C&M Bistro

A traditional Chinese BBQ restaurant with a hearty breakfast menu is perfect for the right crowd. It's hard to beat a big bowl of noodles with duck and a drink for $10. The food is good and comforting and prices are reasonable, but it's far from a typical cozy eatery. If you're dining in, just sit at a table and wait. It might take a while for someone to acknowledge you. But on the bright side, food comes out pretty quickly after your order is taken. There can be a communication barrier. I don't speak Mandarin or Cantonese (they mostly speaking Canto) and had trouble understanding the server. The server also cleared my bowl at the end before I decided whether or not I was done (it was probably for the better), likely in an effort to turn tables more efficiently. Communication is definitely a weak point for serving non-Chinese speaking customers. Card payments under $20 are not accepted. I paid with cash and wonder if they would have brought change for my $10 meal if I did not explicitly request it. Tldr; come for the food, not the experience Pros: reasonably priced food, breakfast menu Cons: communication barrier for non-Chinese speakers, efficient turnover

We had their lunch special which included any 3 dishes from the menu for $40. An additional $16 for salt fish fried rice. Each dish was large and plentiful and each one came thermally hot and tasty. Clay pot meat could have been cooked longer, bristle was tough. Service was quick too. We got there ahead of the lunch crowd. A popular place, people waving to be seated or waiting at the meat counter. We enjoyed the food. We come here ever time we visit the in laws.

This is is located inside the Pacific Renaissance Plaza at Oakland. Next to this also sell the similar dishes but this one seems more popular and busy. it sells charsiu, barbeque pork, soy sauce chicken, yellow chicken, roast duck, some veggie and meat. You can order other dishes from the kitchen. You can buy rice plate with meat or just the meat. You can eat in as they have table serving. The Service it pretty slow as they the person at the station prepare for to go and eat in at the same time. We bought charsiu and barbeque pork. They are juicy and yummy. There are 2 things I cannot stand. First is the large flies flying around the bbq pork rib and landed on it. The worker either didn't pay attention of just ignore it. I was hoping it doesn't land on other meat which I want to buy. The second one is the worker from the could be kitchen , just go to the station and start scoping dishes into his bowl I think got his lunch. It is not seems hygiene.

Had lunch here with family and friends. Food was delicious. Waitress was attentive. I recommend the grill beef with green beans and mushrooms. There will be return visits in the future.

I have come here so often with my family throughout the years. I absolutely loved this restaurant until today. I came here with my mom at 4 pm and this server with a short bob comes over and says " you have to give 15% tip for every meal starting now " ( in Cantonese) before we even ordered. She expects us to give a 15% tip no matter how the service is. My parents always gave cash as a tip whenever we dined-in. She said in Cantonese " It's a policy that we always had but you never gave enough tip and we didn't say anything so now if you want to eat here, you have to give at least 15%" It was not written anywhere on any sign, just by her saying it to us I noticed that on past receipts where it gives you the suggested 15%, 18%, 20% tip. They are not even the correct amounts. It's off of the TOTAL amount INCLUDING the tax. I always had to calculate it myself. We always gave cash. It was never the suggested 15% tip because that was wrong. It was always close to 15% of the subtotal. A few years ago, there was a 15% service charge for every single table. It didn't matter if you were a party of 1 or a party of 10, there was always 15% service charge. UNTIL this past year where the laws changed so they had to remove it. I was a server for 6 years so l always give a good tip IF the service was good. I know everything about being a server. This really bothered me. Her service was ALWAYS subpar. She never smiled, always gave attitude, never filled our water cups, walked over only 3 times just to give us our food from the kitchen. Does she deserve a tip? No, but we always gave a tip. She had the audacity to enforce a 15% tip even before service was given. Ridiculous. Never dine here unless you want surprise charges on your receipt. We went to Sushi House instead and gave a 18% tip to a server that actually deserved it.

This is the $9.50 breakfast. The price is amazing. Comes with noodle soup, choice of meat, and drink. They give you the duck separate from the noodle so that it maintains crispy skin and flavor. This is a thoughtful touch that I don’t see often. By this, I think the other bbq would be good. It’s my first time trying this place.

