A Night at Mr. Bao Kitchen: Where the Dumplings Slay and the Service... Delays! Honey, let me spill the PIPING HOT tea about Mr. Bao Kitchen! Your queen has ARRIVED with the full dish on this dumpling destination! 💅✨ Listen up, darlings! The moment I strutted into this establishment, I was LIVING for their aesthetic – that adorable bao mascot is giving me LIFE! But then... the drama began! First off, those tea cups were serving FILTH! I mean literally, they were DIRTY! Not just "needs a touch-up" dirty, but "do I see someone else's lipstick?" dirty! Mama had to work a quick change and snatch fresh cups from the shelf because the waitstaff was busier than me during Pride month! But we're all works in progress, aren't we dears? They just opened – we'll cut them some contour slack! The hot and sour soup? Honey, it needed some PERSONALITY! Had to pump that vinegar like it was my signature fragrance. But then came those pan-fried buns, and GAWD! They were sickening! Perfectly crisp bottoms (something I can appreciate), with insides juicier than backstage gossip! Though they came out hotter than my summer runway look and nearly BURNED a queen! Where's the warning label, sweetie? The intermission between courses was longer than my wig collection. But those soup dumplings finally sashayed to our table and they did NOT disappoint! Thin skins that didn't break? That's more reliable than some of my backup dancers! And those green onion pancakes arriving last? That's like saving your reveal for after everyone's gone home! But they served FLAKY REALNESS. Crisp, never soggy – just like my humor! Overall, the food was giving me LIFE, but the service needs choreography lessons! Four stars, and that's being generous, darlings! XOXO, Your Culinary Queen 👑

Mr. Bao Kitchen is currently in soft opening in downtown Mountain View, located right next to Sakoon. If you’re a fan of Shanghai-style xiao long bao, I highly recommend giving this place a try. The interior is spacious, clean, and welcoming, with warm and friendly service. One of the highlights is the glass kitchen window, where you can watch the chefs hand-make dumplings on the spot—a great touch that adds to the overall experience. We ordered several dishes, and each one had something to offer: Pork Xiao Long Bao: Six large dumplings per order, filled with rich broth and tender pork. The skin is medium-thin and well-crafted. Compared to similar restaurants in the Mountain View area, this is easily the best xiao long bao I’ve had around here. Crab & Pork Xiao Long Bao: A unique flavor with a nice balance of crab richness without being overpowering. While I personally prefer the simplicity of the pork version, this one is definitely worth trying. Shanghai Sheng Jian Bao: Ever since Top Dumplings closed, we’ve struggled to find a worthy replacement. Although Shanghai Lao Nong Tang in Sunnyvale still offers them, the rest of their menu is less appealing. These sheng jian bao are very similar in flavor to Top Dumplings, with crispy bottoms, juicy filling, and generous size—an excellent surprise. Potstickers: Surprisingly delicious! They’re larger than average, with a juicy filling that includes both meat and greens, giving a well-balanced, fresh flavor. The bottoms are pan-fried to a perfect crisp, and there’s even broth inside—something you rarely find in potstickers. Radish Pastry (not on the menu yet – we were lucky to try a sample): The pastry had wonderfully flaky layers without being greasy, and the filling was flavorful. I truly hope this makes it onto the regular menu soon. Overall, Mr. Bao Kitchen focuses on authentic Shanghai flavors, offering dishes that are not too greasy or overly salty, which makes it a refreshing option for modern palates. With so many handmade noodle and dumpling shops opening in Mountain View, this place stands out. If they can maintain their quality, it has the potential to become a local favorite. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves Shanghai cuisine or handmade dumplings—this spot is definitely worth checking out!

I like this place. The noodles are awesome and the dumplings are great! The service is pretty fast as well, but overall it’s a pretty chill spot. Had dinner there and got both the noodles and dumpling, which came out hot and delicious. After that we also had the custard buns which were alright. I especially liked the tomato egg noodles out of everything we got. It’s got yummy food and tasty dumplings, what more can you ask for? dipping them in the vinegar and chilli oil makes it even tastier though.

