A & J Bistro — Restaurant in East Hanover

1st & last time coming to A & J Bistro. My sisters, friend, and I came to this restaurant out of curiosity. We are locals, and would always pass by and see many customers going in and out of the restaurant. It was always busy, so we naturally assumed the food and service must be popular and well liked. Anyways, my sisters, friend, and I decided to take the leap and finally go to this restaurant. When we arrived, the place was completely empty. We were told to be seated anywhere, and the Asian male waiter brought 4 laminated menus and 1 paper menu and pencil to fill out what we wanted to order Ourselves. As we looked over the menu, about 5 other customers came in. The restaurant still wasn't that busy. My sister's, friend, and I wrote down our orders and gave the paper menu back to the Asian male waiter. The food came out fast, but after that, things went down hill. Not only was the food extremely bland, but we got ZERO service for the rest of our time being there. The male waiter didn't even come back to our table to check on us, if we needed anything, or even to ask if the food was okay. (I worked in the food industry and even I know, doing these things is common sense as a waiter) My friend and sister had to go back and forth to ask for things we needed such as box/container for our food, the bill, etc. Meanwhile, the other people in the restaurant got full attention and VIP treatment from the same waiter. There were also moments where the waiter wasn't even occupied at all. He just stayed in his corner staring. Anyways, my sisters, friend, and I finished our meal, packed up, paid the bill (which had a 3% charge on credit cards) and left without leaving a tip. As we were walking to our car, the Asian male waiter had the audacity to run to us and ask about if we left a tip. We said, "No we didn't leave a tip" and the male waiter immediately got upset, turned around, and started waving his hands in the air as he walked away. I didn't feel bad or anything. "Tipping" is specifically to show appreciation for good service. But again, we didn't receive good service. The person that worked there had zero common courtesy and was greedy. Do...

I have eaten in quite a few Taiwanese restaurants. I also read another review that mentioned that it is Taiwanese style food, that is "less greasy". This was my second visit , after being moderately satisfied with my first impression. First thing I noticed is that the chilly paste bottle was smudged and dirty. I picked up and it smelled bad indicating that it is fermenting. Uggg ! Asked for a different condiment bottle & same thing.

I decided to order something different this time & picked chicken fried rice & boiled peanuts as an appetizer. They arrived tepid warm and cold respectively. Tried a couple mouthful. Inspite of adding salt and soy, and the fermenting chilli paste, Ugghh, I was super hungry, So tried a second mouth ful.. felt like throwing up. I had to push the plate away. Asked for check , walked out hungry and went to Taco Bell as the nearest remedy for my hunger.

Chewy Chicken, Dry & tasteless. Lumpy Rice, No Salt, No Soy, and Truly Dry. Chicken tasted old. I have had better chicken fried rice and know the difference. Boiled peanuts appears like it was taken out of a can and dumped in my plate, Cold, stale nothing like what a boiled peanut should taste and feel. See pictures . Rancid nuts indicating its old oil content of the nuts.

Will I go there again? NOOOO !! Why?

A restaurant that serves stale food and stale condiments and expect you to pay , while the waiters / management don't care about the quality & taste, these...

A and J in my view should get 4.5 stars. Overall, the food here is really delicious and they do a really good job of sticking to authentic Taiwanese food and not trying to cater to other types of Chinese cuisines and the typical Chinese-American cuisine. We ordered the popcorn chicken, beef with stir fried noodles, wontons in red oil, pork dumplings 猪肉馅饼, cold cucumber salad, spicy beef noodle soup, and the chicken over rice with braised egg. All the dishes tasted fresh, well seasoned, and really savory. The popcorn chicken was perfectly crispy and juicy, and the wontons were really filling and served in a tangy, sour, chili sauce. Only a few complaints. The spicy beef noodle soup smelled odd, maybe because the broth isn't fresh. But the taste was ok and the noodles were really fresh. Also, my order was a bit late even though I called in advance. Also, they really should have a ordering system online, which is a lot more convenient than calling. Given those minor complaints, I'd still highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who wants authentic Taiwanese food. It's hard to find good, authentic Taiwanese restaurants, and A and J is a great alternative to the majority of Chinese restaurants today, which are mainly composed of Chinese-American restaurants and Sichuanese...