Back in October, I had a chance to grab a bite with one of my favorite couples, Kirbie and her DH. As always, conversation always drifts toward food. One of the places that Kirbie recommended was Beijing Pie House in Monterey Park (read her post here). So on our next trip to the SGV, we made sure to check the place out.
We had stopped by China Islamic right before our visit here, so we knew it wasn't going to be a gigantic meal.
We arrived pretty early and the dining area was empty except for a guy who I'll designate as the loudest slurper and chewer I've heard. We could hear him smacking his lips all the way on the other side of the room.
We could actually see flecks of food flying from his mouth as he spoke while chewing. His dining companion left the table for a good long time…..probably to remove all the detritus from her hair.
The young man who served could not have been nicer. The Missus found him adorable…..mainly because he spoke Mandarin with a very formal "American" accent.
The Missus has an affection for the various porridges she grew up eating…….which includes the cornmeal based version here.
As for the various Xian Bing….
They were nice enough to serve us a combination vegetarian XB.
Two radish and two "combination".
First off, these "pies" had a nice crust, crisp, but not oily. The filling were also moist….
The radish version was probably my favorite……the bitterness of the radish had been tempered when cooked……
Creating a nice chew with a balance of the pungent and sweetness.
The combination featured mushroom and bean curd with a good amount of seasoning. Though on the salty side, this was still good.
Since we love lamb and mutton, we also ordered the lamb pie……
These didn't quite do it for us. In terms of texture and preparation, we both thought, the Xian Bing were prepared well.
With regards to flavor, we thought this on the weak side…it could have been pork or any other protein, the distinctive flavor of lamb was missing.
I understand that there are those who don't enjoy the "flavor of the pasture", but I still think lamb should taste that way. When it is too tame….well, you might as well get anything else.
Still, the Xian Bing were well prepared, the service was nice. I wouldn't hesitate in returning.
Beijing Pie House
846 E Garvey Ave
Monterey Park, CA 91755
Yay! So glad you went to check it out. DH and I really love the meat cake, even though it isn’t one of their pies. I have been wanting to return to try some more but haven’t had a chance. Will need to make sure to do it on my next trip!
Nice looking Xian Bing, you sure ate a lot of them!
Non related question, but are there any good non-AYCE korean bbq places in SD anymore?
Lamb’s gotta taste like lamb, brother.
Hey Kirbie – Thanks again for the rec!
Hi Jason – We really don’t do AYCE KBBQ….we usually stick with Buga.
Yes it does HH!
Do you have a recipe for the radish only “pie”? I’ve looked everywhere for it and have only found the meat or combo pies. If you have the recipe, please let me know. I had these in China and they are so delicious.