A very homey eatery, with an actively take out line. Cantonese is being spoken here, adds a little flavor. One girl serves the sit down customers, about seven diners scattered on 3 tables, on a Friday evening. Oakland’s Chinatown is like a ghost town due to crime, according to locals … The service is friendly and quick, food is good: - walnut prawns - good (sweet but I can’t resist; walnuts are really good) - salt pepper fish fillet - batter is thick - salty fish, chicken and tofu clay pot - good They don’t serve liquor. Bathroom is a trip and I won’t let my child going there alone. It’s outside of the restaurant, the same passage to the Mail room, garage and loading bays (?) A few (IF not the only) remaining spots that has a decent crowd, very sad. What a terrible scene and horrible situation for the merchants, and customers.

We got a hainan chicken and a chasiu set which were pretty good - value and a nice lunch but they charge a few extra dollars for you to dine in ($2-3 pp it’s been awhile and I’ve forgotten the exact prices.) But because of this fee, I didn’t want to pay a full tip and they called and stopped me for another $1 tip 😑

In the Oakland Chinatown area over the weekend we wanted to grab & go around brunch time. Noticing it had a line out the door, we figured that was the perfect sign that this spot knows what they're doing...so we decided to give it a try. They didn't have dim sum on a Saturday which was a bummer because we were actually craving pork buns, BUT we instead ordered BBQ pork over rice ($12 for the lunch to-go option, paying a couple extra dollars for a side helping of their eggplant dish) and a Coffee and Milk Tea. FYI, I think they have a card minimum so luckily we had cash. This quick-service spot was incredibly solid. It seems like the BBQ or Roast Pork/Duck is the main ticket here and if we're back in Oakland Chinatown soon, would most def come back. There is seating inside, but seems like most grab&go or eat outside in the Pacific Renaissance Plaza by the fountains. Parking can be found underground (pay before you head back to your car), and fyi check the hours ahead of time for this spot, but I believe they open around 9a.

ordered off the lunch menu. beef satay with rice and a fried egg. also with lemon tea. the food was pretty straightforward not good not bad. would easily come back as all the flavors were as expected. the place does get busy during the lunch hour. many line up at the take away counter so if dining in, be sure to walk in past the take out counter line and flag a staff member down to seat you. if you don't you may never get seated as all of them are running around doing this or that. he warned, each meal comes out when it comes out and you may have one or two meals from your table come out super late. don't come here if you're looking for a quick in and out. if so, order the basics, roast pork, char siu, etc for easy in and out.

I have come here so often with my family throughout the years . I absolutely loved this restaurant until today. I came here with my mom at 4 pm and this server with a short bob comes over and says " you have to give 15% tip for every meal starting now " ( in Cantonese) before we even ordered. She expects us to give a 15% tip no matter how the service is. My parents always gave cash as a tip whenever we dined-in. She said in Cantonese " It's a policy that we always had but you never gave enough tip and we didn't say anything so now if you want to eat here, you have to give at least 15%" It was not written anywhere on any sign, just by her saying it to us. I noticed that on past receipts where it gives you the suggested 15%, 18%, 20% tip. They are not even the correct amounts. It's off of the TOTAL amount INCLUDING the tax. I always had to calculate it myself. We always gave cash. It was never the suggested 15% tip because that was wrong. It was always close to 15% of the subtotal. A few years ago , there was a 15% service charge for every single table. It didn't matter if you were a party of 1 or a party of 10, there was always 15% service charge. UNTIL this past year where the laws changed so they had to remove it. I was a server for 6 years so I always give a good tip IF the service was good. I know everything about being a server. This really bothered me. Her service was ALWAYS subpar. She never smiled, always gave attitude , never filled our water cups, walked over only 3 times just to give us our food from the kitchen . Does she deserve a tip? No, but we always gave a tip. She had the audacity to enforce a 15% tip even before service was given. Ridiculous. Never dine here unless you want surprise charges on your receipt. We went to Sushi House instead and gave a 18% tip to a server that actually deserved it.

We still like this place just their new policy of automatically adding 18% gratuities is a bad move!! Last time we dine in there, one of the waitress took our orders then tells me they will automatically add on 18% tip to the bill, I was not happy but since we already ordered, we don't have much of a choice! I know lots of restaurants started doing that or find creative descriptions to add a surcharge but this is getting out of hand! Tipping should be voluntary and base on the level of service received and should never be mandatory, we always tip 15% which is a fair amount given the lack luster services we get all the time. So now we switch over and order to go only. We still like the deli items but refused to mandatory pay 18% for barely any service provided.

