Chinese Restaurants – Page 24

Clearing Out the Memory Card – Bistro Na’s (Temple City) Revisited

August 16, 2019 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

The Missus had been talking about returning to Bistro Na's since our first visit. So, knowing that's we'd have the Sunday after returning from our Budapest trip free; I made reservations before we left. Little did I know that Bistro Na's would earn a Michelin Star the week we returned.

I wondered how this would affect the restaurant. Well, it was even more crowded (Sunday lunch); but the service, as before was excellent.

And the food? Well, I'm just going to give you the overview here, as we'll probably be headed back to Bistro Na's soon.

The Chili Tofu Skin Salad and signature Crispy Shrimp were still amazing. The Crispy Lamb Brisket was very good; gamey, crisp exterior, and super tender. The Missus enjoyed the Braised Brisket with Quail Egg; but said that the red cooked beef shortribs I make at home is easily just as good. The only clunker was the Fried Mixed Mushrooms; which while crisp, were way too sweet to enjoy.

This place is easily the Missus's favorite Chinese restaurant right now. As for me; as long as they keep making that bean curd skin and crispy shrimp, I have no complaints.

Bistro Na's
9055 Las Tunas Drive
Temple City, CA 91780
Hours:
Sun – Thurs 11am – 230pn, 5pm – 9pm
Fri – Sat 11am – 230pm, 5pm – 930pm

Clearing Out the Memory Card – Never Made the Cut Road Trip Edition

August 10, 2019 mmm-yoso American/New American Restaurants, Bun Bo Hue, Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Orange County, Pho, Road Trip, Santa Barbara County, Vietnamese Restaurants

Here are some photos that I was just going to delete…..I have a bunch of breakfast one's from when I was driving to Irvine almost weekly as well. But since these weren't in San Diego; where I try to visit places more than once; I thought I'd just do one of those "never made the cut" posts.

I went to lunch with the folks I was working with in Irvine a couple of times.

Ngu Binh:

I've posted on Ngu Binh before, but was excited to try the Bun Bo Hue. Unfortunately, the folks that got there first ordered for all of us…….

They like their Bun Bo Hue not spicy with no pork hock and that's what I had waiting for me when I arrived……what the??????

Ngu Binh Restaurant
14072 Magnolia St
Westminster, CA 92683

Pho Lovers:

Which was right in front of Lien Hoa, it has since moved.

loved the herbs which were amazingly fresh.

The pho was seriously defatted, the noodles over-cooked, though the broth wasn't overly sweet or salty.

Now at:

9892 Westminster Blvd
Garden Grove, CA 92844

From other Road Trips.

Chengdu Taste (Alhambra):

The Missus was seriously psyched to try the place that had been declared the "best Sichuan Restaurant in America". We were quite disappointed.

And the service was so terrible, that we got our mapo tofu and Shui Zhu Niu Rou, the beef boiled in hot sauce to go. Both just didn't have enough spice and were seriously defatted versions. The won tons in hot sauce were too sweet and lacked spice, not even close to the version I had at Long Chau Shou (龙抄手).

828 W Valley Blvd
Alhambra, CA 91803

The Lark (Santa Barbara):

This one was from the same road trip where we had a wonderful meal at Yoichi's. It was a super hot weekend; yet they had the fire pit going!

From the mushy brussel sprouts to the teeth rattling sweet duck wings, not our favorite meal.

Though the lamb shoulder confit was quite good.

The Lark Santa Barbara
131 Anacapa St.
Santa Barbara, CA 93101

So there you go; thanks for indulging me.

I'll be back tomorrow with more San Diego restaurants.

Revisits – Kangxi is Coming and Spicy Hut

June 11, 2019 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

**** Both of these restaurants have closed

Man, seems like we've hit summer overnight. It was pretty warm today….so why not turn up the heat a bit more with these revisits.

Kangxi is Coming:

My first couple of visits was a mixed bag; so I waited a while before returning. Calvin and Daniel from Georgia decided to join me. Looking over the menu, which had changed a bit from our previous visits, we noticed a couple of items that we enjoyed when this place was Village North.

Since the kitchen staff is supposedly the same a VN, we started with the Black Pepper Beef which we had enjoyed at Village North.

There was basically no spice to this and the beef was too tough. It didn't have the toothsome, but velvety texture of previous versions we'd had here.

