English menus/etc. So looking at what was available, there were about 15 or so options, we picked out only 2 as much of it was that appetizing. We choose the spicy tripe and some type of beef. We than sat down and the server quickly brought us the porridge. Something new to me was the lack of spoons and seasoning. All we had were bowls and chopsticks, porridge and dishes we picked out. The dishes were actually quite alot. The porridge is very light and you probably won't feel "full" until it just hits you. The two of us killed 1 giant bowl of the porridge, after that, we took the dishes to go.
(4)Ngoc L.
I found this place on yelp while looking for a place to get the bf porridge since he got food poisoning and couldn't eat any meat or solid stuff. So I read about the food reviews here on their yam porridge, so ordered that togo for him. Came back and I tried a bit a of it... It wasn't bad at all.. It was actually pretty good. Something new... I've never tried yam porridge at all. The bf thinks it was okay too... He couldnt really taste anything since he threw up like 7x that day due to food poisoning. Anyways, I would definitely be comin back here to try the other food that they have to offer.
(4)Tetsu N.
Discovery discovery discovery....January proved to be a new low in terms of the number of new spots discovered since joining Yelp, so to get February started off right, Ron L and I grabbed a quick lunch at Mei Garden, a place specializing in porridge. The restaurant is located in the South East corner mall of the Dixon Landing and Milpitas Blvd intersection. There's decent parking, but it does fill up. One problem with Mei Garden is that the Chinese sign is big, but there's no English until you get pretty close. Mei Garden is fairly large, seating maybe 70+, maybe more, with low chairs and seating and no walls or partitions to block space, resulting in a wide open feel similar to a cafeteria, with table and chair styles to match. It's clean and bright. I always enjoy slight variations on service that give an interesting twist on a typical experience, and Mei's didn't disappoint. Very simply: You pick your table Go up to a long counter that has dozens of varieties of food Select three items Get your plate Sit down at your table where porridge is already waiting Dig in. Get check later, and pay at the end. Think Chinese-fast-food-style-restaurant, add the porridge-waiting-at-your-table, and take away the pay-at-the-counter-cash-register-before-sitting-Âdown-to-eat. Kind of a hybrid restaurant/cafeteria. On to the food! First off, the porridge. - 3 stars - There was some Chinese Potato (I think it's yam, it was orange colored) in the porridge. The porridge was a little more watery than I'm used to, and I think I prefer it thicker, like the porridge at Hwang Kok across the street, but it wasn't bad at all. There was a very subtle taste to the porridge that gave it a nice...."aroma", but that sounds too strong, it was just the lightest hint of taste, and I liked that subtlety. #4: Grilled Mackerel - 3.5 stars - Grilled whole, with some light flavoring added. Because of that, the bitter guts are still there. Now, a lot of folks don't like that dark part, but I do, and enjoyed this very much. The only thing preventing me from rating higher is the use of a slightly stronger tasting sauce instead of the more simple tasting soy sauce, but good nevertheless #16 Chinese sausage - 2 stars - Okay, this is a bit of an unfair rating since I'm not a really big fan of this slightly sweet, and well preserved sausage. It's basically a smoked sausage sliced really thin at an angle. Probably won't order it again. It wasn't bad, just not really my style. #18 Twice cooked pork - 2 stars - This is a little like kakuni, long boiled pork chunks with the fat left on. Normally, I'm all over this dish, but at Mei Garden, it was rather bland. Again, still all right, and I might even order it again, just that I've had considerably better at a number of other locations. #21 Braised bamboo shoots - 4 stars - Weird for me to give such a high rating to veggies. Not really a veggie kinda a guy. But these were really good. Even if I came alone and wanted to try new items, I'd probably make this one of the three. It was sliced really thin and long and cooked in a heavy sauce, appearing just glazed. Very tasty and still had a nice texture to it. Very good. Just an infinitesimal smidgen too oily to be perfect. #24 Eggplant with sauce - 3 stars - Yeah, weird, I know, the veggies seem to be doing better than the meat, hehe. This is eggplant sliced into fairly large bite-sized chunks and cooked for a long time in a thick but mild tasting sauce that, similarly to the Braised bamboo shoots, leaves just a thin glaze. Soft and tasty, with the tiniest tingle from the eggplant skin. My only problem was that the taste was almost too mild. Still definitely recommend it. #?? Whole baby squid - 3.5 stars - Because it's cooked whole (in a tasty sauce), the small thin skeletal part does need to be removed at some point, but both Ron and I did the lazy thing and just pulled out the skeletal structure after eating most of the squid. They give you too much to order alone, but for two or more, it's good. So, looking through this, normally, I'd settle on three stars, but here's the kicker. With enough food to fill two big eaters, especially with the big bowl of porridge they had at the table, our bill came to a combined total of $13 before tax! What? $13 dollars? Add tax and tip and that's still $8 a person! Holy mackerel (heehee, lame pun intended). That value automatically pushes Mei Garden into 4 star territory, no doubt. Awesome job Mei Garden, I'm a fan!
(4)Nancy H.
Awesome authentic Taiwanese food. Freshly made everyday. Packed at lunch time everyday. I am a native Taiwanese and I go there almost once a week. Definitely give it a try. If you don't like porridge, you can ask for steamed rice.
(5)Alex G.
So I've been here about a billion times with family over the years; so many times that I got sick of it for a while. But now in the final stretch of my ghetto-food college years, I'm ridiculously homesick for Taiwan food. The concept is pretty simple; you go up to the "cafeteria" and pick the food that you want. Then you get seated and eat your foods. Cash only btw (typical asian style fa sho). Here are some tips from my years of frequenting this place with family: Protip #1: if you've only been eating what you've ordered from the front (the visible dishes on display), you're missing out huge. Most of my favorites are dishes that you have to order (and they make for you). Here are some examples of what I always ask my family to get for me: salt and pepper fried fish fillets with garlic (Tap-ex eat your heart out), fried tofu (not the stinky kind), cooked fish in sauce (it has the burner thing cooking it on the bottom of the dish), stir-fried "A-tsai" veggies, egg pancake with basil, cooked eggplant with sauce, "san bei ji" chicken is also super bomb. If you can ask somebody to translate my recommendations into Chinese, I guarantee you will be eating BOMB food. Protip #2: come here with somebody that can speak Mandarin AND read the characters on the wall (to order the aforementioned bomb food). Protip #3: you gotta eat your food with the porridge. The "plain-ness" of the porridge complements the other dishes. If you don't like the porridge, I say you should developed an acquired taste for it (just like beer). Protip #4: this place is hangover food supreme. Light porridge with light cold dishes after a night of heavy drinking = feels good man. Follow my protips and you will only be eating the finest. lol -1 star because the food could be kinda oily and salty at times.
(4)Jim C.
Old standby, cheap, fast, and health (?) We come once every two weeks, sometimes more. We almost get the same every time, my fav are the bamboo shoot, fish fillet with veggie, and the squid. Ground pork, sausage, peanut, big bean, I haven't had anything bad yet. I'm hungry just thinking about it. Lunch time parking is bad, so either come early or late. Service is always friendly, free refill on porridge, three items are plenty even for me. Once in a while, you get the wind just right, and you can definitely tell you're in Smellpitas.
(4)Caroline C.
Love love love this place! I wish there is one in the city. I love the porridge! The price is very reasonable.
(5)Rob C.
