Ocean Harbor Cafe
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Lunch
- Alcohol: None
19 reviews
San Jose, CA
"When I want to stay in I get me some House of Chu!! It's soooo good. My favorite is the house special beef. i also get pork fried rice,…" read more »
55 Reviews for Ocean Harbor Cafe
Came here after a badminton tournament... So I was really hungry and was hoping for big portions... Well, you won't get huge portions, but you will get some pretty decent Taiwanese food at affordable prices...
Had the "poison" sausage, which was great. The popcorn chicken and the tofu were pretty good as well.
Now, if they can get rid of those flies that are outside the door before you step in...
Formerly Ay-Chung with the exact same menu. I like how the sign says the food is from Beijing and GuangZhou and other parts of mainland China when the food is 100% Taiwanese. C'mon people!! Oyster pancakes (o-a zen) are TOTALLY TAIWANESE.
Not as good as it used to be when it was Ay-Chung, but not terrible. Went there twice this weekend:
Day 1: Ordered the chicken steak and the marinated platter (sorry, forgot the name) where we picked the pork stomach, pork ears and seaweed. Stomach and ears were FANTASTIC, seaweed tasted like crud. Chicken steak was VERY large and very juicy! I think we ended up with half the chicken splayed out on an iron platter (with noodles and an egg to boot.)
Day 2: Ordered minced pork over rice and the house special noodle (formerly the Ay-Chung noodles of Taiwan.) Minced pork was pretty good, and it came with the sour veggies and marinated radish that the boyfriend likes. House special noodle quality was the huge disappointment of the day. Soup was a lot thinner than it used to be and lacked flavor. So sad. :\
Still. I would go back. It's cheap, it's not that bad, and it's the closest to authentic Taiwa...Chin... shoot. Well, some country's food as you can get.
I was craving for some soup for some reason but I didnt know which kind of soup I wanted so I head over Ranch 99 area since I know there is a bunch of choices there to go to.
I remembered I have Maruichi bookmarked so I head over there. CASH ONLY. I look at my wallet--5$ bill. Of course its a day I forget to get cash.
I came from a 12 hr shift and I was really getting lazy so where would I go to get soup that takes card. Looked around and oh Ocean Harbor Cafe. I remember seeing this on yelp but I cant remember if it was in the highly recommended list or the do not go list of people. Whatever, Im already hungry and tired.
So I go in. Man! There are a lot of flies in that place; what are those called---I think gnats. The little flies that fly around your head during summer time. Totally reminded me of the World Series last year or two years ago with the flies all over that one pitcher's face.
I ordered a beef stew soup and the regular noodle soup. Also ordered the special tofu since my dad told me to get him food too. I walk outside, walked in. Too many flies. Finally I just sat down the waiting area.
Besides the flies (which looked like it was just in the wait area), the restaurant is pretty clean. The servers have their rubber gloves on the whole time tho; walking around and serving people. I dont know how that makes people feel but to me, maybe remove the gloves when theyre serving the food and put a new one on when they go back to the kitchen.
They somehow didnt get that my 3 orders is to go so when they notice I was sitting in the waiting area, they asked me if I want the food to go.
They were also very confused as to whether they had beef or not so they asked if I wanted to change my order or cancel then--wait they have beef.
I get the food took it home and started eating. I got some beef stew soup first. Pretty good; I like the taste of the soup (kinda like a hot and sour flavor to it) and the beef was pretty tender. I had a little funky smell tho...I was telling my dad it smelled like meat insides. He said it smelled like pork blood. It still taste good anyway.
I got the regular noodle soup next. That was a little bland. It had some garlic, bacon and meatballs but it really tasted watered down. TK noodle has better tasting soup.
I also got some tofu. I came with some pickled veggies and a special sauce. The sauce was good. It seemed that the tofu and sauce would go great with rice. I liked it. but it was pretty expensive for tofu. Again it smelled a little funky. I thought it was just the smell of the beef stew we were still smelling but my dad smelled the box with the tofu and said that was it.
After dinner I go online to bookmark Ocean Harbor and well, I see Ron L.'s review. Looks like it is the tofu hahah.
Its an okay place. Its cheap. The have a lot of stuff on the menu maybe for snacking like popcorn chicken and calamari if you're around the area. Take it to go if flies bother you.
