New China: Delish in the South Bay

Growing up in the neighborhood near San Francisco, I've always felt like I had the ability to at least differentiate between relatively authentic and poorly represented Chinese food. You can usually find a decent restaurant in the residential areas of the Richmond and Sunset district of San Francisco, such as Geary Blvd., Irving St., Noriega St., Taraval Ave., Clement Ave., and the more popular streets bustling with asians for produce and meals.

Ironically, one of my favorite Chinese restaurants I've grown to love is situated in the South Bay --Union City. New China may not appear impressive at first glance, being that it's a tiny store in the middle of an asian shopping center, but once you enter the shop the tables are usually fully occupied and people are waiting in line either for seats or for their to-go meals. This place is one of those litte hole-in-a-wall restaurants, but it's actually quite amazing and well-maintained. Even though this place is hectic, once you sit down get ready for good quality Chinese food.

The menu consist of typical dishes seen in many Mandarin cuisine style restaurants. Typical dishes include the hand-wavy stinky tofu, beef noodle soup (variety such as braised, tendon, stewed), pan fried noodles, ho fun, clay pots, fish fillets, spare ribs, 3 cup chicken, sizzling meats, as well as szechuan dishes. In addition, customers have a choice between free soup in a family-sized bowl or milk tea with tapioca as well as free refills.

The price range falls between $3.99 (mostly appetizers) to $6.99 (generally beef, lamb, and seafood). What I love about this place is not only do they have a reasonable lunch special, but their dinner a la carte does not exceed $6.99 a plate. The menu is generally set at prices of $5.99, $6.49, and $6.99. With these kinds of prices, one may think the portions are small, but in fact they are relatively huge. For 7 people, my family ordered 7 dishes and the total came out to $65 including tax and tip.

A noteworthy dish to mention is one of the many popular dishes customers seem to order while eating here, the string bean with dry bean curd. The flavor of this dish was just right and is a great vegeterian alternative for those who are conscious of meat. The red bell peppers make the dish more savory in comparison to other restaurants with a similar dish.


Another unique dish is the 6 gigantic meatballs with vegetables. These meatful joys have an extremely tasteful sauce that can be used to marinade your rice and give a great juicy beef flavor. The dish also includes several pieces of black mushrooms and bamboo shoots. A good alternative to this dish is their beef stew, which also has a great effect in rice.

Walnut prawns is a guilty pleasure that I've always loved to devour at traditional wedding and Chinese banquets, which is why I was thoroughly excited to order this dish at New China. The portions of the prawns are ample, with a mountain full of shrimp just waiting to be eaten with the creamy mayonnaise sauce. It is the one time I would not feel guilty about shoving a spoonful of mayonnaise into my mouth because I know it's worth it, and at New China it definitely is. For the number of prawns you get for the price ($6.99), it makes me wonder if there is an excess of shrimp roaming the sea.


So if you're ever in Union City or Fremont, I highly recommend stopping by here and trying out their dishes. They have a huge selection in their menu waiting to be discovered and to satisfy your needs. I know I will whenever I'm around the area and feel like having some good Chinese food. :)

1743 Decoto Rd
Union City, CA 94587
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