23089 Sat Feb 22 22:55:06 -0800 2003 5 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 87019 After glowing report from several sources, we visitted this place today. It is located in a small shopping complex accross the beach overlooking San Mateo bridge. The place is medium sized probably fit 40 people max with very simple chinese decorations. The menu was all in chinese although they do have english menu somewhere. Good thing I brought my chowhound report with me. First, the tea arrived in a big ceramic pot. Nice and hot. The waitress who did not speak english too well, recommended an appetizer that looked like a flaky pastry with some type of pork filling. I detected some ginger in the pork filling. It had the consistency of a paste. It was allright, nothing more. I would not reorder these. Next, Taiwanese chicken turned out to be boneless chicken pieces in a dark soy sauce with some basil. It was inside a claypot. Good with rice. Knife cut chowmein: the thick white chowfun has nice resitance to the bite. It has sliced beef and carrots, all mixed with brown sauce(oyster sauce?) that was very tasty. Good execution here. Mushu pork: round flour wrapper had thick doughy skin but very pliable, moist and tasty. The filling is julliened pork slivers sauteed in the dark soy sauce reminiscent of the above chicken dish. A bit of green onion slivers were also present. When rolled with the wrap, the whole thing is delicious. Potsticker: sorry, this is still not to my liking. It is big about 5 inches long. The skin is medium thickness. The filling is pork with bits of vegetable (cabbage) and a hint of ginger. It comes with a dark sauce probably some soy, garlic and vinegar. Many said it's "perfect". Well, I had a perfect one in Indonesia two months ago. It had juicy filling, small bite size pieces. The closest one in USA is at RYOWA in Mountain View which is still not there yet. Stinky tofu: this one is definitely stinky. Some dark soy sauce is added on top. The tofu is fried with the inside a bit mushy consistency. Not my favorite taste. The bill came to around $50 with tax and tip included. This place is quite good and has some potential IMO. Here is the address: Joy Restaurant. 1495 Beach Park Blvd , Foster City Sat Feb 22 22:55:06 -0800 2003 0 Han Lukito 1 87113 Joy is one of my favorit place when I get out there. I think there are big difference between Taiwanese potstickers and Indonesian ones. I like the ones at Joy a lot, and some of my fellow Taiwese eaters says they do make a pretty authentic version at Joy. Mon Feb 24 15:03:26 -0800 2003 87019 0 Wendy Lai 2 87147 If you could only taste the ones I had in Indonesia. It is sooooo goood. Gyoza,japanese potstickers are almost the same size but it still lacks the flavor and the juiciness of the fillings. Mon Feb 24 19:03:57 -0800 2003 87113 0 Han Lukito 3 87278 I also wish I could have taste those sooooo good potstickers :) Tue Feb 25 19:24:01 -0800 2003 87147 0 Wendy Lai 4 87307 The ones I had in Indonesia were small about 2 inches long and plump. The skin is medium thickness, nicely browned on one side. The filling is pork and some veggie (probably cabbage and green onion) and some seasonings. The neat trick is the liquid soup that is still inside. Similar to XLB but of course the taste is different. One of these days, I will learn how to make it and probably present it at a chowhound picnic or something like that. Tue Feb 25 21:48:56 -0800 2003 87278 0 Han Lukito 1 87285 I've been to Joy a few times and have always been impressed by this restaurant. But I always go with someone who can read the Chinese menu and knows what to order, as the English menu is just standard fare. I think they really shine on the weekend when they have Taiwanese brunch food, really tasty. Unfortunately, I don't know the name of most dishes I've had there since I never do the ordering. Tue Feb 25 20:07:56 -0800 2003 87019 0 Malik