Tw Village Bistro

I LURRRVE TAIWANESE FOOD. That’s one of the things I like about Socal, the abundance of Taiwanese food. I lunched here and had noodles, beef wrap, fish and pork dumplings, and the fried pork chop. (I shared with other people, of course.) Everything was delish, but what what took the cake was the fried pork chop. If you’re a fan of popcorn chicken, you will love the fried pork chop. It’s like a huge slab of popcorn chicken. Also memorable was the beef wrap. Green onion pancake rolled with beef? Hell yes.

Closed for remodeling on 10/​19, not sure when they will reopen. Will update my review when they do.

This review is based solely on the Beef Stew/​Tendon Noodle Soup and Green Onion Pancake.
My coworker stumbled upon this place and since we were all craving soup, we decided to go here to try something new. This places is nestled in the Marina Plaza (right side), so if you don’t see it immediately when you drive in, don’t worry, it’s still there, you just have to walk through a short alleyway pass the spa. We got seated immediately and I couldn’t decide if I just wanted the Beef Noodle Soup or Beef Tendon Soup, but luckily they had a mix so I opted for that instead. I was really tempted to order dumplings, but since each order came with 12 (which would’ve been way too much food for us), we ordered the green onion pancake instead. The broth of the soup was sooooo delicious and flavorful, with a slight hint of spice to it. The beef was soft and tender and I ordered the soup with the thick noodle which I HIGHLY recommend. The green onion pancake was cooked well with a slight crispiness on the outside.
Overall, a very good dining experience. The service was really fast and friendly. We got our food pretty quick and left VERY satisfied. Next time I will have to try the dumplings and maybe one of the rice dishes. Prices were very affordable as well.

Was in the mood for some Taiwanese comfort food… Saw this place on Unilocal,and was curious. I was surprised it took over a spot where we used to come for Malaysian fare.
The Beef Noodle Soup (tasty broth, chewy noodles, and the right amount of tender beef) was the real reason we came, but everything else on the menu sparked up a lot of interest. Tried the Taiwanese Pork Buns, which were super tasty (tender bbq pork, with pickled cabbage, and crushed peanuts). Had the Chili Oil Dry Noodles (maybe one of two «spicy» dishes they offer), and was happy (simply made, chewy noodles, green onion chili powder and red chili oil), also tried a side dish of the Popcorn Chicken (just ok).
Service was friendly, and restaurant was very clean. The pricing is super reasonable. Will be back to try out their other offerings.

So delicious.
onion pancake = approve
beef pancake roll = approve
thick noodles = approve
beef noodle soup = approve
Honestly I don’t know if you ca go wrong here. Okay, maybe the thin noodles don’t stand up that well. Just ask for the thick noodles.

After an incredible trip to Taiwan, I was still craving the awesome food that added inches to my waistline. And then I remembered TW Village Bistro!
Top of my list on the chilly evening was the beef noodle soup. They offer two types of noodles, and I went with the larger ones. It was good and not oily. There could have been more meat, but isn’t that always the case? The noodles were really good as well.
And thanks to my fellow Unilocalers for introducing me to their beef roll! I will certainly come back just for this delectable treat.
Nice service and some decent Taiwanese food… not quite like being in Taiwan, but close!

TW village bistro is a brightly lit eatery, mostly by natural sunlight. minimal décor. austere. cooking is the similiar to Liang’s Kitchen, taiwan miliatry cooking.
flatscreen: basketball
eats:
–braised beef tendon soup (7.50)
few pieces of tender tendor, light sauce. spghetti like noodle 3 stars
–pig feet noodle (6.95)
sweet sauce, tasty noodle, just a few pieces of feet 4 stars
–popcorn chicken (6.25) 3 stars
a little chewy, not very juicy, portion average.
–pork, chives, & fish dumpling (12/7.25)
very tasty, huge dumplings. 4.5 stars
leftovers:
–kudos to Ken k. for suggested eats
–3 stars for value, too little meat (probably the original recipe had
little meat but this is stretching authencity a bit too much!)
–service lacking though only a few tables present.(not to ask for tea refill)
–tea tasted like hot water. (another military realism?)
–taste is above average, value isn’t. 3.5 stars
–wouldn’t repeat, menu pricey compared to other taiwanese eateries.

