Joy

This isn't an over exaggeration. I ordered the pork rice bowl and the marinade reminded me so much of my grandma's cooking that I cried... I'm going to call her tomorrow. I need the recipe.

This place exceeded every expectation I had for this concept.

First time trying this place, and let me say, I was pleasantly impressed by everything they had to offer. A small but vibrant restaurant with a unique and immersive ambiance located in one of the more popular streets of Highland Park.

This is a over the counter concept where you order and find a seat inside the dining area as the food is brought to you. I loved the menu because of its simplicity, especially those who are not as experienced in taiwanese cuisine. I also loved how they displayed all their daily cold eats in the fridge for customers to pick and choose (very traditional.)

I ordered the hot and sour soup, the onion pancake (add the chili and basil for free), the dan dan noodles (INCREDIBLE) *ADD JIDORI CHICKEN, and the minced pork over rice. All were quite honestly really great. Fresh ingredients and the flavor was on point. I also bought the bean curd salad (which was a little too rubbery) and the cold cucumber salad, which was fantastic.

Food also notably came out extremely fast.... probably around 3 minutes tops for everything that we ordered, and for that I was extremely impressed.

Service was also great. All staff members were well educated on the menu and had a great smile on their face serving people.

Cocncept is very much self serve with bowls, utensils, and water, but everything is easily accessible. Overall... extremely happy with this place and will definitely come again. Feels like back at home.

I am quite perplexed to the reviews of this place. Maybe because I am in Temple City and Arcadia I get food like this all the time but I don't know, it didn't really resonate with me.

I got the wonton noodle soup, and the thousand layer pancake with egg and cheese (with the sauce in it) and I was quite underwhelmed.

So you order at the cashier and they hand you a number and they'll serve you at the table you're at. I will say that my wonton noodle soup came out like.. within like 2-3 minutes so it was fast.

Wonton noodle soup: soup base it meh little watery. wontons not good. noodles had a weird texture.

thousant layer pancake: it was okay, wasn't the best. middle of the road. The sauce flavor they added i'm not a fan of.

We ended up getting dessert here - got their fruit shaved ice, today it was strawberries and pineapple. This was amazing. I would come back for this. instead of putting a bunch of condensed milk, they used brown sugar syrup but it gave a great flavor, and I tasted that with the pudding and fruit all the way through the dessert VS only on top.

Unfortunately either their food was mid, or I ordered the wrong thing.

Similar to its sister restaurants, Liu's Cafe and Pine & Crane. Decent portions but a bit bland/lighter than I would've liked. It took us 35 minutes to get through the line on a Saturday evening (first come first serve).

The food came out quickly and there's a self-serve area for water. Chiayi chicken rice was the same as the one at Liu's Cafe but for some reason there wasn't as much black pepper. Dan Dan noodles were good but not the best I've had. Shrimp wonton soup was alright; I would probably skip this next time.

Service 4/5
Food 4.5/5
Ambiance 4/5

The fruit tea was very basic nothing special. Dan Dan noodles were very good in terms of flavor. The braised pork rice bowl was a nice flavor, few sticks of pickled daikon, more would have been nice. It also included decent amount of pork, and plenty of rice. Line was long not very efficient, a large group was very slow ordering food. Staff should use a tablet so they can take orders faster instead of only having one cashier taking orders. You stand in line to order and if dining in-person they give you a stand with a number. I went during weekend lunch peak hours waited around 30 mins in line. The food itself came out fast less than 10 mins.

It's been a long time since I've been to a restaurant that tasted like a family recipe. After luckily finding street parking along the corner, our party of two unluckily encountered a line that took us a solid hour to get through to be seated. At the counter, we placed our orders with their incredibly welcoming staff and waited outside with rose and a pomelo beer until a table opened up (highly recommend both). About 20 minutes later, we were seated and served. Table and bar seating are both available, and the vibe is bustling and conversational.

Cauliflower Salad: an addictive little twist on cucumber salad and similar in taste

Spicy Shrimp Wontons: delicious, but not super special. Would recommend trying at least once

Minced Pork on Rice: heavy and comforting, cut nicely by the acidity of the pickled daikon

Chiayi Chicken Rice: transported us back to our childhoods. Incredibly simple, incredibly nostalgic

Clamshell Bun with Pork Belly: pork was nice and fatty, great appetizer

Scallion Bread: honestly a little underwhelming. More of a sesame taste than anything and on the drier side. Might try it as a sandwich for a more holistic review

Fruit Shaved Ice: our table neighbors couldn't finish their serving so we got to try. Syrup definitely made it way to sweet to the point of not being able to finish, but points for the egg pudding.

Overall, will be back if I'm craving that home cooked taste and great service. Thanks Joy!

My lunch at Joy was one of the tastiest meals I've had in a long while. I continue to dream about the dan dan noodles, thousand layer pancake with egg and cheese, and the sea salt cream tea.

Joy had been in my bookmarks for years so I arrived with a lot of anticipation. This Taiwanese eatery's casual vibe put me immediately at ease. The staff was friendly and the food came out fast and was so, so good.

If Joy was in my neighborhood, I'd be a regular.

TL;DR: Good food and flavor, best for small group 4 or less, not too cheap but not expensive. Can prob have same food in SGV.

Found this place on Instagram and decided to give it a shot as it was described as great food for a great price.
In my opinion, price isn't very low, but it's reasonable. Most places it costs $20 to eat anywhere and with tip my food came out to just under $20.
I came five minutes after they opened only to see a line already at the door and half the restaurant already seated. I heard it can get packed and it did by the time I sat down
You order when you walk in, take a number and seat yourself. I solo dined so this was easy but if you have a large group you might need to wait.
I ordered the thousand layer pancake and medium shrimp wonton soup.
Pancake was good, a little hard to cut through but tasty. The soup was also nice but I had to add some chili oil to it.
I might come back to try their noodles and cream tea :)

4.5 / 5 overall
Very nice seating, staff, and atmosphere. This place is a great lunch/brunch spot as the food felt light but still flavorful and filling. It does get pretty packed so expect waiting about 10-15mins.

Dan Dan noodles 4/5
These Dan Dan noodles were a bit more peanut flavored than what I usually have, but still tasted balanced, light, and flavorful. I did add some chili oil and spice taste which gave a nice punch with the already present flavors.

Chicken bowl 4/5
This bowl is something I would get again every time for lunch as the chicken was tender, moist, and light. However I had to add most of the flavors using the provided sauces: chili oil, spice paste, and soy sauce. So if you don't like adding those sauces I do not think this is for you.

Thousand layer pancake (regular) 4/5
This was flaky, crunchy, and soft which gave it a nice texture and taste.

5 spice beef bun 4/5:
For the 5 spice beef they provide it either in a bun or sesame sandwich bread which is larger and pricier and I regret getting the bun because I wanted more. Their 5 spice beef was tender and flavorful, I wish they had it as a rice bowl.

We also got their seasonal cold appetizers which change depending on what they can get. I recommend getting their appetizers as they are fresh and a great pair for the food adding more flavor.

I do not mean to offend at all in any way. The food did not taste authentic. The chicken tasted like it was canned. The scallion bread sandwich did not have much filling and even with the filling it wasn't outstanding. Wontons are okay.