Shinbala Cafe
- Hours:
Mon, Wed-Sun 11:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m. - Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: No
- Parking: Private Lot
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
28 Reviews for Shinbala Cafe
Only my brother and I love this place, the rest of the chinese family is only "ehh.. so-so" about it. However, I'm always looking for a good pai-gu fan (pork chop/chick chop/ meat chop lunch box) and this places makes some pretty yummy ones. Plus, as one of their side dishes that comes with the lunch box, they have tomato eggs.. i think every chinese kid loves tomato eggs, no? its like soul food. mmm.
I think it actually might be a bit pricey . . . like seven dollars instead of five for a lunch box but still, yum. The downside is its cash only. boo!!
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A Taiwanese restaurant that did not disappoint. The first thing you notice on the menu is that Sinbala has a great selection of Taiwanese sausage combinations, and I opted for the Sausage with Basil. A small portion, which is normal-sized portion in Asia, and allows you sample other dishes. Very good. Of course I could not resist their Stinky Tofu, and they are now my favorite Stinky Tofu place in the Bay Area. Excellent. There were, however, more pleasures to come.
In their Taiwanese Skillet selections, I went with what they refer to as the German Style Pork leg. It's basically crispy on the outside and tender as can be on the inside...Virtually a Peking duck-style Pork leg. Fantastic. Added one more dish for good measure...Seafood Fried Rice. Very light with excellent flavor. I can not tell you how nice it was to have every dish exceed expectations. Also, I could not resit their shaved-ice desert to end the evening. I love this little Taiwanese restaurant.
Came only for the shaved ice so no idea about the food though the stinky tofu did waft throughout the restaurant and even out the door. So for $4.60 you choose FIVE toppings! I had taro (which was the smoothest yummiest taro topping I've had in a long time), red bean, coconut jelly, lychee (eh - skip this canned stuff), and condensed milk (which strangely counts as a topping). All this goodness sits at the bottom of the plate on which a mound of ice forms an avalanche. Then it is further doused with liquid brown sugar (just like in Taiwan) and the sweetened condensed milk.
Good stuff. Definitely big enough to share or if you're a bottomless pit like me, you'll devour it yourself. To be fair I've had better shaved ice but this was traditional stuff and the nostalgia gets some credit.
Will have to come back for the Taiwanese sausages (which ShinBala is known for) and the Taiwanese meatball and Beef Noodle Soup. Hmm mmm mmm.
There was so much excitement when word of the successful and great Southern California bomb ass Taiwanese sausage and small eats eatery, Sinbala Cafe
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
was going to open a Northern California location in Cupertino.
The first two visits circa 2004 were decent. Not bad, but definitely not the same as Sinbala.
As time went by, quality took a real serious nosedive. Unfortunately, just like the Ten Ren Tea Station Cafes in Newark and Fremont (which are branches of the Southern California Ten Ren Cafes in San Gabriel on Valley), something must have got lost along the way 500 miles up, and we only got half the quality up here. The worse part is that it's not even anywhere close.
Shinbala's signature item the Taiwanese sausage, is actually (or supposedly) made in house at the Arcadia location, Sinbala. You can buy packages of these to go (frozen) and cook at home at Shin and Sin bala. I don't know what it is but even the same sausage tastes like night versus day 500 miles apart, with the southern sausage being way way way better. The northern sausage is dry and overly marinated/salted up here, and maybe add that to the fact that all sausages are shipped up from the south, and probably the frozen to go versions, plus cooking techniques, just doesn't fly well in the end.
For a Taiwanese style cafe, this place does a very mediocre to forgettable rendition of Taiwanese style beef noodle soup. For one thing it's beef brisket cut, and I'd rather eat that at a Cantonese restaurant with egg noodles instead.
The standard Taiwanese "bento" style rice plate combos like fried pork chops (pai gu) is also quite forgettable.
Tea drinks? Oh man... overly sweetened average quality tasting tea. This would not fly in Southern Cal or even in Taiwan (where they proudly use their own tea and drink).
What's even more ironic is that service (at least in memory) is also about half that of Sinbala. They forgot my drink one time, and another visit it took a while to get the bill. Was my Mandarin that bad? I know I have an accent.....WTF...
They should change their name to Shizzbala to match the quality and service.
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If you're a fan of green tea (maccha) or red bean, I highly recommend their red bean maccha drink. My main (and only) complaint about this drink is that how it turns out can be highly dependent on who's behind the counter. If you don't like things super sweet, err on the side of asking for it to be made less sweet.
I've only eaten here a few times: Their food is good, but not spectacular, and their decor has always been a bit on the tick-tack side.
Good selection for Taiwanese food, but not everything is that good. The Shinbala (Sinbala) in Arcadia is much better.
I recommend: stinky tofu (if you like it), sausage fried rice, sausage over rice, and taro ice slush.
Not great, but good for specific cravings.
Big disappointment!
