Mouthwatering Szechuan in Oakland

Fiery Shanghai

★★★★☆ 3.8 (689) • $$

"Been wanting to try this place for a long time. Wifey and I met up a friend who started working in Pleasanton for a Tuesday night dinner. Got distracted and forgot to take photos of the food haha. noOb mistake. We ended up ordering the boiled fish with bean sprouts in hot chili oil, Shanghai-style deep-fried noodles, and cumin beef.The boiled fish was really good but lacked the numbing spiciness I was expecting.The Shanghai-style deep-fried noodles were okay. Think deep-fried chow mein noodles but with the texture of funnel cake topped with corn starchy toppings that made the noodles soggy. Meh.Lastly was the cumin beef. I liked this dish the most. Strongly seasoned beef with onions and peppers.Despite being a slow Tuesday with only two other tables, service was another miss. I had to ask for rice several times.But what really upset me was that I had to ask for ice water at least 5 times. I mean, when you name a restaurant Fiery Shanghai, the customers would liked to have some water to cool down the "fire".Speaking of fires, maybe the workers were trained by the City of Los Angeles because they acted like there was no water. I literally had to walk to the register and ask for ice water. At the end of the day the food was okay. Fiery Shanghai. Not as "hot" as I thought.* What's with the strange ass interior decoration that makes each table look like a bed frame?When I was paying, I had this hilarious interaction.Worker: Where you from?Me: Livermore Worker: Where you born?Me: Glendale. Oh... I'm Korean lol. Bye."

Tasty Szechuan

★★★★★ 4.6 (281) • $$

"Food was served out fast once I called in to order for pickup. Small sized restaurant. Delicious Szechuan food. Eggplant in garlic sauce was yummy with their rice. Shredded pork in garlic sauce went well with everything.Fish filet in hot chili oil warmed up my body in the winter season. One can't go wrong with ordering any of their delightful entrees!"

Lulu's Kitchen

★★★★☆ 3.8 (388) • $$

"Authentic Chinese food. Portions are larger than other restaurants. Service is great. We have been coming here for years when we lived in Dublin. We always come here when we travel back from Idaho. Soups, fish dishes, 辣子雞, 外婆豆腐, 豆角茄子 are a few of our favorites. I highly recommend."

Chengdu Style Restaurant

★★★★☆ 3.6 (431) • $$

"Very authentic Sichuan spicy food. My parents got the take out from here in Berkeley and brought me all the way to Central Valley."

Yunnan Style Rice Noodle

★★★★☆ 4.2 (152) • $$

"Ever since our favorite Chinese restaurant shut down, we've trying out local alternatives to find a new, regular replacement. Despite constantly driving past Yunnan Style Rice Noodle every time we drive down San Pablo, we never tried this place out until recently.We ordered to-go through Grubhub, and the order was ready and waiting for us timely when I arrived. Although I didn't dine in, the inside was very spacious with a lot of available tables to sit at. Ordered a Sliced Beef Fried Flat Noodle in Premier Soy Sauce and a Braised Eggplant with Grounded Pork. Both dishes came with a generous portion size, and were reasonably priced. The Braised Eggplant had a pleasantly surprising large amount of pork, rather than mostly eggplant as I would have guessed would be the case. The flat noodles, while good, weren't clumped together and could have been better prepared so they did not stick together in large globs. There is limited street parking directly in front of the restaurant, but plenty of street parking if you turn into the residential areas."

Old Street Chengpan Malatang

★★★★★ 4.6 (114) • $$

"We have been Malatang fans ever since we used to frequent Bow1 in Newark (RIP). Had been meaning to check out old street for some time and finally made it out during lunch today! Both our bowls were $20 and it was a lot of food! It is a solid spot, but I was not blown away. Pros - large portion- quality of meat (thin beef!)- good spice on the spicier options- sauce bar- easy to customize - friendly serviceCons- no photos on app for ordering and some items are named super similar- flavor of broth could be stronger - soup was not piping hot, but rice cakes and a few other items were overcooked"

Uncle Wong's Restaurant

★★★☆☆ 3.1 (204) • $

"In the days before nearly every type of cuisine suddenly was a finger tap away, there was an essential need to have the phone number for a good Chinese takeout place willing to do deliveries. Remember those days? ...Bueller? Oh yeah, I'm on Yelp. Well, for better or worse, Uncle Wong reminds me of that type of place even though I've never set foot in the place.I was just in the mood for Chinese one stormy night and found the kind of menu I used to see printed on pink paper with a drawing of bamboo on the cover. Remember those? Oh never mind. I ordered the $13.95 Eggplant Chicken (photo: https://bit.ly/3BguDK9). It was a hearty portion with white onion added and quite lacquered with the unmistakable brown sauce.By contrast, the $10.95 Black Mushroom with Chinese Tenders was also a hearty portion and similarly lacquered but not with brown sauce (photo: https://bit.ly/3uwcbte). Just a lot of bok choy. That was it. It wasn't extraordinary, but I'd be lying if I didn't say it hit the spot. It also appears to meet the impulsive need for standard grade takeout Chinese food I have every now and then.FOOD - 3 stars...big servings that meet expectations AMBIANCE - n/a...gee, how should I know?SERVICE - 4 stars...it was quick and neatly packaged TOTAL - 3 stars...sometimes middling is goodRELATED - Exploring El Cerrito? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: http://bit.ly/2VyCP18"

Chuan Yu

★★★★☆ 4.1 (85) • $$

"Last review... of 2022... Chuan Yu! This is the place to go in Oakland Chinatown if you're eating late and indecisive between Chinese / Szechuan or sushi. You can get the best of both worlds!I always get the Spicy Dry Pot as a main. You choose a base flavor (garlic or three levels of spicy), a protein base (e.g., beef, chicken, pork belly), and four additional toppings that include a wide variety of veggies, noodles, or extra protein. I love the flexibility of options and that you can double or triple-stack proteins. Both garlic and spicy flavors are solid. If dining in, they'll bring the dish out over a burner, which keeps the food hot and full of aroma.Another staple is the Shanghai Pan Fried Soup Dumpling, which I have yet to come across elsewhere in Chinatown. I also enjoyed their Chongqing Fish Filet in Chili Oil and Beef Brisket with Bamboo Shoot. Big portions, very well seasoned / spiced, and not too salty. Three entrees should be enough to comfortably feed a party of four. Last food-related note is that the space is a dual restaurant: Chuan Yu is paired with Sakura Bistro, which gives you the amazing ability to order sushi as well.What I also love about Chuan Yu is that it provides a later-night Chinese dine-in option. It's also great for groups as there is always plenty of available seating. Servers are nice and attentive, and food comes out quickly. Anddd that's a wrap! I'll see you in 2023 - both Yelpers and Chuan Yu!"

ChongQing Xiao Mian

★★★☆☆ 3.1 (147) • $$

"I was craving Szechuan and just spicy food in general and was looking for a spot since my go to is closed on Tuesday... but I might have found a new go to!I got the fried rice, spicy pork intestines, pickled long bean with ground pork, and the dumplings Dumplings were pretty basic but good. Fried rice wasn't too oily or salty and paired really well with my two entrees.Spicy pork intestines is one of my favorites and this place was able to hit the spot! Just enough numbing spice to make it addicting but it didn't over power the other flavors.Pickled long beans w/ ground pork was just the right about of sour and spicy so it just made my whole meal complete!"

Tasty Szechuan Restaurant

★★★★☆ 3.5 (64) • $

"This place is cosmetically unappealing, but I love the fried ribs. That's the only thing I've tried."