Taste of Shaxian — Restaurant in San Mateo

My sisters and I came across this guy's Instagram vid promoting how good this place was and decided to give it a try. NGL, we ordered most of the items off the menu (from the Insta video) and we found particularly nothing was particularly to our liking. The wonton soup had tiny wontons with little shrimp with heads, it was so fishy for us, we couldn't eat it. The boneless chicken feet was cold, not like what you get from dim sum, it was flavorless, and I think I only liked the pickled cucumber. The crab noodle was on the sweet side, didnt taste like crab. The beef stew, the flavor was great, but the beef and tendons were not cooked long enough, so they had a chewy texture. The dumplings were ok. Sticky rice dumplings with the yolk in the center, I found the yolk to make it super dry, not really enjoyable to eat. I think the only thing I liked was the Chinese doughnut with mochi, but i dont usually go for sweets. Overall, I think the place has potential, they just need to try their foods or execute them better. I didnt enjoythe food experience, and it was not cheap. It may be the delacy of Shaxian, but it's not really a...

Stopped in to try, it wasn't that busy although nobody watching front of the house and had a iPad for wait-list. But once we looked around the wall they just sat us without looking at wait list. We ordered green onion pancake, meat rice dumplings, pork soup dumplings, crispy fried chicken breast, nan chang rice noodles, and spicy beef rib eye clay pot with rice. This place is not really a restaurant rather more of a snack place so portion size reflects that. I didn't even get to try the green onion pancake my kid ate the entire thing so must have been pretty good. The soup dumplings were ok. Nan chang noodles were good. Crispy fried chicken was good but eat it quick or the cheese will get cold. Beef clay was good but I wish the soup was thicker more like gravy to go with the rice. Didn't care for the meat rice dumplings those came out in boiled water and didn't have...

What a gem! Taste of Shaxian offers such a great selection of food with unique dishes you don’t usually find elsewhere. One standout for me was their Pan Fried Sha Xian Pork Buns (生煎沙县小笼包). Unlike most restaurants these days that deep fry, these are actually pan fried, which makes all the difference. I also love that they’re smaller and bite-sized—perfectly portioned without feeling too heavy.

The Hawthorne buns, shaped to look just like little apples, were not only delicious but also absolutely adorable—my toddler was delighted by them! Their dumplings were solid and flavorful, and I especially appreciated that the vinegar served here doesn’t have any unnecessary red40 coloring, which shows attention to quality and authenticity.

Overall, this spot brings a lot of charm, creativity, and authenticity to San Mateo’s food scene. I’ll definitely be back to explore more...