Shinbala

sad :’(, should have gone there more frequently. I think its closing has to do with all these new Taiwanese restaurants opening in the area. This used to be my go-​to place for some authentic Taiwanese food. Hope it reopens somewhere else.

No Longer in Biz…
Not sure where to get my Taiwanese Shaved Ice =_(

And now, a few moments to remember the departed
===================
/​R I P \
|| S H I N B A L A C A F E ||
|| 2004 — 2010 ||
|| ||
|| Nother one bites th’ dust ||
|| yes, that is true ||
|| You opened in Cupertino ||
|| but executed at ¹⁄₃ the ||
|| quality of the Sinbala in ||
|| Arcadia. And that makes ||
|| me a $ad Panda… ||
===========================================

Ate here with a group of friend and I got the Fried rice with sausage. It’s not a bad dish but the waitress assumed I was Taiwanese and kept talking to me in Taiwanese while I had my confused I don’t understand anything but English look. Funny thing is she asked me if I wanted pineapple twice in my fried rice and I said sure. Guess what, I didn’t get it –1 star.
I giving them 3 star basically b/​c the shaved ice was pretty good. I had better else where but it’s not bad for 4.60. I’ll definately give this place another chance since the shaved iced saved the day.

Came back again to try their sausages and shaved ice — the ice seemed fluffier today, probably because it wasn’t as hot, but still not as fluffy as Café Milan’s lychee ice. However, I prefer the brown sugar they flavor it with and it’s about half the price of Café Milan. I really enjoyed their original sausage — one the best Taiwanese style sausages I’ve had, meaty, not too fatty, just the right texture. I will definitely be returning to try their other dishes.

Came here only for shaved ice to begin with, but when we stepped in, we saw (or smelled) that a lot of people ordered stinky tofu, so we couldn’t resist and ordered ourselves a plate. Awesome decision.
The tofu itself is the thinner kind, so has more fried surface area per bite. Yum.
We had shaved ice with brown sugar, condensed milk, and grass jelly. Nice and simple, and yummy.
Total bill was $ 12 after tax and tip, not bad.

I’ve been coming here for a few years and there’s only one thing that I’ll drive this far out of my way for… their Shaved Ice :3
Their shaved ice is pretty traditional and you can select what ingredients that you want; I normally go with red bean and grass jelly. They pile lots of shaved ice on top with condensed milk and something that tastes like brown sugar water (?).
I’ve also tried their won ton soup, sausage fried rice, and various sausages with either garlic/​basil/​etc. Everything was very cheap and tasted good, but nothing was outstanding.
As the other reviews have stated, there is no air conditioning so it can get pretty hot. They do offer a lot of reading material (mainly Chinese magazines/​books) for you to enjoy. FYI– it’s cash only.

Taiwanese Minced Pork Rice– Yummy!!! Good flavor
Taiwanese Fried Pork Chop Rice– good flavor, no bone
The two of these were under $ 10 bucks. Really good deal!

Pretty good cheap Taiwanese food. I’ve been coming here for many years to satisfy my craving for Taiwanese food. The food tends to be a little on the oily side though.
My favorites:
— German style pork leg: soooo good!
— Stinky tofu: best in the area
— Sausage fried rice: very good Taiwanese sausage
— Matcha red bean slushy: the two flavors are perfect together

3.5 stars
We ordered food for take-​out after going bowling, since my friends had a flight to catch. We got their fried stinky tofu, pork chop rice, and the beef noodle soup. The portions were large so there was plenty of food, and it wasn’t too pricey either. I appreciate that they didn’t skimp on the food just because we ordered take-​out.
Their fried stinky tofu was pretty good and had a nice crisp to them. It came with hot chili sauce and a garlic dipping sauce which paired well. Also included with the dish was a side of cabbage.
The pork chop rice dish was good with the right amount of breading and wasn’t too oily. It came with cabbage, bok choy, and a small portion of curry. The beef noodle soup was tasty too, with plenty of noodles, napa cabbage, and pickled veggies. The beef was tender and not chewy or tough. I think the broth was a little lighter which worked out better since the pork chop was flavorful.
I spied Taiwanese meatballs, or «bah wan», on their menu so I will come back next time to try those. Overall, the food wasn’t out of this world but it was decent and I would come back.

Could have been much more or better!
Pros:
Authentic Taiwanese Food
Cons:
Dirty and Bad Décor (Greasy Magazines! Eww)
Service Can Improve

Overview: I’ve been to Shinbala about 5 times after a friend recommended it for the best stinky (or aged) tofu ever.
Food: Shinbala specializes in Taiwanese sausages and they have many dishes with the sausages flavored in many ways. I tried it since it was their specialty. I was disappointed because I’m more of a fan of German or Polish sausages. The sausages seemed dried to me, but maybe that’s how Taiwanese style is. I expected some fat and juicy sausages, but was served skinny and lean sausages. I gave them an extra star (3+1) just for the stinky tofu. It’s the best I’ve ever had in the Bay Area. So whenever I go to Shinbala, I get the stinky tofu and a non-​sausage dish. Everything else I’ve tried is pretty good. I’m still waiting to try the German style pork, but since that takes a lot of time to prepare (~20 minutes), I always forget to call the order in advance. Once I try that, I’ll update my review.
Place: This small restaurant in near the bowling alley. It’s typical for Chinese restaurants, not extremely impressive, but it has cheap food so I don’t really expect a 5-​star décor. There are magazines available when you walk in for you to borrow while you eat. I never borrowed it myself, but that’s my assumption. The staff is very friendly. They sometimes have a hard time understanding English, but pointing always works for me.
Overall: Shinbala serves the best eat stinky tofu around!

