Song Song’s Zhou & Bing

Boooo this place is closing because the owner is going back to China!
They have pretty decent bing, and their dipping vinegar is really really good. I’m not a big fan of the porridge, but the flavor itself is pretty good.
I’m really sad it’s closing, because it had a great spot across from the Skybar that was brightly lit. Oh well, I guess something equally good has to move in!

The food is extremely tasty. I wasn’t sure at first what to think of a Chinese pancake, but the bing is very flavorful (the pork, the veggie, and the sweet bean each satisfy a different palate). The zhou is warm and pleasant in a simple way. But a tea egg with a bing and a zhou makes for a variety of flavors and a low priced, filling lunch.
The owner is one of the friendliest service providers in town, and any employees besides her also display that kind of care. The interior of the restaurant is spotless, the décor and music are relaxing, and the food is perfect to either sit and eat or take on the run.

The quality of the food here is very good — this is not some cheap storefront Chinese takeout with heaps of questionable meat, this is a place where you can tell the owner has put significant thought into her limited menu. Chinese food, generally, doesn’t do it for me, but Song Song’s is exceptional. The bings, which are like pancake shaped dumplings, are packed with flavor, the zhou soup has a nourishing qualiy. What puts this place over the top is the exceptional value — everything is inexpensive. I’d pay twice as much and come here just as frequently.
Song song’s is one of Charlottesville’s best establishments.

Went downtown with my friend on a Thursday afternoon one day. Being the poor students we are, we wanted a cheap but still good place to eat for lunch, and Unilocal directed us here.
Being Chinese, one of the hardest part about going away to college is leaving your parent’s authentic Chinese cooking behind. We ordered one of everything on the menu just to get a taste of all the options. The menu is very small, but you really can’t go wrong with anything on it.
I was really surprised and comforted to see odd ingredients and familiar dishes that I had only ever eaten at home and not even in Chinese-​Americanized restaurants before, things that I never even knew the English names for like «mu er» which is the black rubbery mushroom (?) in the salad and «xi fan» which is the rice stew thing they have too. And even though I didn’t really like eating these at home, they reminded me of my parents’ Chinese cooking and tasted much much better than I last remembered.
As for the bing itself… YUM! I tried both the pork and the veggie bing. While the veggie bing was pretty good, I’d say don’t waste your time or money and just opt for the pork bing. It’s so delicious and full of flavor.
I had a really nice and nostalgic experience here at Song Song’s and can’t wait to bring my parents to this place.

Nice bings. Very light. Better order a few if you are hungry.

I was visiting Charlottesville with my mom, and I had wanted to take her to Ariana Grill Kabob House, but when discovering that it is now closed on Saturdays, I ended up at Song Song’s instead.
Song Song’s is a really unique restaurant, and I did not expect to come across this in Charlottesville. The menu is quite brief, selling only a handful of items. However, everything is very tasty and very healthy. My mom and I ordered one of almost everything off of the menu, sans the tea egg and red bean bing (since red bean is more of a dessert item and we were craving savory foods).
It takes a little time for the food to be prepared since it is made fresh to order, but it is worth it. The prices are also very affordable. The employee working the cashier during our visit was very friendly, and her smile/​demeanor really impressed my mom.
I liked both zhous, but the mixed grain one was a little sweet for me. The two «salads» are better named side dishes. Both were typical of Chinese side dishes, and pair very well with the zhou. Both meat and vegetarian bings were great. A «bing» is a very generic Chinese word for a certain class of foods, the closest English equivalent I can think of being the word «pastry.» The green bean tea was also excellent. I love green bean, and this beverage was only lightly sweetened.
Probably my mom and my favorite parts were the pickled green garlic and chili sauce. Both are self serve on the counter, and are a great accompaniment to all parts of the meal.
This is a really nifty place, and warrants a visit. I’m sure the majority of people in Charlottesville have not had anything like this before.

