Archive for the 'Rosemead' Category

Shaanxi Gourmet – Rosemead

Published by Gastronomer on February 20, 2012 in Chinese, Los Angeles, Restaurant Review and Rosemead. 5 Comments

It’s been almost four years since The Astronomer and I visited Xi’an, the central Chinese city famous for its terracotta soldiers and Islamic cuisine. However, the moment we stepped foot into Rosemead’s Shaanxi Gourmet, our dormant memories came rushing back. With its guardsmen-flanked entrance, Chinese-only menu, and homey service, Shaanxi Gourmet transported us back to Xi’an for one night.

We were lucky enough to have the Kung Food Panda in our company this evening, which meant that the Chinese-only menu wasn’t a problem. For those dining without a Chinese speaker in tow, the restaurant’s walls are helpfully plastered with photographs of the most popular dishes.

To start, we dug into (clockwise from top left) shredded potatoes, congealed pig’s ears, and beef shank marinated in chili oil. The silky spuds were the surprise hit of the trio. Who knew raw potatoes could be so refreshing?

We also tried two versions of cold noodles. The one I liked best came simply dressed with chile, Sichuan pepper, and vinegar, which highlighted the noodles’ angular shape and springy texture.

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Thiên Ân Bò 7 Món – Rosemead

Published by Gastronomer on October 27, 2010 in Bo La Lot, Ca Nuong Da Don, Restaurant Review, Rosemead and Vietnamese. 8 Comments

I recently learned that my friend Evelina‘s family eats Vietnamese-style roasted catfish (cá nướng da dòn) in place of turkey every Thanksgiving and Christmas. As anyone who’s ever experienced this crackly and caramelized preparation can attest, twice a year is simply not enough. When a major craving hits and the holidays aren’t in sight, Evelina grabs a table at Thiên Ân Bò 7 Món in Rosemead. It’s certainly not as good as grandma’s homemade version, but the catfish here is still pure “scrumptiousness.” Evelina’s words, not mine.

When a sudden hankering surfaced a few weeks back, The Astronomer and I were on hand to join the catfish queen for dinner at Thiên Ân. A gaudily framed photo of the famed dish greeted us as we walked through the front door. Flanking it on both sides were glowing write-ups from the Los Angeles Times. It’s no secret that this place is delicious.

Evelina called a few hours before our arrival to order a medium-sized catfish ($39) for our party of six. Our whiskered guest of honor was placed before us soon after we received our drinks. If you forget to call ahead, it can take up to 30 minutes for the fish to be prepared. Trust me, the wait is worth it.

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Tip Top’s Sandwiches – Rosemead

Published by Gastronomer on March 26, 2010 in Banh Mi, Chain / Multiple Locations, Los Angeles, Restaurant Review, Rosemead and Vietnamese. 14 Comments

The best part of dating a graduate student is the reinstatement of spring break. After graduating from college, I worked diligently from the holidays up until summer vacation before I enjoyed any sort of breather. March was just another month, and my annual trips down to Florida with the track team became a pleasant and distant memory.

I welcomed spring break back into my life last year when The Astronomer enrolled at Caltech. For our inaugural post-collegiate spring break, we packed our bags and headed to Yountville to dine at The French Laundry and Ad Hoc. Observing spring break without having to stress over papers and exams beforehand was a beautiful thing.

This year, we decided to travel even further north to Seattle. Prior to boarding our Jet Blue flight, we stopped by Tip Top’s Sandwiches in Rosemead to pick up sandwiches for the ride. DirectTV + banh mi = a delightful way to spend two and a half hours.

The original Tip Top’s Sandwiches is located in Garden Grove in the heart of Little Saigon. A second branch recently opened in Los Angeles to serve the substantial Vietnamese community residing in the San Gabriel Valley. In addition to “Asian Sandwiches,” Tip Top’s also sells “Euro Sandwiches,” house-made baguettes, frozen yogurt, prefabbed spring rolls, and Vietnamese sweets. We ordered strictly from the banh mi menu.

