B & M Cafe

Food is good and cheap. This review is based off the baffling experience at the end after leaving a fair tip. The waitress (the one with dyed red hair) literally came back with the tip and check stub and claimed we are required to tip a certain percentage. Um… I can tip however much I want. Customers are not required to tip so she is lucky she even got one. I just read a review by Cheryl M on this restaurant and it seems like the waitress’ demand for more tip is common here…
Sadly, although the food is good, I won’t be coming back for the poor service.

The woman is so rude at the reception desk. She ignored me when I arrived there o pick up my order, instead she just walked away to take other customers order and came back w annoyances toward me when I went 25 min later to pick up my order when I placed my order at 12pm. She even yelled at me and accused me. such a rude woman. Please get away from this rude woman if u plan to order or dine in at this place… Rude customer services rude rude rude…
一直以來我都認為這個餐廳是一個午餐的好地方，直到今天我才發現原來不是。他們的食物同價錢對現在的消費者來講是非常便宜和食物的量也非常合理。但是我認為消費者不應該受他們前臺接線員的氣。這個女人的態度非常惡劣，我２５分鐘去到詢問我的餐準備好沒有，而這個接線女對我不理不睬就走去下其他人的單。回來後，我問不是大概２０分鐘就可以嗎，她就大聲話餐沒有準備好不是我的問題，我又不可以決定。還對我大聲，無理加我“罪名”，還大聲問我那樣你要不要這個餐還叫我以後不要外賣。這樣的服務態度，更好的價錢我也不去。

Price is ok, but Service not good.
And the packages in the menu is one meal with free hot drink or add $ 1 for cold drink. But if you order 2 packages they will tell you only one (free hot drink/​$ 1 cold drink) for each person

We went in a different direction of ordering here… we got some fresh steamed oysters… and fresh lobster with ginger scallions… everything was good…
This place has become quite popular nowadays for family style eating…

In the beginning, I hate going here, even though the waitress was someone I knew for a long time. But as my family started going there more often, feelings about it changed. It went from the worst restaurant to the best one in the bay.
They have the best customer service, food, setting, and anything else that you can imagine. Just their friendly customer service beats all other Chinese restaurants in the neighborhood, so imagine the food. The Chiefs are excellent, highly skilled, and are very polite. The Chiefs can make anything you can imagine, as long as you want it and they’re not so busy, they’ll be up and above your standards; always performing 200%.
Their price range is average, but their breakfast and lunch specials are fairly cheaper and quicker than other places. No seats available upon your arrival? Give them a few minutes and you’re guaranteed a spot! Even though the restaurant looks a bit older and lower class than other Chinese restaurants, the customer service, quality AND quantity of food, and everything else about it will add up to be the best one in town. This will be my promise to you.
So if you never been here, you’re missing out. Give it a chance and you will never regret it!

Found this place walking around after the Warriors parade. So cheap! We got two coffee milk teas, orange chicken, a lamb dish, combination chow mien, salted pork, beef broccoli and combination fried rice for $ 56.00! The food was good. The outside of restaurant looks busted but our table and utensils were clean and the food was tasty and our the staff was very friendly!

3.5 stars… minus ½ star for ‘rudeness at the end’
I’ve passed this place for years and never thought of eating here… WHY? its located in a small, run down lot near a massage place that never looked inviting.
Then my friend tried it recently and said it was yummy and reasonably priced. 3 dishes for $ 19…can’t beat that considering other restaurants in the area have raised their prices and reduced their portions due to a new customer base aka hipster invasion!
This place is still old school and caters to its regulars and chinese customers. As the saying goes, a good chinese restaurant is bustling with chinese customers… in this case, its true! Can’t let this secret spot out!
*Lemon chicken — Sooo yummy! lightly battered and tender, generous pieces of chicken
* Salt and Pepper pork ribs — with sliced jalapeño, minced garlic, and green onions and not dipped in batter but with light corn starch… YUM
* Kung Pao chicken — peanuts, sliced celery, bell peppers in a spicy, delicious sauce. a little skimpy on the chicken but stil delicious!
* Beef chow fun — not too greasy, nice flavor
House soup — tasted like a simple ginger, beef soup
All items were delicious and definitely must get again!
Service is at a minimum… seated at a communal table, given forks, water, tea, order taken… food dropped off… waited for the check for awhile. decided to go up front… left tip on table. After we paid our bill, we walk towards the door and the lady at the register yells «hey hey hey…».we turn around… she yells ‘tip, tip, tip!”…how RUDE!!! um we left it on the table… no apology.
I guess that makes for an AUTHENTIC CHINATOWN restaurant experience… someone has to be yelling at someone!