Note this is a Taiwanese porridge place, not Cantonese. Therefore, there are not many others like it around this area. Basically, instead of choosing something like fish congee or thousand year old egg, you actually get plain porridge with yam in place of rice. Then, you take a look at the buffet-style layout of small eats and choose what you want. I had the bamboo shoots, egg plant, and small whole calamari. The porridge is plain, so the reason to come here really is for the special ingredients, such as pork blood, intestines, etc. They also have a few extra stuff they can make for sure, i.e. lots of scrambled egg choices.
(3)Hanh M.
This place is definitely a great lunch time restaurant. The turnover rate here is really good so you don't have to worry about waiting awhile for a table. Everything is togo style, so all the food is prepared and if you want something off their hot line dishes, they can also do that for you as well. You get to choose about 3 different side dishes and it comes with the porridge with yam or if you prefer white rice you can ask them for that too. I ordered the tofu skin with celery, eggplant, and green vegetables. I thought the taste was just right and some of the dishes were a bit salty, and others weren't, but they went really well with the porridge, so I enjoyed that. My coworkers ordered the veggie chicken, tofu skin strings, tomato egg, bamboo shoots, the edemame beans with tofu and the fish with wood ear mushrooms. These were all really good, and we also ordered a side of their fried eggs (very similar to the way we fry our egg, just a big omelet like egg, but not folded). The service here is quick because the restaurant isnt' that big, so they need to get people in and out, but they don't rush your or anything, which is good. I think it took us about 30 minutes if not less to get in order eat and get out. The only problem I have about this place and not in their control is the parking. The parking here is really bad and like what someone said you have to either get their early or come later, since it's in a plaza with a bunch of other restaurants and the Lion supermarket.
(5)Cindy C.
My Taiwanese friends brought me and hubby there. And we fell in love for their authentic taste and the variety of dishes. The porridge tastes homemade and comforting. Will definitely visit again and try more small dishes! :)
(4)Zzz C.
There are many dishes to choose from and you can see it before you choose it. There are also dishes from the menu that you order like egg omelets or garlic stir fried veggies. Price is reasonable.
(4)squishy b.
3.5 Stars We ordered two portions of porridge ($1.50), some deep fried tofu ($2.99) and 2 mackerels ($1.99). The service is quick, being everything is laid out for you. The tofu was fried after we ordered, which made it nice and hot. It came with a tasty dipping sauce, but I eat my tofu bare. The porridge portions are HUGE. We had left overs for 2 days. It doesn't have much flavor, but that's why you order other stuff to go with it. The mackerels were hard to pick apart because of the tiny bones but still tasty and went well with the porridge. I'd go back again to try what else they had.
(4)Uliej O.
LOVE this place! The sweet potatoes in the porridge makes it more flavorful. I don't believe you can go wrong with any of the side dishes. My favorite is the pickled veggies with jelly fish. It's the perfect lunch- date place for me and my other porridge-loving friend. Service is great- speedy and friendly. A big plus is that I get to practice my Mandarin. Best to go before or after the lunch rush; the place gets packed and I've noticed on a few occasions that patrons are to share the larger tables with other patrons they don't know...which people seem to be fine about. If they only had one in SF...
(5)Jess G.
I love eating porrdige it is so good however here the porridge was not up to par as other porridge. At this restaurant they have a special for 6.50 a person you get unlimited porridge and 3 sides each. So this is a really good deal for the sides. The sides that we got were squid, cucumbers, groundnd pork, spicy tofu, spicy radish, pig ears, jelly fish, pork tongue, and more beef. The squid was a flavorless I ended up mixing into the other stuff to try and absorb some flavor. The ground pork was thrown into the porridge and it added a bit of flavor into the porridge so that was good. The spicy tofu was SO GOOD! even though i can't really handle spicy tofu it was delicious!!! i want more right now. The only thing was that i liked the white tofu better than the brown ones. The pig ears were very well seasoned my only problem with it was that it was more oily than most pig ears so it was a little weird for me but still delicious. The jellyfish was really good but i thought it could have used a little big more vinegar for taste but i still end up gobbling it all up! The pork tongue did not have as much flavor as some of the prior dishes so I did the same thing i did with the squid was dip it into sauces of the other sides. The service here was okay. The waitress seemed like she didn't really want to be there so the service was not the best. Due to how spicy some of the food was i drank a lot of tea and ran through the tea pot very fast and asked for more tea but she never came back with more. so a little bit of sad faces. This isn't the best place out there but it's not the worst. If i can find another porridge place in san jose I might think twice before i choose here again.
(3)Vicki W.
If you're in the Milpitas area with a craving strictly for porridge, I would suggest coming here. It's not any ordinary porridge restaurant I've gone to. A big bowl of porridge is served and you add your own flavors with the toppings you'd like to order (ie: bbq pork, bamboo shoot, spicy tofu). The porridge with the sweet yam mixed in tastes a little bland. As soon as you mix the toppings, the rich taste from the toppings makes your porridge that much better with the perfect touch of spice, salt, sugar, pepper...
(4)Vivian C.
I use to come here a lot with my family.The cooking style is Taiwanese. I thought the food was ok, not the best. It's very fast and easy to order if you're in a rush. I like getting they're fried tofu, on choy, napa, bamboo, and of course yam porridge. The flavors are all simple Taiwan dishes and the service was decent. Although sometimes when it's busy they can tend to not see customers. I remember I went once and found a white bug in my napa (vegetable) and I was going to tell the waitresses, but couldn't get their attention. It only happened once, but after that incident I realized the food wasn't that clean. Aside from that, it's a nice place for a family meal.
(3)Jennifer n.
Quite interesting little place. It is sort of like a fast food set-up. You go up to the front, select the dishes you would like and go sit down. The waiters will bring you the dishes and a large bowl of porridge with a few chunks of buttermilk squash. I could be yam...hmmm...anyhow! My favorite here is the bamboo shoots, fried tofu and the squid. If you go with some friends and chose dishes that reaches $25, you will get to select on of their FREE dishes. I like the fried tofu the best. Light crisp on the outside and yet super soft on the inside. Reminds me of Japanese fried tofu. During lunch you will pick 3 items and I believe it is no more than $6 bucks. All I can say is, KNOW what you want cause the line does move fast. It is sort of the Sienfield episode of the Natzi soup. The people pick, shift to the side, pick, shift to the side, pick, shift to the side. Quite funny how these peeps during the weekdays are like robots! During lunch you will pick 3 items and I believe it is no more than $6 bucks.
(4)Betty A.
We come here at least once a month. My favorite dish is the twice-cooked pork, spicy and full of flavor. Hit the right spot every time! Also like the portion of small cabbage. The fish slices with black mushroom is also another must try. Porridge always come out hot. Service is prompt and place is decent. Quick meal for a small price!
(4)Victor G.
"hello, ni hao, ji wei?" (hello, how are you, how many people? in mandarin) is the greeting everyone gets when arriving here. i didn't plan on eating anything. but since i've been on a see food diet. (i see food, i eat it!), plans changed when the rice porridge($1 per person) stirred fried pork blood with tofu(2.99), braised bamboo shoot(4.99) , braised octopus(5.99) and japanese seaweed salad(5.99) appeared before me. the drill here is to get a table, go to the food counter and order the precooked small plates (ala tapa).. -rice porridge w/ yam. actually a little sweet tasting. tolerable watery rice "soup" to be eaten with the saltier dishes. -braised octopus: they looked like squid. so there was concern about the contents therein. we asked the next table how to eat it. they said to chomp the whole thing except for the fibrous membrane. he said it was "all meat". I said to myself "maybe he doesn't know about the shit inside the octopus" so i chomped and it was all white looking meat. -stirred fried pork blood w/tofu: true vegeterians will probably skip this dish. as a carnivore. i would too since bloody tofu is so unappealling. -japanese seaweed salad; same stuff you get on a nigiri sushi if you go to a floating boat japanese eatery. recommended. the seaweed here is slightly sweeten. -braised bamboo shoot.: tender bamboo shoots (from cans not plastic baggies) a favorite amongst northerners and one southerner. there's a lunch special where you can get choose 3 items with your porridge.
