Ark Chinese Restaurant - 1405 Park Street, Alameda, CA 94501 (510) 521-6862

October 28, 2012 – Seven of us went to Ark Chinese Restaurant for dinner. 

Vera and Greta have had take-out garlic noodles from Ark many, many times. But we had never eaten in and seen the noodle show before. This place is known for their house-made, hand-pulled noodles. We had:

• Fried Cheese Crab Wonton – Jen says, “They were creamy and tasty.”
• Juicy Pork Steam Dumplings – Greta says, “I loved the taste of them because it tasted very tofu-sausage-y and I love that texture. I would give it five out of five stars.”

• Braised Egg Tofu – Greta says, “I loved it a lot. The texture was very juicy and mushy and I like that type of texture when I am eating tofu. I loved the taste of it and the long chewy mushrooms that came with the dish. I would give it five out of five stars.”

• Wonton Soup – Greta says, “I loved the taste of this because it felt nice and slick and chewy at the same time. I would give it five out of five stars.”
• Kung Pao Meatless Chicken – Jen says, “I loved the Kung Pao meatless chicken. The “meat” was firm and dense and umame, tasting vaguely of mushrooms. And it was just the right amount of spice and the vegetables were also very good.”
• Baked Portuguese Chicken with Rice – Greta says, “This dish comes with baked curry rice and little chunks of chicken. I loved the fried potato because the texture of it feels like dough. I would give it five out five stars as well.”
• Stir-Fry Mixed Vegetable – Jen says, “The vegetables were very good, the snowpeas, broccoli, and feathery mushrooms. The zucchini could have been cut thinner. I like mine more well-done.”
• Garlic Noodles – The garlic noodles are house made, hand pulled and one of the specialties of this restaurant. We had a great view into the kitchen and could watch the chef make the noodles – all different thicknesses. Vera said, “They were really garlicky and I really liked them. And it looked really cool when the guy was making them.” 

Here is the noodle show (filmed by Greta): 

This restaurant is also famous of their beautiful fruit sculptures. Plus you get some fancy fruit with fortune cookies for dessert.

Compost Report—We asked our waitress about composting, but she wasn’t too sure what they had. We gave her a brochure to give to the chef. The chef was making noodles, so we will need to come back later.