Tiny Urban Kitchen

Exploring Food from Boston to Hong Kong and Beyond

  • About Me
  • Travel
  • Recipes
  • Michelin
  • Subscribe
  • Taiwanese
menu icon
go to homepage
  • About Me
  • Travel
  • Recipes
  • Michelin
  • Subscribe
  • Taiwanese
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • About Me
    • Travel
    • Recipes
    • Michelin
    • Subscribe
    • Taiwanese
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×
    • Godenya Hong Kong
      Godenya Hong Kong (revisited)
    • The Chairman Hong Kong
      The Chairman Hong Kong (1 Michelin Star)
    • Hanu Wan Chai Hong Kong
      Hanu (Korean Beef) Wan Chai
    • Always Joy Hong Kong
      Always Joy Hong Kong
    • Michael Chiarelli Ottimo Yountville California
      Bottega + Ottimo Yountville
    • Ciccio Yountville California
      Ciccio Yountville
    • Charter Oak St. Helena Napa Valley California
      Charter Oak St. Helena Napa Valley California
    • Cole’s Chop House Napa California
      Cole's Chop House Napa California
    • Compline Restaurant Napa California
      Compline Restaurant + Wine Shop Napa
    • Napa, California
      Thomas Keller's La Calenda: A Tribute {Now Closed}
    • Ad Hoc Thomas Keller Brunch Yountville California
      Thomas Keller Ad Hoc + Addendum + Bouchon Bakery
    • Mandalay San Francisco
      Mandalay San Francisco (Burmese Food)
    Home » US Travel » California » San Francisco

    Trip Report: Cupertino Village - A&J's Restaurant

    Published: Jul 29, 2009 · Modified: Nov 11, 2017 by Jennifer Che

    One of my husband's most favorite foods in the world is fresh, handmade noodles. There's something about the chewy texture of homemade noodles that just cannot be recreated once noodles are dried. It's hard to find fresh handmade Chinese noodles in Boston. Sadly, Noodle Alcove, which used to be in Chinatown, closed its doors several years ago. Currently, the only place we know of in Boston that sells fresh, handmade noodles is Beijing Star in Waltham.

    In California, fresh handmade noodles are everywhere, and A&J's in Cupertino Village sells both thin and thick homemade noodles. In order to fully appreciate the chewy goodness ("Q" in Taiwanese) of the noodles, I would definitely recommend that you order the fat noodles.

    Beef Noodle Soup is like a national dish in Taiwan, and definitely a dish you should order if you are at a Taiwanese restaurant. Typically, beef slices are stewed for hours in a fragrant soy based broth filled with spices such as 5-spice and anise. The resulting dish contains super soft beef infused with the rich flavor of the spicy broth. At A&J's, this dish is special because it is made with fresh homemade noodles.

     
    A&J's is also well known for their "zua bing", which translates to "grab" pastry. It's a multi-layered pancake - the layers are paper thin. You eat the pancake by "grabbing" layers of it off. It's crispy on the outside while the layers are moist and chewy. It's really good! It's sort of like a scallion pancake, but not so flat, and with many many layers.
     
    Stir Fried rice cakes with pork and mustard greens. I love rice cakes, also because of their chewy texture.
     
    It's always nice to order stir fried vegetables to balance out the rest of the dishes. Here, we are enjoy "A" vegetable, which is sort of like romaine lettuce.
     
    Wontons in chile oil. This dish is typically a Sichuan dish, and thus I thought it was only OK here. It was much better at Szechuan Era, where we had gone just a few days ago.

    Favorite entrees? Zua bing and the beef noodles soup with handmade noodles.

    A & J on Urbanspoon

    ©2009-2014 Tiny Urban Kitchen
    All Rights Reserved

    More California

    • Boulettes Larder Ferry Building San Francisco
      Boulette Larder (Ferry Building) San Francisco
    • Bodega SF California (Vietnamese)
      Bodega SF (Modern Vietnamese)
    • Tselog Daly City California
      Tselogs (Filipino food) Daly City California
    • Angler San Francisco
      Angler San Francisco - 1 Michelin Star

    Recent Posts

    • Godenya Hong Kong (revisited) June 12, 2025
    • The Chairman Hong Kong (1 Michelin Star) June 6, 2025
    • Hanu (Korean Beef) Wan Chai June 2, 2025
    • Always Joy Hong Kong May 29, 2025
    • Bottega + Ottimo Yountville May 14, 2025
    • Ciccio Yountville May 11, 2025
    • Charter Oak St. Helena Napa Valley California May 8, 2025
    • Cole's Chop House Napa California May 5, 2025
    Jennifer Che Tiny Urban Kitchen

    Hi, my name's Jen and welcome to my cooking, eating, and travel site! I am an expat who moved from Boston to Hong Kong 5 years ago. Born and raised in Ohio to Taiwanese immigrant parents, I am a chemistry nerd, patent attorney by day, blogger by night, church musician on weekends, and food enthusiast always. Feel free to explore away, maybe starting with the Recipe Index or one of the travel pages! I hope you enjoy this site!

    More about me →

    logo
    Food Advertisements by

    Explore

    • Recipe
    • Restaurant
    • US Travel
    • World Travel

    Popular Posts

    • Mesa by José Avillez Macau
      Mesa by José Avillez Macau
    • Restaurante Litoral Taipa Macau
      Restaurante Litoral Taipa Macau
    • Antonio Macau Taipa
      Antonio Macau Taipa
    • Vienna Opera House
      Vienna Austria Trip Report

    Recipes

    • Appetizer
    • Snacks
    • Meat
    • Vegetables
    • Soup
    • Salad
    • Seafood
    • Noodles

    Recently Traveled

    • Hong Kong
    • France
    • Belgium
    • Boston
    • California
    • United Kingdom
    • Germany
    • Spain

    Support Us

    Support Tiny Urban Kitchen by making purchases on Amazon through our affiliate link:

    Recognition


    Featured on the front page
    of the FOOD Section: 2015

    Best Food Blog Awards:
    Restaurant & Dining 2012

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About Me
    • My Equipment
    • In the Press
    • Project Food Blog
    • Privacy Policy

    Eating Guides!

    Eating & Travel Guides
    Trip Reports
    "Kawaii" (Cute Foods)
    Around the World

    • Pinterest
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • YouTube
    • Mail
    • RSS Feed

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Shop at Amazon

    Copyright © 2024 Tiny Urban Kitchen