The Astronomer and I procured four sandwiches. My banh mi dac biet ($2.95) was passable, but not especially great. My main beef with the sandwich was its lack of beef, so to speak. I felt that Tip Top’s long and narrow baguette didn’t provide enough surface area to properly stuff and dress the banh mi. As a result, there was a lot of bread and pickled veggies, but not very much meat. I also thought it was strange that the sandwich contained slices of boiled pork. Boiled pork is lovely atop noodle soups, but has no place inside a banh mi.

The Astronomer and I were mixed on the bread. Two of our sandwiches were made with fresh baguettes that were warm, crusty, and quite pleasant. However, the other two were made with older baguettes that pained the roofs of our mouths with each bite.

For my second sandwich, I chose a vegetarian banh mi ($2.95) with lemongrass tofu. The tofu was plentiful and well-marinated, but it left a lingering garlicky aftertaste that I wasn’t too keen on.

The Astronomer’s banh mi bi ($3.25) suffered the same fate as my banh mi dac biet—too little meat. However, it must be noted that the porky strands of meat and skin that were present tasted very good. Still, all bread and no pork makes for a dull sandwich.

The Astronomer’s banh mi thit nuong ($3.45) packed lots of meat but not very much flavor. While we appreciated the pork’s charcoal essence, its lack of lemongrass and fish sauce was disappointing.

Although we had high hopes, Tip Top’s Sandwiches weren’t in tip-top shape during our visit. With plenty of cheaper, tastier, and more conveniently located banh mi shops in town [See: Bánh Mì & Chè Cali, Saigon’s Bakery & Sandwiches], The Astronomer and I have little reason to return anytime soon.

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Tip Top’s Sandwiches
8522 Valley Boulevard
Rosemead, CA 91770
Phone: 626-571-8185

Nem Nướng Ninh Hòa – Rosemead

Published by Gastronomer on September 16, 2009 in Banh Beo, Banh Hoi, Los Angeles, Nem Nuong, Restaurant Review, Rosemead and Vietnamese. 19 Comments

After sitting in bumper to bumper traffic for a solid half hour, it was clear that my dreams of kicking it with carnies and eating deep-fried White Castle burgers at the L.A. County Fair had to be reassessed. Of course I was looking forward to the smelly petting zoos and dizzying Tilt-a-Whirls, but wasting a beautiful summer afternoon idling on the freeway wasn’t in the cards, so I did what I had to do. “There will always be next year,” consoled The Astronomer.

With Plan A kicked to the curb, we moved on to Plan B—cruising for grub in the San Gabriel Valley. Twice in the past week, I’ve received recommendations for a Central Vietnamese restaurant in Rosemead named Nem Nướng Ninh Hòa. “It’s one of the best,” said Hong, one half of the Ravenous Couple. “It’s in my top three and I’ve been going here for years,” said Wesley, one half of the Two Hungry Pandas. After confirming the address with yet another Panda, we made our way to Nem Nướng Ninh Hòa in time for lunch.

The restaurant was operating at full capacity when we arrived. After placing our names on the waiting list and moseying around for fifteen minutes, we were seated at a table for four.

In between placing our orders and the food arriving, I felt a tap on my shoulder. “Are you The Gastronomer?” asked a friendly looking gentleman. “And you’re The Astronomer!” he said while pointing at Vernon. I can’t remember whether or not we actually confirmed our pseudonyms, but we did invite him and his friend to join us. Surely, it was the least we could do for the first readers to spot us out in public!

We started off with an order of banh beo ($5.49), a dish from the city of Hue. The twelve steamed rice cakes arrived in shallow porcelain dishes piled atop one another. Each cake was sprinkled with dried minced shrimp, smeared with scallion oil, and finished with a crisp “crouton” of rendered pork fat.

To eat, we spooned a bit of sweet fish sauce atop the warm banh beo and dug in with spoons. Once while visiting Hoi An, The Astronomer and I ate banh beo using flat wooden sticks! The steamed rice cakes were doughier and less pliable than the ones we enjoyed in Vietnam, which surprisingly bothered The Astronomer much more than me. I love how my boy’s become a Vietnamese food snob.

Next to arrive was the house special, a selection of Ninh Hòa-style grilled pork meatballs and skewers ($14.99). In the great tradition of Vietnamese do-it-yourself dishes, the protein was accompanied by rice paper and a forest of greens and herbs for garnishing and wrapping. A curiously goopy orange sauce (tuong nep) was served on the side for dipping.