Although the service and the menu sections was okay..... but the food was cold, and the price is really expensive.
I would try to go back only for their beverage and desserts, but I probably won't go there for lunch or dinner unless I have no other choice.
I think I was disappointed with the food overall at this restaurant, or do I just not like Taiwanese food? Finally tried the infamous 'stinky tofu', and yes it was stinky, but in taste it just tasted like regular fried tofu with a stinky aftertaste. Not terrible but if it stunk like that, I'd rather it had an outstanding flavor to make up for it's aroma.
I had a traditional mince meat noodles with vermicelli and it tasted ok, it was almost bland and reminded me very much of the Vietnamese 'Hu Tieu' but with less flavor. I tried some of Minh's pork stew soup, it was not too bad but again a little bland. The broth was thickened by some kind of starch and had what looked like bonito flakes floating in it. I'm not sure how it was stewed because the meat wasn't stewed. We also ordered the oyster pancake to share and that was not too bad, more like an egg omlet with bean sprout and oysters in it.
Verdict: I'll go back again if someone is taking me, paying and ordering for me :).
ok- this is taiwanese food- but is it good?? hmnnn depends- Good in cupertino- since no competition exists but in LA, I would say its average. I have ordered food that was spoiled so I did tell management to clean-up the meatballs.
You can't even compare to taiwan or monterey park- but if you are in the bay area - then this is an acceptable place to go.
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I am very disappointed with this place. This is a copy of the original Sinbala in LA which is really good, but this place does not compare. The menu is pretty much the same as the LA one but the quality and quantity is lacking substantially. The flavoring and presentation is not done right. The pork chop rice plate tastes like something a Mexican Chinese restaurant would cook up. The sausages are okay. I got takeout as well which was really lacking... I Guess this place is ok for a quick cheap eat
I am not Taiwanese, so I may not know how to rate Taiwanese cuisine. So I just go by my first impression.
My kids covered their nose when they walked in. I didn't smell anything particular strong, but there was indeed some kind of smell. When I saw stinky tofu on the menu, I understood my kids' reaction. Luckily no one ordered stinky tofu during our stay, but the smell that clung in the air from the day before was strong enough for my kids to react.
We ordered their famous sausage, a wonton soup, a beef noodle, a squid noodle in gravy, and a scallion pancake.
They gave us a small plate of chopped up pickle mixed with red hot chili pepper which I put in the noodles. It was quite interesting condiment if you like spicy hot stuff. The beef was too fatty, not good quality cut of beef. The wonton was nothing compared to Hong Kong style wonton. The squid noodle was okay to me, but my kids didn't like it. Scallion pancake is one of my kids' favorite food, but the pancakes here were so terrible that my kids refused to finish it after one bite. The pancake was literally soaked with grease. I picked up a piece and gave it a pinch, oil dripped off that thing. It may be good fuel for a bio-diesel car, but not good for human consumption.
They have a long list in the sausage section of the menu. I asked the waitress what were the differences between those items. She said they were basically all the same sausage, but they were served with various combo on the plate. I asked her to just give us the most popular one without asking what it was. It turned out that it was slices of sausages mixed with slices of raw garlic. I like food cooked with garlic, but I cannot eat garlic raw. We ended up picking the sausage slices out of the mixture. The sausage has the texture of Chinese sausage but has the taste of Cantonese Char Siu (BBQ Pork). Though the sausage was their most famous appetizers and they tasted okay, I didn't find it very special
We went there at around a quarter to noon, we were the first customer. By the time we left after 30 minutes, the restaurant was full. It was not a particular hot day, but I was all sweaty when I came out. The place was not well ventilated nor air conditioned, it got very hot when it was filled up with people.
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I've come here countless times these few years with my friends, from celebrating college acceptances to church mafia games, and every time I have left pretty satisfied. From great drinks like Papaya milk and Strawberry milk, to really good appetizers like the Scallion Pancakes (though the quality has slightly declined on these), to the beef noodle soup, my favorite Taiwanese dish, this restaurant is pretty good for the price. My one complaint with this place is that it's kind of dirty, like the tablecloths/ground is a little sticky sometime, and the tea is crappy. Besides that, the food is good (o yeah the shaved ice is one of the best I've had).
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I give a three-star just for the brown sugar shaved ice. Everything else here just not that great. I miss the one in LA!
holy mother of all things delicious... this place serves REAL heaping mounds of powder-fresh, melt in your mouth shaved ice--- NOT crushed ice (this is important- a distinction very clearly made to all shaved ice virgins in our party).
We had two variations:
1. Red been, green bean, taro, grass jelly, condensed milk
2. lychee, coconut jelly, red bean, boba, condensed milk
Variation #1 is a winner. DO NOT leave out the condensed milk! It is the glue that will make your icy mound a heaven for your hot summer tastebuds. The taro was perfect (it was soft, almost like a paste) though some would have preferred the chunkier kind.
5 stars even without trying the hot food (as tasty as it looked).
