MonGa Cafe

Very good Taiwanese food with meaty and vegan options. The dishes seem authentic, not americanized. Friendly staff chatted with us and helped making the right choices. Tried this very good jasmine tea with a flower that opens up. Had pork trotter soup, excellent, very well done, soft with nice anise flavor. My wife had vegan noodle soup, very tasty. Nice atmosphere.

Fried chicken thigh with noodle in broth was delicious. The broth was full of flavor. It tasted like it has been simmering with pork bones for days. The noodle is cooked just right with a little bite to it. It also came with a little bit of veggie which makes you feel slightly better mentally for having some greens.
Shaved ice is also pretty yummy with their home made flan as one of the toppings.

I have been to several Taiwanese restaurant in the area and this is just ok. We ordered regular Taiwanese food and they tasted ok. The portion of the food is pretty small and I was not full at all. There are a lot of people at the restaurant, so maybe I am just being biased. It seems their dessert is pretty popular, but I didn’t order any. The place is clean and service is decent.

The service and atmosphere here is pretty good but the food sucks. Tried 3 different noodle soups and they were all bland and flavorless, even with the extra amount of salt did not help. It was very disappointing! I also ordered a taro smoothie and that was kinda flavorless too. $ 4.99 in a small cup, tapioca were still hard in the center.

This is my favorite Tawainese joint in the area. I love the pig ears and cucumber side dishes. My favorite! I have to get it every time. The broth for the bean thread noodle soup is hearty and hits the spot on rainy days. Pork buns are yummy as well. My family loves the braised pork stew.
They always seem to be busy, but luckily I’ve never had to wait very long. Knock on wood.
I love the milk tea too. Authentic and not overly sweet.
Left my credit card here the last time I went, called them and went back for it hours later. They kept it safe for me. Thumbs up for that.

Service is good to start out.
Waitress instantly brought a cold water for my son & warm water for me. That’s a good intuition, so she gets extra tip just for that one.
Food. I got a vegan plate & my son got vegan noodles. The noodles dishes, both were very good.
They respect vegan & religious food choices & it’s awesome!
They have hot sauce with garlic & no garlic too in case you do not like garlic.

Wanted to try a new place for dinner and saw this place during our last trip to Swish Swish. We told ourselves we would back to try it. We were feeling Taiwanese food and shaved ice dessert, but didn’t want to have to go to Chinatown for Hardwok Café. Was initially drawn to this place for all the rave reviews (and pictures) of dessert.
SHAVED ICE and Mochi Rice Balls… a MUST try. But I’ll get to that eventually. For dinner we ordered from the combo menu, (first page on the menu, can’t miss it). After much deliberation we decided on C2 — Zeitgeist Combo (Beef Noodle Soup) and C3 — Zen Combo (Yang-​Chun Noodle Soup). Each combo came with 2 appetizers so we choose the following: Braised Bamboo Shoots (Spicy), Pickled Cucumbers, Braised Pig Ear (Spicy), and Braised Tofu. Because we were so indecisive the lady who waited on us threw in an extra appetizer — Kimchi (spicy). We also ordered a Pork Burger to start everything off, so long story short we had A LOT of food.
Pork Burger (Snack Section) — Pork Belly was pretty fatty (but that is to be expected), melt in your mouth, all placed on a steamed white bun with peanut sauce.
Braised Pig Ear — Spicy, but I am a wuss when it comes to spicy, a must try for those who are feeling adventurous.
Braised Tofu /​Bean Curd — one of my favorites, but I am a huge fan of tofu.
C2 — Beef Noodle Soup was very flavorful broth, we added one star spiciness for an added kick. Beef was tender, perfect with the noodles and broth.
C3 — Yang-​Chun Noodle Soup was opposite of the Beef Noodle Soup. Clear, clean tasting broth. Simple noodles and few pieces of vegetable along with Green onions. Very comforting, I enjoyed this dish, especially since the weather was rainy and soup is always good on a cold day.
Now on to the good part, DESSERT! As we reached the end of our soup bowls, our tummies were 90% full. We couldn’t even finish the appetizers, and had to box them up to go. But we ordered a small shaved ice anyways. For our 3 toppings we picked: Red bean, Glutinous Rice Ball and Flan. The flan is a must have, it was huge and we were able to cut it up and have a bit in every bite. The only downfall was that there was tons of ice. We had to take off some toppings, put them in bowls, mix it up and let the ice melt down a bit. Condensed milk was also added, which is definitely a plus. Overall, really satisfying. Not as good as Din Tai Fung, or Hardwok, but cheaper and excellent if you’re not looking to wait! We wobbled out of the restaurant, very full and tummies happy. We came in and it was a bit slow, but service was awesome. Everyone was very friendly. We shall be back!

