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First i have to point out. This is a Chinese -Muslim restaurant and is Kosher!
I love the Chinese food there!
I am in love with the sesame bread and lamb.
For those who are confused about " Chinese - Muslim"
Here is a little summary:
Chinese has more than 50+ ethnicity with their own language/dialect etc. Chinese has a long history of unification and conquest that became the China today.
Thus; there are Muslim-Chinese, but we are all Chinese so it does not really make any difference. We are all frugal, cheap and love to bargain. hehe.. If you agree with this than be proud of being a Chinese :) It's a good life !
However; between all the ethnicity, this is what give the Chinese culture "flavor' we have North to South, East to West Chinese cuisine and each has it's own style and flavoring.
Love being Chinese and it's history!!!
Back to the food:
Sesame bread is a MUST! Onion bread is a Must! Lamb dishes is a must! Their fish is tasty.
Quality is excellent!
Prepare to carb out :)
2.5 stars
I used to work at this computer hardware company and every Friday was catered lunch. Or takeout. So every employee took turns ordering lunch and once we got lunch from here. This place is known for their thick noodles (dao xiao mian) and they were pretty good. They're like hand carved so for the most part they're pretty decent. Once I also ordered the fish from here and they FORGOT the rice that came with it so that was a bummer. Their sesame flatbread also isn't bad. Overall not a bad place for noodles but not great either. Oh, and their food is apparently Muslim (?) so for those who are concerned with that then this place is good.
I love their thick sesame onion bread. If you know you're going to get it, order it when you first get there before the rest of your items because it takes a while to cook. We ordered it with our meal and it didn't come out until we were almost done with our food.
I came here early Saturday evening with my friend for dinner. We ordered the thick sesame onion bread, the three flavors hand made noodle and the mongolian beef. That was way more food for the both of us.
The three flavors in the noodle are chicken, beef and shrimp. I especially like the thick hand made noodles. This dish is a little oily, so it makes it a little hard to scoop the noodles onto your plate.
This was the first time I had their mongolian beef and it's definitely not the mongolian beef you're probably used too. It has onions as well as green onions, but no broccoli and it's smothered in sauce. The meat is very tender and it's got a little spice to it.
The place got busier and busier as we ate and as a consequence it got harder and harder to find someone to help box up our food for us. Good thing someone from the kitchen came out to help us. Prices are very reasonable, around $6-$7 dollars and each dish is enough to feed probably 4-6 people.
Tried the homemade three flavor chow mein- not really good, in my opinion. It was too greasy and not particularly flavorful. However, the bf really enjoyed his hot beef noodle soup. The jellyfish was also tasty as well. I'll update when I try the seafood noodle soup, which I want to try out.
A not too bad sit down Chinese restaurant. There are tablecloths, so I guess this makes it okay to… Read more »
The hot and sour soup is good here. My husband likes the onion pancake. The thick noodles are gross though. They are super doughy and just not good. The beef noodle soup is tasty but if you get it, don't get the thick noodles.
Great restaurant! I've enjoyed coming here for brunch on the weekend, where the soy milk soup and fried chinese donuts have been excelente. The shui jing bao was so-so though - the theory being that they made them and then they were sitting around for a bit. So, -1 star for that. Otherwise, this place has some great food for an affordable price.
The weekend lunch menu is also all in Chinese, so good luck to read it if you don't know Chinese. So remember: bring a friend who can read Chinese
Positives: Fast services, large portions, sesame bread, beef noodle soup for lunch, good tasting food.
Negatives: Extremely crowded during lunch rush hour. Some dishes seem to use the same base. Most dishes are very oily.
Everytime ive been to dardas ive always been amazed as to how fast the food gets to you, its truly mind boggling . The place is always a madhouse, packed during peak hours, hard to get a seat etc.
I started to shy away from dardas after my cousin discovered a dead mouse in one of their serving rooms. I thought this might have been a one time deal however two weeks ago my friend was about to take a bite into his chow mein and saw a roach! Two strikes!
My friend was pretty disgusted so he called some health inspectors who indeed found signs of roaches....oh man!
but hey who am i to judge? anyone see the movie ratatouille?
one of my favorite restaurants EVER. in the whole wide WORLD.
halal chinese food is awesome and this place does it right. everyone HAS to order their sesame bread pancake thing and their wide long pulled noodles. these two dishes alone make this place 5 stars.
food gets to you fast.