(4)Jessica G.
Cravin' something SIMPLE, LIGHT, and FILLING, but stuck because you're really indecisive?? THEN HAVE NO FEAR! This place is your answer: Porridge with your choice of side dishes. Sure, you may think the porridge looks a little plain, but once you add a side dish to it or two from their numerous choices, BAM, it's AWESOME and bursting with flavor. (anyway, the plain porridge comes with some yam/squash, so it isn't THAT plain.) Oh, and did I mention that the porridge is UNLIMITED??? WIN. =] Plus, my wallet was pretty happy too! Most side dishes range from $1.99 - 7.99. Definitely coming back to try other side dishes. Side Dish FAVES: Ground pork * Eggplant Turnip Fish
(5)Bernard F.
Love coming here for lunch.
(4)natalie l.
Ideal food for the cold weather. I would advise eating less porridge and saving room for the sides. Chili tofu and pig blood, chili Kim chi pork, and boiled cabbage were my picks and really good. For $7 you get unlimited porridge and 3 sides. Not too shabby.
(3)Eugene P.
Parking is some what a pain but once you get in its pretty easy to get a table. The interesting thing is that you go up to the counter like a buffet line but you tell them things you want. What they have on display is mostly cold stuff but there are plenty of "hot" dishes you can order that is not displayed. It would have helped to have known that ahead of time but I know now for next time.
(4)Yum Y U M.
Needed a place for Sunday brunch w/the girls, but one of them is on a diet, so we want something healthy & light (compare to heavy hollandaise sauce). This is a porridge house; they don't offer other Hong Kong style café dishes. After trying this place out, now I know why it gets such high ratings - their customer service is awesome! And for a Chinese restaurant - that is just rare!! For years I was discouraged by my mom to eat here because she thought porridge was boring and something she can make at home. Well, sorry mom: you never cook anymore, so I'm out! 3 positive stars: $1 per person for UNLIMITED porridge, mixed with sweet yam - gives you a nice homey feeling. The side dishes are good. The sauté eggplant is very flavorful - one of the best I've tried, (just not warm enough). Lots of side dishes to pick from to compliment your porridge. I like the pig ears and seaweed. Did I mention awesome customer service? The girls behind the counter speaks perfect English and very friendly. Our waiter was extremely attentive and polite. Rather than the usual - "I don't want to serve you, but I have to" attitude you get from other Asian places. I noticed a lot of people come to get it to-go too. 2 negative stars: the amount of side dishes they offer were small - almost makes on the pricy side. $5 for a small dish of eggplants (compare to other Chinese place, you get a heaping amount for $5). Also, we couldn't finish our porridge, so we asked for a to-go cup, but the cup was too small to fill everything and so I asked for another one. The waiter apologized for the inconvenience but the customers are limited ONE cup only, so you can't take the rest home. Shoot, I'll bring my own Tupperware next time.
(3)Jennifer C.
For me, porridge comes in three categories: Taiwanese xi fan, Cantonese jook, and English oatmeal/gruel. Being Taiwanese, I have always associated Taiwanese porridge with breakfast or as something to eat when you're sick, not as a main meal. My parents love this place, though, so I am becoming a bigger believer in the porridge-as-meal. I agree that this place is more about the side dishes than the porridge itself. I come here late at night and see the kitchen staff eating regular rice with the sides, so I know I'm right. The only dishes I order from the main counter is the pickled cucumbers and maybe some of the Chinese Napa Cabbage. Otherwise, my favorite things are the ones that are written only in Chinese on the back wall: fried tofu w/ crazy addictive garlic soy bean paste (a super Taiwanese thing), their version of cong you bing (green onion cake), and the Drunken Chicken. The fried tofu is standard, but when paired with the dipping sauce, gets elevated to a new level. The green onion cake is not the oily, thin thing you get elsewhere, but a thick, chewy piece of sesame'd deliciousness that you can really sink your teeth into. Try dipping it in that garlic sauce too--it's good. The Drunken Chicken is off the menu and really tender despite its bony appearance. Mm! Overall, this is a really good place to come late at night when you want to eat something lighter and less greasy than a lot of other Chinese Food places in the area. Also good if you're feeling under the weather. Plus, the staff is SUPER nice, which I love.
(4)Thia G.
SO GOOD! It's clean, well-lit, spacious, and the food is awesome! We ordered one plate with 3 dishes of our choosing, and then the meatballs (shi shi tou - lion's head meatballs with cabbage). Of the dishes, we chose some green veggies, bamboo, and pork blood with spicy tofu. They serve you Taiwanese-style porridge (simple with sweet potato chunks) and then you just dig into whatever dishes you chose. The veggies were YUMMY! The bamboo was sooo tasty and perfectly crunchy! And the pork blood/tofu was really good too! Meatballs were really really good as well, good sauce, perfect texture and firmness. $18 total incl tax and tip. I can't wait to come back here again!!!!
(5)Linda L.
Anyone know if there's a place like this in San Francisco? This is the only restaurant I've eaten at where I can genuinely say "just like mom used to make" and everyone knows mommy food is the best food! Try the bamboo shoots.
(4)N N.
I was pleasantly surprised with this place when I came here with my parents. Sometimes I'm skeptical whether the vegetarian options are truly vegetarian, but at this restaurant, at least 25% of the small plates are vegetarian and quite tasty. I'll definitely be back! Every dish I got was pretty good. Be sure to get the green onion pancakes too! The staff seemed knowledgable and friendly when inquired about vegetarian options; she pointed them all out. I also heard their lunch special is a great deal.
(5)Felicia S.
My hubby and I tried this restaurant after walking back and forth in front of the 3 restaurants next door to each other. Why'd we choose this one? Cuz there were people inside. So neither of us speak Mandarin but I can somewhat understand it. Too bad we can't read Chinese though. Anyway, we walk in and get seated immediately. The waiter tells us to order at the front (thank God that I can understand some Mandarin or else I'd be super confused. Yeah, didn't read the Yelp reviews until after I ate here). We ordered the Chinese sausage (my hubby killed that dish himself so it was good); seaweed chunks (pretty good even though it was oily); mustard greens (too gingery and oily); green onion pancake (freshly made so really good); and the sliced beef (the best dish of all of our choices). So yeah, we didn't know about the porridge either so we had ordered white rice. Waste of money for the white rice unless you really, really hate the porridge cuz the porridge did taste a lot better with the side dishes than the white rice. Oh well, live and learn! We'd go back especially now that I know what to do! And thanks to all the Yelpers who can read Chinese cuz now I can order more of the cooked/warm dishes!
(4)Stephanie D.
I'm not new to Chinese porridge, having come from a Chinese family, but it's only about a year ago that I came to this restaurant and now, I'm as good as ADDICTED to yam porridge with my three (unchanging) sides of bamboo shoots, ground pork, and eggplant in garlic sauce. The bottomless porridge doesn't hurt either, and it's always piping, borderline-scalding hot, too. Mmmm!!! Here's a tip for people who haven't been here before. On the weekdays, they have a lunch special, which is bottomless porridge and three sides for only around $6 for one person. On the weekends, however, you pay for each side separately, and it can get pricey if you go with a big group where everyone wants something different. Just excuse yourself when the bill comes along. ;) Addicted to this place, I crave it on a regular basis.