Cheap and yummy Taiwanese food. Definitely not the same as the real ones back home, but it’s good enough. I always get the sausage fried rice and BBQ squid noodle soup. Moderate portions, you will be full.
Shaved ice during summer is good, nothing special.
They don’t have AC during summer, minus 1 star.
Good service, nice waitresses.
Homey foooood

A standard Taiwanese place, I go here a lot because it is close to home, and has a lot of selections. Food wise, this place is alright. There is nothing special about the menu that you REALLY need to try. But here are some of my recommendations:
Garlic Taiwanese sausage: If you’ve never had a Taiwanese sausage before, give it a try!
sausage fried rice: My favorite fried rice in the bay area.
stinky tofu: Warning: you may not like this. It has a distinct taste, but if you craving for stinky tofu, this thing could satisfy you.
shaved ice: you get 4 flavors to pick from… the portion is huge, sharing between 2 people should be good.
I mostly go there for the sausage, and the shaved ice… Not a bad place for Taiwanese food.

Back when the food used to be cooked by a Taiwanese chef, this «Taiwanese» restaurant was awesome. Great veriety of sausage sauces, delicious dishes and good drinks.
I went with 3 other friends yesterday, had the famous Taiwanese sirloin steak with black pepper sauce, fried rice and sliced garlic sausage. Well, we were not too impressed.
For starters, there were no sauces for the sliced garlic Taiwanese sausage, the sausage itself was cooked dry and the garlic wasnt fresh that there should’ve been a kick to it when you take a bite of the garlic and sausage together.
Secondly, Sirloin steaks. Thin sliced piece of beef is not what I call a steak. We asked for a medium rare, medium and a well done black pepper steak. We got well done steaks all around. The thin sliced beef was dried and the black pepper sauge had no taste. Drinking a shot of A1 would’ve been better.
Third, how in the world can you mess up a combo fried rice? The rice needs more water prior to cooking, the shrimps were tiny and fishy, and peas were frozen dried.
This $ 54 Taiwanese food tap is way off the charts and as a true Taiwanese food eater since a kid, I will very much likely not return again.
PS: The ammonia smell as we were walking in was disturbing

This is the spot to be on those hot summer days. There’s no AC here, so by the time you finish ordering you’re already sweating. After eating your noodles, sausage fried rice, stinky tofu, etc. You’re ready to take a break.
That’s when that giant bowl of shaved ice gets placed in the middle of the table. Its made with brown sugar, just like in Taiwan. I’ve yet to find another place that does this. 5 different topppings for about $ 5 means its one of the cheapest shaved ice places around.
They’re well known for their Taiwanese sausages, so be sure to get a plate of sliced sausages, or the sausage fried rice. And the stinky tofu is nom nom good.
This is an asian establishment, so expect cheap utencils, plates, and tablecloths, a dirty-​feel, and no Air Conditioning. Also get ready to learn some chinese, because there’s going to be a language barrier.

Sooo 4 stars because the first time I came here it was 5 and yesterday when I came here it was 3. Both times I ordered the taro slush. It is about $ 3.50 after tax. They blend ice, with taro mix, and pour it into a large plastic cup (think your normal boba place except bigger). On the bottom (this is my fav part) they put real taro on the bottom, but it’s sort of mushed up so that it’s still drinkable. Yum… I can’t find this elsewhere, let me know if you can. That was the first time.
Yesterday, when D. HO and I came here, MAN, there was not enough taro mix, and not enough taro mush on the bottom. COME ON NOW!

I’ve been to this Taiwanese café a few times. I haven’t tried too many things here, but their sausages that they tout to be a customer favorite is pretty good and comes in several flavors. A little overprice for the amount that you get, but it is quite flavorful.
I smell stinky tofu in here often, so if you like that stuff it’s actually not bad here. I can’t say it’s my cup of tea, but I do know that my aunt loves it.
And normally when I do go here, I almost always default to their Shinbala Sausage Fried Rice with Pineapples. The pineapples isn’t mentioned on the menu itself and usually I have to ask for it in Chinese, but it really is a nice collaboration of the flavors. And they give you a good quantity too, which I can never finish by myself, but I tend to get closer to the end each time. It basically consists of rice, eggs, onions, pepper, Shinbala sausage, and cooked pineapple. It’s good stuff and I order that almost exclusively when I go here, which isn’t that frequent.
Shinbala is a pretty typical Taiwanese café that you can find in the vicinity, but the only difference for me is that their fried rice stands out more than other places I’ve been to.

Came only for the shaved ice so no idea about the food though the stinky tofu did waft throughout the restaurant and even out the door. So for $ 4.60 you choose FIVE toppings! I had taro (which was the smoothest yummiest taro topping I’ve had in a long time), red bean, coconut jelly, lychee (eh — skip this canned stuff), and condensed milk (which strangely counts as a topping). All this goodness sits at the bottom of the plate on which a mound of ice forms an avalanche. Then it is further doused with liquid brown sugar (just like in Taiwan) and the sweetened condensed milk.
Good stuff. Definitely big enough to share or if you’re a bottomless pit like me, you’ll devour it yourself. To be fair I’ve had better shaved ice but this was traditional stuff and the nostalgia gets some credit.
Will have to come back for the Taiwanese sausages (which ShinBala is known for) and the Taiwanese meatball and Beef Noodle Soup. Hmm mmm mmm.

ok– this is taiwanese food– but is it good? hmnnn depends– Good in cupertino– since no competition exists but in LA, I would say its average. I have ordered food that was spoiled so I did tell management to clean-​up the meatballs.
You can’t even compare to taiwan or monterey park– but if you are in the bay area — then this is an acceptable place to go.