We needed to finish lunch w/i 45 min one Sat during lunch time. We got to order in 5 min w/ a smiley waitress (yes shocking I know) then the dishes came out w/i 5 min. We were like O that's not bad. Then bill came out in another 5 min when we were not even 1/2 way through. Yeah .. hmm don't know about that one....
Beef Noodle Soup: Flavor 4 stars. Noodles 2 stars. It didn't come w/ any veggies in the soup but the portion was pretty big.
Spicy tripe: 3.5 stars. Flavor was okay only but nothing too special about the dish. It was heavy on soy sauce & vinegar w/ a hint of chili oil. The tripe wasn't stinky tho.
Kao Pao Shrimp: The dish came w/ alot of peanuts and American celery. Wow... speechless... 2 stars.
Chicken Fried Rice for the kids.... 1 star. It was so dry that it did taste like yesterday's rice. It had way too much soy sauce, just gross.
I actually would come back again. It's okay and I am sure there are better dishes they have and I just didn't have time to read the menu.
I am half chinese.
My husband is indian.
what a perfect place for us--we love this place!
I am not Muslim, but the food has such a nice spicy kick to the chinese flavors I was accustomed to growing up! my husband loves that too. there is not as much grease as there is in many chinese restaurants.
the spicy lamb dish, thick green onion bread and thick noodle dish are our favorites.
we dont crave chinese food often, but when we do, it's Darda!
Great restaurant. Good for family visits or takeout, big portions. I highly recommend the green onion sesame bread and the beef noodle soup. Now take those 2 great things and dip the sesame bread in the soup to make a doubly great thing. The lamb and pickled cabbage noodle soup is fantastic as well. The noodles are great, I recommend thick noodles if you've never tried them before. When I'm not in the mood for a soup I go for the Three Flavors Chow mein with thick noodles. It's awesome and never fails me.
I always make a point to stop by when I'm in norcal.
Pros - great tasting food, fairly clean, perfect for large gatherings. Prices are decently cheap as well.
Cons - Long lines during peak hours. As with all Asian places, sometimes hard to get service, but usually pretty good. food is a little on the oily side.
Carbo bliss! Weekend morning breakfast food is terrific.
Get the bread sandwich (those rectangular seasame folding buns with oil stick fillings) and their thick bread bings (think bread the size of a pizza, cut into wedges).
Their signature noodles are hand cut so they're doughy and chewy with rough cut edges. Yum!
Also good are anything lamb.
Very friendly staff. Well, some are friendly, some are gruff, but you get pretty fast service. Just grab anyone walking by. Food comes quickly too. Kid friendly (they love to play with my kids who btw are pretty cute).
Gets crowded after 12 on weekends so come early. Anytime up to 11, the place is empty.
In terms of food, Its a Panda express with an extended menu ...
In terms of service, Its like getting served by a pissed off Simon (Am'n Idol), an irritated Gordon Ramsey (Hells Kitchen) and the regular Ahmedenijad (Iran).
In terms of ambience, its like a poultry farm (yeah ive been 2 one)
In terms of seating, its a cheap used furniture shop
to be contd..
Would give 3.5 stars but rounded up for good food. Went to Milpitas Square on a Tuesday night for dinner. We looked around at a couple restaurants on the north side of the plaza, but most places had only a couple tables full. Looked into Darda and almost every table was taken so we figured that was a safe bet.
No wait for a table for three; we were seated almost immediately. We ordered cha chiang mian (spicy seafood noodle soup), mushu chicken, dry wok green beans, and three flavor chow mein (house special combo chow mein). Food came out soon after we ordered. Way too much food for three people. We probably would have been fine with 2 or 3 dishes. Definitely recommend anything with the thick housemade noodles.
Ambience and decor were average, typical of a non-fancy/dimsum chinese restaurant. Service wasn't outstanding, but they brought us cups of water and the check, and gave us back out leftovers without delay. Would come back for chinese take out if they were closer.
Less than $40.00 for 4 dishes, tax, tip.
seriously good spicy noodle soup dish (3 flavors noodle soup)
lamb, shrimp, and vegetables over handcut noodles.
fresh hand pulled and cut noodles chewy and the savory broth compliments well.
the sesame bread with green onion was also very tasty.
all good and all halal.
back for more in the future.