Hair in food! I came here with my family and ordered our favorite, the salted fish and chicken fried rice. As I was scooping some on my plate, I noticed there was a hair in the rice, and when I brought it to an employee's attention, the response was dismissive despite me clearly showing the hair. Only one out of three employees apologized and offered solutions. I asked for the dish to be remade and left the original plate on the table so it wouldn't simply be re-plated, which felt necessary given how the situation was handled. I'm not sure if the issue was due to a language barrier or something else, but the lack of concern and accountability was off-putting. To make matters worse, an employee took the white pepper from my table and gave it to another customer even though there were plenty of empty tables with condiments. Overall, I left extremely disappointed and upset.

This is is located inside the Pacific Renaissance Plaza at Oakland. Next to this also sell the similar dishes but this one seems more popular and busy. it sells charsiu, barbeque pork, soy sauce chicken, yellow chicken, roast duck, some veggie and meat. They also serve other chines dishes which are prepared fresh from Kitchen, You can buy rice plate with meat or just the meat. You can eat in as they have table serving. The Service it pretty slow as they the person at the station prepare for to go and eat in at the same time. We bought charsiu and barbeque pork. They are juicy and yummy. There are 2 things I cannot stand. First is the large flies flying around the bbq pork rib and landed on it. The worker either didn't pay attention of just ignore it. I was hoping it doesn't land on other meat which I want to buy. The second one is the worker from the could be kitchen , just go to the station and start scoping dishes into his bowl I think got his lunch. It is not seems hygiene.

C&M Bistro is one of my go-to spots, especially for their BBQ pork--tender, flavorful, and always on point. And the best part? The same owner as Peony Seafood Restaurant runs it, so you're getting the same high-quality flavors, but at a much more affordable to-go-style price. I usually pick up about $20 worth of food before heading home, and it easily feeds the whole family. If you were to order the same dishes at Peony, it could easily cost $50 or more, so the value here is unbeatable. The service is great too. The servers are always friendly, helpful, and welcoming--we even joke around sometimes. It makes every visit feel warm and familiar. Great food, great value, and great people. Highly recommended!

Wife and I still like to hop over to this place for the $40 for three items for lunch. Service is always quick and the place is quaint, but not too small. It can get busy, but appears to cycle quickly. The pumpkin and pork, and the sautéed cauliflower are a couple of our favorite dishes. Right next to the elevator so it's convenient for me cause I can't walk far. Good take-out items too.

Fast service. And huge menu. Great lunch deals $11-13 full meals. Try the beef rice noodle soup and the lunch special with pork and chicken rice and soup

We went to another restaurant to order take out but it was closed. So we came here to try out their 3 items for $40.95 special to go (close to $45 by the time you add tax and they charge you for the bag). There seems to always be a line for their take out deli. We ordered: chicken, fish fillet with vegetables and green beans with minced , I was disappointed there was so little chicken. Portions for green beans and fish dishes are okay. At least the food tasted okay. The juice from the fish fillet dish leaked out of the container so we had juice all over the bottom of the bag. Service was pretty fast since it wasn't very busy. Not sure we will come back again.

C&M gives me the most authentic Hong Kong diner (cha chaan teng) feeling out of all the Chinatown HK spots. At $13 for a lunch set with a drink, the pricing is very solid. Each set feels well-balanced and hits the notes of nostalgia, you'll walk away satisfied with a reliable, comforting meal. Don't be deterred by the seemingly curt attitudes of the butcher or waitress, they're here to take your order, no more and no less, which is exactly how it is back in Hong Kong. The interior is well-lit but a bit run down, further adding to the cha chaan teng charm. The standout for me is the Cha Siu: perfectly tender, lightly charred, and not overly fatty. The roast meats are done well overall, and the simple accompaniments of rice, vegetables, and soup make it feel like you're eating in HK rather than the Bay. If you're craving a cha chaan teng experience without hopping on a plane, this is a spot worth visiting.

