Mama Chef

Friendly service, fast response and delicious food! I loved their fried rices, Taiwanese styled dishes and Taiwanese style shaved ice!
One star off for cash only and limited parking!

First time here, was an interesting experience.
Lamb in sa-​cha sauce, veggie tofu & mushrooms, fish in black bean and pork noodle soup were our picks.
Food overall was decent. We mentioned 3 – 4 times that we were first time there however didn’t get much in terms of recommendations. Also, part of the menu was in a language we didn’t understand, so some of the other tables had bobba teas which we were not able to find.
However, I will still try this again. the simplicity of the place is inviting and may be we will run into someone who can better help out.

CASH ONLY PLACE.
I enjoy this place because of the food and that’s why I’m giving them a 4 star review. As with most asian restaurants, the service isn’t always up to par but this is expected. The food just has to be good so that you will keep coming back.
Lunch hour seems to be quite busy most of the time so I definitely recommend coming early or during mid-​afternoon. They are open all day so that is a plus!
The items I recommend getting are the fried stinky tofu, the special beef noodle soup, and rice noodle with pork chitterlings. The consistency is great and everything always tastes the same every single time I go!

4 stars for how it compares to other Taiwanese cuisine I’ve had around the area. It’s decent food that just misses the mark of authenticity by one tiny bit (I.e type of noodle they use for the pig feet noodle soup, the mix of fat/​lean meat for the minced pork over rice and not that much fried crisp to the fried pork chops). My craving was well satisfied though, so it’s a solid joint overall.

MAMA CHEF IS NOT CLOSED. I’m not sure why it says here that this restaurant is closed but it definitely is not. We were just there yesterday. It’s one of our go to’s for Taiwanese food.

Oh my. The girlfriend and I were craving Spicy Beef Noodle Soup, and Unilocal guided us to this local beauty called Mama Chef. We ordered a Beef Noodle Soup, Fried Pork Chop over Rice, and a Watermelon Juice to share – everything hit the spot, especially that Soup. Packed with flavor and just the right amount of building heat, plus perfectly tender pieces of Beef, oh my. The Pork Chop was also awesome, with a slightly sweet marinade that the rice soaked up. But the big surprise was the Watermelon Juice. Wow. It tasted like blended fresh frozen watermelons: juicy and super cold. We downed it in minutes. The bill for the two of us came to $ 19, a steal of a deal. We’ll be back.

TW food galore! The menu items all have fairly plain English names, but there’s a gallery of food pictures around the restaurant (I noticed this en route to the bathroom, and that is how I decided on what to order.)
(++) Glutinous rice cooked in bamboo tube: Tasty, but rather filling and starchy the way glutinous rice usually is. The mixture of sauce (similar to the orange sauce that goes on oyster pancakes), mushroom bits, and the topping of fluffy dried pork was quintessential street food – composed of a bit of everything, yet coming together flawlessly.
(+++) Deep fried chicken roll: Sounds like a nonsensical fusion concoction, and it’s not the most aesthetic either; however it turned out to be my favorite. The roll consisted of juicy minced chicken wrapped in tofu skin, lightly fried to a mild crisp. It was just the right amount of indulgence without being too greasy.
(+) Beef noodle soup: QQ noodles with standard veggies and beef. The style was close to homemade as the broth wasn’t too salty. We got the small and it was a non-​tiny portion, though not quite enough for a big appetite.
It came out to ~$ 20 total for the satisfying meal. The restaurant itself is ordinary and without much flair, but it is cozy and clean. The biggest problem at Mama Chef’s? Deciding what to order with so many good options P:

One of my very favorite noodle dishes is Beef Noodle Soup and my go-​to spot has since closed so it was high time to find a replacement.
The stuff at Mama Chef is the real deal. I ordered a regular Spicy Beef Noodle Soup and my boyfriend got the pork chop rice plate and a watermelon drink. My soup was off the chain flavorful and the right amount of spicy without being too much. The meat was tender, the noodles were toothsome, and there were plenty of veggies to boot. My only complaint is there maybe could’ve been more noodles, but another reviewer mentioned that they are handmade so maybe that is the reason there was so few. The pork chop dish doesn’t really look like much but the flavor of the meat is amazing, whatever marinade they use really adds a lot of yummy to an already tasty meat.
Excited to go back and over-​beef myself.