The 5 stars are for their thick onion sesame bread!
They still make the best!
The last two times we've been to the same shopping complex (The Loving
Hut is at the opposite end) we've gotten three boxes to go!
Two are for our family and one is for friends.
The crunchy crust with thousands of sesame seeds taste great reheated in the toaster.
We have been known to polish off an entire box on the ride home! 8)
The SESAME ONION BREAD(thick) is the #1 reason for going here. The first time we went I was kind of… Read more »
GOOD FOOD, GREAT SERVICE! I would have to say for a very busy restaurant, they are so on top of their job. I think the prices are very reasonable especially they serve a big portion. Definitely recommend!
Islamic Chinese at Darda in Milpitas: Really? These Sesame Pancakes?
One of my co-workers asked where I was going for lunch yesterday. "Oh," I said breezily, "I'm just going out for some Islamic Chinese." You know, as though EVERYONE does that.
People rave about the sesame pancakes at Darda so I decided it was time I got my mouth around some. The only size order available is $7.25 and IT. IS. HUGE. There are eight slices (more like slabs) that are each about the size of a Chicago deep dish pizza slice. And I ordered it THIN. (There's a choice between thin and thick.) The thin was described in Yelp reviews online as crepe-like, and boy, I beg to differ. Do those posters think a Chicago deep dish pizza slice is crepe-like? And if this is thin, how fricking big is THICK?!
The pancakes are studded with sesame seeds and filled with green onions. The inside is moist and kind of layered like a biscuit. It looked great but unfortunately it was very bland. My husband ate a bite of my leftovers and agreed. I actually tossed my leftovers after one slice because I didn't want them. (I recently ate a different sort of green onion sesame pancake in NYC at Dumpling House and that was better.) The woman at the table next to me told me that the advantage of the thin pancake is that you can put stuff inside it. I'm not sure what I'd be putting inside it? My lunch special?
Speaking of my lunch special, I got the $5.95 dry sautéed string beans lunch special served with rice and hot and sour soup. I asked for the beans low oil but it was still very oily. The green beans were fine but a little garlic would have gone a long way in improving them. There was another ingredient in this dish that looked like some sort of cabbage/bamboo mutation and had a slightly salty flavor. No clue what this was but it tasted better than it sounds.
Since I was dining alone I had to order the lunch special in order to eat a normal meal that wasn't just bread. That meant I was only able to eat about of my food, so I brought the rest home as leftovers. The quantity made it good a deal. I'm just not sure the taste did.
What exactly is Muslim Chinese food? Well, everyone has an opinion about what it is and isn't, and none of the restaurants really live or die by the rigid rules, except: No Pork. So if you want a big fat succulent juicy delicious pig, you're out of luck.
Muslim Chinese food always reminds me of my mom's Northern roots: big sesame pancakes, lots of knife cut noodle dishes. And boy, is that knife cut noodle delicious. We got some of the pan fried seafood, 3 kinds (san xian). We ordered the beef dish with lots of green onion (chong bao niu) and it went really well with the sesame pancakes. You can get thin, medium, and huge for the thickness of the sesame green onion pancake - it is super good. We also ordered fish, cooked 2 ways, because the waitress almost pushed it on us. There was a big vat of rock rish stew. It was quite milky colored, due to the bones, and lots of tofu, bitter vegetable (ku chai), tender fish. I thought it was a bit watered down, but it had good flavor regardless of the thickness. The fish also came steamed on a big plate, with plenty of thinly sliced green onion. It was very very tender and my family cleaned the plate quickstyle.
We also ordered a plate of the Northern "Shao Ji" Roasted Chicken. The flavor was great and the chicken was tender.
Anyway, I doubt most of the patrons here are Muslim. Everyone talks loudly in Chinese and look like Engineers. Well, I suppose it is Silicon Valley, after all. Very busy during lunch time.
Went there last night with my husband - we are both Indian. We are huge fans of Mandarin Islamic in SF but we live in SJ now and have a baby so time is of essence when its just us eating out with a babysitter at home. So we looked up Islamic Chinese places near SJ, hoping to get something just like or close to what we eat at Mandarin Islamic.