(5)Steve K.
Total failure. Dirty restaurant and bathroom, food held at unsafe temperatures, and porridge that tasted like chunky spit. Avoid.
(1)Anthony C.
Taiwanese style food. The way this place works is you go in, they show you your table, and before you sit down head on over to the back of the room. There you will see a ton of Asian dishes, which you can choose as many as you want depending on the amount of people in your party. You can also order some items not already cooked, fried tofu being my favorite, the garlic sauce that they use for it is the best! After you are done ordering the food, they bring it right to you, instead of rice they have porridge(although for the white rice lovers you can order that too). I'll admit the porridge is a little watered down compared to the average, but it is not that bad since its mixed with yams. Food is delicious, and you get it right away. A place I definitely come back from time to time during lunch. Note that lunch prices are considerably cheaper than dinner prices by the plate. 4 stars in my book!
(4)Chester Y.
It's good for your skin. Not jook, mind you. Jook doesn't taste like crap. So this is about the jook / xi fan place in the Lion City shopping center in Milpitas, at N. Milpitas Boulevard and Dixon Landing Road. In family parlance, it's "the jook place at Lion City", and so I didn't bother to note what the official English or Chinese name of the place is, but I did look it up and it is, apparently, simply called "Porridge". At least in English. Anyway, so we had a light dinner there last night. The way the place works, I think, is that you pay a per-person rate for limitless jook, which they cook with yams. Then you go up to the counter and select from the wide array of dishes on display. You can also order things to be cooked fresh. They should have one of these near every college campus, because it's the perfect way to eat when nursing a hangover. Or as a way to sate late-night munchies without risking gastrointestinal crisis in the morning. Also, according to the Moms, they also make cong you bing ("green onion pancakes"), which I love as much as one can love an inanimate object. They have a pretty decent array of dishes, in contrast to the jook place in the Cupertino Ranch 99 shopping center. That place only serves crappy little dishes of bland bullshit that usually aren't even heated up. According to my father, that's how people in Taiwan like it. If so, then people from Taiwan are fucking morons about their xi fan consumption. [Picture of a Bitter Melon dish.] Above is ku gua or, literally, "bitter melon". Why is it called "bitter melon"? Is it because some Tang Dynasty poet's lover tragically died and, in his bitterness, he asked the gods to transform him into a melon? No. It's called "bitter melon" because it's bitter. It's fucking terrible, if you ask me. But Chinese love the shit. Above, it's accompanied by little fishies of a species unknown-to-me, which helps distract a bit from the sharp bitter tang. [Picture of ma po tofu with blood pudding cubes.] Above is a ma po sort of tofu dish --- tofu stewed in a chili sauce --- but served with cubes of, like, pork blood. Sort of like a blood/black pudding, I suppose. Kind of liver-ish tasting. Not really my thing. At least not in these quantities. [Another picture...] Stewed pork and knotted tofu "skins". This is that pork that's stewed in an inky-dark broth that's usually spiked with star anise. I love this shit and the addition of the tofu skin knots is great. But, then, anything tofu is usually great, in my book. Unpictured was a couple of little fish that were shaped like daggers. Ugly little fuckers that one expects to have been canned and outrageously salty. But they were fresh and my mother pressed me to have more. I begged off, "because of my skin" (I'm somewhat allergic to seafood). "Whenever you don't want to eat something, you use your skin as an excuse." "Yeah, well, whenever you want me to eat something that tastes gross, you tell me it's 'good for my skin'. I'm just fighting back." Bitter melon is supposedly good for your skin. But that shouldn't be a surprise if you're acquainted with the cardinal rule of Chinese food/medicine: if it tastes like shit, it's good for your skin. I'm surprised that nobody has tried to make the claim that shit,literally, is good for your skin.
(4)Her H.
MUST try: Eggplant w/garlic sauce Good: Firm tofu Tofu skin Japanese seaweed Fried egg w/preserved veggie Fried Tofu
(4)Kim R.
I've always pass by this place, but never gave it a try until today. The weathers gloomy and I'm in the mood for something hot. I decided to give this place a try. I highly recommend coming here with a chinese/taiwanese friend because I had no clue on what to order. The menu on the wall is literally all in chinese writing. I just pointed behind the counter on what I thought looked appetizing, btw most of the pre-made food behind the counter were MOSTLY veggie dishes. I had this pickled sour veggie thing with sliced pig ears?, diced up mustard veggie thing and fried shrimp. I thought I was going to have porridge, but they gave me plain steam rice :(. I think they have better dishes from their main menu, but you would probably would have to do the meal family-style. But if your on a solo lunch journey and you don't want to order a whole bunch of food, the choices they give you for your 3-item lunch deal- there's not much. Unless your into pickled veggies, tofu, bamboo and pig ears. I was "hella" looking for that stewed pork thing shown in the picture, so sad I couldn't find it in their food counter :*(. I can't say much about the service since I had my food to-go, but the cashier/hostess seemed friendly. Based on the food that I had- it's not my cup of tea, but at least I gave it a try. Maybe I need to find someone that knows how to order Chinese/Taiwanese food. I think this place would be great for dinners, family-style :)). Cash Only.
(3)Kevin L.
This place is really good. I love that you can stand and order your side dishes by picking them out over a glass counter. Plus, its precooked so you have something to munch on while waiting for your other food. My favorite is the edamame (sp?) beans with the tofu and carrots. Besides that, they give you rice porridge with sweet potato in it which is really good. Besides the side dishes, there food is also really good and flavorful. My favorite has to be the egg that has mixed in basil/pickled carrot in it. -1 star for having small text for the food which I can barely read thanks to poor eye sight. Other than that, I think this place is absolutely awesome.
(4)Tiffany C.
I've been coming here ever since it first opened and I just.. really like it! haha! The porridge comes with yam chunks which is a nice touch and the dishes are all really fresh with a lot of variety. I also really like the tsai pu dan, which is an egg pancake/omelet with dried radish chunks. The shi zhi tou (lion'e head) is also always a hit when I go with my friends.
(4)Jen W.
There aren't very many places like this out there. The flavor of the yam in the porridge at The Porridge brings me straight back to Christmas in Taiwan. It's a nice touch to add to an otherwise plain white rice + water porridge. The side dishes to accompany the porridge are pretty cheap. I have no idea what most of them are called in English, but you can't really go wrong. Pick anything that looks appetizing, and chances are you'll be just fine. The dishes are on the saltier side, but purposefully done because the porridge is unseasoned. Everything I've ever gotten here has been reminiscently authentic of night market food and brunches in my great uncle's kitchen. To add on to that, lunch with three dishes is just 6 bucks. What a deal :) I have nothing bad to say about this place because I love Taiwanese food and this place does its take perfectly.
(5)Briandrea S.
This is one of my favorite Taiwanese restaurants! I love their porridge with yam (although I don't eat the yam), but it's strangely addicting, and I end up eating 3 or 4 bowls each time! My favorite dishes are the drunken wine chicken, cabbage with mushrooms and dried shrimp, and stir-fried kidney dish (ordered from the counter since they make it fresh)! mmm I'm getting hungry just thinking about it! yumm
(4)David C.
