Second visit (A t last! Whatever happened to "soon" after the first one?) this time with my beloved granddaughter who requested this as her first choice for a special outing. Again, too much food was ordered, but that's what take-home boxes are for, right? Personal highlight today was the discovery of the shrimp/pork/chive dumplings; they are sublime! The wrap seemed even thinner than the ones used for the soup dumplings (for whatever reason, today those did not enchant me) and the filling is utterly perfect. Amazing blend of flavors...not too salty...maybe just a tiny bit more oily than I would prefer, but I think that's par for the course with this flavorful cuisine. And the beans with pork bits continue to be a standout. Thanks for feeding us so well, good people at XLB!

Great patio and service for satisfying meal. Review coming soon after two separate visits

We came here soon after its grand opening, disappointed, and never again till now. Must say they have greatly improved. That said, I did not order XLB. Really, that first bad impression was hard to shake. The patio seatings were a big plus. It was a walled garden well-shaded either artificially or naturally. I just don't know what would it like when weather is bad. The star was the tea-smoked duck 樟茶鸭 -- good smoking aroma, well cooked duck, balanced flavors. The bamboo rice is really a fancy container that locked the juices (mostly fat) into the rice-bed. There was no fresh bamboo flavors. The pork-belly was excellently cooked, albeit on the fatty side. DanDan Noodles 擔擔麵 was authentically Sichuan, I enjoyed the little bit I ate, since it has peanuts that I am slightly allergic to. Pan-fried buns 生煎包 were disappointing. Dough too thick, filling lacks juice and sweet. I will come again and, strangely, not for their namesake flares.

I met here a few times for meals with friends and family. XLB is a great, nice, and thin wrap with soup. We order pork belly with sticky rice, which is tasty. Won-ton soup is good, as are fried rice and noodles. My friends love the chili oil won ton. The service is nice and efficient. If you have a group, make a reservation. It can get busy at lunch and dinner.

Easy to miss spot when driving by, but you don't want to miss it if you like XLBs! The XLB was big and the soup was so... thick? Not literally thick, but it was so flavorful and hearty. Awesome The chongqing chicken was plenty but not as spicy as what I've usually had (pro or con depending on who you ask). The sautéed string beans were kind of addicting because it also had pieces of pork and must've been cooked with some pork-ness. I only do not recommend glutenous rice pork bamboo thing. It's gimmicky and tastes way too porky. The pork itself was almost as mushy as the rice so I didn't really like that. I searched for every green onion I could find to cut through the mushy and monotone taste.

Spontaneously decided to come here for dinner and loves the homey feel and taste of this place. Here'e what we ordered: - XLB (4/5): This is one of the better XLBs. It is a little bit sweeter but theres so much dense, flavorful broth which I don't see in as much xlbs. - Sauteed string beans (4/5): Good flavor - lots of ginger, pork, and maybe garlic? I wish it was more sauteed for us - Chongqing chicken (3/5): Loves the small pieces (theyre practically boneless) and the amount they provide but I wish it was spicier. - Pork Belly with glutinous rice (4/5): Really unique dish. Maybe slight flavor of bamboo in it? A little pricey but would come again if we want a homey meal.

XLBK is one of our "goto" places for a family dinner out. We've been here several times, and I just didn't get around to writing this overdue review. One must have is the steamed buns, or XLBs. We usually go simple+good, so this means the pork buns are a favorite. We had them this time and they were great as usual. The skins are skillfully wrapped and trap in the soupy goodness. The sauce on the side is tasty and plentiful Another favorite is the "Glutinous Rice with Pork in Bamboo." The dish is served in a bamboo log and tastes great. I like the way the glutinous rice absorbs all the sauce and complements the tasty pork bits. It is also an interesting looking dish as you can see in the photo I uploaded. A family fav, and regular order, is the Sautéed String Beans. Well selected beans that are not tough or overcooked. Tasty sauce with good amount of garlic and other flavors. This time we went for the Tofu Skin with Pork. We had intended to get a somewhat different Tofu skin dish (Vegetables wrapped in tofu skin) but we had a slight mixup and then decided to just go ahead and take this dish, which was once again something we liked a lot for the chew texture of the tofu skins. Also the skins absorb a lot of flavor from the sauce. There were just two of us at dinner this particular night, so we had plenty of leftovers to bring home and enjoy later. Additionally, our service was prompt and courteous. We went a little early (~5:30pm on a weekday) and did not have to wait to be seated. I believe it is much more crowded on weekends and later in the evening.

Came by for lunch the other day and it was a decent experience. XLB Kitchen took over Erik's Delicafe and their menu seems to be remarkably similar to another Shanghainese shop in Mountain View years ago... Parking is available on the street or in their private strip mall lot. Dining is available indoors or in their patio. Started off with their smoked duck and it was quite tasty. Smoky, fragrant, and flavorful. The duck was quite meaty too. The beef noodle soup was huge. Plenty of noodles along with tender chunks of beef. The xlb were decent and seemed homemade. Service was quick and efficient by the staff. ~$33/head after tax and gratuity for lunch with plenty of leftovers for at least another meal!

Came by on a weekday afternoon for lunch. Really wanted dumplings so decided to check this place out. It's kind of small inside so you may have to wait for a table if they get a bit busy. Service was friendly, enjoyed the atmosphere. We ordered 2 orders of their soup dumplings, beef noodle soup, and smoked duck. Their soup dumplings were alright, i like it better than din tai fung, but i think there's some better locations that make the soup dumplings a bit better in SF. Their noodles were good, but it was a surprising take on beef noodle soup because it had a bit of sour and numbing spicy to it. The noodles were thin flour noodles, it got kind of mushy really fast. I still enjoyed eating it though. Their smoked duck was the star of the show! Beautifully smoked, with an amazing crispy exterior. The duck itself was really tender. Great smokey flavor to it. Really glad we got to check out this spot, especially because of the duck!