If I could give minus stars I would! I ordered beef noodle soup and pig ear to go instead I get a damn bag of soup, because whomever bagged my stuff didn’t close the lid all the way! And it wasn’t even that busy. I had half a bowl left! A waste of $ 14.50! I WILL NEVER COME BACK!

3.5 stars but ok I’ll bump it up since it’s my first time reviewing an Asian restaurant. Came here for lunch, there’s a wait so be prepared. Inside is your typical Asian restaurant, pictures of food on the wall, chairs, tables etc… Food was quite tasty.
A: Meatball covered in sticky goo — (sorry I’m really bad at the names, hence why I do not review Asian food), sweet tasting, reminded me of spaghetti. My favorite of all the dishes
B: Beef Noodles — this is the kind of hangover noodles soup you eat after a long night
D: Spicy dumplings — these dumplings are spicy, no joke! I don’t mind spice but they used numbing spice, I am sooooooo over that ish! So I ended up washing those dumplings in the beef noodle soup to get rid of that numbing spice taste, clever eh?
A: Fried ground chicken dipped in that sweet sauce — again sorry for the naming. crispy fried stuffed ground chicken
A-​: Oyster pancakes — what is this sauce they use
F: Stinky Tofu — oh no no no no. Not for me. It’s an acquired taste that I have not acquired.
I’ll do better at remembering the name next time :)

I go to Mama Chef on a semi-​regular basis. It is a solid Taiwanese comfort food joint with good quality tasty food, pleasant service and reasonable prices. i have tried many items on the menu and it’s all yum. If I’m really hungry I go for the «over rice» section of the menu. Their Pork Chop Rice is a huge portion. One of their specialties is Stinking Tofu. I have tried this dish in a few places and it’s not my thing at all, but so many people order it at Mama Chef that the place is always smelling of Stinking Tofu. So if you eat here and find yourself asking, «eew, what smells like feet?» It’s the tofu, it’s supposed to smell like that I’m told.
It’s a small place but they move people in and out pretty fast, so if there is not a table available just wait a few minutes and one will open up quickly. This is one of the few places I will wait for a table.

I am a Taiwanese; when it comes to Taiwanese food, the first thing comes to my mind is BEEF NOODLE SOUP. I have tried so many Chinese restaurants or TW places at the Bay and couldn’t find the authentic taste of hometown beef noodle soup. You can find it here, Mama Chef. Also, their stinky tofu is good too! Not as good as in Taiwan, but at least it is the closest one I have tasted. However, their sour and spicy noodle is totally different from Taiwanese sour and spicy noodle, which is out of my expectations.

It’s been a long time since it’s opened, but still my very favorite Taiwanese restaurant in the south bay.
Favorite dishes:
–Chicken Roll (Made with pork but called chicken roll, delicious!)
–Mix-​mix (Pork ear, bean curb, and beef tripe, a little bit of spicy makes it perfect!)
They’ve also got many authentic Taiwanese dishes, and my personal favorites are their lamb/​pork fried rice, dried noodles, as well as the salty rice ball (with meat inside).
Again, the place is small, but the food is still awesome. I always come back here when I need my fix for Taiwanese food.

Ordered fried stinky tofu, spicy stinky tofu, onion pancakes, fried rice, and pickled cucumbers!
Food was excellent

Cash only hole in the wall with tasty Taiwanese food. The beef noodle soup and mi ago (sticky rice with meat) were awesome. The gua bao (taiwanese hamburger) wasn’t very good. The oyster noodle soup was okay but there weren’t many oysters. The basil eggplant was prepared very nicely and had good flavor. We will have to try more dishes next time we go.

I drove all the way out here from East Bay with my parents for lunch. and was a bit disappointed in more ways than one.
Prices are really reasonable on their super-​extensive menu of Taiwanese eats, but it’s cash only, so keep that in mind regardless as you start skimming the menu to figure out just how many dishes you wanna order to take home for later.
Ordered a oyster noodle soup, was mildly disappointed by how few oysters and noodles there were. If I wanted a long intestine soup, I would ordered it on the menu two lines above the oyster noodles.
Would not drive all the way down here again just to eat really really ridiculously mediocre oyster noodle soup.