Two words - Lunch Special (If they still have it) ... you need to get on it! i think for a cheap price - you get generous portions of three dishes on the hot table and a pot of yam porridge to fill your tummy up, satisfy your taste buds, and at the time, ask them for a box to bring all home! This place gives generous portions, have REALLY REALLY tasty food, and fantastic service. Esp. love their ground pork, cabbage, preserved veggie with egg, chinese sausage plates .... they were, esp. the first two, perfect on the porridge. I can't go to lunch here anymore but I come back for dinner all the time ..... it was that good when I first visited like 6-7 years ago, and it still is !!
(5)Christine G.
Love this place. Its perfect homestyle asian food. Reminds me a lot of my grandma. Although of course no one can compare to her cooking, this a reliable substitute. My sister though every time we come here she wants to get the peanuts. How ordinary, peanuts well they are a good cheap source of protein! Mmm, I also like to ask them to reach from the bottom of the pot for the porridge so that it is scald your face off hot. My mom especially insists on this...maybe the steam acts like a free facial! Yah mom! open those pores! But I digress, if your going to come here though you definitely need someone Asian or at least know their stuff or else you will be overwhelmed and end up lost.
(4)Claire Y.
This is a neat porridge place. I love their green onion/eggs. =)
(3)Jesse L.
I absolutely love this place. There is a similar porridge place in Cupertino Ranch 99 strip mall. The Cupertino one is good, but this one has much more selection. Go there on a weekday during lunch- you get to choose 3 individual dishes each for their lunch special. Anyways- I usually eat the Mackerel fish, the veggie chicken, the bamboo shoots and the pork intestines; and we also sometimes order the steamed fish off the list on the wall as well. The deep fired tofu is excellent as well- be sure to eat it while it's steaming hot! Anyways- highly recommended for inexpensive informal quick bite!
(5)Lee L.
Out of few Taiwanese porridge restaurants, this one is by far our top choice in bay area. Our favorites are the chitterlings, bamboo shoots (the one in clear broth) and pork blood with tofu. The food comes super fast, because it's all pre-prepared. You go to the food counter and point at what you want and a second later they are delivered to your table. The dishes are mostly non-expensive, except the fried sea bass. It was $10+, charged by weight. It is the only exception among all the dishes at food counter.
(4)sarah w.
It is definite my favorite Chinese restaurant in bay area. The dishes are not as greasy as other Chinese restaurant, the porridge makes my stomach comfortable. And I can have a variety on a good price for weekdays lunch. I hope this place can be warmer in the cold season. A heater would not be expensive for owner, right?
(4)Nadia L.
Interesting. I've never been to a place that served taiwanese style fast food so this was an experience for me. Located in a strip mall across the street from Kalesa (a Filipino restaurant we've frequented before), you really have to know what you're looking for in order to find it since the name is written in Chinese and all you really have to go by is the number on the door and the big cartoon figure on the sign. We were running really late that day for lunch and due to an accident on the road which resulted in some sticky substance all over my car which we spent a good amount of time cleaning off (that's a whole other story), we didn't arrive at the restaurant until a little after 4pm. Luckily the guy that was working the counter was very nice and still allowed us to order the lunch special even though I think technically it's suppose to switch to dinner. The way it works is you go up to the counter and pick items you want, for the lunch special it was 3 items which is then served with porridge and brought to the table. Not sure what a lot of the items were, I went with items that looked pretty safe including greens stir fried in garlic, mackerel and a spicy pork. I loved the greens and the mackarel. The sauce on the spicy pork was good but I thought the pork itself was to fatty and I probably wouldn't get that again. Po ordered taiwanese sausage, some kind of dried tofu served cold and the spicy pork as well. I really enjoyed the sausage, just tasted like chinese sausage to me so whats the difference you may ask between that and taiwanese sausage? I have no idea. The tofu itself was also very interesting. A weird consistency, not of regular tofu but it definitely grows on you after you eat a bunch of it. BTW, when they bring out the food to you, anything that is in a large form in the pan, is usually cut up for you so it's easy to eat. Overall meal was $13 or so for 2 which for lunch is pretty good. It's definitely a lil far for me but if I was in the area and had a craving, I'd go back again.
(3)Jen P.
Come here for authentic Taiwanese food! Basically, as soon as you get your table, you head over to the counter and choose whatever you want. Your meal comes with a tub of yam porridge and unlimited refills. If you prefer rice, it's $1 per person. The dishes at the counter range from $0.99 to $5.99. My personal favorites are the bamboo shoots ($4.99), sliced beef tendon ("niu jian" / $5.99), edamame with carrots and dried bean curd ($2.99), chinese sausage ($4.99), and vegetarian chicken ("su ji" / $5.99). There are also additional menu items in the back (e.g. fried tofu, lion head meatballs, green onion pancakes) written in Chinese with small English translations. The people here are nice and service is extremely efficient. Usually I come here for dinner, but they do have a lunch special, which is 3 items for $6.50. You can order it to-go if you want. Open 7 days a week: 11:30 am - 11:00 pm. Cash only.
(4)John-Michael C.
hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.... different yet not quite unexpected but pleasant enough. Naderz dragged me here and I found that the food was not entirely disagreeable as I had previously thought. there were a number of different food options but it's all kind of difficult when I had no idea what the hell I was looking at. I did like the fish however I found that the porridge was a tad runnier than my liking. But that is just my skewed preferences after all I do like a really good and thick type of soup of sorts. But then again i'm just a skewed type of person giving this place a less than skewed score. ;D
(3)Linda C.
This is.... :: DUN DUN DUUUUNNNNN:: THE PORRIDGE!!!!!! (fanfare music, jazzy hands, HUZZAH!) ^^ I like jook. A lot. At any hour of the day. I like Taiwanese snacks. A lot. Any hour of the day. This would be like the marriage between ice cream and pie, or steak and mashed potatoes. AWESOME. Dude. Yum diddly dooo!!! Came here for dinner with the boy and had like five dishes of stuff with our porridge. Don't remember exactly what all of it was, but I do remember the following: GIGANTIC MEATBALLz - gi-effin-gantic. GI. EFFIN. GANTIC!!!!! They were the size of my fist and there were FOUR of them!!! Seaweed Salad with Baby Octopus looking thingies - I love both these things. The yummiest cold cuts EVAR. :: slurp slurp:: its all gone! Cold Noodle - Nice chewiness with a nice flavoring. Wasn't soggy, and went well with the hot steamy porridge :) .... annnnd, I don't remember the rest, but it was darned good! Come here if you like simple foods that always taste good and are, relatively speaking, good for you! Five stars for what it is: YUMMYNESS!
(5)Lan N.
Went here with my big family. I thought this was going to be another random asian place with so-so food. I never knew rice porrice could be uh, so good. I like the yam that they put in it, it just makes you feel nice and happy on a cold day. They have a wide selection of random items to put in your porridge, so its half of the adventure to pick and choose. I recommend you go here with your wild asian family, and not your friends or your date.
(5)Jennifer D.
I've been here a couple times now to get the $6 lunch special, which is unlimited yam porride with 3 sides of your choice. The porridge is very plain tasting with big chunks of yam, but that's how it's supposed to be, since you are supposed to eat it with your sides. I've tried out the jellyfish, cold pickled cucumber chunks, fish, eggplant, tofu w/pork, pork ear slices, and tofu noodles. All the dishes have been delicious, and remains one of my go-to lunch places when I'm working.
(4)Jeanie O.