We ordered the spicy lamb with cumin - good but not spicy at all!
the spicy beef noodle soup with thick home made noodles - good again but not spicy at all - the broth was a bit too salty but overall a good dish - beef was very tender and the noodles were yummy
I wanted #11 on the vegetarian section - asked the waitress what it was - said it was chinese cabbage - I said lets have it - but the waitress must have took us for people looking for typical chinese fair and dissuaded us against it - she said you indian? I said yes - she said indians usually order the green beans spicy - i wanted the cabbage with garlic but it was 12 bucks and a bit over our budget - so i said lets just do the green beans - waitress said i will ask to make it specially spicy - we said ok and off she went.
Before we knew it the food was out - it was like three minutes at most - makes me wonder if anything is made to order or if its premade. The green bean dish was extremely bland - no spice whatsoever.
Overall it did not compare to Mandarin Islamic at all. Although the lamb was delectable at Darda and the beef noodle soup was good - nothing really stood out as memorable. There is this dish at Mandarin Islamic - I think its called green chilli pepper or something -its minced meat with all kinds of peppers - so good - was hoping to get that or something along those lines at Darda but alas no luck. At Mandarin two can get a hot pot with spicy broth and thin slices of meat and veggies - they didnt have it a Dardas though.
Im going to try Fatimas and A&J in the South Bay and see if they compare to our beloved Mandarin Islamic in SF.
Not knowing what to eat today, I went over to Ranch Market Square. After passing by many older, bespectacled, balding, if not bald Asian men, I still had no idea what to eat. I just keep thinking about how I was the only person in the entire strip mall that was not Asian, besides the security guard who kept giving me dirty looks.
After realizing that I was easily the most attractive man in about a half mile radius, I figured it was time to reward myself with Chinese food. But not just any Chinese food. I stepped inside Darda for Islamic Chinese food.
Well, I must say, this is a 5-star place. But I had to deduct one star. More on that later.
The service was quick and pretty impersonal, but they definitely get the job done. I was seated, my order was taken, my soup was delivered, and 2-minutes later, my lunch special entree was delivered. Wow.
As for the food, it is freaking phenomenal. I had the egg drop with corn soup, kung pao prawns, the Mongolian beef, and of course steamed rice.
For $6.95 (excluding tax and tip), I got the aforementioned soup, a very generous serving of spicy kung pao prawns (13-15 prawns total), rice, and tea. Now that is a lunch special.
I also ordered a dinner size portion of Mongolian beef that was $8.95 (excluding tax and tip). Wow. The portion was huge. Most importantly, the beef was spicy and delicious.
The reason for the second dish was because Darda has a $20 minimum on credit cards. Lame. I had to deduct half a star for this.
I am also deducting half a star for their poorly written menu. I am tired of Asian places not knowing when to put an "S" at the end of menu items. I hate looking at "Kung Pao Shrimps" and "Broccoli with Double Mushroom." It is just painful to read. Surely, they have to somebody out there that can proofread it, right?
Nitpicking aside, Darda is really good food at a great value. Swing on by. I know I will in the future. And not to just feel like the most attractive person in a half mile radius.
Not that it really matters since I am not into Asian women.
you...
i would die for you...yeah..
DARDA if you want me to ..you..
i would die for you.....
You're just a food place, I am told
I'll Be your eater when you have food
You make me happy when you have food
Damn you're good when u have food
you...
i would die for you...yeah..
DARDA if you want me to ..you..
i would die for you.....
2..3..4..U..
you-huu-huu...you-huu-huu...
yeah, say it one more time.
you...
i would die for you...yeah..
DARDA if you want me to ..you..
i would die for you.....
Super busy, really fast kitchen cranking out the food. The home made noodles were ok but a little greasy for me. The sesame bread with green onion was OK but it may be a preference thing. Some sesame is good. Covered end to end with sesame is a bit much for me. I'm interested in trying out the green onion pan cake.
Really loud inside. Great place to go if your kid decides to start crying as there's a lot of other noise so you're not disrupting anyone else.
I wanted to like this place! But it didn't turn out that way. It was all right. But when your favorite thing about the entire experience is the tea, something is wrong. The hot and spicy items are not spicy so you may as well try them if you're normally afraid to do so. So anyway, to sum up, I liked the tea.
I've been here 4 times now and have always had a great experience! The servers are friendly, service is fast, and the food is tasty and in huge portions! I love that it's a slightly different twist to chinese food you're usually used to. Their food is a bit starchier and has that handmade feeling.