I ordered the braised beef noodle soup, and it was fantastic in every possible way! 🍜✨ The broth was rich and flavorful from the first sip, beautifully presented, and paired with fresh, perfectly cooked noodles. The beef was melt-in-your-mouth tender, and I couldn’t have been happier! 🤤🥢 I walked in during lunchtime and found plenty of seating, but since I was dining solo, I was seated at the front when I actually wanted a bigger booth. 😅 The place filled up quickly, creating a lively atmosphere with nice background music. 🎶 Great service and absolutely delicious food! Highly recommend! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I went for the grand opening, so service was a little chaotic, which is to be expected. The food was solid. The General Tso salmon bowl was definitely the best item. All of the dim sum items were fine. The bubble tea is an amazing value considering usual prices around this area, but the boba did seem a little too soft/lacked its chewy quality.

When craving fried rice and small entrees, this place has nice options. The container is bigger which allows you to eat and not have items fall out. Tofu and veggies are done well and walnut shrimp was tasty.

Very basic and unassuming Chinese restaurant, offering take out and dine-in, even though most patrons get the food to-go. Buffet bar style that offer 10-12 items daily, one of which must be a carb item. Generous portions and a large parking lot in a Safeway plaza.

First Wok has become a once to twice a week dining experience for me. They have both a Buffet set up as well as a Regular Menu to order from. I have utilized both and can recommend their buffet dishes while also singling out their various to order items like their mu shu dishes, their seafood soup, sizzling rice with chicken soup and wonton soup along with various lo mien dishes and their seafood dishes. I love pot stickers and theirs doesn't disappoint. All in all for the pricing, I consider them a step above in the quality of their food selection. I continue to highly recomnend them.

The food and service are good, but the price may be a bit high, three courses + tip $80. We love the iron plates seafood tofu , probably is the best in the Bay Area !

To me, the best dish was the vegetable tofu in brown sauce, because it was flavorful enough to enjoy various kinds of flavors. The establishment is clearly a Chinese restaurant that many would visit on a random basis, as it is located amongst a lot of stores that have Chinese on their titles or related to Chinese culture in an outlet format in Cupertino. I thought the Kung Pao Chicken was pretty standard and was good enough to make myself full. The black mushroom with vegetables was unfortunately below my expectations as the mushrooms had strong flavor while the vegetables didn't have any, causing a flavor imbalance, while the dish itself didn't have enough juice or broth to allow some mushroom umami flavor to flavor up the vegetables. The sesame bread with green onion was pretty thick and I mostly used it to accompany my dishes instead of rice, and since it was flavorless itself, it worked out fine. However, if one was expecting it to taste like the scallion pancakes that are popular in China, then one could be disappointed. Since there were other Chinese restaurants around the area, if I make it around the area again, I would most likely try another spot instead.

Recommended by RedNote. Very authentic and definitely one of the my best Hainan Chicken rice in Bay Area. The chicken and chicken rice are both very flavorful. You can tell the ingredients are fresh and food is prepared carefully with heart. The food is in high quality and the price is very reasonable with its large portion. I’m surprised that such a fantastic restaurant is hidden in a small plaza. Will definitely come back again.

11/23/2024, build your own soup or order chef combo. You can change chef combo for additional cost. Tom Yum soup similar to Thai, very tasty.

Food was delicious! Beyond the great food was the excellent service. My little one was being super fussy and the manager was so accommodating and understanding trying to console him as well and trying to give suggestions but he was super sleepy and wasn't having it but we really appreciated her support. Will definitely plan better and return. The braised pork was my favorite.

Bob Ross was right about happy little accidents! My girlfriend and I were craving soup dumplings. We were at another restaurant across the street but realized it was the wrong place. It felt so cold and dark there. So we left and ended up at XLB Kitchen, a hole in the wall, and it was the best thing ever. The place is small but has an outdoor area. The vibe was very local Chinese—a Chinese grandpa was eating at a table next to me, reading his newspaper. Love it! The hostess greeted us at the door and immediately gave us menus and tea. The menu is simple yet it had all the classic Chinese dishes. We ordered XLB, shanghai style rice cakes, and string beans. ALL DELICIOUS. The XLB were HUGE! Thin skin yet SO juicy. Dare I say, better than Din Tai Fung!? The plate of rice cake was a pleasant surprise too. Very tasty, not too oily, included veggies too. The string beans were a classic, maybe a little pricey. Overall, we cleaned everything off our plates and left with full stomachs and smiles. We will be back!!