Love this place and try to hit it when I'm in town. Wish there was some Taiwanese food in Sac. Am used to Cantonese porridge so the chunks o' yam kinda throws me off. I eat around them. I like the egg omlet with the radish cakes. The preserved veggie with piggy tummy. And the piggy ears are tasty as well. Pity that I can't read Chinese and order the stuff on the wall, so I'm pretty much limited to the stuff on the buffet unless one of the people behind the counter is nice enough to read some of the stuff for illiterate me.
(4)Scotty N.
when we sat down, someone threw a pot of porridge in front of us. my group and i sat for a few minutes, shivering (gave us a seat right next to the door), sipping some porridge like 4 bums in a soup kitchen. finally someone let us know that we need to order at the counter. once we got to the food selection, i saw a bunch of unappetizing, unseasoned, nonmeaty dishes. these petri-sized dishes of food was more akin to the free stuff i'd expect at an honest, korean establishment. luckily, due to a fluke, my buddy saw a bunch of meatballs (off menu item) on another customer's table and somehow was able to fire up a plate. if not for the meatballs, as the driver of my group, out of malnutrition, i mighta collapsed on the drive back. anyways, once it was time to pay, i was happily expecting a small, maybe 20 dollar bill and...BAM...we got stuck with a near 50 dollar tab. if you can deal with a rude, cougarish chinese waitress (see previous review), i'd recommend Healthy Porridge down the street...for the same price, you can get 10 times the amount of food, a lot of protein and some nice, seasoned porridge.
(1)Eric Y.
good stuff. drove from millbrae down to milpitas to try this place out. i think the food was pretty good for the price. this reminds me of a place in LA called Lu's Garden which serves the same stuff. the place packed up very fast too. make sure u ask for a very HOT pot of porridge. makes things very good.
(5)Terry D.
Me and two of my friends ordered 5 side dish. The dish seem small, but it was more than enough. Next time we'll order 3 dish for 3 people. Every dish cost from $3-$6 and comes with unlimited porridge. If you order over $15 you'll either get a free plate of fried tofu or steamed dumplings. One friend was soo addicted to the plain yam porridge! The sides for porridge was good too! It was all yummy! My friends have never tried eating porridge with chopsticks before so this is also a great experience. we're going back again soon! Wish there was one near where i live.
(5)Hao F.
came here with my mom to try out their porridge. great food, not a big portion it usually wont fill you up, but it tastes great!!!! def recommend it.
(4)Herbert K.
I would recommend this place as an excellent lunch spot. The 3 items with rice porridge (lunch special) for 6 dollars is a bargain. There is wide selection of items to choose from (about 15+). I had the dried small fishes, tofu noodle & squid which added favor to the simple rice/ yam porridge. I will need to return again to try the other items. FYI - Don't be seated in right small table near door, was drafty there.
(4)Shell S.
Porridge with yam served pretty well with all appetizers on tap, bamboo shoot and squid are some of my favorites when I swing by every time..
(4)bryan h.
food: 9 service: 7 drinks: 7 (hot tea) design/ambiance: 4 crowd: 7 (all Chinese/Taiwanese) wait/parking/reservations: 10 First off, you can't tell this place is called The Porridge unless you can read Chinese. I was told that was the name after I had eaten there about 50 times. I always thought it was called Chef boy ar Chang because there is a picture of a Chinese chef with a big hat on. The food is served cafeteria style with the most interesting variety of food. My favorites, there are many, are: Pig Heart, Jelly Fish, Mustard Greens, Baby Octopus, Pork with Tofu Knots, Tofu Noodles, Bamboo and String beans. There is such a range of flavors, textures and temperatures and it is pretty light on fat and oil. The porridge is a bowl of water and rice with yams. It is not as good as the steamed rice so you may want to pass on it. You can find the Porridge on Milpitas Blvd. in a strip mall and the parking lot can be a little dodgey, but you must go to there and eat it all. There really is nothing else in Milpitas other than the Galaxy (a great dive bar) so just go for lunch and get out.
(4)ANNE P.
Best Taiwanese food in Bay area!!
(5)Amanda C.
Wonderful restaurant. I've been coming here since a young age. I still remembering peering over the counter to help my parents pick food. This place reminds me of a street-side Taiwanese restaurant (maybe I shouldn't call those restaurants... sounds a little too sophisticated) with a cleaner sit-down dining area. My mother and I went after a day of shopping. We had Chinese sausage, baked peanuts with the fried little fish (I don't know how to say these things properly in English), fried sea bass (this one's kind of expensive compared to the other things on the menu - 6.99, but totally worth it), tofu skins with celery and boiled peanuts, and of course, a warm pot of rice porridge with sweet potato chunks. The thing I love most about it that took it to the five stars besides the authentic Taiwanese cuisine was the atmosphere. Sure, some other people probably don't enjoy the shouting of the waiters in the back of the restaurant but I think this bit adds to the traditional Taiwanese street cafe feel. Restaurant gets busy around meal time and may require a little time for waiting to sit down. Definitely worth the wait... way better than the other food in the plaza. The food doesnt take long at all. You choose the dishes you want from behind a glass and someone in the kitchen will heat it up in a pan and bring it to your table pretty much 30 seconds after you sit down. Not sure what the tea flavor is that they serve. They serve it pre-made so there's not ticking time bomb of bitter flavor from an oversoaked tea packet. Waiter/ess service is phenomenal and very fast. You can come here with one person, or 10+ people. Downside: Bathroom is one person only which isn't enough to accomodate the whole restaurant during busy hours. I don't live in the area, but I find myself always coming back here because the food is so great.
(5)Mari K.
bleh. maybe it's b/c i'm not chinese, but i had no idea how the heck to eat here. first of all they don't speak english, which is ok since you just point at the counter and they serve. bad for me though, because i couldn't recognize one dish they had. So I point to one particular beef-looking dish, and I ask "beef"? and the lady says, "MEAT." no really? so i point to another dish and ask what it is. she says "VEGETABLE." ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. ok so i randomly get a couple of mystery dishes. there's no price chart (except in the chinese menus i can't read anyway), so i had no idea how much my dishes cost until the bill came. anyway, so we attempt to eat. no flavor in the porridge, and there's way too much yam per cubic inch of the rice bowl (gross). which is ok, i just fling the yams out and add soy sauce to flavor. but then i added the mystery meat and the mystery vegetable, and all those juices started to mix and now it's nasty. it was just an overall bad experience. not cheap either (~$30/2 ppl) if you don't know/can't read what you're ordering. i may possibly come here again, but only with a chinese person who knows what to order, and can tell me wth i'm eating.
(2)Albert C.
I wanted to like this place. I really did. Having Taiwanese porridge is a soothing, comforting experience. It's good for the soul. Walked in last night, looking forward to some comfort food... The xi fan/porridge itself was pretty good. The spread available to choose from looked pretty good too. We choose the bamboo shoots, the pig ears, the sea bass and the A cai. Alas, despite looking tasty and delectable, the food ended up being mediocre. It wasn't bad by any means but didn't really have a "wow" factor, plus the fish was rather pricey. Sad. Still, if I happened to be in the area, I'd be willing to stop by for the lunch special.
(3)Y L.
I like to come here for a quick homey lunch. They serve you unlimited rice porridge with yam, or just plain rice if you wish, and you each get to pick three dishes from the counter. You can also get a to-go box with rice and 3 dishes for only $6.50 (week days only). There is a good variety of dishes to pick from (you can just point). Nice to go with two or three people at lunch so you can sample different things. Most of the dishes are quite tasty, but can be a little greasy and salty. But they are so good with the warm, thick porridge!
(4)Retired B.
