The area’s best dim sum restaurant isn’t in Chinatown, it isn’t a gigantic palace near Eden Center, it’s actually tucked away on a side street in Annandale. A&J Restaurant is a small, cash only (yes, seriously, bring cash!) Taiwanese-style restaurant.
When you walk in, you may be given a table for your party or you may be asked to share one of the larger circular tables in the middle. Do it, don’t worry, it only seems awkward to share, but it gives you a great chance to see what everyone else is eating. The efficient servers will bring over your setup (plate, chopsticks, napkin), a pot of tea, and a menu. There are English and Chinese menus available. The descriptions on the menu are pretty accurate and you simply circle what you’d like with the provided pencil. There are no dim sum carts inside this small space. Within minutes, food starts to appear as it’s prepared. There’s no particular order for delivery, you just eat as it comes.
“Noodles with ground pork and bean paste sauce”
Now, to the good part, the food! The first page of the menu lists many types of noodle soups and dishes. I’ve had many since I tend to go there once or twice a week lately. My favorites are the Spicy Beef Noodle Soup (Szechuan Style) and the Noodle with Ground Pork, Bean Sprouts, and Shredded Cucumber. Runners up are the Spicy Wonton with Hot Red Sauce and the Noodles in Hot Spicy Sesame Sauce and Topped w/Peanut Powder. First, the noodles are made in house and you get to select wide or thin. Choose the wide noodles which will be prepared perfectly, with just a little chew and left very, very long so that you get to test your chopstick/ soup spoon slurping skills.
Wontons in spicy chili oil 
Just what I needed to help me get over a cold. Spicy, salty, and full of noodles and big chunks of beef.
The prices are fantastic and I love variety, so I usually order a couple items for about $20 and have plenty to take home for a full second meal. Most all reheat well, so don’t be afraid to order something a little extra
The next page has more of the traditional dim sum dishes like pan fried or steamed dumplings, scallion pancakes, and a variety of meat and vegetarian options. I find some of these offerings a little greasy, such as the pan-fried pork dumplings (potstickers). It seems most people order them, but I’m not sure if it’s just because they are a recognizable menu item for most, or if I just had them on an off day. My favorite on this page is the steamed pork dumplings. They’re delivered in quantities of four in a small steamer basket topped with fresh slivers of ginger. Mix up a little soy and vinegar from the bottles on the table and dig in.
The fresh ginger is what makes these juicy dumplings different from the rest. 
Not my favorite, but they’re popular among the diners
The back page of the menu has mostly smaller, vegetarian dishes, drinks, and a couple sweets. The one thing I’ve ordered EVERY SINGLE visit is the cucumber salad in hot garlic sauce. These cool cucumbers served with spicy oil and sliced garlic almost always arrive first and are great to nibble on while waiting. There is a small separate brunch menu on Saturdays and Sundays that has soy milk, sticky rice, a couple egg dishes, and a jumbo breadstick
