China Bee

I’ve came here on multiple occasions, and each time, the flavor of the dishes i ordered brought me back home! Highly recommend the beef noodle soup. It’s nice that I don’t have to drive to Cupertino or Milpitas to get a good bowl of this!

Food is good, very consistent. We usually order the onion noodle, spicy tendon noodle soup, crispy fried tofu, minced pork w/​rice, and spicy wontons. Service is a hit or miss. So why the 3 stars? A couple times I’ve been here, their utensils (chopsticks, spoons, tea cups) have a very, very strong smell of chlorine bleach. A big turn off.

Oh my gosh, we are so happy to have found another hidden gem thanks to Unilocalers!
For those of you out there who this is important you will know exactly what I mean. This place has hands down the best Taiwanese dishes around. Their flavor is dead on the authentic flavor that you crave from back home. Their beef noodle and beef tendon soup is dead on perfect, cho dofu wonderfully perfect, roa zhao fun superb, fun twain and do wah just like Taipei.
Prices are so reasonable as well. For those that matter this a true go to spot.

This is a pretty authentic Taiwanesse restaurant. Food can be on and off, but overall it’s decent and legit. There are some items on the menu that you should avoid and go elsewhere, but there are some items that stand out.
My favorite:
— Pork chop rice
— Beef noddle soup
— Onion pancake
Avoid:
— Shanghai chow mein (not worth the price plain)
— XLB (terrible)
Other than that customer service is decent and food does come out quick.

I was craving dumplings one evening recently and was intrigued by this place, which I’ve walked by a bunch of times but never tried. I ordered the wontons in chili oil and the beef tendon spicy noodle soup with bok choy. The wontons were excellent — chili oil had a great spicy flavor. The soup was also good, with perfectly chewy noodles. The tendon was also delicious. One caveat: I wish there was more bok choy in the soup.
Service was friendly. The odor of stinky tofu is strong in this place but you’ll get used to it. By the time I left I barely noticed it.
I would like to come back to try more of their Taiwanese specialties.

So this year, I will hit my 6-​year mark as a Unilocal user, very much a self-​proclaimed veteran. So you’d think I would know what I was doing.
Showed up on a Wednesday, totally psyched to eat some sticky rice rolls and enjoy a bowl of fresh soy milk. In case you haven’t seen it in other reviews or the pictures yet, these items are only served on the weekend! *pat on the back* Way to know how to look up places on Unilocal.
Needless to say, my friend and I were pretty (I had an inkling it was «tremendously» for my friend, but I guess she likes me enough to be a good sport about it) disappointed. We were hungry and had just driven up from San Jose just to try this place, so we went with the good ol’ Unilocal app photo swipe to pick out our second choices instead of packing up to go.
We shared the mustard greens and pork fried rice and an order of the chili oil wontons.
The wonton wrap was oh-​so thin and smooth. The flavor was rich and not salty at all. The fried rice was oily, but that is to be expected. Flavor wise… WHAT A GREAT COMBO. Rice grains cooked to perfection.
Finally, service was very prompt. And the waitress who helped us took my poorly hidden shock completely in stride to help us get back on track with ordering menu items that were actually available.
Definitely coming back… um…also because I really need to try the stick rice and soy. How else can I confirm the 5^th star?

Great Hole in the Wall with Authentic Delicious Food
The food here is just like what you would expect from china town, but it’s located in San Mateo. I am a huge fan of Taiwanese food, and this place definitely delivers.
I ordered the beef noodle soup, dumplings in chili oil, and fried pork chop rice.
The beef noodle soup was refreshing had a rich beef flavor, the dumplings in chili oil was pretty standard and delicious, and the Pork Chop was crispy and full of that good ol asian flavor.
The quality is consistent and is definitely a staple for those looking for delicious Taiwanese food.