I was very excited to give this place a try, but I just didn’t care for the food. It may just be my taste, since everyone else seems to like it. I tried the veggie bing, which I didn’t like. I also had the 10-​grain zhou, which was like a nice porridge, but, again, just not me. I had a bite of my hubby’s egg, which was fine, but I could probably make that. The peanut/​celery salad was good, though. Overall, it just wasn’t my kind of place, but I was very glad to have tried it because I’d never tasted this sort of Chinese food before.

I have never had a bing before, let alone HEARD of bing, so take this review with a grain of salt, but we really liked our lunch here.
Turns out bing are kind of like Chinese pupusas: stuff stuffed inside fried dough. Yum. I had the veggie kind and a sweet red bean bing. I wish I had also gotten a pork bing but I was too full. The suggested portion sizes (2 – 3 bing, one zhou and one salad per person) would probably have been way too much: you have been warned.
I have never been a huge fan of congee/​zhou but the zhou here was delicious too. And DH even convinced me to try some mung bean tea, which I was skeptical about but was also amazing, if a bit grassy.
I hope this place stays around for a long time (and then opens a location or food truck in DC because it would kill).

A must-​go place every time I visit downtown. Love the Bings here, esp. the pork & leek and despite coming from southern China and not as familiar with northern delicacies, they were delicious nevertheless. On top of that, the atmosphere of this place made me feel right at home. I even had a conversation with Song Song on where she got her ingredients and she even drew out the directions on a piece of napkin for me!

Simple menu, AMAZING bings! very authentic (I am from Taiwan and know my bings)
I have like 4 of them, and ordered more to go.

My husband and I stopped by and tried the pork and leek bing, the red bean bing, and an auricula salad. The food was inexpensive and very tasty. The only problem we encountered was that the shop was so full that there was nowhere to sit, and it was cold outside. We took our bing over to the C’ville visitors center, where there were plenty of benches free – but we soon found ourselves wishing that we had brought extra napkins with us (the bing do have a tendency to drip!).
The restaurant and kitchen seemed very clean to us, and when we went home and looked at their health code inspection records, they seem to be doing pretty well «behind the scenes», in comparison with many other C’ville restaurants: «Facility well organized and clean, substantial compliance with VA food regulations.»
We are looking forward to going back again sometime soon. Hopefully next time we’ll be able to snag a seat!

Song Song’s is a great place for lunch or brunch if you are in the mood for authentic Chinese home-​style cooking! The menu is short but everything on the menu tastes good. For a complete brunch, I would get:
— Pork & leak Bing: It is a Chinese stuffed pan fried cake. One of the juiciest, most flavorful bing I have had in a while.
— Vegetable Bing: Great flavor, fresh ingredient!
— Celery Zhou: This is congee. Again, made with fresh ingredient. Very thick, smooth, and flavorful.
— 10-​Grain Zhou: A sweeter congee. Equally as good. Made with grains so it’s healthier for you!
Overall, I would definitely go back to Song Song’s for the congee and bing! A+++!

I wish I could give this place 4.5 stars. After eating at the Commonwealth (we are fatties I know) we wanted to check this place out. We ordered two tea eggs and two pork and leek bing (sher bing). With my gf and I being Chinese I would say we would know the authentic taste for these things.
That being said it was DELICIOUS, even after being stuffed at the Commonwealth. Half a star off because the tea egg was a bit too salty for my taste but my gf loved it. The bing was a bit thinner then we are used to but definitely made fresh. I enjoyed this greatly (ate the second one cold the next morning straight from the fridge).
The bing’s dough resembles more of a scallion pancake and is not too fluffy. I also did not taste any MSG in the meat, unlike some other bing’s out there… The tea egg actually has the tea taste, which is definitely a good thing.
The staff is very nice and made the bing once we ordered it. Will definitely be back again if we are in town.