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Being Taiwanese, I was hoping this restaurant would do Taiwanese food justice. I tried it when it used to be Ay-Chung and decided to give it another chance when it introduced itself as Ocean Harbor. It was gross the first time and just as nasty the second.
I'm used to some of the borderline filthy restaurants in Taiwan, so maybe that was the feel Ocean Harbor was going for. The big difference is the food is 100x better in Taiwan. Ocean Harbor has the dirty part down to a tee though. You have to bus your own tables, which ends up being pretty disgusting since their customers seem to completely miss their mouths and half of the food ends up on the table.
We ordered:
Minced pork over rice- this is one of my all-time favorite Taiwanese dishes...and they ruined it. When it arrived, I *gagged* when I saw all the fat on the meat. Instead of minced ground pork, it looked like chunks of uncooked bacon over rice.
Oyster pancake- yea, it may sound gross to some of you, but when made right, it's tasty. This was...(surprise! haha) disgusting.
Pork stew over rice- this was the most edible dish we ordered. It was decent.
I'm sorry fellow yelpers, I do not agree with the 3.5 star review. It is definitely a 1 star restaurant to me.
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A name change didn't do much for my feelings about this restaurant. Formerly known as Ay Chung, I walked into this place expecting something different, something new, something seafood (Ocean Harbor), or just something good, but sadly, didn't get any of the above.
All of the restaurants around here compete for the lunch business, and based on the many open tables, people are voting with their taste buds. I've had Taiwanese food many times, but the noodle dishes my friend and I ordered had that sweet twinge to it; I thought I was eating fusion food.
The fried tofu pictured on the counter turned out to be the infamous stinky fermented tofu, which really caught me by surprise. I was expecting the bland cousin of this, but I toughed it out and ate my share. Later I found out that my partner had a cold, and couldn't taste a thing...and that turned out to be a good thing.
Too many other choices in this area; I would opt for them before I go back here.
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I have NEVER been to a Chinese/Taiwanese restaurant and given such awesome service in MY LIFE... Considering how this place is set up like a food court where you order first, take your seats and the food is then brought to you - I wasn't expecting much other than loud Taiwanese/Chinese being shouted back and forth between the cashwrap area and kitchen. They had typical batter fried asian dishes, and teas/smoothies - I honestly expected this place to be just barely enough to feed my hungry bf with the prices on their menu... so we ordered:
1.) Duck meat w/ rice - it came with soy sauce, veggies, a boiled egg and some peanut sauce
2.) Fried oysters - battered and fried with basil, I imagine
3.) An extra side of chicken (because the bf questioned the portion size vs. price and the guy was hungry...)
3.) Citron tea (for the bf)
4.) Sweet plum tea (for me!)
Each individual dish was brought out as it was made, by the MOST POLITE servers I had ever encountered. They made sure to approach you with a "hello" without doing that "sneaky" approach some servers use because they love to scare the begeezus outta' you, and didn't put the food on your table by doing it over your head... they came to the side and somehow managed to get us to notice the dish as though they were presenting something really special, although they were quite simple, cheap, and hefty in portion. (we even noticed them bowing...) They were smiling the entire time, and we felt terrible we had not had cash to add to tip, but let them know we had left a tip on the credit card reciept - and the server at the door told us he was just happy we came in to visit. Insane...
Decent food for the price, I would give it an avg. rating of 3 stars - but because of the service, I'm pushing it to a full 4. They're open LATE till 1am, so check them out if you need drunk greasy food in the area. The square footage is huge, so you don't have to worry about being crammed in somewhere like sardines... ie: China Palace, Top Cafe, etc... AND you can feed a party of people here because the food is cheap... I think the priciest dish is HOT POT for $10.00... (which I am interested in trying one day...) and the cheapest would be in the $3 range... CRAZY TALK! =D
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This review is a dedication to my friend Jacob. Proof positive that one should go out and try new things and why it's a good thing to go against the norm. It's not because he's well cultured either. He just has the balls to ask people "what the heck is that?" and "do you think it's any good?"
So yeah, my best friend Jake, his buddy Aurora and myself all went here the other night. Both of them were uber eager to take me out for dinner and wouldn't tell me where our destination would be. Well we started pulling into Ranch 99's shopping center, where I piped up with,"Just so you know I've eaten Asian food for the last two days straight". Well too bad, they wanted to go some place and I was being carted along.