Food is okay. I thought it was on the pricier side, since it was about $30 for two people with 4-5 dishes. I wish they would just give smaller size portions for less since variety is key here. You order at the counter and they bring the food to you. The porridge comes with yam. A lot of fobs here, but I guess that is what is expected.
(3)Jessica T.
this place wasn't good. Their Taiwanese food wasn't good. When I looked at the foods they had, there wan't much of anything that looked edible and their porridge had sweet potatoes in it which makes no difference in the taste. The only thing I ate there were tofu noodles and seaweed. I'm not coming back there again.
(2)nathan n.
Great food for a great price. This is Taiwanese food, not Mainland China food, there is a little bit of a difference. The quality is great, and it is authentic, a much better choice than Mr. Chau's for sure. I bought 3 items, it cost about $12 and was more than enough food for 2 people. Good service, helpful suggestions.
(5)Peter C.
The best Taiwanese porridge and side dishes available around South Bay. If you are from Taiwan you know it's true. I prefer more varieties though like salty eggs and seasoned tofu, but it won't discount my rating for this restaurant. Pretty busy during weekday lunch hours. I started eating here over 10 years ago when it just opened.
(5)Gilbert C.
I went to this place located in Lion City shopping area (I think thats what the area was called anyway). Tons of Asian establishments here from Dental offices to Restaurants. This place is off N. Milpitas Blvd and Dixon Landing Road. Its located all the way to the right side of the complex if you're facing the stores. **Don't confuse this place for Milpitas Square tho which is a different, bigger Asian shopping/dining area in Milpitas which has a 99 Ranch Market.** I was skeptical at first to go here cus I REFUSE to pay for porridge (cmon, its just rice with more water....wtf), until my bro mentioned that I already ate the food here when he brought it home and I said it ROCKED! Then I recalled it and realized I liked their food cus of all the side dishes they had which accompanied the porridge, which is mixed in with chunks of yam/sweet potato btw, but does almost nothing for the taste of it. And so yea, we went up to the front counter to pick out the side dishes after claiming our table, as everyone does. They scoop it out like a take out place and put em on plates so the "runner" can bring em to your table. Got 4 sides/items including a huge helping of porridge and it came out to just under $20 before tip. You can wait at your table, but many prefer to go up to the front to pay since its quicker. I highly recommend this place if you're in the area as its not pricey, great variety of side dishes, near many other interesting shops, and service is prompt...once you get a table anyway. DON'T COME FOR THE PORRIDGE, COME FOR THE DISHES YOU EAT WITH THE PORRIDGE!
(5)Daphne T.
Food is great, love the bamboo shoots. Go for the weekly lunch special. However, to-go orders will cost $1.00 extra if you want porridge.
(4)Frank L.
I always thought hmmm I wonder why there isn't a porridge place around here. And then I found this place. You first come in and immediately they get you a porridge with yams in it. You then go up to the counter and pick the items you want. I don't remember the price exactly but most if it is under 6 dollars. I recommend getting the beef tendon as it goes really well with the porridge. And also make sure you listen carefully to the person getting your food because they will sometimes mumble the price. I remember she said 12 dollars for a piece of fish but she sort of mumbled it so I assumed I was hearing things. Oh well it ended up being 12 bucks so be careful. And also this place only takes CASH so don't be like me and run back to your car to pay in quarters.
(3)Pika C.
We like going here because the food is good. We always order the same stuff, but can never get sick of it. The interesting thing is that sometimes when we go, they offer us a free dish, either fried tofu or something else. And yet, at other times, they don't. I'm not sure how it works, but I'm happy when they offer me free stuff! :) Also, please note that the service is usually very friendly, which is rare for Chinese restaurants.
(4)pj n.
I don't know why this is so highly rated, more so than Porridge Place in Cupertino. I thought it was kind of disgusting. The food didn't taste fresh. It just wasn't good at all. I wanted to try this place cos I was a little sick of Porridge Place (good food but no variety and meat dishes are not so good) but I know better now!
(1)T L.
Taiwanese porridge the way my mom used to make it. plain boiled white rice does not sound very appetizing but it's all about the side dishes. we had the bamboo shoots(surprisingly my favorite dish), spiced bean curd and pork, bitter melon and sausage. all the dishes were authentically prepared and went well with the porridge. I would have given the place a 5 for food if not for all the MSG. Food **** Value ****(***** for the lunch special) Decor ***
(4)Felicia W.
I have been a loyal customer since they opened in 1999. Great food and great services! I would go there three times a week when I was living on the same street. I've taken my friends and all my family there. Their lunch special comprises unlimited porridge and three dishes for about $6.50 after taxes. Great deal. Way to go, Little Liu Porridge (the restaurant's name in Chinese)!
(5)Joey N.
This is a great place.. go there when i feel like being healthy - not saying i get healthy things there but in any case. love the pickeld pork, fried pomfret fish, stewed cabbage, tofu skin and celery, lion meat balls, basil egg, king fish .... sometimes wish they would keep some fo the stuff hotter though. doesn't the food need to stay a certain temperature-- it's not taiwan is it?
(4)Tiffany E.
if this place were a buffet i would understand why they got so flustered when tried to share my food with my friend. but it isn't. i paid for my plate of food it should have been okay for me to share it with her. they didn't agree, so i asked for a togo container and we left. we proceeded to finish the meal at a park nearby. so ha! take that, the porridge.
(1)C H.
Unless I am confused over the Chinese name... I think this should be the right place. I like the pig ears, which I think is probably the best so that dish is five stars for me. I also like: snail meat, eggs and oysters??, kidneys??, tofu. I will edit this review once I know some of these names. Overall, the taste is not so strong. I think most of the lunch special food is average though. However, I think some of the dishes I mentioned are too authentic so you should be wary.
(4)Robert L.
What a great concept. Ready-made food, you pick and choose what dishes you want, served alongside porridge. I was visiting a few old UCLA buddies and we decided to come here for dinner. I was told that it's a great deal for lunch, because you get two sides and porridge for some very low price. For dinner, they charge by the plate. Nevertheless, the food was good. We got the cold cucumber with other stuff dish, and pig ears, and Chinese sausage, cooked bamboo, and a beef dish. Since our order came to be over $20, we got Shanghai Dumplings (if you don't speak Chinese, the person called them "steamed dumplings" but they're Shanghai Dumplings. If you speak Chinese, she told us the correct name. I guess she doesn't know that in English it's called Shanghai Dumplings.) Anyway the food was great. We were stuffed. Wasn't too heavy or oily, although my buddy did say it was probably lots of sodium and MSG. The total came out to about $8 per person. I'd say that's pretty good for dinner, but for a little Taiwanese eatery like that (premade food you choose instead of menu items), it's on the expensive side. Minus one star because of that. I'd come back, though.
(4)Irene L.
My favorites are the garlic eggplant and bamboo shoots. Not a fan of thick bland rice porridge w/ sweet yams, but it isn't bad and it's unlimited refills. The food comes super fast, cause it's all pre-prepared you just go to the food counter and point at what you want and bam a second later they deliver it to your table. The service is cool and it's CASH ONLY. I think my parents and I like coming here because for them it's the porridge, for me it's the greasy eggplants! =)
(3)Melissa L.
i went with a group of taiwanese friends to this place...and i'll admit i was a bit skeptical because i'm not a huge fan of rice porridge. the side dishes were quite intimidating to me. we chose some that were a little less adventurous, and more familiar to me. the rice porridge was quite good and i appreciated the sweet potato inside. the side dishes were also yummy. we ordered the egg plant (good choice), bamboo shoots (tasty), sausage (good, but greasy), the ground pork dish, spicy tofu with pork blood, and fried tofu. it's a really interesting concept for a restaurant and the first i've seen of its kind.
