Drunken noodles from Tao Yuen

When I moved to Oakland in 2022, one of many first locations my accomplice took me was Tao Yuen Pastry. On a weekday afternoon, the road snaked previous three neighboring storefronts and was solely rising as downtown employees emerged from their places of work and Chinatown residents headed down for lunch.

A no-frills institution positioned within the coronary heart of Oakland Chinatown, Tao Yuen serves steaming scorching dim sum to-go at accessible costs. My go-to order is the ho enjoyable ($6.62), or as my Cantonese-speaking accomplice likes to name them, drunken noodles.

Bouncy rice noodles, thinly sliced cabbage, caramelized onions, and marinated beef are stir-fried in an umami sauce for the dish. It’s topped with sesame seeds, chopped scallions, and a smidge of cilantro, making a symphony of savory and recent flavors.

Tao Yuen is thought for its heaping parts, so even if you happen to ask for a small field, count on the server to fill it to the brim. (On multiple event, I’ve seen the servers wrap a rubber band round my meals containers to maintain the contents from spilling out.) Though sufficient to maintain you satiated for at the least two meals, the drunken noodles pair completely with their shrimp dumplings, salt-and-pepper shrimp, and fried hen.

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Of observe, this institution is cash-only, so keep in mind to make a fast cease on the ATM earlier than you go. There are Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and Chase ATMs inside a one-block radius. And parking in Chinatown could be tough, so contemplate taking BART to the twelfth Street/Oakland City Center station (a couple of five-minute stroll away) or parking contained in the Pacific Renaissance Plaza underground lot (enter on Webster or Franklin streets).