XO Taste

Throughout the years the food quality here has really declined a LOT. I remember 2 years ago my parents would bring the family here for dinners and reunions. However now when I mention XO to them, the first thing they do is warn me about the automatic 15% gratuity charge and to check the price when the bill comes because they’re known to deceive customers. It’s a shame because this used to be one of my fave spots to eat.
I gave two stars only for the service because our waiter was really attentive and nice.

Should change the name from XO Taste to NO Taste.
We got egg rolls, ramen, sui Mai and none of it had any taste. Like it was in the verge of expectation or re cooked. Ok maybe my fault for ordering ramen at a Chinese resultant. But the noodles in no way looked or tasted like ramen.
In addition a female server was very rude to my 4 year old. My daughter was playing with a salt and pepper shaker to amuse herself. Not tilting them or anything just pretending they were people, walking them around the table like 4 year olds do.
The waitress walked over. Said be careful, and took them away from our table.
The best part was 10 minutes later she put a piping hot plate right in front of her and said to be careful the plate is very hot… Priorities…
Overall bad taste, bad service. Never going back.

The lighting here is a bit hooker-​y. If you don’t know what that means then don’t worry about it, let’s talk about the food instead. This is one of those places where you gotta order the right thing to get the most out of your trip, as not everything here is good. Get the following and you won’t be disappointed
1. Fried Dumplings. These are not like any dumplings you’ve ever had. The filling is akin to shumai, very plump and juicy. The shell is a bit crispy, and with the sweet soy sauce drizzled over it, it’s as perfect as a $ 5 bill can get you. Next time you are here, look at your neighbors’ tables, I bet they have a plate of these on them
2. Order any of the dishes over rice, or the grilled dish over rice/​spaghetti. Avoid any of the Thai/​non-​canto dishes as they don’t do those so well.
3. Order dessert. Just do it, you have room in your stomach
And that’s how you do the 5 star XO Taste experience!

Ordered Hawaiian fried rice cuz it says mixed meats, but it only have ham and shrimp, not exactly mix meat. Didn’t expect shrimp to be in there as well. Rice is too wet and ham is tasteless. Shrimp has an alkaline taste to it…

Cheap eats, cheap $hit. The menu is very extensive offering everything from congee to Chinese tapas to noodle and rice dishes. I’ve been here more than 3 times, against my wishes for the most part.
The last and final time I was here, I received an order of wonton soup. The noodles and broth that it arrived in can only be described as ammonia in smell, dishwashing detergent in taste. I assume that no one wants to foam at the mouth (in public at least). Kansui (translation: soap water), or food-​grade lye water, is typically used to give egg-​based noodles its springy texture. I’m not a doctor, but any time I get this taste in my mouth, I feel one or more of my organs giving out.
When I wanted to return the dish, the waitress acknowledged that they «might not have changed the water used to soak the noodles.» That’s a piece of information I never want to hear at a food establishment.
Since I have not had even one remotely decent dish here, I’ve deemed XO a NO-​NO. Clever girl.

XO Taste is going to have most of what you want to eat if you’re looking for Pan Asian cuisine. The have Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Franco Chinese cuisine, Chino Latino cuisine there’s no balut on the menu. The last time I went there with my friends (there were six of us) we were actually so overwhelmed by the choices we took to discussing what wasn’t on the menu before deciding what we did want.
They do have bubble tea. Did I mention that? Now how many restaurants where you can actually have a full meal also offer bubble tea? I don’t know of any other spots in the city where you can have both. I personally like this perk.
The décor is a bit kitschy. It’s brightly lit and there are several televisions on…so not exactly the spot you want to go to if you want to set the mood for a romantic dinner. That said its a great spot for groups, or if you want to dine alone you won’t feel strange doing so here. You won’t feel like there are eyes on you or, anything. The seating is comfy. Your picky eater friends will actually find something on the menu to eat.
That said stop by XO Taste. The last time I was there I had a nice delicious bowl of Ox Penis Soup. Don’t knock dick soup till you’ve tried it, it is actually pretty good. Mild and a little gelatinous but not overly so. From what I understand, this is one of the few spots you can consume this delicacy in the city and they do a nice job with it. However, if you aren’t quite ready to eat a dick. I can definitely recommend the congee and dim sum or, mango shrimp.

