Skyline Cafe - Chinese, Daly City

87 Skyline Plaza, Daly City CA 94015
(650) 991-1117
Parking: in shopping center parking lot
Hours: 10am-1am Daily

Last Visited: May 11, 2012

Food: 2 to 3 stars
Atmosphere: 2 stars
Service: 1 to 2 stars
Price: $ to $$

Located in the same shopping center as Ranch 99, Skyline Cafe is conveniently located and offers a lot of typical Chinese dishes at a very reasonable price.  However, note that it's cash only. 
Two units provide a lot of booth and table seating, and as dinner approaches, there are often lines out the door.  However, service here is extremely casual and sometimes nonexistent.

- Dry Fried Beef Chow Fun - The usual ingredients - chow fun, beef, green onions, onions, and bean sprouts. The flavor is good and you get a decent quantity of meat.  Pretty traditional.  While it's not the best I have tried, this is a good dish and great value.  I would have no qualms getting this again. Solid three stars.  $5.95

- Cod Fillet with Bitter Melon and Rice - Great wok air on this dish - it stays hot for a while.  The cod is tender and fresh and the bitter melon is sliced fairly thin and has absorbed the flavors of the black bean sauce. Two scoops of rice makes this a very filling dish.  Another solid three stars.  $5.50

Three dishes for $19.99.  A full page of choices is available for you to select three dishes from.  Some of the items require additional charges as noted on the menu.  The strange thing is that rice is included, but soup is an additional charge - since they didn't actually ask us if we wanted soup, it seems very strange to see it as an additional charge on the bill.

- Hainan Chicken - This was disastrous compared to the rest of the dishes.  The meat was dry and fairly flavorless.  It was hard to eat fresh, let alone as a leftover.  The pickled vegetables that came with the dish were also bad.  The daikon radish was bitter and only the carrots were good.  The cucumber was also lackluster.  I would avoid this dish like the plague.

- Braised Tofu with Vegetables - This dish was not that great either, but better than the chicken.  While the dish came out hot, the braised tofu was dense when it should be soft inside.  The vegetables, bok choy and dried mushrooms, were also just okay.  I was pretty disappointed with this dish and wouldn't get it again.

- Deep Fried Flounder (add $1.50) - Of the three dishes this evening, this was the best one.  The fish was fresh and the batter was light and crispy.  It came as expected with a slightly sweetened soy sauce underneath the fish.  A few green onions on top would make the presentation better.  Good.

Service here is minimal.  Staff is efficient in terms of taking your order and bringing the food quickly when the kitchen is ready, but they don't come back to check on you and getting a tea refill requires asking.  I was ready to give service two stars, but when the check came, one of the waitresses practically gave away my table while I was still sitting there and let the new customers hover over my table even before I had finished my tea, so I dropped their service rating.

While the first visit was really positive, my second visit left me desiring much more and leaning toward take out rather than dining in the restaurant to avoid the service issues.