This is just around the corner from my office and just tried it for lunch today. My belly is warm and full! I had a coupon for a free menu item, and since their menu is so cheap I probably ordered more than I should. I had the grain zhou and veggie and red bean bing. Next time I will probably try the celery zhou and pork bing. I agree with the others that the lady is quite charming. For the price you can’t beat it.

Cute little place for a snack or light meal. The menu is simple with mostly zhou and bing and a few drinks. I got the celery zhou and a pork bing (ended up ordering a second one). My friend got the grain zhou which had a hint of sweetness and good as well. My owner said the bing was homemade which indeed tasted homemade and fresh. The owner lady was nice and prices were cheap. Wished they were located closer to the corner though.

Simple foods, but very tasty. The red bean bing is lightly sweet and heavily delicious.

At first, I was drawn away from this place because their menu was different than most Chinese restaurants and seemed limited. However, I saw the reviews and popped in, and I regret my apprehension towards the venue.
The place was deserted. Only one woman was working (unfortunately I can’t recall her name) and she stopped hanging christmas lights to take our order. She was very quiet but incredibly kind, and answered all of our questions about the menu with great detail and expertise. AND ALSO, THE PRICES ARE INCREDIBLE.
I ordered a vegetarian and pork bing, and both were surprisingly delicious. They were served fresh and the texture with the delcious savory flavors made the dish truly superb. I also ordered the tea egg which I loved just as much– it was well prepared and had a salty tint to the flavor. Next I dived into the peanut and celery salad, which was spicy but also quite tasty. All of these foods are now my favorite type of Chinese food, and I will never go to another Chinese restaurant without comparing their food to Song Song’s.
An excellent experience. The food was healthy, cheap, and delicious. It truly does not get better than this.

I’m giving this five stars, because it was just delicious and I DO NOT LIKE Chinese food. The lady behind the counter, the owner I think, couldn’t have been nicer.
The bing, and I’ve never had bing before, were DELISH! I had the pork and leek and the vegetable. There was also a red bean one, which I imagine would be equally scrumptious, but I didn’t get there this round.
I also had the celery and peanut salad which was crunchy, savory and spicy! Very yum.
The portions and prices are great. I could have probably had only one bing, but they were only $ 2.50 each, so I thought they would have been smaller.
Finally, I had the mung bean tea. It wasn’t what I expected in that it wasn’t really sweet and it was more cool than cold (it’s 100 degrees today and I was roasting!). It was good though, and it felt good for me and I think I’ll have it again.
Check this place out next time you’re on the mall for lunch or a light dinner. I wish I had known it was here earlier in the summer, as I’m sure it would have been an oft chosen lunch spot.

They didn’t have any zhou left when I got there, but they were nice enough to give us free celery and peanut salad, which was hella tasty.
I tried all three bing plates, they’re all very good and all the fillings were pretty fresh. The pork filling is pretty generous as well.
The mung bean drink was also solid, not too sweet or heavy, which was exactly what I was looking for on a hot day like today.
Overall pretty good food, great for a light meal, especially on a day like today.

OVERALL ⁴⁄₅
Among the best bing I’ve ever had in my life. Great place to go for a light lunch or snack. Limited menu makes this more a niche place. I will go back.
FOOD ⁴⁄₅
Very simple menu, just zhou and bing. I didn’t try the zhou because I don’t like zhou. I tried both of the two kinds of bing on the menu: pork and leek and vegetable. Both were supurb! Delicious melt in your mouth experience, made fresh.
PRICE ⁵⁄₅
Dirt cheap, a great deal! 2.50 for a bing, which is about the size of a breakfast sandwhich.
AMBIENCE ³⁄₅
Casual atmosphere, with a few nice wooden tables and stools. Great natural lighting with a view of the street. Beautiful calligraphy painted on the wall as well, I meant to ask who did it.
SERVICE ⁴⁄₅
You order and pay at the counter and the server brings to your table. Efficient and friendly.