This is my favorite Taiwanese restaurant in all of California, and undeniably worth every minute of my 40 minute car ride from SF! Trust me I’m credible; I spent 6+ months eating up all the best foods in Taiwan, so I know at least a thing or two about good Taiwanese food!
Top 5 recommendations in order of greatness:
1. Salty Sticky Rice Roll (xian fan tuan) — *Only available during weekend brunch* Oh my goodness… their fan tuan reminds me of all those late night runs to Yong He after a long night of going out in Taipei. I honestly have never had such a perfectly made fan tuan outside of Taiwan, until I had China Bee’s. It has a thin layer of perfectly cooked sticky rice, filled with a super crunchy you tiao (Chinese fried donut) and a heaping of extremely satisfying rou sung (pork floss). I couldn’t control myself and devoured it in minutes without noticing the other ingredients in it, but it was perfection! Even more perfect when enjoyed simultaneously with their warm, sweet soy milk (:
2. Basil Chicken /​3 Cup Chicken (san bei ji) — Extremely fragrant and thoroughly marinated chicken with a good amount of basil and garlic. Fell in love with the chicken at first bite, you will too!
3. Wontons with Chili Oil (hong you chao shou) — Love love love their flavorful and bite-​sized wontons! Their chili oil is key, truly on par with local Taiwan standards
4. Minced Pork & Egg with Rice (lu rou fan) — This is my all-​time favorite Taiwanese dish, and I’m so happy that China Bee makes it exactly the way I like it, with all lean meat and a tea-​marinated egg. However, if you enjoy eating fatty meat, this may not be the lu rou fan for you!
5. Spicy Beef Noodle Soup — Rich broth, perfect kick of spiciness, chewy noodles, and overall satisfying to the tummy. Mmmm
You pretty much can’t go wrong with any of the items on their menu, but I’d recommend skipping out on the Potstickers and Green Onion Pancake (cong you bing); I’ve had better!
Enjoy (:

The food was quite greasy here! We got the XLB to share as well as the beef noodle soup, green onion pancake, pickled cucumber. The flavors were alright, nothing to really brag about. Everything tasted quite greasy though, eeek…
The prices weren’t too expensive, typical San Mateo prices for Chinese food. Horrible parking though! Darn you San Mateo!!!
Will I be back? Maybe… to try their brunch! =]

The Chinese brunch here is legit! No wonder it’s a popular spot here on weekend mornings.
Soy milk — tastes fresh and not from the carton
Sticky rice (savory) — rice cooked perfectly with all the crunch and flavor you need inside
Beef noodle soup — the noodles are «al dente» and just the right amount of chew, beef and soup have a nice flavor
Last but not least, the XLB are a must! The wrap is not as thin as how I liked (but not a deal breaker), and the meat inside is super juicy.

tldr; Stinky tofu here is the bomb! The rest of the food is meh. Come here for some light eats and if you’re looking to get a bit of variety as their plates are quite small. Service is quick and friendly enough.
Stinky tofu (⁴⁄₅): NOT FOR EVERYONE. For real stinky tofu connoisseurs it’s not stinky enough! But the fried texture is great and the the inside has the lovely spongey texture that all stinky tofu eaters are used to. This dish is a bit of an acquired taste if you’ve never had so I urge you to give it a second or third chance. The smell as one of my friends described is similar to fecal matter (not appealing I know). If you can ignore the smell and just savor the taste in the sweet soy sauce broth then you’re in for a treat! It comes with the traditional pickled cabbage and carrots but I wish they offered more of it as it’s a real palate cleanser.
Xiao long bao (shanghai soup dumplings) (²⁄₅): NOT RECOMMENDED. It’s not a Taiwan dish so I guess I shouldn’t have expected much out of it, but it was still disappointing! :(I’m a Shanghai girl so I love these little delicacies but everything about this dish was wrong. The skin was too thick. The pork wasn’t fresh. There was no soup. It wasn’t savory enough or aromatic enough. The only thing they did right was get the ginger infused black vinegar dipping sauce.
Mapo tofu (³⁄₅): Not a bad choice but don’t expect that punch of peppercorn that you’re used to from the Szechuan mapo tofu. It’s flavored well and is cooked in a nice viscous sauce which holds to the tofu as you’re eating it. Goes excellently with white rice.
Mustard greens with soy beans and tofu skin (²⁄₅): This was bad. It was way too bland and the vegetable combination just didn’t go well together. This may be my lack of knowledge of Taiwan food but I did not like this dish. There were too many soybeans and only 5 pieces of tofu skin (which was the only thing I liked).
White rice (⁴⁄₅): A bit too hard for my taste and I actually like hard rice so that was a surprise. But overall well-​done (and rice can be poorly done)