Dishes I've had:
green onion lamb: Sooo good. Tasty little juicy morsels of lamb and green onion stir fried. Even my friends who don't really like lamb liked this dish.
something eggplant: very flavorful, not overcooked. Friends who didn't like eggplant liked this too!
Dumplings: big and juicy
Beef noodle soup: flavorful
green onion pancake: flaky and not greasy!
prawns w/ honey glazed walnuts: the prawns are dipped in batter, kind of american style, so it wasn't what I expected. The mayo sauce also was kind of thousand island flavored. I'd probably not get this again.
Thin sesame onion pan cake things: very filling. I dunno how anyone could eat the thick ones! They're good to at least try.
Fried rice/chow fun: both solid in flavor and portions
I really like that this place has a mixed clientele.
I heard they are usually better than the Sunday I went. My friend Shannon L. picked this place on my visit to Norcal! I'm usually ecstatic about her picks...but this place...ummm...well sorry (I know I've been on a hater streak of late!) wasn't as good as I've had at other places. I've had Muslim Chinese food in San Gabriel before. The beef of this cuisine is usually very flavorful, and you just eat it with the bread. They don't serve pork (since it's "dirty") so you eat lamb instead. the lamb was okay. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the "gamey" taste of lamb. I'll eat it, just not too fond of it. Other than that the sesame bread was good. The green beans were fresh and flavorful. Maybe it was a bad day... 3.2 stars!
Qing zhen yi tiao long! They have some good stuff here:
- Sesame Bread w/ Green Onion (thick): This is their signature item. It's crispy on the outside while nice and soft on the inside. Sometimes our family gets it to-go and it comes in a cardboard box, just like a pizza.
- Lamb w/ Green Onions: First off, I tend to dislike lamb meat because of its strong taste. However, this is the only place so far that has a lamb dish I'm willing to eat. I guess the onions mask it pretty well. It's actually quite tasty, I have to admit.
- Handmade noodles (dao xiao mien)
- Glutinous Rice Ball (fan tuan): I recently found out that they have this, but I think it's only on weekends in the morning. It's really good, and it goes well with "fried dough" (you tiao) and salty soy milk (xian dou jiang).
This place gets quite packed during dinner hours, so go early. It's also Islamic Chinese (there's even a picture of Mecca and some Arabic writing in the restaurant), so don't be surprised if you see lots of diversity.
I came here on a Sunday at noon, and so straddled the border between brunch and lunch. We ordered some brunch food and some lunch food, and the brunch food was far, far, far superior to the lunch food. Unfortunately for people who are not literate in Chinese, the brunch menu is only available in Chinese (it's the last page of the menu).
The savory glutinous rice rolls (fantuan; listed as "rice balls salted" on the receipt) were very good. Surrounded by a layer of glutinous rice was a fried cruller (youtiao; more on this in a bit), some minced vegetables, and some sort of meat floss (rousong; generally made of pork but as this is a halal restaurant, unclear). We also got sweet soy milk, which was good in that it was not too sweet. Accompanying the soy milk were some more youtiao, which were amazingly light and not greasy at all.
The chicken fried rice was mediocre, at best. It was not special in any way, and was a bit on the oily side. I couldn't tell if the peas were overcooked or still frozen. The three flavor spicy noodles, which we ordered not spicy, were so incredibly bland that I didn't know what to make of them. Clearly, the secret to this dish is in whatever the spicy seasoning is, but you'd think that they'd put something else in when someone orders it not spicy so that it actually tastes like something.
Conclusion: Come on a weekend morning (which is the only time they serve brunch) and have someone translate the last page of the menu for you, if you don't read Chinese.
So my sorority girls and I decided to have a night out and eat dinner at darda. I was the one who actually suggested Darda because the first time around that I ate here the food wasn't bad.
We were lucky enough to get our own room but when you get your own room you also barely get any service. Every time we needed something we had to get up and chase a server down.
The service itself was very very bad. I haven't had this poor of service in a long time. When we finally got a servers attention she would be straight up rude. Shes rolling her eyes.. sighing under her breathe.. telling us to hurry up and order.. When we asked for ice water for everyone she said "for EVERY ONE?!" which was a little odd and really rude. (there was only 10 of us so it wasn't like a huge crowd of 20)
The food came out very fast which could be a good thing or could be a bad thing...