Really yummy cheurng fun (rice rolls) and baked pork chop rice! Pretty much everything I had with A and my mom was very fresh and tasty. I would come back again!

Solid ChaoZhou cuisine (south east China, similar to GuangZhou food). I’m a frequent visitor of the restaurant in Chinatown. Long menu of good variety of food. Must try: tofu GuiHua fish stew, Japanese fried dumplings, seafood/​beef/​pork mi fen, and all kinds of soup pot. Also a great spot for veggie lover because they cook them in tender and healthy yet tasty ways.
If you prefer healthy, authentic Chinese food, give it a try!

I would rate this higher than a 3 but definitely less than a 4.
I think you get a better experience here if you come here with Chinese people. Yes, that’s the unfortunate case in many places in Chinatown. Like many places here, you have to catch one of the servers’ eyes or they’ll just bypass you. Also, the place doesn’t look super clean and the bathrooms are cramped and usually wet (ew).
The menu is pretty extensive; I usually get some sort of hot noodle or rice dish. They also have dim sum, congee and some Japanese dishes. The prices have gone up since a few years ago, when it was really quite cheap. I usually like to get the chicken and cheese casserole. Cheese is not a staple in Chinese foods, and I do like this dish… very cheesy and you feel full, albeit much of that is because of the rice. It’s now $ 7.50, which is still affordable by NYC standards. I also like to get the chicken cutlet with a few Chinese vegetables and a tea-​flavored egg (with rice).
You get some sort of hot tea for free. They have a small selection of beer ($ 4). They also serve smoothies and bubble tea.
Again, prices are good, food is pretty good and filling, and service is meh. I’ll still come back!

Had the most amazing meal with my husband last night! We had baked garlic jumbo oysters, braised tofu with Chilean sea bass, salt baked chicken wings and grilled squid. To top it all off, the Thai iced tea made me feel like I was floating in heaven. XO has jumped to my #1 place to bring family and friends!

Everything here is so good! I always want to try something new but always end up getting the same things. pan fried dumplings (Japanese style) and beef chow fun. both delicious!
Fast service, not so friendly, but the food and prompt service makes up for it!

Huge menu, even for Chinatown standards. It’s also strung out throughout the restaurants, on multiple print menus and snacks all over the walls. Some are Chinese-​only, others have English. Most are Cantonese but there are snacks and meals from all over the country and the diaspora.
All of this means I had no idea whether I came remotely close to getting what this place does well. But it was fine. I got some pan fried dumplings and some noodles with black bean sauce. Both were perfectly fine. The dumplings are missing some of the char and flavoring on the meat that I like at the very best places, but they passed muster. The black bean sauce wasn’t too thick. I don’t think someone in Causeway Bay would be too offended by the results.
I’m sure night time brings large groups and loud parties, but for a quick snack before boarding the Chinese bus to Boston, it’s just fine.

I’m not gonna lie. I’ve been here once, twice or maybe 10 times already. My parents and I always frequent Chinatown for lunch or dinner, and XO has become a favorite amongst us.
As you walk in, you’re greeted by pictures and pictures of delicious looking food and snacks on the walls. You can’t help but be mesmerized, staring at these pictures as you walk, and trying not to trip and fall as the waitress leads you in.
This is your typical Cantonese fast food restaurant. There’s a lot of seating and plenty of space. They give you 3 menus (the regular one with just words, another menu with pictures, snacks and special dishes, and a menu with drinks and desserts). As you’re presented these three menus, you can’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of information overload.
But everything is pretty good. I’d recommend my usual order which is the baked pork chops with spaghetti and tomato sauce (one of the best baked pork chops in Chinatown I’d like to say). The spaghetti is really good, and there’s something in the sauce that makes it extremely addicting. Id also recommend the 6 pan fried Japanese dumplings, the clam appetizers and the korean style hot dish. It’s a «korean» dish but more of a Korean-​Chinese hybrid that reminds me of both the korean bibimbap and Chinese clay pot dishes served during winter time.
There’s a ton of options to choose from. Go with some other friends, and order a mixture of appetizers, main dishes and desserts. The ambiance is also extremely lively and the place is usually bustling with people. And if you really don’t know what to order on the menu, just look and point at the pictures on the walls :)