This is our go-​to lunch spot for Taiwanese food with the co-​workers. Super convenient as its located inside Marina plaza with plenty of parking space.
Here are the dishes that we always get:
1. Fried pork chop rice plate — 2 pieces of perfectly fried n lightly battered pork chop with braised soy sauce egg and bits of minced pork. It’s a bit of everything so it’s not boring at all. But quite a few times the egg was stale looking so skip it.
2. Beef stew and beef tendon noodle soup — Choice of thick or thin noodles. I always get it with the thin noodles (but keep fingers crossed that it’s not overcooked) Soup/​Broth was very rich and hearty (not watery) and they don’t skimp on the beef or tendons!
All dishes comes with a side of pickled veggies. Also comes with soup if you ordered rice.
Prices are very reasonable-​about $ 7 – 8 per dish. Servers are friendly and food comes out quick! They accept credit card but there is a $ 10 min.

For lunch we decided to have some Taiwanese Food.
My favorite dish is beef noodle soup with the thin noodles so I knew we had to order that dish. We also ordered green onion pancake, cold Peanut Noodle dish, dumplings, thinly sliced pork and seaweed.
The beef noodle soup needed more flavor. The broth was bland and the meat was stringy. As for the noodles, they were overcooked and became a little mushy. I had high hopes for this dish, shame it did live up to my expectations.
Their version of green onion pancake is the most crispy I have ever had due to how thin it was. I was disappointed that it lacked the chewy factor I have grown to love. It tasted more like fried green onion chips than a chewy onion pancake.
Everything else was A-​Ok but what really brought down my review for TW Village Bistro was the miss from the Beef Noodle Soup and Green Onion Pancake.
Overall Thoughts
Not my place to satisfy my craving for Taiwanese cuisine

Came here for dinner by myself tonight and chowed down the bitter melon salad and beef noodles quickly then off I was. Very satisfied. Been here a few times for their stewed beef noodles. LOVE their stewed beef!!! The quality has always been consistent. Meat was stewed to tender perfection and seasoned well with the right amount of ingredients (green & red onions, carrots, cilantro) and sauce. The portions of beef are also good; not excessive but not stingy either; just the right amount. The noodles were very fresh & «Q». I normally eat like a bird. But whenever I come here I’m ready to forsake that for whatever it’s worth and to binge on the beef noodles with all its glorious beef. I don’t care if I eat like a lady anymore. I just want to eat the whole thing without any conversation or break. I prefer to sit here in silence and just enjoy this little piece of heaven.
I don’t get why all these negative comments on this place especially on their signature beef noodles soup, from those claiming they are from Taiwan. I was born & raised in Taipei. I say TW Village Bistro serves up better beef noodle soup than most of the street vendors & hole in the wall eateries there. Yes. Mark my words. And no, they don’t know me or pay me for marketing their beef noodles for them either.
Well, if you want to know what’s a really bad bowl of beef noodles soup, read my review on this:
The difference between TW Village Bistro’s BNS with the above is like day and night.

My Taiwanese wife declares this place authentic. Their strength is obviously braising meat. The oxtail, beef & tendon were all joyfully tender, and melted deliciously!
The service was good, place was clean, and my wife said the ingredients were fresher than Liang’s chain. I agree that the pickled cabbage was just sour enough, and the dishes we ordered were excellent. Noodles were kind of buttery. Price was right.
While these kinds of Taiwanese street vendor dishes are really beer food in my book, I don’t think they have their liquor license yet. Maybe since they’re right next to Marina supermarket, they have large variety of Asian sodas.
We’re going back again.

The taste of their food was alright. It wasn’t bad nor was it great.
What stood out to me the most was their beef wrap. Other than that dish, the other dishes are better at other Taiwanese resaturants.
Service, décor and food are all average to me.

