Visit Us

Mon - Tue

Wed - Sat

Sunday

Closed

5:00 pm – 9:30 pm

Ja Ban Bae - Tasting Menu

Hiii there! 👋 Thanks for passing by and planning a visit. Here are a few tips and tricks for you:

A note on service model

Walk-in only, first come first serve.

Unless you are a large party of 6 guests and more, we currently do not take reservations. Additionally, if you would prefer more a conversational and interactive service, we highly recommend you to visit outside of peak hours (6:30-7:30 pm). Plus, chances are there won't be a line outside!

If you have a group of 6 or more and want to make a reservation, please call: (510) 922-9885.

Counter order, table service.

Counter order - What does it mean?

This is the time when we to guide you through our daily menu and house rules. Once you've ordered, feel free to take a seat in our cozy dining room or delightful outdoor patio.

While our tables usually turn around quickly, there might be a wait-list. If so, join us at our new waiting area towards the back of the patio for a selection of curated sake, tap beers, homemade drinks, or soft drinks while you wait. If you prefer to wait elsewhere, please stay nearby so we can seat you promptly. Once your table is ready, we'll hold your table for 10 minutes.

Table service - What does it mean?

We'll serve dishes as they're prepared. If you'd like more drinks or food, just ask our staff. We'll also share the ingredients and social history of each dish. We enjoy discussing Taiwanese cuisine—it's what drives us every day. Food connects us, and we are happy to be your guide on the flavor journey.

Daily rotating menu.

Small batch.

Emphasis on seasonality.

In becoming a restaurant we have been dreaming of expanding our menu to introduce the delights that exist in Taiwan. These are things that One simple and precious ingredient that is central to our cooking philosophy, and dear to our Taiwanese culinary legacy is: Time. The flavors we get out of taking our time prepping, cooking, fermenting, and pickling our dishes is what pushes us forward in constantly making no compromises on quality. While adapting to California’s environment and seasons we still follow old Taiwanese wisdoms into caring every day for the dishes we plate.

A note on kitchen and hospitality philosophy & values

Intentional food craft

We are very thoughtful about the process and efforts into making our food and we stay clear from not being tempted by short-cuts. Everyday Chef Tony Tung still goes to the farmers' market, conscientiously sourcing the ingredients, and thoughtfully making as much as we can from scratch (we won't lie — we sometimes dream of making our own soy sauce...!). We push ourselves to do better every day, we push our recipes to achieve unforgettable umami. And our aim is not only to serve you the flavors and a good meal, but the wholesome experience of being touched, being heart-warmed by food.

Intentional hospitality

When you walk-in into our restaurant, you will immediately notice that we have a unique way to approach dining hospitality. What we love about food is that it can make us feel cared for. What we love about food is that it can make us feel cared for. More than once in our lives we have felt seen, understood, and cared for by someone who has cooked for us.

This is what we constantly keep in mind when designing your experience at our restaurant - its genuineness, its human warmth and desire to care. We do not believe that servers and line-cooks should be hidden in plain sight, that dining rooms should be dark, and that all guests should speak quietly, while the surrounding tables remain strangers.

We do not want our restaurant to be a place that embodies anonymity. On the contrary, we want our restaurant to be a place of belonging, of community, and humanity. We will take the time to talk to you, get to know you and tell you the stories of the food of Taiwan and the people of Taiwan. We will try to remember your name, not for the business value, but for the human value. This is just the fantasy we set ourselves to realize every day. We are a community of like-minded people who care about eating, learning, and connecting.

Our promise to you

We, as the staff of GTE, are all in agreement to make your dining experience one that is above and beyond one of being fed, but one of connection and care in our flamboyant way of being us, of doing hospitality.

Final thoughts

Our Present & Future

Our 5-year pop-up "Good to Eat Dumplings” specialized in Taiwanese dumplings and noodles. We always dreamed of opening our own restaurant to share Taiwanese dishes inspired by road-side banquets and home-cooking. In May 2022, we opened our brick-and-mortar to do just that, celebrate one dish at the time the intricacies of Taiwanese food and we slowly transitioned into naming ourselves “Good to Eat” without the word dumplings.

Do you take reservations?

We currently do not take reservations for parties less than 6. If you have a bigger party and would like to reserve a table, we may be able to accommodate reservations outside of our peak hours, please give us a call during our service hours: 510-922-9885.
I always see a line! How long is the wait?!

Our line goes pretty quickly! The line reflects our current "first come, first serve" service. To give you an idea, when the line is at the end of the building, it takes about 20 minutes to be at the counter ready to order. Once you ordered at the front, you get to sit yourself at a table appropriate for your party size. Our serving team will be with you setting the table and welcoming you in our space in the following minutes. To be fair to all guests, we ask that all guests in line to wait once they have ordered at the counter before sitting themselves.
How long does it take to receive the food?

In general, outside of peak hours, you can expect our food to start trickling on your table pretty fast. As we serve every dish as they get ready from the kitchen, during peak hours, you can expect the most popular station to take longer to arrive at your table. In particular the grill station which could take up to 40-60 minutes in the most populous time.
Can I grab a seat before ordering?

In the intent to be respectful of our current counter order and "first come, first serve" process, we would be grateful for you to wait once you've ordered at the counter before sitting down to a table appropriate for your party size. If you have special needs that you need to sit first, please let us know, we are able to accommodate you in a temporary waiting area with a chair.
I’m meeting with friends, can we get seated first?

