Mandarin Deli (Monterey Park)

One doesn’t go to Mandarin Deli for the ambiance. One goes for the simple, comforting, food. Just be warned, the place is small and serves stinky tofu. If you’re unlucky, you might be stuck sitting next to a table that ordered a plate.

I had the mala (spicy) beef noodle soup. The [...]

Green Village

The family and I went to Green Village for dinner over the weekend. The place was fancy compared to most of the Chinese restaurants we go to and the prices certainly reflect slightly more upscale decor.

We started off with a cold plate of koufu (vegan). It’s a famous Shanghainese dish made out of [...]

Noodles at Kam Hong Garden (MPK)

To passerbyers, Kam Hong Garden isn’t much to look at. It’s in its own little corner of a little strip mall and upon entering it, I thought that it looked a little too clean and sterile to be a delicious noodle-house in the SGV. Luckily, I was proven wrong.
The waiters at Kam Hong [...]

Baccali Cafe and Rotisserie

There are few industries more “free market” than the restaurant business. If they don’t offer the customer something (good food at a good price or good food at a price plus a unique experience in some fashion) they will eventually go belly up.
A drive down Valley Blvd in Alhambra and some places you will [...]

New Concept: Dim Sum in Monterey Park

Dim sum junkies have probably spotted the numerous reports on New Concept kicking around out there — from the LA Times to dozens of Chowhound Los Angeles reports as well as Eating L.A. (Who else can I name-check!?)
New Concept is the first American branch of a chain with 28 restaurants in China, five in Beijing. [...]

LA Times Considers Chiu Chow

I tend to have only a vague awareness of the regional origins of the Chinese restaurant I’m dining in — be it Mandarin, Cantonese, Hunan, or Szechuan. Until this evening, I would not have known, for example, if I was eating in a Chiu Chow (Chaozhou) restaurant. Chiu Chow, a primarily seafood-based cuisine, hails from [...]