China Bee is a super popular Taiwanese spot serving classic Taiwanese breakfast items in a cozy atmosphere. Service is fast and friendly and the menu encompasses every item that you might want if you crave this type of cuisine.
The one thing that stands out though is the stinky tofu. It announces its presence the moment you step in the establishment as you wait in line and it will permeate the air your entire meal. Of course, that’s why fans flock to this place, but it’s not for the weak or sensitive.
The main ordering menu that you write on with a pencil is paper and in Chinese only, but there is a hardcover menu that corresponds to all the right items in English if you’re language challenged. Spicy dishes and house specials are all denoted on the menu. Prices are very reasonable and portion sizes are generous. Our order:
Sweet Soybean Milk — standard fare. Fairly unsweetened so had to add sugar to taste. Large and plentiful to share with one order.
Salty Soybean Milk — $ 3.95. I’ve always liked salty soybean milk and the addition of vinegar and soy sauce isn’t heavy handed. Several pieces of Chinese donut inside, but order another on the side.
Chinese Donut — $ 2.50. Nice rendition and freshly fried. I didn’t smell any vinegar aroma that is a problem with those made from package mixes, but again the stinky tofu aroma may have distracted me.
Xiao Long Bao — $ 5.95. Fairly typical and the usual problems of too thick skin, minimal soup, and small pork dumplings. Not too dissimilar to my versions that I make from frozen. I’d skip this.
Spicy Beef Tendon Noodle Soup — $ 6.95. A House Special. Good. Quite spicy, but the noodles are nice and chewy and the tendon are very tender. The one disappointment is that you choose between either the Spicy Beef or Beef Tendon versions and don’t get both. Usually the beef tendon version includes a slice or two of the beef but not here.
Wontons in Chili Sauce — $ 5.95. House Special. Delicate won tons in a nice chili sauce. If you’re a fan of this dish, it’s pretty good here.
Minced Pork and Egg with Rice — $ 6.95. House Special. Standard rendition with lots of minced ground pork, some pickled vegetable and a nice soy egg.
Stinky Tofu — $ 6.95. House Special. The main event! It’s solid. I’d say the aroma is more overwhelming than the flavor and that it could have used more sauce than included. The pickled vegetables are a nice cooling element to the freshly fried tofu.
Shanghai style Pan Noodles — $ 6.95. House Special. Very large portion of pan fried thicker noodles with bits of pork and bok choy. The flavor isn’t anything extraordinary and the pork isn’t the best, but it’s filling.
Passion Fruit Grass Jelly — $ 2.50. They serve a variety of cold drinks and it’s a nice contrast to the fried foods. This passion fruit jelly was actually stronger and more flavored than I expected. Not bad.
Overall, we had a filling and plentiful meal at China Bee. The place was completely packed and the dishes came out very quickly with plentiful leftovers. We tried almost all the classics and while it’s nice to have them all, I would say none were very standout. Even the noted stinky tofu was bigger in smell than taste. I personally like Joy in Foster City more for this type of cuisine as the flavors are bolder and having just gone to SoCal, obviously had stronger flavors there as well (Huge Tree Pastry). China Bee is a good local choice though and we appreciated the friendly service and the quick food. A good value.
China Bee accepts credit cards, but not American Express.

Solid menu, English & Chinese menus available. Surprised myself being able to read the Chinese menu with my sister verifying with the exact English menu.
The staff is very sweet and hard-​working. They team up well together non-​stop. They opened promptly at 1030 on Sat. Glad we were there early because it filled up fast and soon after a waiting list.
We didn’t order it but they had the best and ginormous Cha Leung I have ever seen! The congee doesn’t look comparable to Cooking Papa but not there to eat congee!

Decent Taiwanese place!
Dried fish fried rice — ⁸⁄₁₀ — this is good! Get this, especially if you like salt cod fried rice. My boyfriend devoured the entire dish and he wasn’t even that hungry.
Beef noodle soup — ⁷⁄₁₀. Pretty decent. Good if you’re craving it. Not as good as Grand Harbor in Fremont.
Stinky tofu — ⁶⁄₁₀ — pretty stinky, in a good way
House cucumbers — ⁴⁄₁₀ — I always get cucumbers at a Taiwanese place and they’re generally good because they’re easy to make. This was just ok, wouldn’t get again.
Overall I would come back and try the other dishes!