Ordered Shrimp & Chives (turned out to have pork) dumplings, Chicken & Spinach dumplings, and Beef Roll (there's a Beef Pancake also, so make sure of your order). Took out Mapo Tofu. Loved the chicken spinach dumplings, which had a dab of sweet sauce and with the table hot sauce (go easy - it's quite spicy), with cucumbers cut thin. They are really great: 5 stars. These guys know how to make dumplings skins! Beef Rolls were a tad greasy, and the dough was a bit thick. They're a 4 star. TBD on the Mapo Tofu, but this dish was said to be good by other reviewers. Kinda hole in the wall and simple strip mall locale. If you're down for a casual atmosphere, it serves.

The expansive menu intrigued me, so I wanted to go and try the spicy stuff. Mapo tofu was excellent, one of the best in the South Bay. However, the beef noodle soup was bland and disappointing. I will go back just to try the dumplings, hoping for an epic experience 🤞🙏

Solid Taiwanese comfort food. The sesame and peanut noodles are delicious! The vegan pork belly is good. The wonton noodle soup is so-so -- broth is blandish and the wonton has a dime sized filling. Go for the other soups. The beef noodle soup is quite flavorful. For the noodle dishes, you can request for fresh/hand-pulled noodles. For vegetarians and vegans, they have plenty of options. They even indicate in no meat dishes that lard/pork fat is used. Downside is it's pricey.

Absolutely delicious. Breakfast is amazing, highly suggest eating in store for maximum crispiness. Salivating just with the thought of the delicious food. Wish they have breakfast on weekdays too!

Worst food you can ask for sadly. Mostly no protein all veggies. Very underwhelming taste. The chicken curry tasted like water boiled chicken. And the Mongolian beef had almost three pieces of meat and the rest was vegetables. Again no taste at all. ZERO flavor. Zipppp flavor. Very very disappointed

Old school Chinese American food. I came for the Chinese chicken salad that they’ve been known for forever. It’s good, but I’ve had better. The wonton soup is an odd thicker dark brown soup. Strange but they said that’s how they’ve been making it for 50 years. I like a clear wonton broth. Lunch specials are a good deal. They range from about $14-$20. Not bad these days. Service was better than I expected. Clean and updated inside.

Amazing! Never had this kind of soup before but it was so flavorful, I'll definitely come here again. I had the spicy pork broth. I always ask for the spiciest setting in all restaurants I go to but this is the first time in this area where I actually got something that was spicy enough for me. You choose what to put inside which is really nice as I prefer to avoid seafood but the meat and vegetable options were delicious.

I like this place. Have been here twice since it opened. The flavor reminds me of my hometown. They have many choices for ingredients and soup base. I personally like the bone broth the most. You can eat the vegetables inside and drink the rich soup. They also have curry or tomato soup base that is friendly to vegetarians as well. Come give it a try!

They have chicken heart skewers! I love those. The stinky tofu is very stinky and not as spicy or sour as i would like (I think maybe I like the stinky tofu at moon tea better but I'm not sure). I also like the skewer pricing which is around $4-$9. I liked the beef noodle soup too, it had these delicious meaty bits in it (maybe intestines). Second time visiting - I have more notes. The roasted sausage skewers are not cut as nicely as their menu picture suggests and I would not order it again. It just feels like a boring microwave sausage. The roasted pork belly skewer is a 10 outta 10. Lots of seasoning. The meat and fat mix is a great balance of salty, chewy and soft. The grilled eggplant - it's a small dish kind of flat but very pretty, well seasoned, yummy, and an explosion of garlic. Prepare your tums.

The lamb skewers here are good, remind me of the ones in China. Super flavorful and cooked just right. I also tried the Jinan pork casserole and the Nanchang rice noodles, and both were solid. The portions are decent, and the prices are pretty fair too. Definitely will come back again