First off, I dug the super huge menus plastered on the wall, with the items' named in English. Secondly, the shadowbox tables? Awesome! (they're little trenches of sand with shells and sea glass in them, set under thick glass). Unfortunately, I heard they took most of these out after this place changed an owners. Thirdly, I have to admit I was overwhelmed by the menu but Jake being the super cool guy that he is ordered me the beef stew. He explained it as being very similar (in concept) to a number 7 at New Tung Kee. Whatever Jake, I trust you.
I cursed myself for eating earlier that day. The broth was definitely flavorful and the veggies were either crispy or appropriately soggy. The noodles were tasty and thicker than most places I go to. If I hadn't eaten with the hour, I certainly would have finished the whole thing.
Allright on this side of town, nothing screams "Look At Me!" more in a (reasonably) ethnic Asian restaurant than being a white guy with two Mexican chicks at your table. Sure enough, the wait staff recognized Jake right away and said their hellos. (selfish side note: I really appreciated the fact that there was a guy staff who spoke English fluently; he was able to answer everyone of Jake's what's that? questions). The head man discussed how Ay Chung was now Ocean Harbor and while the recipes are the same (take notes here), they will most likely change as summer passes. NO!!!!! Seriously, this place does seem quite grubbin' and I think I'd be disappointed too (even it's unrightfully so)
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ok come on now...if you've been to the night market in taiwan you wouldn't be so bothered by the fact that you order up at the counter and that utensils, etc are self service. this place is immaculate in comparison. and i can't think of any other place in the area where you can get real taiwanese food like this. i think the quality of the food and portions have improved since ay chung, and that goes for their take out service as well. the waiters are very polite and it's rather inexpensive. i give it all five stars cos while it's not identical to what you'd get to taiwan, this is as good as it gets for the bay area
I come here for lunch with coworkers or the honey.
Used to come when it was Ay Chung noodle and became addicted to their popcorn chicken and rice plate. It was enough to last two lunches. Also tried their noodle soup which I thought was too thick. Not brothy enough and the noodles were really thin with almost no meat. ~$5. It was more of a snack than a meal.
Now that it's Ocean Harbor, I have only tried their beef stew noodle soup. ~$7 and again, lasted me two lunches. It was pretty good. Not as starchy or thick as I thought it was going to be. The noodles were good, lots of pieces of meat that were tender and tasty. Would get it again.
Order at the counter. The menu is above the cashier and the specials are on the right hand side. Pay and get a number. Find yourself a seat and get your own water or tea, utensils, napkins and condiments. Food comes to your table. Get your own togo containers too.
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I've been trying more Taiwanese cuisine of late and made a trip to Ocean Harbor Cafe for lunch today with my folks. The dishes were not fancy. They had a very home cooked quality to them.
Today we ordered the following:
- Oyster Pancake- This was my first time ordering this dish. It read yummy on the menu, but it was not my favorite. I expected a dry pancake with oysters encased in either batter or egg. What I got was a wet dish with something really slimy mixed with the oysters. I wouldn't have mind the wetness or slime if the dish was had more flavor, but it didn't. It tasted like a big wet gloppy mess. Will skip next time.
- Stew pork rice: A plate with a cup of rice, four decent thick pieces of fatty pork (like bacon), bok choy, a tea egg (not sure of the name), and some peanut gluten sides. It was very good. The fatty pork was flavorful and helped give some life to slightly overcooked rice. I would order this one again.
- Popcorn Chicken rice plate: The plate was the same as Stew pork, but with small strips of lightly battered of fried chcken and sides of gluten, egg, and bok choy. This good. The chicken was moist and batter had just enough salt and pepper in it.
- Noodle Soup: Thick udon like noodles with minced pieces of fatty pork bacon in broth. The soup had sufficient seasoning, but it wasn't a WOW! factor to me. I'm sort of torn- it had enough toppings and warmth to make me want to order it, but not enough seasoning to my taste buds to want to order again. I guess if you're looking for something warm on a cold day, it's okay to try.
- Fish Meatball Soup: This would be a nice start to your meal, but I didn't like the broth. It tasted as if shrimp shells was the base to it because it had a rather metallic taste to it. The bowl contained 4 pieces of fish meatballs with some soup. The white meatballs encased a meat filling. I thought it was pork, but I'm not so sure after reading Ken's review. Would order again if the soup was a little different.