C&M Bistro is a hidden gem located in the Oakland Chinatown Cultural Center Plaza. I came here for the first time on a Sunday afternoon and was impressed by the variety and value. The restaurant wasn't too busy -- just a short line to order -- and the small indoor space looked clean and well-kept. They serve a wide range of Chinese dishes through a steam table setup, so you can quickly pick from a selection of pre-made items. I tried the barbecue pork ($12/lb) and roasted duck -- both were moist, flavorful, and had that perfect salty-sweet glaze that brought me back to the BBQ flavors I had in Hong Kong. They also offer dishes like chow mein, eggplant, tofu, a veggie medley, and chicken wings. There's a great breakfast special from 8-11am -- just $10 including a hot drink, which is a solid deal. I also tried the cold Hong Kong milk tea. It was refreshing and tasty, though a bit on the sweet side and a little pricey at $5. One thing to note: there's no dedicated parking lot. It's mostly street parking in the area, though I think there's a public parking garage nearby. Also, credit cards require a $20 minimum, so bring cash if you're making a smaller purchase. Overall, C&M Bistro offers delicious Chinese comfort food at very reasonable prices. Highly recommended if you're in the area.

Food is pretty good after all those years, they still can keep the quality of the food. But they been increasing the price slowly. I hope they won't decrease the quantity of the food size. Service is ok, depend on busy or not or toward the closing time is little rush. Sometimes it's better deal to order the food outside the table.

The food's kinda dry and doesn't taste all that fresh. It's just alright; I was hoping for more since there are so many people.

If I worked in downtown Oakland, I'd be hard-pressed not to come here for lunch every day. It's not getting much better than 6.35 char siu rice in Chinatown. Speaking Canto definitely helps with interactions, though. The meat isn't too sweet; the texture is fine for me but might not be so for everyone, being a bit chewy. It comes with broccoli, and some char siu juice is ladled over everything. There's a credit card minimum of $20, so the siu yuk with rice and broccoli is generously portioned. The meat could be better, being a bit tough and the crust hard, but, again, can't complain. It meets standards for the Bay. Ovaltine is as expected.

Nice corner cafe, the elderly seemed to enjoy the generous portions. Chasiu was served in house, wonton soup noodles were a hit, and plenty of seating for an early morning brunch.

The quality of the BBQ pork over rice special has significantly declined. Despite the recent price increase, the portion now consists mostly of excess pork fat with very little meat. In addition, their staff is extremely inefficient causing long lines and wait time.

When we come to Oakland C & M Bistro is one of the places we stop at. They have serve/sell some of my favorite foods like Roasted Pork Belly and BBQ pork so good! The service I am not fan of and I can say that because I have been here more than three times and it's always the same. There's always a line, when it's your turn you gotta have your list ready, and if you don't they'll rush you. People tell me it's the "culture" but I guess I am still not used to it. But I keep coming back because the food is good. The restaurant has a few tables so you can actually sit and eat. The place needs a little TLC but it's okay by me. The price is ok. I haven't notice the price go up that much. It's definitely affordable.

Ehh this place is so busy on a Saturday, line out the door. 3 waiter working and they speak little English. The food was so bland and I had to add so much chili hotsauce. Definitely need some soy sauce forsure. Heard this place was good but nah, first and last time for me. I had the tender beef ramen stir fried and wtf was that?! Pineapple in it was a no for me with barely any beef. Very stingy beef portion. Look at the pic, does it even look appealing to you?! Of course not

Updating the price of the Anniversary Special, which has been offered daily for ~10yrs- $6.80. 2 layers of char siu, with some sauce ladled over & soaked up by the ample rice, with a good amount of steamed broccoli (add Sriracha or the like for that). Fancier takeout container than most; fast service & quite the deal. A regular member of the rotation

The restaurant is located at the heart of Chinatown, right next to the parking pay station. A spot where a lot of locals come to get a quick meal or to chit chat with their friends. There is always a line out the door on the weekends. Food: 3/5 - Food is just decent. I do really like the crispy pork since the crunch on the skin is satisfying to munch on. The cuts that I got were on the fattier side so I wasn't a huge fan. BBQ pork was dry. There are better restaurants in Chinatown that serves similar food. Price: 5/5 - Affordable. A lot of special menu and promotional items so you can usually score a meal around $10-15 per person. Environment: 3/5 - My table was a little sticky and there were food scraps on the floor. The restaurant was also really noisy and crowded. Definitely need to use your outside voice in here. Customer service: 2/5 - Minimal. Waited for 15 minutes and the servers didn't even check in on us to take down our order. Couldn't flag down a waiter so I went to the counter to pay. An automatic 15% tip was included in our bill which I didn't notice until I paid. The party next to us pointed it out before paying and the server said it was a "mistake" and remove the charge from their check. Overall, I would not come again to dine-in since there are so many better restaurants in Chinatown. I might order the roast pork to-go but I definitely will check on the cuts first.

