Archive for the 'Monterey Park' Category

Elite Restaurant – Monterey Park

Published by Gastronomer on April 28, 2012 in Chinese, Dim Sum, Los Angeles, Monterey Park and Restaurant Review. 14 Comments

Waiting for a table at Elite on a weekend afternoon tests one’s dedication to the sport of dim sum. The bellies that gather here are a tenacious bunch; they don’t seem to mind waiting an hour or even two so long as the food is tops when their number finally gets called.

Arriving soon after the restaurant opens can dramatically improve wait times, but The Astronomer and I relish sleeping in on weekends, so we resigned ourselves to thumb twiddling, menu gazing, and Dollar Store perusing (there’s one next door).

Once we were finally seated, some ninety minutes after we arrived, it was time to do what we do best—over-order and overeat. What’s unique about the dim sum experience here is the lack of carts roaming the dining room. We were presented with a picture menu and an order form as soon as we sat down.

I’ve always loved the chaos of traditional dim sum, but found this approach quite appealing. Not only were my favorite dishes prepared to order, but I wasn’t tempted to waste space on lesser dishes just because the cart came by. I also liked that I didn’t have to scan the room searching for the lone lady serving chicken feet. A simple tick mark on the form and voila, steaming hot chicken feet appeared at the table. Cart-less dim sum certainly has its merits.

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Pearl’s Restaurant – Monterey Park

Published by Gastronomer on May 5, 2011 in Los Angeles, Monterey Park, Restaurant Review and Taiwanese. 11 Comments

One night not too long ago, my friend Danny stayed up way past his bed time perusing this site’s Chinese food archives. I’m not sure what possessed him to do such a thing, but after spending a solid hour or so with my blog, he concluded that it needed more Taiwanese food representation.

Considering there are only four entries dedicated to Taiwanese food, one of which is distinctly Shanghainese, I couldn’t argue with his assessment. And that is how I found myself at Pearl’s Restaurant in Monterey Park on a recent Friday night.

While I’ve eaten at Sam Woo located a few steps away, I never paid much attention to the shoebox-size restaurant next door. The Astronomer, Danny, and I were seated at a table fit for four in Pearl’s surprisingly stark white dining room.

The menu here, which is divided into dumplings, rice, noodles, and appetizers, is all sorts of homey and priced beyond reasonably. Danny took the lead and ordered an array of dishes highlighting what the restaurant is best known for. By the way, the sign on the door states that the kitchen does not dabble in MSG.

To start, we shared a plate of pork boiled dumplings ($5.25). I slathered mine in the house-made chili paste, while The Astronomer went for a combination of soy sauce and vinegar. The dumpings’ skins were neither too thick nor too thin, while the filling was noticeably lean and well seasoned.

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Yun Chuan Garden – Monterey Park

Published by Gastronomer on April 3, 2011 in Chinese, Los Angeles, Monterey Park and Restaurant Review. 9 Comments

The Astronomer and I dined at Yun Chuan Garden many moons ago when my mother was in town for work. Even though no one in our party read Chinese or was familiar with Szechuan cuisine, we still enjoyed a solid meal by blindly trusting the menu’s cryptic English descriptions.

The Astronomer and I returned to the restaurant a few weekends back with our friend Danny. With a Chinese-speaking Szechuan expert at the table, we were excited to re-experience Yun Chuan Garden.

Joining the three of us for dinner were Amy, her fiance Dennis, and Laurie. Our group of six gathered around a large table toward the back of the restaurant. Danny took charge and ordered an array of beloved standbys, as well as a handful of new dishes.

To start, Danny, Amy, and I picked out a few cold appetizers from the selection at the front counter. The fried tofu, beef shank, and jellied headcheese all rocked. The spicing and seasonings were just right for my chili-loving tastes.

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Beijing Pie House – Monterey Park

Published by Gastronomer on January 21, 2011 in Chinese, Los Angeles, Monterey Park and Restaurant Review. 10 Comments

Under normal circumstances, I would have followed up the five-course bacon feast aboard the Lardon Truck with a healthful dinner of vegetables and grains. However, since it was the first day of the new year, and my mom was in town to celebrate, I thought it would be more festive and delicious to continue the greasy streak into dinner.

So instead of digging into wholesome greens and fibrous barley this evening, our party of three followed Linda Burum‘s footsteps to Monterey Park to dine at Beijing Pie House—a shop specializing in the bready cuisine of Northern China.

Located across the plaza from Kam Hong Garden, the Pie House lacks proper signage announcing its place in the neighborhood. In fact, the store’s facade still reads “Canton Gourmet Bakery.” Don’t be fooled though—there’s plenty of pie to go around.

The restaurant was mostly empty when we arrived, so we were seated promptly and presented with laminated menus typed in both English and Chinese.

After perusing the offerings, my mom decided that the shrimp wonton soup had to be hers ($5.99). The dozen or so plump little parcels arrived floating in a steaming hot broth. My mom really liked the delicate wrappers and meaty filling, but had to doctor up the mild broth with a few shakes of soy sauce and chili oil to suit her taste.

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Kam Hong Garden – Monterey Park

Published by Gastronomer on November 11, 2010 in Chinese, Los Angeles, Monterey Park and Restaurant Review. 10 Comments

Earlier this week, I attended my first volunteer session for Cooking Matters, a program that teaches cooking skills and nutrition in low-income communities. To break the ice and to get to know the program’s participants, we went around the room and introduced ourselves and stated our favorite food.

Considering how much of my life is consumed by all things edible, I surprisingly can’t recall the last time I was asked about my favorite food. Even though I was a little rusty on the subject, my instincts kicked in as soon as it was my turn. “My favorite food is noodles!” I enthused. It was a spur-of-the-moment response, but even several days later, I still can’t think of a better response.

This past weekend, my mom and I enjoyed some really terrific Chinese noodles at Kam Hong Garden in Monterey Park. Though I love noodles in all shapes and sizes, I must confess that the knife-cut variety ranks somewhere near the top. Barbara Hansen of Table Conversation pointed me here, and it’s my newest noodling obsession.

Before the slurping commenced, my mom suggested that we start with some protein. She chose the spicy beef and tripe ($2.95) from the long list of cold appetizers that also included “fried odor tofu” ($4.25) and “pig leg gel with cold sauce ($2.50). I haven’t encountered a menu with this much Wessonality in a long time.

The fiery and tender plate of shank arrived marinating in chili oil along with bits of scallions and crushed peanuts. The amount of heat was just right, but sadly there was no tripe.

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