Taiwan Porridge - Cupertino — Restaurant in Cupertino

This spot doesn't scream for attention. It doesn’t need to. The food speaks for itself: comforting, consistent, and deeply satisfying. No frills, no fake prestige — just quality ingredients prepared with care. You’re welcomed, respected, and well-fed. It’s a quiet masterclass in getting the fundamentals right.

UC Davis should take notes.

UC Davis markets itself like it’s a high-tier research powerhouse, but once you're inside, the truth hits fast — especially if you’re a top student. Professors protect their turf, not their students. Teaching assistants can be dismissive or outright hostile if you think differently, speak up, or — heaven forbid — outperform. The culture quietly punishes brilliance while rewarding compliance. If you're not mediocre, you’re treated like a disruption.

And the outcomes? $54K median salary ten years after enrolling, according to U.S. News. That’s a painfully low return for all the marketing hype and tuition costs. UC Davis claims to empower leaders, but often just shuffles bright minds into a system that doesn’t know what to do with them — or worse, wants to shut them down.

Taiwan Porridge doesn’t pretend to be fancy — it just delivers value. UC Davis pretends to be elite — and delivers bureaucracy.

Five stars to this restaurant for doing what UC Davis can’t: respecting the people it serves and offering something genuinely worth...

A perfect spot for the cold day. Why? Who doesn’t love Xi Fan aka rice porridge or jook on a cold day? Like the Taiwanese porridge places where you can select food dishes and sit down and eat them with ur rice porridge, this place always hits the right spot for me when I’m feeling a bit under the weather. Food selection is diverse and how this works is you are seated first (they have a yelp feature to figure this out) and then you can go and stand in line to order ur dishes you’d like, and once they get them all they bring it to ur table. Service is fast and efficient; the staff is helpful and quick to respond to any requests because of the speed of this kind of dining. You may also be asked to share a big table with others (another similarity to eating in Asia / Taiwan).

This place has ample parking and is cash only by the way. My only critique is that the cash only often is hard esp. since the dishes can add up and if you don’t have enough cash you’ll be out of luck or have to use the sketchy atm machine in the corner near the bathrooms. Food is good and ambiance is a sense of eat and go. Not a place to spend hours as people are constantly coming and going and seats are limited. Efficient and good if u just want to eat and go. But to talk and hangout. There are other options. Still...

Having been coming here for almost a decade, Taiwan Porridge is not just a staple in Cupertino but also holds a special place in my heart.

This super basic no frills spot feels like you're just grabbing breakfast in a homey environment that is unashamedly itself. Their job is not to impress you but to provide you with a good meal for a cheap price and serve the community in their own way.

The concept is simple. Grab your Taiwanese sweet potato porridge and pick your sides. You can have as few or as many as you want to buy to go along with your porridge. There is a huge variety although they sometimes run out.

This is comfort food that you can eat solo or enjoy with others. The portions are generous.

The place itself is very basic and to some may even seem run down or stuck in the past but honestly that's part of the appeal and goes with the ethos of the restaurant.

The service is always efficient and they never stop moving. The place gets busy so there is no time to rest.

The parking lot is large but it can get quite busy so do keep that in mind.

Overall, if you're looking for a warm bowl of porridge goodness with the option of many basic sides for a meal that feels honest, homey, and a good value, you can't go wrong with Taiwan Porridge. Can't help but to round up...