I was very underwhelmed by my experience here. I stopped by for a quick dinner Wed evening around 5:30. I was planning to get one of their bbq meats, but I noticed they had some hot food as well, so I opted to go for that. For $13.50, you can get a box with rice, steamed broccoli, and 2 dishes of your choice. I chose the beef short rib and pork blood as my two dishes. It was the end of the day, so I thought they might give me some bigger scoops, but portions were only average. I've been to other Cantonese hot bar spots that are much more generous with their servings. I asked if I could quickly eat in the restaurant, and they told me no. There was still 2 groups that were finishing up their meal, so I'm not sure why dine-in was no longer allowed. The lady serving the food was also kinda rude even though I was speaking to her in Cantonese. After getting my food, I sat on one of the benches outside in the plaza to eat. The pork blood was okay, but I didn't like the beef short rib that much as it was a bit tough and overly peppery for my tastes. The steamed broccoli was cold and so dry I couldn't bring myself to finish it. Mediocre food at high prices and bad service. I won't be back.

The BBQ Duck was okay, or even good... but not, as some claimed, the "best." W.r.t. claims of it being the "best": "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." - Inigo Montoya :P

Quick, easy, and casual. Don't expect service. The cashier was full of attitude when I asked for hot sauce. Said they don't have any when there are clearly bottles of sriracha on every table. (Not to mention she accidently charged me over $100 on a sub $30 order and didn't even bother to apologize) The food here is great for a work day lunch. It's not the most amazing pork bell, char siu, or soy sauce chicken, but it definitely satisfies the cravings.

C&M is now the best Chinese BBQ spot in Oakland Chinatown with a good sized offering of Chinese deli as well as stir fried items. C&M's popularity is no secret anymore with the lines out the door as soon as they open. Of their most popular is the roasted pork and char siu. Both are done well, with plenty of roasted flavor which are balanced well by the seasoning. Should you choose to dine in, the portions of the rice plates as well as stir fry are above average. Not only that but you also get a good sized bowl of soup with each lunch special order. The service here is no-nonsense. We had plenty of water and tea to start off, but as the crowd grew it became more hectic, although we were able to get everything we needed. If you're ever in Chinatown and craving Chinese BBQ, C&M would be the place to go. Keep in mind the line forms early and a lengthy wait (20+ min) may be unavoidable, but if you have the time, don't hesitate to try!

5 stars for their delicious crispy roast pork belly and flavorful bbq pork. -1 star for typical Chinatown service. Come here for authentic Chinese food at a reasonable price.

A$$holes here , but the food is good though. I came in with no one in line . Walked in to ordered the chopped meats , but no one was assisting me so I went to the cash wrap , she told Me I had to order near the door with the butcher, so I tried, he kept ignoring me and so I just ordered my milk tea, and waited some more. He still just kept doing his thing, until these other Chinese people came in and he assisted them right away!!! Like wtf! I am so annoyed. Fawk them . I used to come here often but f this sh#t.

There is always a long line for a reason... they have the BEST crispy pork belly, charsui and roasted duck but it is honestly with the wait! It's located in the heart of Oakland Chinatown. The crispy pork belly is AMAZING. It's so flavorful and crispy. It literally melts in your mouth. The charsui is the perfect amount of sweetness. I'm not honestly a huge fan of duck but I love getting the duck because the skin is so crispy and it's not gamey at all. The food is delicious and the prices are so reasonable!

I was there last month to order a breakfast to go, I got back to the restaurant after 25mins. I was planning to get some change for the tip and stay finish my breakfast, but they told me not allowed and pay the difference. For what?

Great place for porridge during winter or a rainy day. Best if you don't customize your food if you don't speak Chinese.

Wow, I brought my grand child and some family members for breakfast. Meal was just okay. The waitress spoke Chinese and very little English that communications were bad. The service was not good. We have to put extra ordinary effort to get tea refills. After we finished the meal, we were playing around the water fountain in the plaza. ONE of servers came to look for us, and demanded MORE TIPS, although my tip was already added on my payment. Very annoying.

Seating was quick on a weekday. The menu has lots of options to choose from. I for the Peking pork chop lunch special. The portions are large. The pork chops is more on the tart side but delicious overall. I often come here for the bbq deli meats as well and they never disappoint.

