On our first attempt to dine at Dongbu Live Fish, my friends and I were greeted by dimmed lights and a “closed” sign. We were eagerly anticipating a feast of fishes, but alas, it wasn’t in the cards this Sunday evening. After coming to terms with the heartbreaking situation, we changed gears and headed to one of Danny‘s staple restaurants in Rowland Heights: Golden China.
Located in the same indoor mall as Ranch 99 Market, Golden China cooks up a variety of homey Szechuan, Cantonese, Taiwanese, and Shanghainese fare. Nearly every table was filled at this no-frills comfort food haven when we arrived.
Danny took care of the ordering, while Hong and I kick backed and relaxed. The first dish to arrive was a braised bean curd and pork stir fry. The braised bean curd, which had an extra-firm texture not unlike meat, was delightfully savory mingling with the bits of pork and salty seasonings. The spice level was completely manageable even though the waitress warned us otherwise.
While I order yellow cupcakes topped with chocolate frosting to test out unfamiliar cupcakeries, Danny uses “water boiled fish” as an index for Szechuan establishments. Bathed in a goopy chili pepper sauce, the chunks of white fish were firm and flaky. The sauce didn’t pack us much punch as we could’ve handled, but the dish was very good nevertheless.
After gorging on the freshest cuts of halibut at Dongbu Live Fish, may I suggest grabbing dessert at Class 302? It’s a little cafe serving Taiwanese snacks and sweets, most notably shaved snow. Danny, my friend and Chinese food guru, introduced me to this spot a few weeks ago, and I’ve since been back twice. If Rowland Heights weren’t such a drive, Class 302 would certainly be a bi-weekly habit. The shaved snow is really wonderful, especially on scorching summer days like these.
Modeled after a traditional Taiwanese classroom, the ambiance here is strangely appealing. Diners eat at desk clusters, waitresses don school girl uniforms, and notebooks are tucked into little cubbies. The combination of kitsch, fun, and food attracts droves of Taiwanese teens and nostalgic elders. Who knew playing school offered such popular appeal? The model minority stereotype lives on…
Shaved snow is a very distant cousin of Hawaiian shaved ice. Its unique ribbon-like texture is achieved by freezing huge chunks of flavored water and milk, and then shaving it using a special machine. The resulting sheets of snow are gloriously creamy and dissolve ever so quickly on the tongue. It’s been years since I’ve tasted freshly fallen snow, but if memory serves me right, it tasted just like this (minus the infusions).
Continue reading ‘Class 302 – Rowland Heights’
After a round of deep-fried sushi, followed by Korean-flavored balls, The Astronomer and I made one last stop at the pretty in pink Flying Pig truck before calling it a night. Flying Pig hit the mean streets of Los Angeles last October, which in truck years seems like a lifetime ago. Even though it’s been around for a while and has been well received by diners, our paths and appetites never crossed until tonight.
The two dudes behind Flying Pig are Joe Kim and James Seitz, culinary school grads from the California School of Culinary Arts in Pasadena. Taking a cue from the truck that started it all, Flying Pig’s menu blends Asian and Pacific Rim flavors with French technique. Back when the truck first launched, owner Joe Kim informed the L.A. Weekly that Flying Pig was a testing ground for Butalanai, a restaurant that he planned to open in early 2010. While a brick and mortar joint has yet to come to fruition, the Flying Pig continues to do its porky fusion thing all around town.
Ripped straight out of the Momofuku playbook, the pork belly bao ($3.25) was braised to melt-in-my-mouth perfection. The red onion escabeche and pickled sesame cucumber provided enough tang to keep the pork’s fatty richness at bay. The truck’s signature “death sauce” wasn’t exactly deadly, just spicy with a touch of hoisin. The bao was one of the tastiest dishes I’ve eaten from a truck. The Flying Pig’s crunchy tofu bao ($2.75), which I tasted on a different occasion, is a great option for those with meatless leanings.
Continue reading ‘Flying Pig – Los Angeles’