- Fried Tofu: I expected was the typical deep fried soft tofu, but I was surprised they served the stinky kind. I enjoyed this very much and wouldn't mind making my whole dinner out of it. I love stinky tofu!
Service: You order at the counter and find a table. The staff was very friendly (Kudos to the waitperson who kept speaking to me in Mandarin about the ordering system. Eventhough I didn't really know what you were saying, I dig what you were trying to say.) and delivery of your food was quick. Your condiments, tea/water, utensils, and take out containers can be obtained at the self-serve station.
Prices were very reasonable. Our bill for all of the above came to $29. The dishes satisfied my hunger and the portions were just right.
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Good, quick, ghetto fast food. Loved it. Went here for lunch and got some rice, poison sausage, and pork chops. It was a good value.
The place was a bit crowded though, but that's a good sign.
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Ay Chung is now called Ocean Harbor. There's a review of it on yelp as well.
Pretty much the same place with a different look.
Update - Came here a few more times since my last review...
LOVE the stewed pork over rice. Good stuff!
My friends like the satay beef over rice. The Satay beef mixture comes in a separate bowl in case you don't like it all over your white rice.
The portions seem a tad small for the price (although not very expensive @ $5-7 per dish), but maybe I'm spoiled by e-noodles's (neighbor and competitor to Ocean Harbor) large portions.
Water, utensils and napkins are all self serve.
When ordering, you choose your dish and pay before you sit down (find your own seat).
And they take VISA!! Something much appreciated and highly taboo in the bay area asian cafe scene... ;)
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As I looked at the "grand opening sign," the words "first to review" flashed through my head, but alas...
Wanting to try something new for lunch, I found my way over to the brand new Ocean Harbor Cafe in the middle of Milpitas Square. It's on one of the two islands (not in the actual shopping center) and thus enjoys the wonders of space.
This is a restaurant but the food is served in a kind of cafeteria style. You walk in and order at the counter and are given a number. You take a seat and the food finds you. I like that it's fast, efficient, and you don't have to leave a tip.
The prices are low. I think I might have had one of the most expensive things on the menu: the noodle hot pot for $6.75. Most dishes are at the $4 mark. So although it was called "hot pot," it was more of a hot plate. You know the type, things sizzle and steam as it's brought over to you. The entire room turns around to see who ordered the loud dish. Yes, hello, that was me. A star for entertainment and the noodles sizzled even louder as I poured my sauce on it. I was told that it was going to be a bit spicy, but it was more sweet than anything. It was ok. Not great, not bad. I wish I had had more veggies instead of the 2 small pieces of broccoli that coloured my plate.
All in all, I enjoyed it. Nothing special but not bad at all. The people were incredibly friendly although confused that someone non-Chinese would walk in. They spoke to me in Chinese and asked a white guy if he knew how to use chopsticks.
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*Update 3/18*
Well, I finally had the chance to make into Ocean Harbor, and as mentioned earlier, it is pretty much EXACTLY the same as the old Ay Chung. Obviously, all the trademarked menus are kaput, but the redesigned bill of fare (which looks like a 6 year old drew it with Crayon) has all the fixin's carried over from the previous tenant.
Don't ask me how they got away with this, but perhaps they had some type of agreement, since Ay Chung is no longer represented in the area. Decor has been slightly modified, but nothing to make you think you are in a totally different restaurant than you were in before.
Despite it's downward decline, Ay Chung did still have its fair share of avid followers. They will be happy to know that their favorite place is still indeed alive and kickin'. As for me... I think I'll pass the next time I'm in the area.
*Original 3/4*
The popular Taiwanese chain Ay Chung (http://www.yelp.com/bi...) is no more. Both of their Bay Area branches (the other was at the Pacific East Mall in Richmond) have now officially closed down.
Despite much fanfare at the grand opening, interest had waned over the past few months, and packed houses with lines out the door gave way to waiters and chefs swatting flies with the newspaper (a Chinese expression for it being dead), so it was only a matter of time.
My inside source tells me that this Ocean Harbor Cafe, which is still being renovated, will basically serve the same type of fare as the previous tenant. I was never much of a fan of Ay Chung, but you know I'll definitely be on hand when the new place finally opens up shop. Keep posted!
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Been here quite a few times with family. My parents, born in Taiwan, enjoy the noodles here, if that says anything.