Came here for dinner with a college buddy bc the AYCE hot pot places had over an hour wait.
We shared the fish congee, pan fried dumplings, shu mai (pork dumplings), wonton soup, watercress dumpling and shrimp rice flour thingy. And I washed it down with a banana shake.
I liked that they can make dimsum for dinner and there portions is big. We did not finish all the food. The price is also reasonable. All that food was for around $ 50.
We came on a busy Friday night so it felt very cramped. We had to stack our dimsum so it could fit on the table.
Beware cash only.

This place deserves NO STARS. I came here with some friends for a quick meal before a movie. Bad choice. One of my friends and I had our eye for the same item on the menu — I believe the name was something like baked mashed potatoes with minced meat, but we wanted to see if it could come with spaghetti. When we were ready to order, this rude waitress came over to us and asked what we would like. My boyfriend ordered two of the baked mashed potatoes with minced meat for my friend and I and we asked if that can come with spaghetti and she said yes.
When we received our food, what we got was two big pans of just mashed potatoes and minced meat and it was not visually appealing at all. One of the waiters passed by and we told him that we had ordered that with spaghetti and he said that he was not the one responsible for our order so he went over to the waitress who was responsible. The waitress stayed behind the counter and seemed to refuse to approach us to deal with the issue. How can you refuse to deal with YOUR OWN TABLE, what kind of waitress are you? However, she spoke loud enough to the waiter who spoke to us for us all to hear. She had the audacity to yell «yeah they ordered that, it doesn’t come with spaghetti!» in Cantonese. If she had the nerve to say that so we can hear it, why won’t she have the courage to come to our table and compensate for her mistake when she was the one who confirmed that what we ordered could indeed come with spaghetti? The least she could do was offer to switch our dishes for something else, or take it off our bill.
We decided not to leave much of a tip and when we were on our way out of the restaurant, she just hid under the counter. What kind of customer service is this?

They have two XO Taste’s. I like this location better. More room and better service.
Super affordable. The congee here is pretty good. The beef stew rice noodle and peking style pork chops are some of my other favorites.
I also like the sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaf. It takes about 20 min waiting time. I like the sausage one the best but chicken is good too.

Great place to eat if you want a quick bite or a cold drink. The menu is very large with your typical chinese soup noodles to dim sum and even korean food. The prices here are consistent with other restaurants around the neighborhood so it doesn’t hurt stopping by here. The only thing I was surprised about was the gratuity on the check. Not very common for a chinese restaurant.

My hubby and his parents has fond memories of this restaurant, but at the old location. They kept talking about how amazing the hotpot was and that if his parents ever visited NYC again they wanted to relive this amazing hotpot dining experience. So here we are at XO for lunch on Mother’s day. The restaurant is fairly clean and spacious. There are only 2 restrooms, clean, and a communal sink area. The staff are okay and service is average. Most of the servers do not speak English so if you find one who does then you’ll be set. Our server was amazing and she was so accommodating and nice! She definitely did everything she could to make us happy. This restaurant has a large menu ranging from all kinds of cuisines including Chinese, Thai, and Korean. They have dim sum items and all you can eat hotpot as well. It was pretty busy so the server told us that some of the items we order for the hotpot might not be available.
For lunch we ordered:
3 all you can eat hotpots: this included seafood, meats, veggies, noodles, tofu, a drink, a few options for appetizers and desserts. You can choose whatever you want to come with your order and keep reordering it to your heart and tummy’s content. The highlight of this hotpot was definitely the pan fried dumplings. I think they were filled with pork and vegetables. We all raved about the flavor. I don’t think any of us have had such tasty pork dumplings before. The king crab that’s advertised is actually snow crabs so be warned. This was $ 26.99/per person.
Pork and veggie rice rolls: wow this rice roll was delicious. The pork filling was perfectly seasoned, the rice roll was tender, and the soy sauce was light and not overpowering. This was about 4 or 5 bucks.
Sticky rice with pork in XO sauce: I love any kind of sticky rice and this one was delicious. It reminded me of the Vietnamese sticky rice cake that’s sold during Lunar New Years (Banh Tet). It’s filled with mung bean and then drizzled with this porky sauce. Excellent. This was about 4 or 5 bucks.
Boiled Chinese vegetables: this was just a bowl of steamed/​boiled yu choy so it wasn’t anything spectacular or out of the ordinary. I just always order a plate of veggies when I eat. This dish was $ 6.
Overall, if we ever came back to eat here, we would seek out the woman server that gave us good service and just order the dim sum items. The dim sum items are pretty pricey compared to traditional dim sum restaurants, but the flavors are amazing so we didn’t mind that at all. I don’t think the hotpot was worth it, but if you want to try it out then knock yourself out. My in laws weren’t impressed this time around and the dessert options are kinda «what the heck is that?» The only things that they enjoyed about the hotpot were the scallops, watercress, and pork dumplings.

