A & J Bistro
“Some of my favorite items are the fried pork chop over rice, spicy wontons, spicy beef noodle soup, and beef pancake roll.”
“Try the 1st spicy beef and tendon noodle soup on the menu and also the braised pork on rice with braised egg!”
“"So we put our hands up like the ceiling can't hold us" – macklemore
As other yelpers have mentioned this place is CASH ONLY.”
A & J Bistro
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Under $10
8 reviews
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Simple, byo, CASH ONLY place with a small menu in a corner of a mall–but with very good Taiwanese dishes that are hard to find elsewhere.
Very inexpensive–few dishes are above $9. Very nice staff, who are eager to describe the unfamiliar dishes–and the familiar sounding dishes (Dan Dan noodles and others ) which are prepared differently than in Sichuan, etc places.
Do not expect to find typical Chinese-American dishes here.
When you walk in and all you hear is Chinese, from both the workers and patrons, you know this place is legit.
I get the Lu Rou Fan, which is like… $4. Cheapest dinner ever! The scallion pancake is also really good. Noodle soups are delicious, too! Basically come here if you want some authentic Taiwanese food with no frills.
Cash only
Wow, this place is great! Of all the places on the East Coast, who would've thought there would be an A & J (半畝園) nestled in a corner of a busy outdoor shopping center in East Hanover, NJ? Whenever I visited my family back in LA, I would always make a stop at A & J in Arcadia for some authentic Taiwanese food. The food is absolutely on point at this location and reminds me of being in Taiwan. Not only is the food delicious, but the service is great too. When I had accidentally ordered the wrong item, the waiter gave me the item that I had actually wanted at no extra charge. One star deduction because I live in Brooklyn, and it's really difficult to get here without a car.
Five stars.
Two very hungry people stumbled upon this restaurant last Sunday. There is a parking lot for the plaza. We don't got time looking for street parking.
As soon as we entered, the space is clean and friendly staffs greet you. One staff asks how many. Two. He opens up his arm and says Choose your pick. We seat promptly.
They brought us paper menu and a pencil. I was a bit confused about the pencil, but later found out that the waiter wanted us to circle the items we wanted on the paper menu. He knew. He knew we were going to get a lot of food.
The spicy wonton. Great! The best I've had. In fact, when we came back to the restaurant the very next day, we circled this again.
Dan Dan Mien with pork. They had two options for the noodles. Thin or thick. We got thick noodles and they were freshly made. I've had better Dan Dan noodles in Boston Chinatown, but not bad.
Bean curd with thousand year egg, aka the duck egg. It was crushed tofu with sesame oil topped with the egg. The combo worked.
Tendon with spicy sauce. First time having a warm tendon dish. The spicy sauce wasn't too overpoweringly spicy and we both liked it.
Scallion pancake with stuffed veggies. I can have this dish everyday. I can imagine it being good for a quick breakfast, a lunch, an afternoon snack, a dinner, or a late night snack. With or without chopsticks. Fork and knife if you want to feel fancy, but I believe you can still be fancy eating with fingers. We got this dish again the next day of our return. It comes with a sauce that goes well with the pancakes. Just ask the staff nicely if they forget to bring to you at the first place.
Fried pork with rice. It's kind of like a katsu dish but has Chinese seasoning. On our first visit, we had this dish to go for our next day's lunch. We learned that it is the best when we eat it at the spot, just like most of all fried foods. Our resolution was to go back to eat fresh, the reason why we ran back to the restaurant the next day. Two thumbs up.
So far we have tried 3 types of bubble teas: guava, lychee, and honey dew. Honeydew had too much green #3 food coloring. Very pretty. My old college roommate used to have that green colored hair. We would not order it again for that reason. (Not the hair, but too much food coloring) Guava and lychee were delicious. I liked the fact that they had just a bit of ice in the drinks to keep it cool. Too many times I wonder why I am paying $4+ for ice. I came close of carrying a portable ice maker.
This is my first review on Yelp and am happy to be reviewing this place.
A place that offers authentic Taiwanese dishes. All noodles were well executed and broth was really good. Portion is small here, so you can order a lot!
Check out A&J bistro based on a word of mouth recommendation for lunch during the work week.
I went with the spicy beef as my order. You could get it in a soup style or just with some broth on the bottom. There is also the option of
flat or thin noodle. The spice level wasn't too intense but the broth did get to me at one point! The beef was nice and tender.
Keep in mind that A&J is cash only! There is an ATM inside and a TD bank in the shopping strip mall.
I would like to continue to check out what else A&J has to offer on their menu.
For someone who is part Taiwanese, I must say A&J Bistro hits the spot! There are not many Taiwanese restaurants around to begin with and I'm so happy there is one so close to me! Oh and it's in a strip mall which is perfect because you can just walk around after you stuffed your face with that deliciousness!
I've been here a few times already and I always do it family style with whoever I come with because there's so many things to try! The food is authentic and the prices are so reasonable (take out prices but food is way better!). Some of my favorite items are the fried pork chop over rice, spicy wontons, spicy beef noodle soup, and beef pancake roll. You can't go wrong with any of those menu items. I can't wait to come back and try more items off the menu. They really do have a big selection of items to choose from.
Service has been pretty good every time I've dine here even when it's super busy. It does get pretty packed on the weekends, so come early! The ambiance is alright (I'm coming for the food and the amazing prices after all) but the restaurant itself is very clean. I'm just so happy I don't have to travel so far for good Taiwanese food anymore. Thank you A&J Bistro, I will be back soon!
FYI: This place is cash only, but they do have an ATM machine inside.
The food here is simply fantastic. All the dishes we tried tasted truly authentic and I can't wait to go back for more! Order the Dan Dan Mian #1292 – Noodles (either thin or wide) in a spicy cashew sauce topped with crushed peanuts – take my word and try it! The dishes are fairly inexpensive and it's a nice casual place to grab dinner. The staff are very polite and the waiter describe every dish we ordered to make sure it was made to our liking.
Hit the ATM and liquor store before leaving because this place is cash only and BYOB.