Joy

If you like pork, you must try the Taiwanese Pork Rice Bowl. It's very simple w just white rice, lots of flavorful pork and some delicious pickles (I always buy extra) but it is SO delicious!!! The side dishes on display are rotated and also serve as good sidekicks to the rice bowl. There are other things on the menu but I've never tried them bc I feel like I hit the jackpot w the pork rice bowl. Maybe one of these days I'll order the bowl to go and order something new to try. Maybe. Counter service w friendly staff. Ambiance is bare bones but tables are a plenty.

Ambiance - nice, clean, spacious restaurantwith a hip vibe. We came here at the recommendation of our daughter who lives nearby.Service - excellent. You order your food at the cashier and they will deliver the food to your table. Service was prompt and attentive.Food - we ordered the thousand layer pancake with egg and cheese. The pancake was thick and on the crispy side. It was quite salty and although I could see the egg and melted cheese, I did not taste them. I requested this with a schiracha and basil. Unfortunately, I think the schiracha masked the flavor. Even if my daughter highly recommended this, I did not care so much for this as it was oily and lacking in flavor. We also ordered the clamshell bun with pork belly and five spice beef. Although the pork was fatty, it and the beef were delicious. I just wished they had more filling (more of the cilantro, picked cucumber, crushed peanuts). With tax and tip, our bill for two people was $28.

I had such high expectations for this place after hearing such good reviews about it. We came during a little before lunch time and didn't have to wait to get a table. The interior is nice and very clean, though maybe because it was on the weekend, it was very loud inside. We ordered the dandan nooldes, chiayi chicken rice, and joy fresh fruit tea. The food came out slower than expected as it wasn't super busy when we ordered. Our noodles came out first and later the fruit tea. We had to ask a worker twice about the rice dish as we saw people who came after us get their chicken rice before us. Seems like our order got miss placed and they had to make a new one for us.

Joy - a feeling of great pleasure and happiness, and that's definitely true of this place serving Taiwanese street food. We were not super hungry so we shared the Dan Dan Noodles and Woodear Mushroom Cold Appetizer. Both were fantastic. The Dan Dan Noodles were different than others I've had in the past, as the peanut sauce was more of a broth, but it was so delicious! We were slurping it up! The mushrooms had great umami flavor. There were so many cold appetizers that we wanted to try, so we ended up taking some to go. The bean curd, pickled cabbage and black pepper edamame were all terrific, and we also brought home a Thousand Layer Egg and Cheese Pancake with basil and chili sauce. Oh my, that was so awesome! We devoured it at my nieces house, so I forgot to take a picture. We have so much more to try, and I'm sure everything is as amazing as what we had. A little bit of history, this location used to be home to a 40+ year business named Elsa's Bakery. To pay homage to the location's heritage, they bake Mexican Wedding cookies daily in house and give all of the cookie sale proceeds to a nonprofit partner every month! Those cookies were awesome!You order at the counter, and the food is delivered to your table. The place is kind of small, but we had no issue getting a seat on a Sunday, even though they were busy. There was a really cool vibe going on here. We can't wait to visit again , and experience some more Joy!

We arrived right before they opened at noon and got in with the first wave. The scallion bread sandwich was calling my name, so I ordered it with braised pork belly and almost ordered another one right after. It was that good. The pork belly had a good balance of lean and fat so I didn't feel gross eating it. It also had a beautiful marinade that complimented the pickled vegetables very well. The scallion bread wasn't what I was used to but it had good structural integrity I also sampled a bit of the dan dan noodles and they do not hold back on the sesame peanut sauce. It was the definition of nutty. The noodles were bouncy and added a great qq texture to the dish.

This Taiwanese spot is pretty popular and gets packed, so I suggest pulling up when it opens to avoid a long wait time. Parking is available on the street in the surrounding neighborhoods.The staff was kind and helpful with recommendations and I ended up ordering the below:- Dan Dan Noodles: A must-try if it's your first time! Wonderfully chewy noodles in a slightly spicy peanut sauce. Fire.- Hot and Sour Soup: A more traditional moment packed with flavor and full of lovely mushies. Overall, I enjoyed both dishes I ordered - no complaints! The prices are pretty normal (wouldn't classify as cheap or expensive).