(3)Peter L.
love this place! i go there to get take out for lunch almost every week. its only $6. it is just too pack during lunch to eat there but the lunch deal is unbeatable. 3 selections from the buffet for $6 per person. if you go with a couple peeps, you could have 9 dishes for just $18. usually go there for dinner. prices are a little higher but the selection is expanded. and you can order some traditional taiwan dishs as well thats not on buffet table.
(5)Joy C.
Really cheap fresh food and yummy porridge (a favorite comfort food of mine). Lots of selection and fast service. It's also just around the corner from my house! The only minus is I think they put MSG in it... gives me a minor headache.
(4)Esther C.
Sorry, I'd have to give this place 3 stars. I was hoping for better. Here I go... Pros: Cheap lunch. Three items for $5.55. I believe it comes with the Taiwan style porridge that has those mushy yams in it. Good deal I must say. They also had pretty good green onion pancake. The variety on the menu is great if you like that kind of food- some stuff was weird animal intestine/pig ear...that kinda stuff...then there's more edible things such as shrimp, chinese sausage, eggplant, etc. Cons: Pretty lousy service. I'm a bit of a restaurant service guru if you know me personally. I expected at least somewhat decent service but this place was just weird all together. I got there a few minutes early and waited for a friend, she was only about 5-10 away from the place and was on her way. Multiple servers came by to tell me in Mandarin (which I really couldn't understand but could figure out) to hurry up and order. I kept on telling them I will in a few minutes. Finally, one lady rudely told me to order or else I must give up my table for the next customer waiting for a table. I didn't understand her rationale behind that since the place was clearing its lunch rush and tables were being available every minute from that point onwards. I know they want to turn tables around quick to make as much money as they can but couldn't they just let me wait a few minutes before my friend came? There's another Porridge place in Cupertino, that place seems more patient with its customers. Anyways, its good if you want quick cheap food and want to be in and out in 20 minutes. Bad if you want to have a decent lunch where you aren't rushed. Another plus is that Tapioca Express is next door and Q-cup is across the street. Hm...maybe I should up their ratings another star because they chose well on the location...
(3)Kazoua T.
I'm a fan of cheap, fast, and homely looking meals. My elderly Taiwanese co-worker brought me here when we were doing a field review. It's a plus if you speak mandarin, otherwise it can be a bit scary. We had the lunch special where you pick three items. I had the pork blood with tofu, eggplant and spicy pork. Co-worker had the pork with tofu skin, bamboo shoos sardines. Total for the both of us was around $13. If the place wasn't so far and if only I could get the husband to eat this stuff, I would frequent this place.
(4)H T.
i love this place. my family and i have been coming here for years, and it's a great standby. they start you off w/ a huge bowl of porridge w/ yams. i barely eat this, b/c all the side dishes are so delicious. you go to the counter, and there are a lot of ready-made dishes you can choose from, or you can also have them cook some dishes for you. i came here tonight w/ my parents, and we got side dishes of braised eggplant, salt and pepper fish, a fried egg omelette, green onion pancake, a tofu dish, and some pickled greens...all this for $25! this place is cash only. i love their egg omelette and the fried onion pancake here. get any small dish here, and you won't be disappointed!!! oh, it's cash only, so bring some $$!
(5)Goku S.
My girlfriend and I were new comings at this place. We thought it was a porridge place that sells many types of porridge, but it wasn't as we expected. However that's fine. The reason I gave a 1 star is because of their service. We were looking at the take out menu because it appeared to be a pretty good deal (about $6 for lunch special). The cheerful cashier came over to us and said "oh, it's easier if you just pick from the precooked section they have in display". We did that and got a dish of seaweed, pigs ear, and jellyfish. The porridge was not up to our expectations. It was literally plain porridge with squash. It tasted bland and the food was a little below decent. As we went up to pay the man, he was not as cheerful anymore. I think his behavior was all a show to get us to sit down and buy something. but not only that, he did not even show us our bill with the break down. all he said was "$17.35". 17.35 for those 3 dishes and plain porridge? that's as much as american food. It was rediculous!!!! We will never go back here again. If you are a foreigner to this place, please stay away, they will take advantage of you. and as a note, I might have been spoiled by all the great chinese/asian places in San Francisco, because I have never experienced horrible service and being mislead in so many ways until my encounter with "The Porridge".
(1)Eugene W.
The best chinese food ever....so good!
(5)Will G.
Decent porridge, a bit runny than I like it. Food is pretty good, like the beef balls, veggies. Fried seabass is good, but pricey. One of the better porridge place around here, since there're not many competition.
(4)Armando C.
The lunch special is pretty good. 3 sides and a large bowl of porridge. . Probably return and try the other sides.
(5)The O.
The service is great but if you're like me and ask "what is that?" you probably wont get the answer your looking for. I enjoyed this restaurant and the porridge was bland and lite for my taste. Add stuff to it? They didnt have hot sauce, soy sauce, salt or pepper on the table. This I hear is very authentic it's not really for the people that like strong tasting dishes. I feel good after eating here but while I'm eating the porridge it sure feels warm. This is a casual to dress down type of place. I have many favorite side dishes- fried tofu, ground pork, squid adn cucumbers. I will continue to come hear because it's healthy and my friends loev this place.
(5)Jielin X.
tasty small dishes
(4)andy w.
this is definitely a very hole-in-the-wall type of place, but with friendly wait staff and good food - and at a good price. you are always greeted with a smile. it's a place that i just keep going back to again and again.
(4)Leslie L.
Food was delicious - exactly what I expected. I got the lunch special - choice of three dishes. I got preserved vegetables with soybeans, pickled cucumber, and stewed beef. Service was nice and efficient - got table immediately, selected food at counter within 2 minutes and was eating immediately after. Got check and change quickly. Total bill $6.50 + tip. Things to remember: - This is an authentic Chinese restaurant, so service is not going to be extra attentive and friendly. No one is going to say, "welcome to xxx, my name is yyy, and I will be your server." - This food is pretty authentic Taiwanese porridge (stuff my mom used to make). So, don't expect anything western about it - it's for folks who have grown up on this food or for people who are very adventurous eaters. - This is not Catonese porridge - so it's plain porridge with side dishes. - If you don't read Chinese (like me), the easiest way to order is to go to the counter and point.
(5)Jen C.
I used to think Taiwanese Porridge sucks since most dishes seem to be vegetarians or innards (all cheap items). It took me some time to learn to love Taiwanese Porridge. Now I really enjoy it regularly. It is especially comforting to me during cold winter or when I felt a little under the weather. My favorites include bamboo shoots braised in soya sauce, (greasy) garlicky eggplants, tiny squid tubes, jelly fish wih cucumbers, etc. They let you pick 3 items during lunch for only $5.99 which is pretty good. Porridge with yams are all you can eat. You can also order them to go with rice. However, they seem to give you less food if you go in early. The staff seem to have worked there forever, and I think I have grown to like them OK too. They are always busy so they seem to be in a hurry all the time, but I don't think they have bad service at all. Really, they have pretty good service in Chinese standard, heh.
(5)Peter W.
reasonable prices, pretty good salt water duck
(4)J L.
i had lunch here, 3 in 1 dish with porridge, it was not bad, better than the porridge place at Cupertino village :p
(4)Anna N.
i like the concept...chinese fast food with porridge. i LOVE their eggplant dish - probably the best i've ever had.
(4)