Warning: this place is pretty authentic taiwanese, meaning.. you will get the stinky tofu smell when you first walk in. Are you afraid of stinky tofu? Dont be a weenie.
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I've come here numerous time in the past year. Although can never compare to the awesome food in Taiwan, most food are close to authentic. My friends like their sausage fried rice and smelly tofu. I find their squid noodles are quite good. Although personally I like the toppings at Tapioca Express much more, I always get a shave ice after dinner. The portion is huge for the price.
I came here to eat some KOBE beef.
It was good beef however they put it on a sizzling plate which charded the egg and the noodles. If the plate was a bit cooler it would be perfect!
5 stars for delicious beef.
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We've been to this place a few times and we've enjoy everything we've tried so far. Most Taiwanese dishes are authentic and portions are fairly generous for the price. As other users have pointed out, you'll definitely find better Taiwanese food in LA and (of course) Taiwan. But for if you have a craving for Taiwanese dishes or if you'd like to try Taiwanese cuisine without going to LA or Taiwan, this place should satisfied most folks (with the exception of those with very picky taste buds).
This place is hot. I found this place last summer during my internship; after I arrived at bay area for the full-time offer, boom, I am back to the same restaurant.
I really enjoy the Taiwanese style food. Smelly tofu is fine; the fried oyster is my favorite!
Famous for its sausages, they also have great pork chop rice, sausage fried rice, fried noodles, and a bunch of other yummy Taiwanese fare.
Their slush (my fav is the almond milk slush) are super yummy too and is a great drink + dessert.
Everything is priced well so that's another plus. The only thing is it is like every other inespensive Asian place in Cupertino ~ they only take CASH, so bring some and go!
Hot and smelly inside.The food is good, the waitresses are just okay. seems like the chef are slow..especially if you order sizzling skillet...the sausage is nothing special, but taste better than the one you buy in the supermarket. Anyways....i like to order and take out if choose this restaurant.
One word 'Unhygenic', I prefer their other location in Monrovia @ Southern California... The sausage rice is the only dish I order to-go if I ran out of ideas of where to eat..
Taiwanese food inevitably makes me homesick for the motherland, even though Shinbala's quality is rather hit or miss. Have yet to try their stinky tofu and tsoa bing... and their beef noodle soup sucks big time. The Taiwanese sausage, which is supposed to be their claim to fame, are a little too salty. Their rice plates (pork chop and "fish chop") and sizzling plates are probably the only redeeming dishes. The atmosphere is something that I appreciate, though - Chinese and Japanese magazines abound, mixed in with the Mandopop playing on the speakers. Cash only, which is another strike since I don't like to carry around much cash.
Mm. Stinky tofu.
Have you ever driven around in the country and gotten that smell of cow? Stinky tofu smells exactly like that.
Ever wonder what that smell would taste like? It probably tastes like stinky tofu... at least when it's made well.
And when it's made well, it's yummy! So if you're up for it, check it out!
For the less adventurous, Shinbala has chinese sausage with a variety of sauces: fresh garlic, wasabi, and other strange creations. They also have a pretty good pork chop rice. It doesn't come with my favorite side dishes, but the pork chop itself is fried very well.
They shoot for authentic Taiwanese food here. Most of the food is pretty good, but the best is the stinky tofu and the sweet Taiwanese style sausages.
You can ask to buy the sausages in packs and take them home to grill instead of paying like, $1.50 per sausage in the restaurant.
One of my favourite restaurants in San Jose. I'm not crazy about the skinky tofu myself, but the Taiwanese food is pretty authentic. I like the sausages, very tasty.
Yeah okay. I went here a couple of times..mmkay? Mmkay so they have good fried tofu..My grandpa..mmkay..likes their fried pork && rice..mmkay? Mmkay so out of all the times we went there one was terrible...mmkay everything else was good. Mmkay thank you.
i like this place a lot! its clean, cheap, and great food! i like their sausage fried rice here + their wonton soup + the chicken steak combo! (one of those grilled dishes over the hot pans...whatever they are called). get it with the black pepper sauce... its soooo good! :)
Their ice plate is pretty decent. For under $5, you can get a large plate of ice with 5 (?) items to share with your friends. Don't attempt to finish the whole plate by yourself, you will get sick. I have also been to this restaurant for dinner, but I was quite disappointed. I heard good things about this restaurant from other people, so I took several Japanese friends to go there, showing them a piece of Taiwan. However, the dishes were uninspiring; the beef noodle was clearly overcooked; the noodles were soggy, and the soup just luke warm. What's worse, we were seated at the corner in a booth, and there were ants everywhere. We didn't realize initially, but after sitting there for a while, we discovered ants crawling on our table and all over our hands. The service was attentive, but I don't think I will ever go back again because of this horrible experience. I sincerely hope it is an isolated incident, but this experience has made me lose my reputation with my Japanese friends and the food was definitely a disappointment.
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