四姐 Special Noodle — Restaurant in San Jose

I was looking forward to trying this place and since it was MLK we had a bit more time and made the drive. Although it was almost 2 PM we still had to wait 20-30 minutes which reflects both the popularity and the fact the restaurant is small.

My wife and I ordered the following:

Soup Pan Fried Buns Steamed Soup Dumpling ($6 extra for Shrimp) Steamed Dumplings ($2 extra for Eight Veggies) Beef Stone Pot Noodle Soup

The Steamed Soup Dumplings were good and we were glad we paid the extra for the shrimp. 🍤

The Steamed Dumplings were not bad but the eight veggies filling was not tasty and mysterious as to what it was constituted of. 🤔

The Soup Pan Fried Buns, the restaurant's apparent signature dish, was not presented that well to us. Most of the green garnish missed the "buns" so they looked rather plain. I did like the "bun" part of the dumpling. But the pork inside did not have much flavor nor a pleasing texture. 🐷

The Beef Stone Pot Noodle Soup looks fancy as it is presented in a large wooden pot. However there actually isn't much soup. The soup itself did not have an appealing flavor. And I am not a big fan of beef intestines. 🐮

Overall we found the food not that appetizing and we don't plan on returning.

Considering this meal was basically dumplings and soup it was surprising to pay almost $90 in total for two people. And it was also surprising for a restaurant that gives no service that the tip options would start at 18% 😳. No one comes to your table to take your order (you order by phone using a QR code), no one checks on how your meal is going and you have to go the register to pay for the meal. It's basically a fast food...

Recently discovered a new noodle restaurant in Newark. Perfect for a warm bowl of hot noodles on a cold day! The name of the place is "Special Noodle🍝".

This place offers a variety of noodles, dumplings, and stir-fried dishes. They even have pot options, catering to both Northern and Southern Chinese cuisine enthusiasts.

🌟Recommended Dishes:

☑️ Sichuan Stone Pot Snowflake Beef Noodles: A must-try! Generous portions [thumbs up]. Plus, you get to enjoy a live cooking performance. The moment the hot soup is poured in, it's incredibly satisfying! Highly recommended!

☑️ Xiao Long Bao (Soup Dumplings): Each one is a delight, bursting with flavorful broth.

☑️ Sricky Rice Pork Ribs: I love sticky rice, and this dish is a winner. Skip ordering plain rice as the sticky rice absorbs all the meaty goodness, and the meat is tender!

☑️ Pressure Cooked Pig Trotters: They also have pressure-cooked chicken feet, both are their signature dishes. Rich in collagen!

☑️ Stir-Fried Beef: Decent portion and tasty!

☑️ Sweet and Sour Pork: I'm particularly fond of sweet and sour dishes, and their version is excellent! The portion size is generous too.

☑️ Celery and Bean Curd Skin Salad: A light and refreshing choice after indulging in carbs and meat.

☑️ Milk-Flavored Steamed Buns: Very filling! Perfect for those who love...

Food was pretty good but the ambience was sterile and the staff non-communicative. Not a user friendly place.

We had the chicken XLB, Pan fried buns (pork), scallion pockets & stir-fried chicken w broccoli. XLB was quite good (needs more ginger) with thin wrap & flavorful stuffing. Appreciated having the chicken option. Pan fried buns looked unusual but tasted on poin; scallion pockets were also quite good. Both together made this overly starchy as a meal. The chicken broccoli dish (we purposely chose this as we couldn't order spicy due to one diver's reflux condition) was surprisingly good - it tasted "clean" (not refried oil, no MSG, lean chicken meat & fresh broccoli). For a quick lunch in the neighborhood, the food was solid.

However, with a QR coded menu & ordering system, this place was set up to have minimal contact with customers. We were the onky customers in a rather large restaurant, yet the waiter waved us off when we tried to ask questions about the menu - just pointed us at the QR code. The whole vibe was cold and unfriendly, exacerbated by having no other customers (it was early, at...