Unfortunately, during peak hours we are afraid this is not going to be possible. We have a small and intimate restaurant, and currently do not have the capacity to offer this option to you. We are currently working on a waiting area for the summer, which hopefully will offer an alternative for parties who are waiting for available tables or for groups waiting for the group members.
Do you have outdoor seating?

We do! It's our staff's favorite spot to hangout, it's beautifully ornate with plants from California and Taiwan, it's uncovered with a view on the sky, cloud, sunset, and stars. We do have heaters if the evening becomes slightly cold, however if the wind is in the wrong direction it might be slightly colder. Please bring enough layers for you to ensure you have a comfortable time with us.
How warm/cold is your patio?

Our patio is uncovered with a view on the sky, cloud, sunset, and stars. We do have heaters if the evening becomes slightly cold, however if the wind is in the wrong direction it might be slightly colder. Please bring enough layers for you to ensure you have a comfortable time with us.
Can I bring my dogs?

You definitely can! We love doggies! We welcome you to our patio, however the dining room can only accommodate service dogs at certain areas of our dining room.
What are you specialized for?

We specialize in Taiwanese cuisine. Our chef, Tony Tung is from Taichung, Taiwan. Taiwanese cuisine has a long history and has been influenced by its own aboriginal population, 50 years of Japanese colonization, and a wave of emigration from mainland China in the 1950's resulting in a unique and diverse culinary tradition. Taiwanese cuisine is characterized by its light and delicate flavors emphasizing umami from fresh and fermented ingredients. The daily diet incorporates a lot of seafood, fish, pork, and fresh seasonal produce including flavorful tropical fruits. You can expect most recipes to include soy sauce, sesame oil, different type of vinegars, green onion and sesame seeds. The family dining etiquette is different in Taiwan than it is in the United States. Taiwanese table is known for its emphasis on variety and sharing, so it's common to have multiple dishes on the table. For a typical family dinner or casual gathering, you might expect to see 3-5 dishes, including a protein dish (such as fish, chicken, or pork), a vegetable dish, a soup, and possibly a rice or noodle dish.
Do you have Beef noodle soup, Stinky tofu, Oyster Omelet, Taiwanese fried chicken....?

We want to showcase there are a lot more amazing flavors and dishes from Taiwan that is lacking representation here. In general we might not prioritize some food that is already being done well and well-known in the area. We want to show you more of the dishes and creativity with a Taiwanese palate. Our kitchen team is an amazing group of makers, their mission is to bring you the Taiwanese flavor sensibility through local ingredients, our craft method to perfecting the recipe, and our fermentation and pickling, to bring you on a flavor journey. We welcome you to enjoy our daily rotate menu with us, along with our new dishes overtime, and we always love to hear what you want to have as that can become our insight of our next new dishes !
Which items should I order?!

This is a tricky question because we decided to go for a smaller rotating menu, we can confidently say that we can stand behind all of our dishes. However, there are a few items that comes to our mind if you wanted to "get to know us". First, is GTE Spicy Noodles, Furu Fried Chicken, Lu Rou Fan, Veggies of the day, Taiwanese Golden Kimchi!
Is your food better for individuals or better to be shared?

Taiwanese table is known for its emphasis on variety and sharing, so it's common to have multiple dishes on the table. For a typical family dinner or casual gathering, you might expect to see 3-5 dishes, including a protein dish (such as fish, chicken, or pork), a vegetable dish, a soup, and possibly a rice or noodle dish.
Do you have wine? Why do you only offer sake?

We currently offer rice wine known as sake only. Sake is a Japanese alcoholic beverage made from fermented rice. Its flavor profile can vary widely depending on the type of rice used, the brewing process, and the region where it's produced. Some sakes are dry and crisp, while others are sweeter and more complex. We decided to develop a sake selection for you because we believe that our food pairs particularly well with sake flavor profile. We carefully select every bottle with the hope that our sake can enhance your dining experience. Our food is delicate, light, and has strong umami notes coming from Taiwan's fermentation and pickling tradition and this is exactly why sake is a great pairing for our food as rice wine has a lighter flavor profile all the while maintaining a strong umami and crispness that can act as a palate cleanser during your meal.
Is everything on the menu dumplings?

Our current menu consists of small to medium size plates to share or for yourself to have a few dishes with variety. We have appetizers that highlight fermentation and pickling, grilled items reminiscent of the Taiwanese night market, noodles and braised pork, fried chickens, and dumplings or wontons. We do not have pan-fried dumplings or boiled wontons every day. When we have them on the menu, we offer a very small selection. For pan-fried dumplings, we have one meat and one vegan type. For boiled wontons we have either a pork one or a tofu recipe. Our dumplings dishes are not supposed to be a main meal, but a small plate among others.
If I do to-go, can I get my food quicker?

The waiting time will be longer than dine-in as when you are dine-in you will be able to receive the food whenever it’s ready. For to-go, we will need to wait until all foods are ready for us to call you to pickup. This means if you call during peak hours and our grill station or dumpling station is backed-up, it means your whole order will also be delayed. Typical waiting time will be 20 mins~60 mins after you place your order. For placing to-go orders, please call 510-922-9885 to place order during the service hours. Placing order for later time can be accommodated, too. We do our best to answer the phone whenever we can and make sure we have employees to answer your call, but if we miss it, it means it's really busy. We will do our best to call you back.