Ulferts Center

This place is kind of hidden to me. If it weren’t for Unilocal,gps and looking for a place specifically located here I think I’d pass by without much notice.
Still, once I got inside I was impressed with the amount of restaurants in there. Pretty good variety too… yakitori, ramen, thai, chinese, afghan, indian, chinese bakery, among other kinds of businesses too of course. Parking was pretty full even on a work weekday so I’d imagine the weekends to be a nightmare. I’ll have to try the other places at some point.

Ulferts Center was the lst commerical center in dublin hosting an overabundance of asian eateries. Koi Palace, Quickly, Kee Wah Pastry were early favorites.
Ulferts has lost it’s lustre.since. there’s a constant turnover of tenants. mostly cuz high rent and limited parking? other nearly commercial centers also house asian eateries (99 ranch, Grafton, fallon)
there are still unique eateries (koi, pamir, thai basil, singapore, boba tea) here, so it’s worth a venture.
at peak hours parking may be difficult to find.;

The majority of the demographic for this shopping center is Asian since most of the businesses in here are Asian (there is a Persian restaurant in the shopping center as well)
We got excellent service however we got ignored at a couple business because we were not Asian. It just depends on the establishment.
They have an elevator, escalator, and restrooms in the shopping center. It’s a very modern and clean shopping center. I didn’t feel unsafe at all .
The majority of the patrons in the shopping center looked at us funny because we were not Asian, however this has no bearing on the business establishments that gave us fantastic service. It’s a very interesting place. Don’t get discouraged, there was very little diversity when we went but we enjoyed the establishments we went to that were welcoming.
Parking was a nightmare at lunch time however they have an ample amount of parking you just have to wait for a spot during busy times (lunch /​dinner)

For an Asian like me, this is a great stopping place when passing by this inner part of the Bay Area (like when I went to the Livermore outlet for shopping last weekend). Unlike other Asian plazas there’s no supermarket (i.e. Ranch 99) but there were plenty of dining choices. In fact, I stopped for lunch and found two restaurants I wanted to dine at and almost couldn’t decide on which one, so I ended up going to one for lunch and one for dinner.
One reviewer wrote about the safety issue here. Living in SF (and Richmond years ago) it’s hard for me to picture this part as being unsafe. However, I guess any location that serves as a potential public gathering place can attract groups that will (or appear to have wish to) cause trouble. I’ve seen that at similar places like Milpitas Square on a late Friday or Saturday night where a large groups of young Asian males gather and, therefore, can appear intimidating.

This Strip Mall if you will is quite interesting. At first glance it looks like any other strip mall but modernize for Dublin. As you enter the parking lot you begin to realize this was catered to those who like the Asian Genere East of the Middle-​East.
Think of this place as a large Food Court. Though Ulfert Furniture Anchors this mall there are some other specialty stores that is not food related. But this is what this place is all about. The restaurant establishments that are are quite amazing for first timer such as myself.
Fair warning though. Parking stalls is a bit tight/​small for all Full Size Vehicles so try and carpool in small to mid-​size cars. Though there are quite a few of parking up front there are even more behind the building. Don’t worry or stress there is also a rear entrance so you don’t have to walk around the entire mall.
So far the Phở Saigon is my fave! Will have to take the family here again and we really didn’t get a chance to look at the entire strip mall.
See ya around.