BTW I love how this place is called «China Bee» when it serves Taiwanese food lol.
This place has a nice Taiwanese home-​y feel to it. Reminds me a bit of when I’m at my grandma’s place back in Taipei. Service was very quick!
Pig ears ⁷⁄₁₀ — It wasn’t too salty or oily, probably one of the healthier versions of this dish I’ve ever had. Try it if you’ve never had it before, it’s delicious!
Spicy beef noodle soup ⁶⁄₁₀ — For the price, it was decent, but they were very stingy with the bok choy (only gave one!). The soup wasn’t spicy and the overall dish wasn’t that great. Would not recommend getting this here.
3 cup chicken ⁷⁄₁₀ — This was pretty oily and it was a hefty portion but it tasted like your standard basil chicken.
Unfortunately it seems like they put MASSIVE amounts of MSG in their food. My friend and I were downing cups of water an hour later.
Decent and cheap Taiwanese food with fast service, but not worth the drive from the south bay. I personally will not be coming back.

I was really excited to try China Bee, since I really haven’t had good Taiwanese food in a while. The menu was promising. They even serve stinky tofu, which my S.O. firmly forbade me from ordering. Service was good. Unfortunately, none of dishes really knocked it out of the park.
* Beef noodle soup
Good broth and tasty noodles, but the beef was super stringy and tough. I haven’t had better at restaurants in the area though.
* Ground pork over rice
Not bad.
* Mustard green and pork noodle soup
A little too much mustard green but overall pretty good.
* Silky fish and tofu
Good flavors. The fish was not tender enough. I’ve had better versions of this dish at several Sichuan restaurants.
* Egg pancake
I was excited to see this Taiwanese breakfast dish on the dinner menu, but it was bit dry. Some sauce might have helped.
* Xiao long bao
Meh… I’m picky about xiao long bao though.
All of the above came out to under $ 60 before tip and fed 4 people.

Yum yum! Food here is authentic, delicious, and not too expensive. Long lines on a Saturday at lunch, but well worth the wait!
The xiao long bao dumpling was excellent. I absolutely loved the minced pork rice which was fragrant and generous in portion. The beef noodle soup was good too, although there was too much noodles.
The drunken chicken appetizer had a strong alcoholic taste which was awesome! You can probably get drunk from that dish: p The dumplings in red chilli oil was great too, and I loved that they had authentic xian dou jiang (savory soy milk).
They also serve pretty good deep fried stinky tofu. In fact, the smell of the stinky tofu is so strong that you can smell it half a block away. The century egg tofu was pretty good too.
Will definitely come back again!

China Bee? More like China A! Amirite?
Stinky Tofu stinks, but umpteen orders of Stinky Tofu does not deter, 1. my enjoyment of the Mustard Greens Fried Rice or 2. my ability to enjoy the Beef Noodles.
Protip: There’s a bigger, much better, not-​so-​Secret Menu.
Four Stars!

It’s probably a restaurant with the closest resemblance of Taiwanese food. However, I have tasted much better in Taiwan but that doesn’t mean there weren’t things that I enjoyed.
The soy milk and fried doughnut were good after you dumped about half a pound of sugar into the soy milk. Once I had it sweetened, the soy milk was refreshing, warm, and comforting. The doughnut was obviously good and couldn’t go wrong.
The oyster omelette was soggy and soaking in a sweet, pink sauce. I wasn’t sure I found so much oyster as opposed to other ingredients.
The stinky tofu was spot on. If you want to feel like you’re back in Taiwan again, order the stinky tofu to make sure you feel like you never left home.
The beef noodle soup was a little too spicy for me to taste anything. They give you about one piece of bok choy and 4 pieces of beef. The noodles would’ve tasted great if I could taste anything beyond the spiciness!

I’ve walked by this place multiple times, but am glad we finally stopped by on a lazy-​no-​desire-​to-​cook Saturday night. It was a packed house but we were seated quickly. We ordered the following:
1. Steamed Pork Dumplings — I love these, but they were okay compared to the rest of the food that we got.
2. Combination Fried Vermicelli — Pork, beef, chicken, shrimp fried in a tasty vermicelli noodles with some cabbage. Very delicious!
3. Three Basil Chicken — This dish was amazing! The chicken was cooked perfectly and the basil spice was amazing.
So glad we finally stopped by and look forward to coming back to try some other new things.