Only giving this place 2 stars because of the great service. However, the food is horrible. The spicy wontons weren’t spicy at all and had this weird peanut taste to it. The beef noodle soup broth was not tasty. They barely give you and pork with the pork over rice dish, it was 5% to 95% rice ratio. The only thing okay was the popcorn chicken, but to be honest Oasis (bubble tea place) in Chinatown is way better and cheaper. Really wanted to like this place too.

Saw many photos of their shaved ice online and decided to give this place a try. It was a mistake
Foodwise: chicken and the rice had little to no flavor. The shaved ice was the only thing that’s good. When I ordered this I asked for two color yam balls and the waitress told me there was actually just one color, and they didn’t taste anything like sweet potatoes nor taro.
Service wise: they asked us if we were okay to share a table when there were plenty of tables open. We ordered 4 items total and they forgot about 2 of them. Drinks are overpriced.
In conclusion: if you want Taiwanese food and desserts, go to Facing East in Bellevue or Hard Wok Café in Chinatown/​International district. They have better food and service. I wouldn’t go back again if I don’t have to.

This place has one of the best service. Upon ordering glasses of water to start, the waitress kindly brought me warm water, instead of ice water because she noticed that I was a new mom. How thoughtful! I know this doesn’t make sense to alot of folks, but to us post-​maternity Chinese moms, drinking warm water is more soothing to the body than harsh ice water. OK now — back to the food…
The best dish here, is the braised pork over rice. Imagine tender braised pork, the umami of the soy sauce and spices, over warm fluffy rice. The meal is so simple yet wonderfully seasoned and tremendously comforting! The beef noodles tho was just A-​OK. The soup did not have the depth of flavor I would like but overall, it is still a good dish.

I order from there a lot, but every time I ordered taro sweet soup it taste like water and it look likes water also… And I called tonight to speak with there manager, and she respond in a rude way, she said:” next time I will order Togo too, see if it looks like water?” I mean, this is your attitude to treat your royal customers?

This place just feels like home. The waitresses were so nice and always checked up on us and our drinks etc. The food is just like what I eat in Taiwan so it really hit home for me. I love Taiwanese cuisine and they did such a great job. The prices are pretty decent but the portions are kinda small. The price and the portions are decent but obvi in Taiwan, food is way cheaper so I shouldn’t really be comparing the price haha. Overall, good experience, clean environment, quick service. I’ll be back :) Yum

Sometime has passed since I last ventured into MonGa. Having the wonderful pleasure of company from a few friends over dinner, we meekly walked in like the proper human beings we are.
Parking is FREE; it is in a shared lot with plenty of wide space spots so it’s a breeze to come without facing the atrocities of finding parking. We all know too well the dangers of it; tears are shed and faith in humanity destroyed in the process.
We were seated quickly for a party of 5 on a weekday and although our waitress was quiet, she was very polite! She was very attentive and patient with us as well as we struggled to decide what we wanted from a variety of dishes.
The Pork Burger (Gua Bao) is surprisingly delightful here! The braised pork belly was quite large and fatty enough with a proportional amount of meat. The braised pork stew with rice (Ru Rou Fan) was alright. The pork itself was a little dry and I felt like there could’ve been more pork on the rice; it was mostly sauce and tiny pieces of pork. Other than that, dinner was content!
Oh and of course, what’s dinner without dessert to compliment the last meal (unlikely) of the night! We gladly ordered a Large Combo 5 Topping Shaved Ice with an abundance of Red Bean drizzled with sweet milk, peanuts, Taro pieces, and Grass Jelly, topped with a small cutesy caramel Flan. My only response for this majestic ice beauty before me was why I ever settled on anything less than a 5 topping combo.
Overall, a nice place to grab a quick bite with a friend or even by yourself for some much needed alone time!

