Southland Flavor Cafe - Chinese/Taiwanese, Cupertino

10825 North Wolfe Rd #220, Cupertino CA 95014
(408) 446-9488, 446-9588
Parking: in shopping center parking lot
http://www.tainancafe.com/

Last Visited: November 15, 2009

Food: 3 stars
Service: 2 to 3 stars
Atmosphere: 2 to 3 stars
Price: $$

Located on the back side of the Cupertino Shopping Village with Ranch 99, Southland Flavor Cafe is a little tucked away, but we found it to be a clean and bright place with a variety of menu offerings.

I have now been there twice, both times in 2009, and found the food to be good enough for return visits and the service has been friendly. However, once the place gets busy, there doesn't seem to be enough staff to be attentive to the entire group of patrons.

The photos seem to reflect the food pretty well. I haven't found anything to stand out in either an excellent or a bad way. While I wouldn't rave about a particular dish, Southland does better than many small town Chinese restaurants and their food meets the standards I have set for Chinese food.

- Green Onion Pancake - The green onion pancake tastes of green onion, has a nice texture, and came cut into four large triangles. Good. $3.95

- Shanghai Steam Small Bao (8) - While the skin is fairly thin, the top of the bao is twirled so tight that you get a small glob of dough at the top. The bao is served with thinly cut strips of fresh ginger sitting in black vinegar. In general, it was okay, but it was no Din Tai Fung (If you've tried DTF, you know what I mean). $6.75

- Beef Chow Fun - The beef chow fun was fine. The quantity is okay considering the price. It contained green onions and bean sprouts as it should. None of the fun were burned (a sign of bad chow fun), and there was good "wok-air," so this dish was also fine. $6.75

- Sliced Pork & Dry Rice Stick Noodle - There were a lot of rice noodles and the flavor was okay. It seemed a lot like something you would get at home. Green onions, carrots, and onion strips were also cooked with the dish. Okay. $5.25

- Dry Noodle & Spicy Bean Sauce - By the time I remembered to take the picture, the sauce had been tossed into the noodles. It was fine as well. I appreciated the vegetable strips that gave the dish a bit of freshness. Okay. $5.50

It's properly named a cafe because the dining setting and presentation of food is simple and more family-style. The restaurant seems to be geared more toward Asian clientele. I say that only because their website is almost entirely in Chinese. Also, many of the patrons love their oyster pancake and stinky tofu. I haven't met a stinky tofu lover that isn't Asian yet, so perhaps that my bias.

Food is fresh and good, though not wow, and don't expect it to be a fancy place. Southland Flavor Cafe is great for a good tasting meal and solid standard Asian dishes.