Wow! I love a real Chinese breakfast. Place is crowded, prices are low and food quite decent. Complimentary was a hot Hong Kong Tea with condensed milk. Service was sketchy, food was worth coming back for.

This places food was ok but people very rude no service, a new waiter yet at me, I hope I can leave zero star, what the hell, hate them I will never come back!!! bitch !!!

I wish I could give it six stars. I am from San Diego and I visit this place every time I came to the Bay Area. Good food, cheap price, good service!

A good place for small portion foods during morning time, or even for lunch, too. I usually come here during late mornings.
I tried the cilantro rice noodle & curry fish balls. It’s pretty good! And of course, I had the coffee mixed with tea. I remember that it’s Hong Kong style, too.

3 dollar jook with lai tcha? how can you complain?

just went to this place yesterday and ordered the 3 meals deal. We asked to substitute 1 dish which was a not on the menu.(clam w black bean sauce). The waitress was a little hesitate but she said YES !!! (for 3 dollars extra …) Portions were generous ! 3 of us were full ! bill came out to be $ 25.65 ! extremely happy … On top of that, the waitress also bought us some dessert ! def come again !

Awesome 18.95 dinner: 3 dishes, soup and desert. What a deal!

I went here for an early lunch this past week around 10:30am. Although it was early, this corner joint was up and running fast!
We were quickly seated and given 3 different menus.
There was a paper menu with no pictures and written in Chinse.
A large spiral bound menu that was colorful with pictures.
And finally a tri-​fold menu with fewer pictures but pretty much the same as the spiral bound one.
We had read the reviews prior to dining so we had a good idea of what to get.
Lemon chicken
2 shrimp hand rolled noodles
Hot and sour soup
2 orders of steamed rice
We also ordered the red lychee tea. Everything came out so fast I could hardly believe it. Also, the staff was tending to at least 6 other tables and to-​go orders left and right.
Our waitress was really sweet and wore a giant smile! Also all the waitresses wear colorful shirts and fresh flowers in their hair so you really can’t miss them. I don’t think there is a card minimum. We did ask, but the answer was kind of confusing. Our order was under $ 20 so I’m pretty sure no card minimum.
The portion are big so we took home a good half of the rice, lemon chicken and soup. We ate the hand rolled noodles quickly which were really fresh and packed full of shrimp and garlic. Yummy!
I’ll definitely be back as it’s close to BART, home and school!
The parking lot is extremely tiny, but there is metered street parking all around. There are also some no-​limit spot near 9^th and Madison if you want to walk.
Until next time, happy eating!

I walk in at around 11:30am. I am at least 10 – 15 years younger than everyone else here. I heard about the place opening a year or two ago so I thought I’d give it a shot.
Food:
Food overall was good.
Pork Malay Rice Noodles– Spicy with a preserved vegetable taste though there was no preserved vegetables in here. I liked it my friend did not.
Three shreds Pan Fried Noodles — They gave me Chow Mein instead of pan fried. Didn’t bother me so I didn’t bother to have them correct it. On point.
Ja Yow– Rice paper on the fried chinese donut. It is a refried donut (super crunchy). This one was lacking a bit. I think it is the rice paper. Didn’t taste fresh.
Chicken Wings — Taste the same as all the other places.
Service:
Good ol Chinatown service! Wide range on their menu.
Environment:
This place is a lot bigger than I expected. It feels very old inside. Parking is not easy unless you want to pay. Their lot is almost always fulls so don’t even bother.
Price:
Pretty good prices overall. Though most places in chinatown offer similar pricing. I would come back to try their 3 for $ 19 deal.
Food: 4
Serivce: 3
Environment: 2
Price: 5

Very affordable Chinese food for the near penniless student like me! I’m speaking for all those Asian students who don’t come from rich families. I’ve been here twice, and each time has settled those Pooh bear rumblies in my tummy!
This place has some tasty hand rolled noodles if you come here in the morning. Garlic Chicken wings, Indonesian rice noodles, Curry Prawns w/​Rice, and Salted Fish Chicken over rice are bomb here. If you go with the specials which come with either rice or rice noodles, your bill will be under $ 6 for the whole thing. Ain’t that the most awesome?! My tuition and and books cost the most around here…
Service is impeccably attentive, friendly and quick. The waitress memorized my order when I called it out as she was rushing to the kitchen. Definitely a place to visit when in Oakland Chinatown.
I recommend this place for those broke @$$ college students who can’t afford anything over $ 10. xD