-Noodle soups: Okay, they all taste the same, in thick and tangy soup. I don't find the noodles that great.
-Plate of vegetables: Only one type of vegetables per day--it's a surprise! Sadly, they are often very stingy with this dish...
-Sizzling black iron plates: Chicken, Beef, or Fish. This is my pick of dishes here, but definitely takes the longest to arrive. You get a sizzling platter of meat, an egg, vegetables, and noodles...and they pour a yummy sauce on it in front of you.
-Pancake thing: Eggs and oysters or shrimp and other stuff I can't identify. I had the shrimp version--it was good.
-Music Videos: Very entertaining, I love it when they play Jay Chou.
Service is nothing special...a lot of it is self-serve...napkins, utensils, take-out boxes...
Overall, okay place with okay prices.
This place reminds me of a downtown Chinatown food court.
You order, you get a number and a table, and eventually your food arrives. Not necessarily at the same time for each person. Whatever, at least they're not expecting tips.
If the 'grand opening banner' doesn't give it away that they're new, the just-got-the-job super attentive staff do.
I ordered the duck noodle soup with egg noodles. The duck meat and the large amount of lemon grass didn't go well together. Also the duck meat was more bone than meat. I don't mind bones, but there is a limit (I think Banana Leaf's chicken Laksa is very good in that department!).
I have to give below 3 stars, because I don't think I'd come back until I'm bored of the other options in the area.
And Eric, WTF is the deal with reviewing a place and giving 4 stars when you have not even eaten there yet!
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This place serves Taiwanese fast/street food. It's about ~90% of what it suppose to taste like in Taipei. So, if you do not like stinky tofu, or have not been exposed to the unique taste of Taiwanese food. Probably you should stay away from this one.
It is truly a place for the Taiwanese here that is craving a taste from home.
Although Ay-Chung is known for their noodles, I'd go back for the chou dofu (stinky tofu).. It's not quite the same as the ones in Taiwan, however it's pretty close (in flavor, and in smell)... Great for a midday snack, but not recommended for going out on dates.... Unless, that person is Chinese/Taiwanese, they'd understand.
It's cheap, however service is a bit slow and I wouldn't say that the food is that good. I tried a noodle soup dish and it was at best- just average.
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kawabunga dude. let me start this review by saying i respect the cuisine of all cultures and i'm passionate about trying new foods. having said that, after eating the stinky-tofu, i smelled poo on my upper lip and fingers for the next two days. oddly enough, i couldn't stop smelling my fingers (what does that say about me??). that stuff is just WRONG. i will say this in its defense, it didn't taste as bad as it smelled. aside from the poo smell, it pretty much tasted like fried tofu. the ginger, soy and green onion dipping sauce that accompanied the fried stank was rather nice but after a few dips it turned into a gingery, soy poo sauce. i also had a plate of some really tasty deep fried chicken parts with salt and white pepper. one of the parts had an intestine thingy attached to it, which i thought was really sweet of the staff to include (i knew i felt a connection with the waiter). i'm sure this place is awesome, esp if you're Taiwanese but I don't think it's my cup of tea.
Had quite a bit of food with a friend... this place is best if you bring a few and try a bunch of dishes.
The stinky tofu was good... piping hot when they brought it out. The beef noodle soup was flavorful and not heavy on the soy sauce like it is at places like A&J (Cupertino Village) and ASJ (off Brokaw). The portion was pretty good... a nice big bowl. We also had the minced pork over rice, or Lu Roh Fan in mandarin. It was really tasty. Try putting the chili sauce mixed with white pepper on it!
There was one not-so-great dish... it was their special, called a "Chicken Roll." It tasted kind of liver-ish... maybe you'll like it if that's your thing.
Other times I've been here, I've had their chicken cutlet (not the lightest cutlet, but still pretty tasty). For dessert, their house special shaved ice is huge and really fresh tasting.
Formerly known as "Ah Chung Noodles". As we walked in, the menu looked very similar to "Ah Chung" (Never really that good food anyway) I figured we'll give this place a try since it's a NEW name and all....BAD MISTAKE!
Ordered the:
* Beef Stew Noodle Soup ($6.75) - Broth was tasteless..more like regular MSG broth from Instant noodles. Some of the pieces of Beef was hard and rubbery.