Food is good...if you can get it. The first time I came here with my young son, a waitress told me we couldn't be seated because table service was only for those ordering multiple dishes. She said we had to get takeout instead. I was confused but thought maybe it's some Chinese banquet style related thing...I dunno, I was trying to make sense of it. Then we walked by several months later and saw other tables with just 2 people, so went in and were seated. But this time the waitress said they were out of duck lunch special, and that they were not serving dumplings because they had stopped serving dim sum...not just for the day, but that they had stopped serving dim sum for many months. There was duck hanging in the window and the dumplings were on both menus, so this time I knew something was up. I wasn't sure what to order then and she left me because she didn't want to wait for me to choose, and in the meantime another waitress came by and I ordered the duck lunch special without an issue. I don't know what is happening here but it feels discriminatory. My son is Black and I don't know if that has something to do with it, but the blatant refusal / reluctance to serve us is surprising and so wrong.

A very homey eatery, with an actively take out line. Cantonese is being spoken here, adds a little flavor. One girl serves the sit down customers, about seven diners scattered on 3 tables, on a Friday evening. Oakland's Chinatown is like a ghost town due to crime, according to locals ... The service is friendly and quick, food is good: - walnut prawns - good (sweet but I can't resist; walnuts are really good) - salt pepper fish fillet - batter is thick - salty fish, chicken and tofu clay pot - good They don't serve liquor. Bathroom is a trip and I won't let my child going there alone. It's outside of the restaurant, the same passage to the Mail room, garage and loading bays (?) A few (IF not the only) remaining spots that has a decent crowd, very sad. What a terrible scene and horrible situation for the merchants, and customers.

Honestly best roasted pork and roasted duck in Chinatown. You will always see a long line here . My mom always get the whole roasted duck here . You can't beat the price here , a lot of roasted pork with rice and greens for $11.25 ? You cannot find a better deal than this . Another plus is they take credit cards . I don't really care much about service here but the staffs are always nice to me. You can tell them which duck you want to get and how you would like it to be cut.

Came in the morning and already packed. It would be hard to communicate if not speaking the language. Price was affordable and great amount of portion. Noodles were simple with cabbage and meat on the side. Lots of fat in soup so easy to get bored. We were waiting for our tea to help soothing the taste but they forgot about it until we finished and have to remind them again. Roast pork super crunchy but recommend to eat with noodle because of the saltiness. Roast duck were soft and juicy, love the dipping sauce.

We had lunch at this restaurant yesterday (October 1, 2025). The place is located inside a shopping center in Oakland, California. I ordered the wonton soup with Chinese beef stew; my wife ordered the shredded chicken with preserved vegetables noodle soup. My wonton soup arrived with large chucks of bland tasting beef and wonton dumplings that literally had no taste. The dumplings were dense; some had what seemed to be rehydrated shrimp. The vegetables in my dish were boiled iceberg lettuce. My wife's soup was somewhat better (at least it was salty); it was full of shredded chicken preserved vegetables and noodles. The taste of the food was not "bad" but rather it was simply not good. In conclusion, our meal was somewhat disappointing. One the positive side, the meal was not expensive. My recommendation is to go to this place only if all the restaurants in Oakland Chinatown are closed.

I walk by this place all the time in Chinatown Oakland, so I finally decided to come stop by for lunch. FYI this place is not open for dinner, so it's breakfast and lunch only. They serve pretty Hong Kong style food, we ordered 2 lunch specials: one was a mixed roast meat, the other was the sweet & sour pork ribs, pretty traditional fare if you ask me. Each of our food came with a soup, cold steam broccoli, and a side of white rice. For the price of your food, I would say the quality is fare, the roast meat was dry and mediocre, the broccoli was cold and they didn't flavor it with anything, not even salt. The soup was ok, slightly salty for me, but overall, I would say you get what you pay for.

They try to cheat you on the bill. They include the 15% tip before tax, so they end up taxing you 10.25% on top of that additional 15%. Tax here should be 3.22 based on the subtotal, but on the receipt it came out to 3.70. Food is aight.

C&M totally came through today when I was having a porridge craving on rainy day. I typically go to next door to gumkuo for porridge, C&M did not disappoint at all. I'm sure they're competitors nearly door to door. Same menu items with duck, roasted pork, chicken, porridge, dimsum, hk milk teas, specialty drinks, etc. C&M had a breakfast menu that serves in the morning. Not sure when it ends for breakfast combos. I called in on my order. It was a very efficient process. C&M charges $1 extra for to go orders fyi. WHAT I ORDERED Thousand egg & pork porridge Chinese Fried donut combo ($10) This breakfast combo did not disappoint at all. I love thick porridge and this was very thick with lots of pork flavors. I also saw a poster of $4.99 porridge deal daily, I wasn't sure if it's a current deal. It's worth asking next time bc that's an excellent deal for porridges. C&M takes credit cards for orders over $20. Anything below is all cash.