If you’ve grown up on Taiwanese food, as I have, then this place won’t impress you at all. But it’s good for a quick bite, just don’t expect too much ;)
I tried the beef stew noodle soup, the beef was great (good flavor and stewed just right), but something about the noodles wasn’t tasty at all. The second time I visited I opted for the beef stew soup instead which was the exact same soup and meat minus the noodles. Winner!
The wonton soup is good with tiny tissue paper-​like wontons. The serving size of the wonton soup was pretty small though, but luckily we ordered more things. After seeing all the photos on Unilocal of the beef wrap, we had to order it too! It was the size of a burrito! Taste was okay, but it was extremely oily. Probably nowhere close to the healthy side.
Next I tried the pork chop rice. The pork was crispy and oily. The rice was decent and the sides of vegetables were good. Overall the plate was big, filling and decent. Although there was nothing special about the spices on the pork chop or anything.
All-​in-​all, the items I’ve tried so far were decent. Perhaps the dumplings are better?

Growing up and still til this day, my brother & I never ate that much Chinese food every week, especially not nearly as much as my dad did growing up. It may have to do with the fact that my dad hated how my grandparents would only cook Chinese food and because we’re so Americanized. But if you say dumplings & noodles I’m so there regardless. noodles are my absolute favorite form of carbs & most of the time I think I like the wrapper part of the dumpling more than the filling!
I’ve been reading the rave reviews about their dumplings, beef wrap, & of course the Beef Noodle Soup, so despite having a not so great experience at Formosa in SF I knew I had to give Taiwanese food another try at TW Village Bistro. While I do enjoy Cantonese cuisine more, I must say that TW Village does provide some yummy Taiwanese dishes & was much better than Formosa. We shared the pork & shrimp dumplings, the beef wrap, the Taiwanese pork bun, & the beef noodle soup. The dumplings were juicy with the wrapper being the perfect conisistency and just the right amount of plump filling inside. We thought it was kind of weird though how it was served with some kind of pickled veggie instead of vinegar, so we just ate it plain or with a little soy sauce. The beef wrap was reminiscent of a green onion pancake perfectly fried but with cilantro. There was a lot of marinated beef in it and was definetely the favorite of the night. I had asked the waiter if we could get the thick noodle (after reading several reviews that suggested it) but he said it only came with one type of noodle. There are several beef noodle soups listed on the menu, did I chose the wrong one to not get this option or he just didn’t want to give us the thicker one? I can see why people said they prefered the thicker noodle, but the soup was quite tasty due to the hearty dark beef broth. It came with about 4 or 5 pieces of beef and a few bok choys. Bf & I tend to prefer chicken broth so next time we’ll stick with a chicken or pork noodle soup, but for our first try if this much talked about noodle soup dish ever it didn’t dissapoint. With that being said, the only dissapointing dish were the Taiwanese pork buns. They just didn’t have much flavor and the pork was just well, plain and somewhat dry, it wasn’t pork belly or cha siu which is bursting with flavor (& yes fat too).
TW Village Bistro is a nice addition to the Marina Plaza. The restaurant is clean and serves delicious food at good prices and offers lots of options. Can’t wait to come back for another beef wrap, dumplings & some yummy noodles.