* Pork Chop over rice ($6.50) Pork chop was almost PAPERTHIN!..What? Saving on $$$?? It also came with nasty small salad and 1/2 tea egg. The porkchop tasted decent...but not worth the price.
* Special Tofu ($5.75) - aka "Stinky Tofu". Not big portion and not much flavor. In Chinatown's Star Cafe (reknown for Stinky Tofu...could smell the foul over 1 block away!). This here..not much smell and flavor.
The service was pretty go, but most of the things are self-serve (Water, forks, napkins, sauces)
For the price I paid....better deal at E-Noodles right NEXT DOOR!
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Possibly the best oyster omelette (o wa jian) I've had in the Bay Area. Then again, I've only had it at about five other places. Milpitas is a bit of a drive from SF, but I'd go back just for those pancakes ... and the minced pork rice (lu ruo fan). Another good choice at Ay Chung, though I have had better elsewhere. The fishball that they promote I didn't find anything too special about, and the house special noodles had a bizarre taste which I wasn't too fond of, but to each his own.
Very cheap.
JONASAPPROVED!
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Cheap, fast Asian food. We ordered the creamy corn soup, popcorn chicken, and the fish filet rice. When the food came out, the fish and the chicken looked identical since they were both deep fried. The soup was better than expected. The chicken needed a lot more flavor, but great texture. I'd pass on the fish filet given the opportunity. Not bad for less than $20 for dinner though.
my guess is that this place won't be around long. had the squid satay stew egg noodle soup. crunchy squid, just blah, inexpensive and tastes like it. given the fierce restaurant competition in the two plazas, i think this cafeteria will have a hard time making a go of it (how many times has this place changed hands now?)
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I can't really use the same standards to judge Ocean Harbor as 3-star restaurants. In other fine establishments, I would look for their service, attentiveness, food and service, basically the overall dining experience.
At Ocean Harbor, you can throw all those considerations out the door. You have to line up to order, then you have to pick your own table, and get your own utensils and drinks. As spoiled as I am, how can I not be piping mad at this time? Well, the food is decent, not comparable to night markets in Taiwan, but when I crave some Taiwanese local food, this is enough. Having just returned from an orgy of food in Shih-Lin Night Market, Ocean Harbor cured my immediate craving. I got the minced pork on rice ($3.95), and Oyster Pancake ($4.95), which hit the spot for lunch.
"4-stars, that's high for your rating", one may ask. Yes, that is high, but for a restaurant to serve the right food at the right time (to cure my Taiwanese night market craving), a 4-star is a fair ranking.
I've just downgraded this place to three stars. Only their best in class Stinky Tofu keeps me coming back. It's the best that I've found so far, although nothing compares to ShiLin Night Market in Taipei. Their Taiwanese Sausage appetizer is also one of my favorites. Overall their noodle dishes are just okay. Unfortunately, their oyster pancake is absolutely terrible.
YELP PLEASE DO NOT MERGE AY CHUNG REVIEWS WITH OCEAN HARBOR CAFE...
THIS IS MY OLD AY CHUNG REVIEW. Updated to 3 stars.
It is arguable whether Ay Chung Noodles in Milpitas is a branch of the original Taipei location(s), although some will say no. Whoever is in charge of the USA branches has it hurting bad; the Richmond East Bay location shut down, as did the one in I believe Houston Texas.
The Milpitas Square as well as its sister mall complex, San Gabriel Square in Southern Cal, still have their locations, and both are as strong as ever business wise. These might be the only two surviving Ay Chung Noodle US locations. They use the same logo as the one in Taipei.
Ay Chung in Taipei only serves one thing, the Ay Chung Noodle which is a thin soggy noodle in a very thick broth (tons of flavor) with some bamboo shoot, and chitterlings (pork stomach casings, and the inside lining is cholestrol bomb, but tastes like bone marrow). A bit of an acquired taste but insanely delicious and hearty. Comes in two sizes, large or small. This makes for a great snack since it is hearty but light. Basically similar to oyster noodle in Taiwan, but Ay Chung skimps and does not include oysters (a shame).
This same signature dish is also available, at the Ay Chung in Milpitas, but they turn it into a fast food super selection place. Go in, have your order taken, pay at the cashier, take a placard # and go to your seat. Within moments the items you order arrive.