The bevy of meats included nem nuong (sweet pork skewers and meatballs), nem cap (pork patties wrapped in banana leaves), nem chua nuong (sour pork patties), and cha ram tom (shrimp egg rolls). The classic nem nuong were my favorite, although the others weren’t very far behind. I skipped the strangely sweet orange sauce and dipped my rolls in nuoc mam instead.

My favorite dish of the afternoon was the banh hoi ($8.25). The woven mats of rice noodles were topped with thit nuong (grilled pork), tau hu ky (shrimp cake wrapped with bean curd), shrimp egg rolls, scallion oil, and a smattering of dried shrimp dust. The texture of the banh hoi was just about perfect, soaking up the nuoc mam like a gauzy sponge.

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Nem Nướng Ninh Hòa
9016 Mission Drive
Rosemead, CA 91770
Phone: 626-286-3370

JTYH Restaurant – Rosemead

Published by Gastronomer on August 28, 2009 in Chinese, Los Angeles, Restaurant Review and Rosemead. 6 Comments

Try as I may, JTYH just doesn’t quite roll off my tongue. To help me remember the name of this Northern Chinese haven, I’ve brainstormed a few mnemonic devices:

Justin Timberlake, You’re Hot!
Jumbo TVs Yearn for Halftime.
Japanese Thanksgiving Yakitori Hens.

Ah, that’s better! My brain works in mysterious ways. The Astronomer and I met up with a Danny of Kung Food Panda, Wesley of Two Hungry Pandas, and Christine of Choisauce at JTYH for a midweek feast. Danny was introduced to JTYH by Mr. SGV, Tony of Sino Soul, and wanted to spread the word. I was more than happy to listen.

While deciding which delights would grace our table this evening, we were served a plate of snappy celery sticks coated in chili oil. Jazzed up celery sure beats the standard stuff, but truthfully, not by much.

Feeling a bit dumpling’d out, our group stuck to JTYH’s noodle and offal offerings. After we placed our orders, we waited a solid fifteen minutes before any food began to arrive. Accustomed to the San Gabriel Valley’s standard protocol of food rocketing out of the kitchen, we were unnerved by the lengthy lull.

The first dish to arrive was the Lamb Noodle Soup with knife-cut noodles ($5.95). The broth was extremely mild and understated, while the tender chunks of meat were bursting with intense lamb flavor. The stars of the noodle soup show were the Shanxi-style knife-cut noodles. According to Danny, the noodles were cut by hand straight into a pot of boiling water. This style of preparation results in bouncy strands with a nice chew that the Taiwanese refer to as “Q.”

Next to arrive was the Beef Noodle Soup ($5.95), which came with a mixture of tendon and regular beef, as well as knife-cut noodles. Unlike niu ro mian I’ve sampled in the past, JTYH’s broth was light in both color and flavor. A couple of spoonfuls of chili oil helped it along, but the soup wasn’t budging from its stubbornly mild stance.

The most curious item we ordered were the Mooshu “Cat Ears” or 貓耳朵 ($5.75). Not sure what to expect from the menu’s description, I pictured a mock meat type dish made of chewy bean curd. What arrived were miniature orecchiette fried with bits of pork, woodear mushrooms, eggs, and scallions. This dish reminded me of Vietnamese nui chien. Pasta and eggs go so well together.

The most disappointing dish that we ordered were the Noodles with Bean Paste ($5.25). Thoroughly lacking in the funk department, the sauce was one-note and had us yearning for more oomph. I think a little fermentation would do the trick nicely.

A bowl of spicy wontons came next. Drenched in chili oil instead of broth, this dish was solid and easy to love.

The offals were the last to arrive. The pork kidneys ($6.95) weren’t as grainy as I expected them to be but tasted too strongly of iron for my taste. I prefer offals that are chewy and able to soak up flavors well. These kidneys tasted too much like themselves.

The last dish of the night was fried intestines with Szechwan peppercorns ($6.95), which tasted pleasantly like fried chicken skin. I’m not much of a beer drinker, but this dish totally screamed out ‘bar food’. The Szechwan peppercorns left my mouth awesomely numb.

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JTYH Restaurant
9425 Valley Boulevard
Rosemead, CA 91770
Phone: 626-442-8999