I split an order of "home made beef noodle" with my friend. The noodles were borderline raw. chewy and almost hard in the middle. I don't care if they made it there because they can't cook it properly. It was the worst rendition of beef noodles I have ever tried.. hands down. I have never been to a Chinese place where they can not cook noodles.
My friends were saying that they were full because the food was so salty but not nearly close to being satisfied. The bill was actually really cheap but it tasted cheap too...
In the end, I felt stupid for suggesting this place...
Islamic Chinese food? I guess... Leave it up to my boyfriend to ask for Sweet and Sour PORK.… Read more »
Great prices, huge portions, and the food comes out incredibly fast. Must have the home made noodles and the sesame pancake (Thin). First time I ever had lamb in chow mein.
Darda Seafood is in the amazing cheap Asian food mall in Milipitas (Ranch 99). I was told it is Muslim Chinese food. Whatever it was, it was really good and pretty cheap for ALOT of food.
We were there for a fast lunch. They start you off with a soup (think it was egg drop and corn) and tea. We ordered a lamb dish and moo shu shrimp and thin sesame bread. Whoa. Dishes are enormous, they had to clear off our condiments to make it fit on the table. Really good food though. The "thin" sesame bread was probably the size of a stuffed crust pizza and alone could have fed the two of us. Again really good though, and think the grand total was $30ish for two of us.
My friend introduced me to Darda's by bring the Sesame onion pancake (thick) to one of the potlucks and I was hooked. I went to Darda's the following week with some friends to try the food. We ordered: sesame onion pancake with extra onion (thin), seafood warm assorted pot and three flavored home made noodle. Three orders is more than sufficient for four people because the portions are huge.
The thin sesame onion pancake withextra onion is way better than the thick one because it is more moist and the extra onions gives it added flavor. The seafood (shrimp, fish, chicken and veggies) warm pot flavoring is very simple but good. The three flavored home made noodle has chicken in it and the noodle is sliced thinly and is chewy (similar to the king oyster.) 4 stars for the sesame pancake itself and 3 stars for the other dishes.
This is the restaurant that we frequent most: big group, small group, take out, catering. We've done everything and it's been working out very well. We love their seasame pancakes! No doubt it's a favorite for veggie and non-veggie guests. For our big group lunches, we always reserved one of their VIP rooms and ordered from a special menu. They are always very flexible to substitute a dish or 2 on the menu. Sometimes they also throw in some free fruit.
Good northern chinese food, with great noodles and big pancakes. It's a bit on the greasy side, and the waitstaff can be rude. Not really amazing, but not bad.
--Food: **2.5 stars
--Atmosphere: **3 stars
--Service: **2 stars
Darda is an Islamic Chinese restaurant. It is plenty busy during lunch and dinner times, I guess the food just doesn't suit my taste. I've given Darda 3 or 4 tries, and each time is pretty disappointing. And now I have officially given up on this restaurant.
I've tried these dishes below:
-The hand cut noodles with seafood **3 stars
-Their weekend dim sums **3 stars
-Lamb with green onions with a side of rice **2 stars=below average, the lamb is way too gamey, didn't enjoy this one at all.
A solid Chinese seafood and dim sum place. It's not Mayflower, but it's a bit cheaper. The dim sum here is pretty comparable. Not a great selection, but the quality is good. My family loved it all and have come back one other time. The noodle dishes here are solid as well. I've had beef chow fun and it's 3.5 stars. Can't complain.
Such a typical good old northan Chinese restaurant.
Food:
Food comes out in lightning speed. The food is very northern Chinese style. Though not the best, they do a good job. As long as you ask for something authentic, they won't disappoint you. I love their Chinese sauerkraut noodles with pork or lamb. The pancakes. If you don't know what to order, just look around and ask the server.
Service:
Typical northern Chinese are blunt. They are nice, but very fast paced honest and blunt. They are nice people, but you gotta either learn to ignore it, or realize they are not mean. But overall I think the customer service is good here.
I have NO idea why this place gets insanely crowded after 7 PM. The sesame thick onion pancakes were pretty flavorless. All the other regular Chinese dishes were over-priced.
Service is pretty slow, they didnt give us menus until we flagged them down. You have to raise your hand basically to get some attention. I personally wouldnt pay this much for regular tasting Chinese food, there are plenty of other places in this area.