Upgrading to 4 stars. Located inside the Pacific Renaissance Plaza, C & M Bistro is the sister restaurant of Peony Seafood Restaurant. Back in 2017, I wrote about a not-so-good dinner experience I had here. Since then, I've been back quite a few times for BBQ takeout, and thought an update is warranted. Their BBQ offerings are solid and rival those by Gum Kuo and New Gold Medal nearby. My favorite is their BBQ pork. Great flavor with appropriate meat/fat ratio. Roast pork belly and roast duck are great as well. They have high turnover so the items are always fresh. Pricing is reasonable and competitive comparing to the other Chinese BBQ restaurants in the area. They also have lunch specials that are very popular with workers and seniors. A good size BBQ pork rice bowl is just $4.95 and lunch bento boxes are just a dollar more. They take COVID-19 seriously. For safety, a plexiglass shield was installed at the cash register and a bottle of hand sanitizer is available for customer use. The staff all wear appropriate PPE. With physical safety being a concern to many people, Oakland PD has added a liaison officer to Chinatown and her office is in the same plaza. Additionally, private security and volunteers in reflective vests are constantly patrolling the area to ensure safety for everyone. This place gets busy around lunchtime so come early! BONUS MATERIAL: - Cash and major credit cards accepted.

No nonsense drop in to get a little something. Service was great. Immediately they bring a mug of tea and napkins and silverware. I was attracted to $4.99 porridge. I guess today was clam porridge, about 10 clams? We ordered two items from deli (bbq pork and empress chicken) with rice and soup, side of broccoli. Don't expext a big portion. Just to wet your appetite. Food was good. They already added 15 % tip. They have a dinner deal, 3 dishes for $38.88. Would love to, but way too much food. The chinese soup with lily flowets was delish. No pics because too busy eating.

Today's lunch at C & M Bistro instantly transported me back to the restaurants of Hong Kong, and I am a fan. While the ambiance and service isn't particularly noteworthy, nothing can beat an authentic Cantonese restaurant experience like this one. We ordered the char siu and roasted pork rice plates (~$12). The roasted pork was acceptable -- it was on the dryer side and could've been a bit more seasoned, but satisfied my craving. The char siu was fatty and the better choice. Included in the rice plates were an impressive set of sides for the price -- the essential Cantonese pork bone soup, steamed broccoli for a good palette cleanse, and white rice. I particularly enjoyed the Hong Kong Style Milk Tea (~$4), which tasted exactly like those in Hong Kong -- strong, bitter, but with the perfect amount of condensed milk to complement it. The portion was generous for the price, too. Tip was already included in the bill, and with tax, lunch was $45 -- a bit steeper than expected, but understandable with inflation. They take credit card, and can also speak English and Mandarin. Homey, familiar, and authentic, C & M Bistro didn't disappoint today.

Food: 5/10 Service: N/A takeout only during COVID Value: 8/10 Portion size: medium to large My hubby and I got the baked spaghetti and dried scallop fried rice. The baked spaghetti had good flavor but it coild have been baked for longer. You could taste the tomatoes and sugar in the suace but not really a meat flavor. It also had a decent amount of meat and veggies in it especially for an Asian place. My dried scallop fried rice came in a large portion but I felt like it lacked flavor. It didn't have too many dried scallops in it but it is cheaper than most places. I also had to add some white pepper at home and that spiced it up for me. I also didn't have that many egg white either. Since they do have a good price though I'm willing to try other things to see if their other items are better.

Picking up take out and after a phone order is still chaotic because the line is the same as the ordering line, and the ordering line is extremely slow. Some people still cut. The fees are not transparent. But the food is good.

If you don't speak Cantonese, they're 100% rude A$$h0les to you. My coworkers and I all work upstairs from them, and there hasn't been a single time that they'll serve you promptly. Then, when you order something to-go from the deli, they're always filling it with half sauce. And you always have to ask several times for utensils or anything; they'll just stand there talking to each other or do something at the cashier and totally ignore you. One time I went and asked about their specials posted on the door, I get told that the price isn't correct, and I have to pay an entrée price. Then the next minute they're selling the person behind me the price on the poster! Total Bull$h!t!