Sometimes I would read through reviews throughout this site, and I’d catch the occasional horrible or weird service experience in some reviews. Most, if not all, of you folks, I’m sure, have caught such an experience on the site and maybe told yourself «no, that can’t be» or perhaps even «sounds like another unforgiving service troll.»
Yes, I have said those words many a time over the years on Unilocal and never thought I would be the one subjected to a service that can only be described as strange and perhaps even wrong. Those of you who have read my previous reviews know that I am relatively forgiving for service gaffes, especially in less-​than-​service-​friendly Chinatown.
I think our experience here really was an issue concerning respect. We were in a small group of three American-​born Chinese (ABC) individuals and one originally from Hong Kong. One of us ordered a small soup dumpling appetizer in Cantonese.
Unfortunately, when it eventually came out, we ended up with a plate of garlic bread. Upon receiving the item, the half damning, half confused looks on all of our faces had bold WTF letters written all over them. We immediately summoned the waiter, who had this smirk on his face even before we told him that we ordered the soup dumplings. Granted, the two sound similar in Cantonese, but the ABC girl in our group who ordered it never had a problem before. The order eventually came towards the end of our meal, another faux pas as such dishes are generally already prepared, and the restaurant was not crowded at all.
The oddness continued with the bill, which seemed artificially high. That, along with the garlic bread incident, bothered us slightly on the way out, so I grabbed a take out menu. It turns out that they don’t sell garlic bread as an appetizer, and to add insult to injury, they charged an additional $ 3 for our salted flsh fried rice. We were flummoxed and saw the overcharging as paying for the garlic bread. It wasn’t because of a general increase in prices because the other items were indeed charged correctly based on the numbers in the menu.
Although this place is one of the few places where a large group can easily get a table, we probably won’t be coming back here in the near future. There is a difference between bad service and disrespectful service, and unfortunately this establishment has chosen to tend toward the latter.
With regards to the food, it is slightly below average in quality, and I would have probably given it 2.5 stars at best with a 0.5 star reduction due to the relatively higher prices.

The XO taste in Chinatown is my default Sunday dim sum brunch restaurant in Chinatown. The food is freshly cooked and you’ll get stuffed for under $ 15, so why not?
This place is spacious but there is always a wait whenever we dine here so you should allot your time accordingly if you have other plans after your meal. There are four different menus to pick from, which are very tourist friendly with a lot of tasty pictures to help you choose. They serve mostly Chinese dishes but I was surprised to also see a few Korean and Japanese dishes that made it to the menu.
My favorite dish is the seafood stir fried noodle that is always on our list. The wanton dumpling soup is great when mending a hangover. However, most steamed dim sum takes awhile to get out of the kitchen so it’s recommended to order those as soon as you get seated.
I’ve been here so many times and it never disappoints. The dishes tastes great and it won’t break the bank account!

La cuisine est plutôt sucrée mais il y a une grande gamme des plats. J’aime le «steamed vegetable dumpling» (dim sum.)