This is one of a handful authentic Chinese restaurants in the Bay Area. It's quite a hike for me as I live in SF, but it's worth the drive. And it's not a seafood restaurant at all (not sure why it's called that in English).
Darda's serves real Northern Chinese food. It's the real deal. What is Northern Chinese food? Northern China is defined by most Chinese as the region north of the Yangtze river(The Cantonese, however, tend to define N. China as all regions north of Canton, which is just about everywhere in China as Canton is one of the southern most provinces in China, think Portugal in Europe for Europe or FL for the US) . The North is a huge area, characterized by dry climate with hot summers and freezing cold winters. Since the climate is not very well suited for rice cultivation, the main staple is generally wheat-based (yes, wheat cultivation came before rice in ancient China). So, think of breads (flat pan, oven-baked, deep fried, etc), crepes, noodles of all shapes & texture, dumplings, buns, etc.
Why is it called Islamic Chinese? Well, you will not find pork here, which is a favorite in Southern China. There is a large Muslim population in China (which has been the case for thousand of years). The food is N.Chinese cuisine minus the pork and with more lamb.
Items to order (must haves):
Remember you're in a N. Chinese restaurant, so steer clear of pseudo Cantonese items (i.e. sweet and sour, sesame chincken...yes, they're offered for the small non-Chinese clientèle as in all Chinese restaurants)
- Scallion Pancake (get the thin style, which is like a thin crepe): this is so good at Darda's. Scallion pancakes have hundreds of varieties in the Chinese world. This is one style commonly served in Taiwan and it's outstanding. Order this with the lamb and scallion and wrap the lamb in this pancake. It's out of this world!!!
-Lamb and scallion (green onion): this is a stri-fry, the real deal. If you ever had "Mongolian Beef or Lamb" this is the real thing here. Lots of g. onions stir-fried with slices of lamb, perfectly seasoned and cooked. You can also get the beef version, but lamb is better.
-Hand made noodles, knife-cut noodles: this is a popular Northern noodle made from a piece of dough. The chef cuts the dough in small pieces with a sharp knife. The dough goes straight into the boiling water or a wok. The texture is soft and elastic. You can get this noodle in a soup or you can get the stir-fry. I usually get the stir-fry version with 'mixed meats", which include pork, beef and shrimp. It's a big portion so bring friends.
-Sesame breads: This is oven baked bread. You can order either thin or thick style. Thick is basically twice the thickness of the thin. The bread has g. onions inside, with a crispy sesame exterior. It's a big portion. They like their breads/wheat in the north.
-Stir-fried vegetables: This is pretty much the same as other authentic Chinese restaurants (all regions of China stir-fry green vegetables). Try the Large Pea shoots (snow pea shoots). Pea shoots come in 2 varieties, the large leaf type is better than the "small" sprouts (less leafy more sprout like). Have it stir-fried in garlic. Other items such as Shanghai bok-choi, Ong-Choi (hollow vegetable or water spinach) are usually available as well.
-Soup noodles: they make their noodles fresh here, so it's softer more elastic. Noodles are wheat-based, so it' not like the Cantonese yellow egg noodles which is harder and less elastic. A good one to get is the beef noodle soup. Get dark version (red-braised in Chinese) rather than the clear version (which tastes like Pho, as it came from China). The dark version has chunks of beef braised until tender. The soup is slighly spicy (not too spicy though) with star anise, cinnamon, cloves, fennel, ginger, Sichuan peppercorn, onions and chili pepper.
Service here is typical Chinese service in the US (not sure why service is so bad here... service is much better in the Chinese world) and Ambiance as well. So, don't expect fancy here. It's basic decor / service with authentic good food. Expect to spend about $10-20 per person depending on how much you order.
The restaurant is in a huge shopping plaza, located across the street from Cisco. The shopping Plaza includes a 99 Ranch grocery store which is a good marker if you're unable to find the restaurant.
The food here is hearty and starchy, which is typical of the North. So, if you like your carbs, this is the place to go. Bring friends as the portion is large and filling.
Milpitas, CA
Category: Chinese
Milpitas, CA
Category: Chinese
Milpitas, CA
Category: Chinese
Milpitas, CA
Category: Chinese
Milpitas, CA
Category: Chinese
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