After two visits to this place, it’s safe to say that this is definitely a must-​go spot if you’re feeling Taiwanese comfort food in the Peninsula area.
The key thing to remember here is… beef wrap, beef wrap, beef wrap. If you’re going to get one thing here, you gotta get the beef wrap. Thinly sliced, tender beef, wrapped with cilantro around a crispy green onion pancake. Oh yeah, and did I mention that they are two rather sizeable wraps that come in ONE order?
Beef Noodle Soup — For you beef noodle soup (niu rou mian) connoisseurs out there, you’ll know that it’s difficult to find a place that has great broth, tender beef, and the perfect noodles. Unfortunately this dish only has 2 of the 3 — great broth and tender beef. The noodles are okay, but thicker noodles and/​or handmade noodles would propel this dish into greatness. The big plus here is it comes with a side of mustard greens to add.
House special pork buns (came with either 6 or 8) — NOT to be confused with the taiwanese pork buns, because that is what happened with me the first time. They are very similar to «sheng jian bao»…white fluffy doughy skin pan fried with dumpling meat on the inside. Wasn’t exactly my favorite and was super filling
Taiwanese Pork Buns (2) — These things taste decent, but again, wasn’t necessarily my favorite. They come wrapped in white «man tou» (the white bun that some restaurants serve with peking duck) with the thinly sliced beef, a slightly sweet sauce, and mustard greens. Essentially the beloved beef wrap without the green onion pancake and without the doughy goodness.
Service here has been decent. It’s a «hole in the wall» taiwanese restaurant with decent prices (5.95−7.95 range for most dishes) and is very clean.
Very excited to have this place so close to home!

This time I tried their excellent House Special Pork & Vegetables noodle «Soup» and also their thin, perfectly crisped (not oily!) green onion pancake and their good Taiwan Pork buns (sliced morsels of pork (not char siu) and cilantro folded into a steamed rice bun).
I say soup in quotes because this is not like a Phở where there is more soup than noodles, but it was like it was half way between a soup and a heavily applied sauce. Nonetheless, this was a richly flavored and satisfyingly good dish and I am eager to try their other soups.
Service was very good (even though they are new) and their food was great for a very modest price.

BEEF STEW & TENDON NOODLE SOUP — GET IT!
BEEF WRAP — GET IT!
We went here yesterday for lunch and everything was much to our satisfaction. We arrived around 11:45 and only about 4 other tables were filled. When we left, there were about 10 tables filled. My guess is in two-​three months, people will have to wait for a table (at least on the weekends).
The broth for the beef stew was brewed to tasty perfection served with a choice of a thick flat noodle or a thinner spaghetti looking noodle. We had it with the thick noodle since the server suggested that it would be more chewy than the thin. It was a little challenging to eat the slippery suckers but I did appreciate the silky texture. Like other reviewers mentioned, the noodle could be more al dente but it’s not too bad if you can eat it quick. (Noodles always get soggy over time) Service was a bit off since they are still new but overall a nice experience since our server spoke perfect English and even recommended a few dishes to us… check out my pics! The items of the pics that I posted were OK but didn’t make the cut for my headline items of «must orders.»
We liked this place so much that we’re going back today! I will update my review with the new goodies at a later date. So many options on the menu, so little time!!!

If you are a Taiwanese food lover in San Mateo/​Foster City area, you will be happy with this new dining option. I am sure you understand how scarce Taiwanese food are in this location. There is China Bee in San Mateo downtown, and maybe Spices and Joy Restaurant with a few decent Taiwanese dishes. That’s about it.
TW Village Bistro offers cheap and quick village comfort food similar to the very popular Liang’s Kitchen (now in multiple locations) in south bay. In my option, the quality of food here is comparable and the menu selection is even better.
Tried the beef and tendon dry noodle here and I was not disappointed. The flavors were there. The beef brisket could be more tender but the tendon was nicely prepared. The noodle was a bit soft but still acceptable. The fish dumplings were surprisingly good. Even better than many from specialized dumpling houses.
I know I will return to try their other items.