Mama Chef knows how to make good stinky tofu!
My friend E and I were excited to try this place out because of the good reviews from several people I follow on this site. She and I have been on this quest for the best stinky tofu in the East/​South Bay area. Frankly, outings like this is a lot of fun for both of us since we both have pretty busy careers. It simply allows us to decompress a little from the stress of life and work.
We arrived at the restaurant just before 7:30pm last night and the place was already packed. Fortunately, a table opened up quickly and we were seated by one of the servers. I took a quick glance after we sat down and the place appeared clean. Pictures of all the different dishes plastered the walls. E told me the setup reminded her of some of the small restaurants she visited while living in Taiwan.
Since we were both pretty hungry, we decided to order and share the following dishes:
— Deep Fried Stinky Tofu
— Spicy Stinky Tofu (stewed, not deep fried)
— Taiwanese Sausage
— Popcorn Chicken
— Deep Fried Chicken Roll
— Combo Rice Noodles
The combo rice noodles was the first to arrive. This was recommended by the server and it was pretty darn good. Taiwanese rice noodles were stir fried with pork liver, shrimp, pork, and vegetables. Pork liver was fresh, as no off taste was noticed. I loved that the dish was not over sauced. It came out dry like it ought to be.
The two stinky tofu dishes were up next. The pungent smell hit us as soon as the server placed the dishes on our table. We tried the deep fried ones first and they were hot and stinky. We agreed that they were better than the ones we had at Grand Harbor in Fremont a few weeks ago. The spicy ones were more subtle stink wise at first. But after a while, we both noticed that the smell intensified. Taste wise it was pretty good. Both dishes were approved by E, the stinky tofu connoisseur.
The Taiwanese sausage reminded me of ham. It tasted like ham and the texture was just like ham. It was served with raw garlic slices. All in all, it was pretty good because I like ham! Popcorn chicken was lackluster in my opinion. It lacked crunch and the taste was on the mild side. I have definitely had better.
Deep fried chicken roll was excellent. It was made with ground pork and chopped onion and was deep fried to perfection. The sauce that came with the dish had a slight tang to it. Make sure you eat this while hot and don’t let it sit around for too long.
The older lady who served us was very friendly. She gave us some recommendations and even brought over their house made chili sauce when we were having the stinky tofu. The entire meal cost less than $ 40. It was definitely a great bargain. E and I both agreed that this place is worth a return trip for us. Highly recommended if you are in the mood for authentic Taiwanese food!
BONUS MATERIAL:
— Cash only apparently.
— This restaurant is located in a tiny strip mall off of Highway 280 at Stevens Creek Boulevard, right on the border of Santa Clara and Cupertino. You have to look hard for this place. Small parking lot on site.

I love Taiwanese food! Especially the pig ears and the tofu claypot. Food comes out fast and cheap prices. Definitely a good place to go with your family and friends and share family style.

Came here the other night for dinner when I was craving for some good Taiwanese. Ever since I moved to the Bay Area it seems that there really isn’t a lot of good Taiwanese places… though Mama Chen and Mama Liang’s are good… this place, Mama Chef (What is up with all these «Mama» names?) really is very good.
Some things we ordered:
(1) 臭豆腐 Stinky Tofu:
I can’t really take stinky tofu that’s mainland Chinese style but I do enjoy Taiwan’s milder version. Their stinky tofu tastes just like the ones that I could get on the streets of Taipei. I enjoyed the stinky tofu with the pickled vegetables a lot.
(2) 肉圓 Ba Wan (Meat Dumpling):
The Ba Wan was good! While not as great as Taiwan, it truly is very very close to what I remember it should be tasting like.
(3) 蚵仔煎 Oyster Pancake:
This uses the same sauce as the Ba Wan. I thought this one was good but isn’t a must order.
(4) 紅燒牛肉麵 Beef Noodles:
This was very good! Though when I asked for less spicy it still came out to us as a bit spicy. Overall, the texture of the noodles and the beef were great.
I can’t wait to go back to try more of the menu in the future.

Came here with a friend who recommended it and we thoroughly pigged out – so good!
The stinky tofu won the day for me though. Oh stinky tofu, how I love thee, let me count the ways. One, that crispy exterior giving way into a soft warm tofu. Two, the pungent aroma that only true believers understand and love. Three, the way my breath smells afterwards… ok, I’m not a huge fan of three but luckily one and two overpower three so my love stands firm!
We also ordered shacha (kind of like chinese bbq sauce in hotpot) noodles, oyster pancake (the sauce was like, something eggy? Didn’t know what exactly was goin on but I liked it), and bamboo shoots+mushrooms to be healthy. Everything came out to be around 14 dollars a person (so cheap!?) and we had leftovers for days.
Honestly, the stinky tofu’s the real winner, but everything else was not bad and probably necessary to save me from a pungently aromatic tofu overload. Def coming back!