I’m surprised that this place isn’t getting better reviews. I came here a couple weeks ago with my family and two of our friends from church. They live in Oakland and discovered this place somewhat recently, so they suggested we try it out as well. The prices are extremely reasonable and the portion sizes make it an even better deal. If I lived a little closer/weren’t so adverse to the idea of being in Oakland (sorry, Oakland, but I must speak the truth :[), I’d totally come here for their awesome breakfast specials (at $ 1.50−2.50, how could you not?!). Or really, just to eat everything on sight. They also have $ 4.99 specials on all the weekdays ($ 5.99 if you want a hot drink to go with it).
Our servers were really nice to us and our food was brought to us very quickly. For $ 18.95, you can get 3 different dishes along with rice and soup. (The dishes you can pick from are rather plentiful. 80 to be exact. If you’re wondering why I know this, it’s because they gave us one of their print-​out menus to take home. I’m using it to re-​learn the rest of the Chinese characters I don’t know. Don’t hate.)
We ordered lemon chicken, beef stew pot, black mushroom with broccoli, garlic tender green (that might be missing an ‘s’?), tofu with salted fish & chicken, and a sweet & sour fish dish that I can’t remember the real name of. But they had me at lemon chicken. Any restaurant that can make a good version of that is good in my book, but all the other dishes were pretty awesome as well. I steered clear of the one with salted fish, but that’s only because I hate it. I hear it’s good, but I don’t really believe in giving second chances to salted fish.
We got extremely lucky with finding a parking spot, but the lot is tiny, so you’ll probably have more luck finding a spot on the street. If it’s after 6 p.m., you don’t even have to feed the meter. :]
They serve you this REALLY AWESOME lychee red tea for free. I’ve been trying to find it in stores so I can have it at home, but to no avail. :[

I am probably one of the pickiest person ever when it comes to chinese food. I not only ask for authenticity but as well as quality, price, portion and service. If i pay $ 6 for food, i better get it.
My family usually move from restaurant to restaurant all the time. We discover one and find it to fit our high standards. then its basically our cafeteria until the quality starts to droop.
B&M is our newest one yet. we absolutely love it. I love that not only do they serve typical dinner style food, but as well as hk café food such as sandwiches, baked rice platters, fried udon, chicken wings, and ICED OVALTINE! hehe.
but yeah, i love going to this place. I know the service isnt like a 5 star restaurant, but what chinese spot is. I love it because its more of a home feel. you can just get up urself and grab some napkins if the waiters are too busy. After all theres only about 3 of them working. Its not that serious people, it wouldnt kill u to go grab an extra pair of chopsticks that YOU dropped on the floor. yeah, its the waiters job, blah blah. but just treat this place like u would at home, then you’ll love it like my family.
As for portions, this place gives HUGE PORTIONS. my mom and i ordered the black pepper beef udon and a plate of veggies, and we were stuffed to the max and needed to bring it to go!
quality wise and authenticity, i guess everyones palate is different. however this place’s dinner menu is more cantonese based. my family says it reminds them of the food they used to eat in their villages.
overall, i love this place
PLUS! ITS ONLY 2 – 3 BUCKS FOR BREAKFAST!!! food plus a free drink!!! come on… thats cheaper than cam huong!!!

This Chinese cuisine prepared here is quite good quality at a very decent price, the downside is its service. It’s much better to come in a group, that way you could experience a wider variety of dishes to try out. You could come by yourself of course but culinary experience will be more limited in what you order for yourself. There are lunch specials available, but I’ve observed that these usually come with a very huge portion of white rice.
It’s better coming here with a group for lunch to taste a variety of dishes than coming by myself only trying one dish. Coming with at least three or more people, you could order off a menu list of $ 6.50 dishes, choosing a minimum of three (around $ 20) or more from this list, will include a house soup dining in and white rice, share family style.
The dishes we tried have been shrimp with soft tofu — a sensual delight, fish claypot, eggplant, fish with Chinese broccoli; posted in Chinese on the wall is ox-​tail in red wine claypot is not on this list costs $ 10 by itself and recommended. You may also order any of these dishes by itself for $ 6.50, $ 0.50 more each than ordering three dishes but you won’t get the house soup or white rice included.
Verify your order with your waiter/​waitress by having them review/​repeat the order back to you so you don’t end up with something you didn’t ask for. Also ask them to limit the amount of sodium as the eggplant was tasty but way too salty. The service has been very poor, from not taking your order, delivery a soft drink without a glass with ice, if you ordered at least three items from «the menu» the first course soup wasn’t delivered until they’re reminded to bring it after the courses ordered have arrived.
Street parking, BART 12^th Street City Center or Lake Merritt station, credit cards accepted with a USD 20 minimum. Sunday-​Thursday 7:30am-9:30pm, Friday-​Saturday 7:30am-10pm