AC's signature noodle dish is a bit inconsistent in Milpitas, and I can understand why expats are so disappointed once they eat here, after having eaten at the one(s) in Taipei. A little less than US$3 here and they give you a big bowl. On a good day, this version is pretty good but I've had some mediocre bowls. Go to the section where you get chopsticks and bowls, and get yourself a container of self serve black vinegar and some white pepper. Put some in the AC noodle, and it will enhance the flavor 1000x. Try the spicy sauce if you dare but it is insane numbing hot. Use sparingly.
Oyster pancake here is the closest thing to the real deal, but sadly has been inconsistent of late, but way better than other Chinese restaurants in the Bay Area that try so hard to incorporate Taiwanese small eats/snacks but do a shit job at it. Tang si tsai, or boiled seasonal vegetables, is a nice dish here especially if they use taiwan bai tsai (taiwan long leaf veg that's pale green). They season it with good broth and other things. Plus you need your veggies in your diet!
This place also has a variety of small eats, snacks. Beef noodle soup receipe here has improved A LOT. Decent broth, stock noodles, but more importantly cross cut flank meat now! Very true Taiwanese style. Also go for the rou gan (meat stew) which can be either done with pork, fish, or squid. The bits of meat they use is encased with fish paste, then served in a daikon broth thickened with some corn starch. Also very tasty with noodles or dong fun (bean thread noodles).
The best drink here is Alishan Oolong tea. This is a mild but very soothing and tasty flavor of ooolong that you won't find anywhere else. Ten Ren, if they have it, will cost a lot. This is so different from the ones from canned Japanese supermarkets, dim sum/seafood restaurants, or places that serve a decent quality oolong. Sadly this tea is not always tasty because they make a huge vat of it and sometimes dilute it. It is nonetheless a great simple drink to go with the meals.
They have some specials on their menu too. Stinky tofu apparently is good, lots of expats order this. They also have guan dong ju (Taiwanese style Japanese Oden) which is basically Taiwanese style tien pu la (tempura) in daikon broth, or fishcake based things. Their muo shu (mochi) is not to be missed. Supposed made in house and tastes very authentic. Choose between hot peanut or sesame sauce. The peanut sauce I tried was grounded in house, smoother than peanut butter, intense flavor. Mochi was a good portion, couldn't finish it though.
Dou gan, or strips of dried marinated tofu, is very nice and goes well with the thick soy sauce paste. The other good lou wei (marinated snack) is hai dai or kelp. Both these are way better than the versions offered at Won Stew House (the one in the same complex sucks so bad it is not even worth walking by).
There's tons of variety here, maybe not everything here are hits, but certainly the closest thing you can get to a taste of Taiwanese street food and common fare than anywhere else in the Bay Area (who are doing piss poor jobs at coming close). While Ay Chung Miliptas is certainly no Ay Chung Taipei or any night market there, it is all we have that's remotely decent (or half decent if you're a picky person like me!)
Edit: Ocean Harbor Cafe sports a very similar menu, but the Alishan tea here was rather watered down.
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I think it is still very up for debate whether or not this place is associated with the original Taiwan location. The food definitely doesn't taste the same, but the ingredients are diff... I don't think it'd be profitable to import EVERYTHING over from there. (Pork here and pork in Taiwan taste different.) I just take this place with a grain of salt, and am happily satisfied with the food. I usually order the Satay Squid Vermicelli and the Oyster Pancake. MMmmmm oysters! I love how they use little oysters that are sweet and succulent. It can be a little of a hit or miss. Last time they used chinese mustard as the vegetable on the bottom and the entire dish had a bitter taste.
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I'm not sure if I've been to the "original" Ay Chung in Taiwan, so I'm not going to compare this one to another. Nor am I going to compare the food here to the food you'd find in Taiwan. Yes, they maybe the same food, and yes they may not taste "exactly the same", but you can't go and compare an italian restaurant here to one in venice either. Like another reviewer said, somethings just get "lost in translation." I think that's the case with most "ethnic" food.
So back to this place. Located in the Milpitas Square (the 99 Ranch plaza off McCarthy Ranch), it serves most of the food that you could find in Taiwan. Seeing how I "cheated" my way through Chinese School, I can barely read (much less write) in Chinese. Luckily, I've eaten enough Taiwanese food (and came with my parents the first time) to know what to eat.
