JiBei Chuan — Restaurant in San Leandro

Funnily I learned about this place when I was looking for a late night grub only to learn that they were closed when I got there. At the time it was listed as 'Open 24 hours' on GMaps, but when I got there I was told they were closed for the day.

Fast forward a week, and the opening hours got updated (not sure if I contributed to this change lol). Second time's the charm, and the experience was a pleasant surprise. I didn't have super high expectations, thinking it was just another rice noodle shop which is a fairly played out concept in the bay at this point.

I ordered the dry-mixed rice noodles and the fried wings. I was pretty impressed with their spin on the rice noodles, with a spicy peanut-based sauce along with a trio of braised beef cuts (offal included). All the items tasted great and worked together, while also being a sizeable portion for the price (you never really know these days if you're going to get ripped off).

The wings were your standard battered and fried wings, but very well executed. I haven't had a fried wing this juicy in a minute. Moreover, one of the waiters came by at one point and offered a replacement serving since he thought the chicken wasn't fully cooked through. To be honest, I thought it was fine, but gave in to the friendly offer, and ended up stuffed beyond belief. The mayonnaise dipping sauce has a spin to it, not sure if it's condensed milk or something that's giving it a sweetness, but makes for a great pairing.

Hope they keep this up, and will be back.

TL;DR - Good food with a unique spin; nice staff and...

TL;DR: A nice addition to the downtown San Leandro food scene.

We ordered the mala spicy noodles with beef brisket and a rice claypot with pork ribs and chinese sausage. We really enjoyed both dishes.

The mala spicy noodles were pretty spicy, more than I expected, but the flavor was great. The beef brisket was tender and delicious.

The claypot was also good. Solid technique that resulted in a good amount of burnt, crunchy rice bits.

We also ordered some appetizers: cucumber salad, cold cut chicken, and crispy fried pork. The appetizers were a bit disappointing. Probably a pass next time.

Lastly, the brown sugar boba milk tea was awful. The tea was way too light and tasted watered down. It became undrinkable after the ice melted a little.

We will be back for their entrees and will pass on the...

I've been wanting to try Jibeichuan in San Leandro ever since I heard it opened a few days ago. Today, I was passing by and decided to get a takeaway chicken rice noodle soup. The first few bites were okay, but then I bit into a piece of chicken and noticed a strange, chemical-like taste, almost like cleaning detergent. The more I ate, the more something felt off. My boyfriend tried it too and agreed the taste was weird. I'm not sure if the chicken was spoiled or if something else got on it during preparation in the kitchen, but it was a really disappointing meal overall. I wanted to call the store directly to give feedback, but I couldn't find a phone number listed on Google Maps. For those who are particular about food quality control, I'd suggest being cautious about...