As a genuine Taiwanese-​American person (who has actually been to the motherland AND eaten Taiwanese food off the streets. vendors), I fully stand by the five stars that I have just bequeathed to TW Village Bistro.
Don’t be fooled or deterred by their overly simplistic menu items. Understandably so, the average diner wouldn’t think that «Beef Wraps» would be one of their delicious ass specialties. It’s thinly shredded beef (brisket, I think) nestled with cilantro in a moist green onion pancake, I would go on to describe the rest of it but it’s already 10PM and I’m getting hungry just talking about it, and they closed an hour ago. Anyway, bottom line is, get the beef wraps.
If I remember correctly, everything on the menu is less than $ 10, since they’re «little eats» and not geared towards family style eating. A lot of their cold dishes are already freshly prepared and waiting for you to pick on them in a refrigerated display, which is nice because it reduces waiting time.
It was a cold day so my family all got noodle soups. The guys thoroughly enjoyed their respective beef noodle soups, and mom can certainly give her Taiwanese mother seal of approval. I got the «Plain Noodle Soup» because ever since I watched Kung Fu Panda I’d been craving it. And it was everything I imagined it would be, just like the way I imagined Po cooked it. Noodle dishes come with two noodle size options — thick or thin.
Interior is simple and clean. No cheesy décor and useless red paraphernalia. Wait staff is cheerful and attentive, and bilingual. The restaurant is good for families as well as one-​on-​one type business lunches.
I’ve seen many restaurants come and go in this plaza, and I honestly have faith that TW Village Bistro will be a success. I don’t know anywhere else in the immediate area (besides my mom’s kitchen) that serves Taiwanese cuisine. My family and I will definitely be coming back for more!

New hole in the wall that is in the very back corner of a mall. Hidden treasure or another taiwanese wannabe gimmick? Read on!
Heard about this place from a famous Unilocaler who talks a lot about Taiwanese food. His name is Ken. K. Because of him, I decided to give this new place a try after failing to get my satisfaction of tw-​nese food from Liang’s Village in Cupertino, CA.
What I ordered:
–Clear Broth Beef Noodle Soup
–Braise Pig Feet Over Rice
–Boiled Vegetable (today was xiao bai cai /​tw baby bok choi)
Clear Broth Beef Noodles was served in generous portion. First sip of the soup base got me a heartwarming tw-​nese feeling. The noodles seemed like it was hand pulled. But, it needs some improvement. What kind of improvement? I wished the soup base was a little warmer /​closer to hot. The noodles needed 30 – 45 seconds less time in the boiling hot water before joining the soup base. Whoever checking on the noodles need to make sure that all the noodles were loose and jumpy! Finally, the soup base needed a little more UMPH! It needed something more to make the soup taste a bit stronger. Possibly, 2 – 3 hrs of slow boiling of the broth + less dilution of water. Maybe a spec of butter (something I learned from watching a nightmarket vendor in Tong Hua St, Taipei). Get all that done, you got a winning bowl of beef noodle soup!
Braised Pig Feet was a WIN! If you like this high cholesterol monster, order it! Lots of taste and well done.
Boiled Vegetables were also done right. What does that mean? Fresh veges in super hot boiling water for a good minute and drizzled with a large spoon of braise ground pork and garlic. Crunchy and tasty at the same time!
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Update (The very next day during lunch):
Had a craving for noodles again and I saw the takout menu I took home. I decided to come back for another bowl of something.
–Tomato w/​Ground Pork Over Dry Noodles
–Da Lou Mian
–Boiled Vegetables
–Cold dish /​Marinated Cabbage!
–Fuzhou Fish Ball Soup
Tomato w/​Ground Pork Noodles officially hit the spot for me and gave me confirmation that I will be back to this place more often. The taste was 90% similar to what I had back in Taiwan (nightmarket street style). This was almost like Taiwanese Spaghetti except with tw-​nese accent!
Fuzhou Fish Soup — Missed! Big bowl, lots of soup… Only 4 balls! YIKES! Not boiling hot, and a little bland! Needs an additional punch! Need it hot, boiling hot!
Marinated Cold Dish was on the house… not sure why, but I take it. Very good! Something I would order if I was craving cabbage!
Oh, they were playing Lakers games on one TV and CTI Taiwanese channel in the other. Got me very busy trying to focus! And not to mention, happened to run into another Unilocaler sitting next to me snapping pics of their beautiful Gua Bao that was almost delivered to my table!
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Conclusion after next day:
Overall the place got some huge potential. Whoever is behind the counter or reading my comment, please take the above into consideration. I want you living so I don’t need to go to San Jose, Cupertino, Mountain View for tw-​nese food.