Came here when they first opened, excited to try their pork over rice — I thought that was a bit disappointing — it was more of a braised ground pork affair — no fatty pork belly in sight. Not satisfying
Came again as a vegetarian and was so thankful that a lot of their popular dishes are available vegetarian — not just replaced with tofu, but with whatever the chef thought would lend the best flavor/​texture. I got the «pork» over rice and vegetarian version of the pork belly bun. It wasn’t like eating the carnivorous versions, but they seemed to be their own dishes that happened to be veg-​friendly. It’s funny to say that I didn’t really care for this place as an omnivore since everything seemed subpar to Facing East. But since I couldn’t eat meat, this place was terrific! I would be happy to go again

All I gotta say is that shaved ice is to die for. The flan on top is one of the best flan I have ever tasted, so smooth and creamy. I would just go to MonGa for shaved ice, this is going to be a hit spot for me to go to in the coming warmer days that’s for sure. The service is great as well. Very friendly and clean place.

I would give this 3 stars. Their shaved ice in my previous review was bomb, but I came here to get some milk tea. To add boba/​tapioca, it costs $ 1.00! I was like what?! And it comes in a much smaller cup like 16 oz I believe, not your average 20 oz size. So 4 stars for shaved ice, 2 stars for their milk tea. I still haven’t tried any of their food yet.

Average. It’s a hit or miss when it comes to their menu.
— Pork burger: 5 stars. Juicy pork belly, a heap of pickled vegetables and crushed peanuts (ask for no nuts if you’re allergic!)
— Beef noodle soup: 3 stars. Nothing spectacular, but I was disappointed to find only beef brisket when I specifically ordered tendon and tripe.
— Pork chop noodle soup: 4 stars for the pork chop, 2 stars for the noodle. The pork chop is breaded with a flavorful crust and to my surprise, very juicy. As for the noodle soup, there is absolutely no flavor.
— Hot oil wonton: 0 stars. This dish is made with a boatload of peanut sauce! I would’ve known better than to order it if the menu had stated it contained peanuts!
— Shaved ice: 4 stars. I always choose an order of the homemade flan, red bean and rice balls! It doesn’t come with enough condensed milk, so I always order extra for 50 cents.
— Milk tea w/​boba: 1 star. Not sweet and definitely not worth $ 4.95.
I’ll be back for the pork burger and shaved ice, but not for their lunch or dinner items.

Essentially a cozier, understated cousin to Facing East — MonGa has the shortlist of Taiwanese classic eats:
— TW beef noodle soup (niu rou mien): classic hong shao with a little kick (not too spicy per standard TW palate)
— veggie yang chun noodle with clear broth: a simple yet flavorful noodle soup, if you’re craving a lighter option
— beef rice (lou rou fan): this is all about the sauce (zi), and MonGa does no wrong
The entrees are great, but MonGa apps almost steal the show — simple dishes done well:
— pickled cucumbers (hsiao huang gua): marinated in vinegar/​
— bean curd: so good! delicate and not too hard, well-​seasoned
— pig feet (zu jiao): comfort food at its finest, protein heaven
— pig ear: a tasty snack
— other veggie sides are also spot-​on: seaweed salad, braised napa, bean sprouts
A great standby on the East side! Recommend checking it out :)

I’d really like to give this 3.5 stars, but will round down since they messed up my order and didn’t seem to care.
This is located next to a hot pot place (Swish Swish) and also next to a tea place. We initially went in to try the shaved ice, but decided to stay and have dinner first.
We ordered the vegetarian special which came with sesame noodles, seaweed salad, and braised tofu. We also got the zeitgeist combo. Not sure why a Taiwanese restaurant is using a German name, but ok.
The best dish for me was their sesame noodles, although it was a one note kind of dish and didn’t have the same complex flavors as the one at din tai fung.
The other 2 dishes were ok. Service was ok, and at times a little surly. I had asked for no ice in my $ 3 soda since it was freezing outside and we would get hit with a gust of wind each time the door opened, but of course they still put ice in my drink.
I really wish they would have more bubble tea options. My sister had to order a $ 5 smoothie and then pay an extra $ 1 to get boba inside.
I’d come back here for their shaved ice, which I thought was pretty good — mochi, boba, and some kind of jelly were all delicious. I’d go somewhere else for dinner, though.
Parking is really easy since it’s in a strip mall with other restaurants and markets.

The menu sounds very promising. I wish the food matched up. Ordered a combo beef noodle for the kids (two side dishes) plus a seafood noodle soup for us. The soups were surprisingly flavorless and even the addition of salt and hot sauce did nothing to help. The side dishes were ok.
Wish we had gone to a phở place instead.