All the dishes that I remember eating were good, from the traditional "random internal cow/pig parts" to the various noodles and rice dishes ordered. I can't say I was particularly disappointed in any of them. I do remember the cold noodle, sticky rice, and the noodle in "thick soup", which were all tasty.
I would definitely come back again. If you've never had Taiwanese food and/or don't know how to read Chinese, it's wise to invite someone that possesses either/both of the aforementioned characteristics, as the pictures and english translations don't always accurately convey what you're ordering.
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Still one of the few places around that serves Taiwanese food that's almost as good as being there. Of course it still doesn't compare to actually being in Taiwan, but it does the trick.
A pretty extensive menu with a lot of good variety. I'm always craving some of their soup or stews with noodles or the fried pork chop. Their sizzling steak on a skillet is pretty good too.
This particular location is still going strong, and is fairly larger than other that are still open and those that shut down. They keep it fairly clean and the service is pretty prompt.
They get a slight ding for raising their prices in the past year. I can't help it, I'm Chinese too.
good is good. I haven't eaten the noodles in Taiwan so have no point of comparison, but good is good.
I asked the cashier what the number one seller is: beef noodle soup
ordered myself up some straightaway.
It was yummy. Hardier stew meat that had been cooked through until the gristly parts had melted into the meat which was quite tender. Not high-brow, but good. And with some pickled vegetables to accompany it.
I'm just sad that I left my leftovers in the car overnight and now it is no good. :(
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Bargain price, good Taiwanese food, what more are you looking for?
It is sad that the Richmond store had closed. Need to drive to Milpitas.
Every time must order Ay-Chung Noodles and osyter pancake.
Cheap & tasty.
Ay-Chung Noodles has pork intestines in it. If you do not eat organs, order the squid noodles or meatball noodles.
Parking is very hard to find in this mall during weekend lunch, be prepare to chase for parking.........
If I even tried to pretend my family was in town to visit me, I would be lying to myself. Crazytimes. My family's in town for less than a week and suddenly my Asian restaurant review count explodes. They can see me whenever. But they've been suffering over in Jersey, and needed their motherland food fix.
So we crammed as much Asian food as we could over the trip. Hell, Ay-Chung Noodles was only stop 1 of 2 for the night. (You think I'm kidding. Hah). Oh, little cricket, you have much to learn about the art of Chinese food gluttony.
We went for the standard Taiwan street fare: beef noodle soup, braised duck, salt and pepper squid, and lu rou fan (minced pork over rice). The lu rou fan had lots of fatty chunks in it (meaning it was authentic), but was tasty. Mmhmmm. Fat. Beef noodle soup was decent - flavored well and the noodles were delicious.
But the real stars were the duck and the salt-and-pepper squid. Yummers. Duck was nicely marinated and perfectly soft, not mushy or chewy). The squid was crispy and not greasy, perfect to snack on.
The waiters were totally rockin' the Asian nerdy-boy look. (For those who shun their fobulousness, it's the typical short spiked hair and nerdy boy glasses). You knew they were authentic.
Overall a decent experience. Don't know if I would cruise over here on a regular basis, though. Definitely would fit the bill as a cheap tasty snack joint for me.
I guess maybe I am not used to Taiwanese thick soup noodle. The soup here is so thick that the temperature stays hot for a long time. I think that is what the soup/noodle is supposed to be but I am not just too used to it. I still prefer my Cantonese noodle (wonton noodle) style better. Overall, I was able to finish my thick noodle soup and made it back to work in one piece.
Two orders of pork chops over rice with a side of veggies set my girlfriend and I back about 11 bucks - not bad. I was hungry as shit after my nail and eyelash treatment, so I scarfed everything down like I was on death row........ but in retrospect, I think the quality of this food was really just average. It tasted like two-day-old leftovers reheated over cold rice and while it did fill me up, I seriously doubt I'd ever find myself craving this place again.
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I'm a Taiwanese oyster pancake (oh ah jen) JUNKIE... and the Ay-Chung oyster pancakes were so authentic I nearly cried. Other reviewers here seem disappointed that it's not an exact replica of the Taipei experience... I don't care, because that's not what I expect.
[edit] I'm taking them down to 4 stars because after going a few more times, I've realized that they're not as consistent as I'd like. They use whatever vegetable they have for the oyster pancakes, for example, instead of sticking to the right ones every time.