The food is very tasty, and I would give it 4.5 stars. The problem I have is when purchasing takeout on chicken. The middle aged Chinese guy with the bald head is very dishonest. Twice I bought chicken, the first time a drumstick was missing. The second time a thigh was missing. I called the restaurant to speak to the manager, but no one speaks English and I couldn't file my complaint. So beware of the dishonest, middle aged bald guy. Below is a picture of my order after the stacked items were spread out.

Trendy...no. Divey....no. Local and intimate, sure. Deep in the heart of Oakland Chinatown is this place where locals come for a quick, cheap Canto breakfast. Or for an afternoon meal. It's quick and gives that kinda comfort food feel. Have a date but don't wanna splurge and test and see if she is a keeper? Try her out here and see if she will accept your 2nd date!!! Haha. I'm kidding...No, I'm not. Don't want to cook dinner? Try their "Choose 3 for your adventure meal" to-go! I do this all the time!!! $35 for 3 items of good size! All you have to do is make some rice at home...!!! Worth a try!!!

The concept of trendy and intimate "bistro" doesn't necessarily correlate whenever we think of heading to Oakland's Chinatown and visit C & M Bistro, but we can saw that it is a quaint mom and pop owned restaurant that specializes in takeout orders, but had dine in options in their small dining room that's perfect for the times we are living in thanks to their amenability for a quick lunch or a reasonably priced takeout order. Now is the cleanest place in their area? Even where they are located in an underground walkway that leads to the courtyard to the Pacific Renaissance Plaza Shopping Center. Sometimes it can be so dark that their storefront could be easy to miss. We came on a Wednesday afternoon after 1 p.m. not expecting a large crowd but were slightly surprised to still see such robust business with multiple people waiting outside for their takeout orders, which just goes to show how busy they still are and how much they mean to their loyal customers even in these challenging times for all restaurants. Their big ticket selling items, among a wide variety of items they offer, are the items that are featured under their Lunch To Go menu from roasted duck to roasted pork to soy sauce chicken all served over rice and all priced at $8.50 is a real reasonable price meal. But since we came as a party of three and we were here to take out a fairly hearty lunch, we tended to opt for noodles and a protein dish. As a regular option we tend to always order their H5 which is their Beef Chow Fun, which is priced at $9.75, and their H1 which is their House Special Chow Mein, which is priced at $12.50 and is normally filled with all of their options that are served in their other chow mein options from a mixture of seafood and vegetables. To supplement our meal we opted for their E9, which is their Empress Chicken and a whole order costs $19.50. Our lunch of three fairly large dishes for takeout cost $41.75 before tax and tip. After ordering they do ask you to stand outside as they cook it in their small kitchen in back, and they prep their pre-cooked protein, like their Empress Chicken in front, where they delicately chop that bird so much so that you can enjoy multiple meals with it. After waiting outside for about twenty minutes, our meal was ready for pickup. We loved our Beef Chow Fun as it was a takeout meal that was so plentiful that all three of us could have split this dish and easily been satisfied. Filled with plenty of beef cubes, wok fried onions, and bean sprouts on top of the soy sauce infused flat noodles, it was Chow Fun at its typical finest. The House Special Chow Mein was unfortunately consisted of too many wok seared skinny noodles and not enough seafood from shrimp to squid and vegetables and it had a drier overall taste without much gravy, which is fine, but not very expected. Our whole Empress Chicken really impressed as they pack it with three extra packets of green onion dipping sauces and since we decided to save that part of our order for dinner later in the evening it was packed so compactly that everything tasted fresh as can be when we finally opened out to-go container. For all of 40 dollars we got so much food for multiple meals. C & M Bistro will forever be our go-to place for solid and exceptionally priced traditional Chinese cuisine. They have all of the items you would need to put on a great dinner with duck, pork and chicken being highlights, and since they have menus in English and Chinese and number each item on their menu plus they take both cash and credit cards that it's ordering made easy. Finding parking whether its street or garage parking in the Pacific Renaissance Plaza can be a challenge, even in the middle of the work week with considerable less people out and about considering our current world situation, but sometimes you can get lucky like we did on this day, which makes going to C & M Bistro on a nice day when you can all the worth while!