What a delicious and bustling Taiwanese food place! My friend and I ccame here on a Wednesday night and we can see why this place is so popular in Highland Park! We entered and already saw people waiting outside for Togo orders and a line out the door for dine in. It was busy, but the line went by quick in about 10 minutes! The ambiance is cozy modern with a bustling atmosphere, with merchandise to buy and a fridge you can buy unique drinks from if you wanted to get something not off the menu (ex. Taiwanese root beer and apple cider!!). You pay first and choose your own seat, with a number provided for the workers to bring your food. FOOD:-thousand layers pancake w/ cheese + egg add-on -sesame scallion bread -Dan Dan noodles w/ jidori chicken add-onDRINK:-taro tea My friend and I thought everything was delicious! The Dan Dan noodles had fresh vegetables and the sauce was so tasty and authentic to its taiwanese origin! The famous thousand layer pancake was absolutely crispy and delicious with the add-ons, I highly recommend the egg + cheese combo instead of getting it plain. I also love the thick cut scallion bread! Also, I'm so happy the taro tea was made authentically, with no powder and actual taro! I loved the taro bits you can chew along the drink. I'm docking a star only because they forgot to add my jidori chicken add-on, but they brought it over to me quickly. Will definitely come here again!-

Joy offers an innovative ordering process that stands out. You walk up to the counter to place your order, receive a number, and they call you once a table is ready, seamlessly starting food delivery to your table. The service was friendly, and the clean, open ambiance adds to the dining experience.We tried the dan dan noodles, hot and sour soup, mapo tofu, and a selection of cold appetizers. While the food was good, the flavors felt a bit muted, likely tuned to cater to a broad customer base. With so many authentic Taiwanese options east of LA, it's hard to see what sets Joy apart as a standout choice. Additionally, the wine pricing was surprising--a small glass priced over $20 felt excessive.Overall, Joy is a nice neighborhood spot with a thoughtful dining process, but it doesn't strike me as a destination-worthy choice.

Was pleasantly surprised with authentic Taiwanese food in Highland Park! I never really been to this area before, so visiting this street was a nice trip. It can be difficult to find free parking, but there are several parking lots located around and they were surprisingly pretty cheap. I paid 75 cents for 1.5hrs, which the parking lot wasn't too far from the restaurant either.I was running a bit late, so my friend had to wait ahead for me, but this restaurant definitely seems the most busiest one of the street. It seems that you would have to wait in line to order at the cashier and wait to seat yourself. The restaurant is small as well, so with the amount of people wanting to order and get seated, it would take awhile. After ordering in line, it was about an additional 20 minutes to be seated. We ordered the dan dan mian and my friend had the sweet and sour soup. We mainly had our own dishes so I ate the dan dan mian to myself, which was quite filling. I really enjoyed how saucy it was, and it definitely had a lot of garlic, which I enjoyed a lotttt. The noodle texture was also soft and consistent. Really enjoyed the dan dan mian here! My friend said the soup was really sour, but she said it was pretty good haha.I love how casual the service is here, and everything is very clean. Food is great too.

OMG this place is so good! My friend and I ordered the minced pork over rice and vegan mapo tofu. The minced pork was perfectly seasoned and not overly salty. Plenty of meat and rice. The bowl was very deep and it was actually a lot of food. The mapo tofu had the perfect mala spice flavor and the mushrooms were a nice addition. For dessert, we shared the Hakka mochi and it was so chewy and the black sesame and peanut seasoning was so tasty!! Service wise- You order and then grab a number to sit down. When it gets crowded this method seems a little unorganized. They sat down people with the same party size that were behind us before us. But they were quick to apologize and sat us at the next available table. The waiters were pretty attentive and came back to check on us throughout the meal.Overall had a pleasant experience here and would recommend trying!