I ordered the La Zhi Ji, the classic chicken with chilies dish. The portion size was quite large.

First off; there wasn't enough chilies and this wasn't spicy enough. Secondly, barely any Sichuan peppercorns, so the "ma-la" effect wasn't there. This was really salty and the batter for the chicken was too thick.

Bummer…..

Finally, we noticed one of our favorite dishes from Village North; the Fried Shrimp with Chilies.

This was strike three…..the shrimp were over-cooked; the shells weren't crisp; all that other "stuff" didn't add anything to the dish and again, barely nay Sichuan peppercorns.

Now, I really like one of the ladies who works here. She remembers me from my visits when this place was VN. But that isn't enough to keep me coming back if the food is as mediocre as it was on this visit. It feels like Kanxi is Gone…..

Kangxi Is Coming
4428 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Spicy Hut:

One of our co-workers; "SJP" has gotten a promotion and will soon be changing departments. "YZ" and I wanted to take her to lunch to celebrate. We asked her what she wanted and she said "Spicy Hut"! Now "SJP" had never had Sichuan food until she had lunch with us a few months back. So we were pleasantly surprise at her choice.

SJPs favorite dish at Spicy Hut is the La Zhi Ji. Chef Hu, seeing both "YZ" and myself, told us he'd be making this personally.

Which meant that there was good amount of numbing, floral Sichuan peppercorn, and decent spice. While not on the same level as Ba Ren, the chicken was nice and crunchy, with a good amount of "ma-la".

The Shui Zhu Yu (the classic "Water Boiled Fish" dish) was better than on previous visits.

A darker, deeper, red meant there was enough spice in this. It's still a bit short in the "ma-la" department, but it's definitely spicy enough. The fish was nicely prepared, very tender, succulent, basically almost melting in your mouth. Still, this dish could be even better, with more complexity….more chili bean paste, hints of ginger and garlic, etc. Still, not bad at all.

Finally something to balance things out; the Guo Ba, the sizzling sound of the crispy rice as the sauce is poured over it is supposed to be "good luck"; so it was an appropriate dish.

The "gravy" was a bit more gloppy than usual; though it might not really matter as the textures change with every bite. It was a bit heavy handed in terms of white pepper and salty. The fish was also not poached as well as it was in the Shui Zhu Yu.

Still, Chef Hu's strength is fish and chicken, so our dishes turned out to be as good as expected. No, it's not Ba Ren, but I enjoy the food here more than Chef Hu's other restaurants – Fu An Garden and Spicy King. And for once I didn't order the Ko Shui Ji ("mouthwatering chicken").

I'll be sure to get that next time.

Spicy Hut
9460 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126

Road Trip – Tasty Noodle House (San Gabriel) Revisited

June 10, 2019 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

Before our trip, I had to head back to the SGV for an appointment. This was going to be a solo trip. The decent Baozi we'd had at Northern Cuisine had me wondering if my favorite Tianjin Baozi from the Tasty Noodle House in San Gabriel was still as good. Be aware, not all Tasty Noodle Houses are created equal. My appointment was done by 1030, which gave me more than enough time to head over to this tiny restaurant tucked into a corner of a strip mall on West Las Tunas Drive.

The configuration of the place has remained the same; though the color is now more neutral.

The woman working was very nice….I was here for only one thing, but felt that I needed to try something else as well. So, I ordered something called "Chinese Watercress" on the menu. I really did expect Xi Yang Cai….but got this.

Holy smokes, a plate of stir fried Culantro (Ngo Gai in Vietnamese). I can truly say that I'd never seen this much cilantro on a plate before. Sadly, this was greasy and not seasoned well, it was really salty, with not enough garlic.

And then, my Tianjin Baozi ("Pan Fried Pork Buns" on the menu) arrived.

These were quite good; the baozi were crisp on the bottom, the tops light, fluffy, and springy. The yeastiness of the baozi wafted up into the air.

The filling had a nice balance of porkiness, sesame oil, and a light ginger flavor. It's moist and smooth, though not overly light.

It's not quite Guo Bu Li Baozi ("stuffed buns that even dogs would not eat" – a specialty of Tianjin), but whatever….it's still a favorite of mine.

It's great to know that even though it's been five years since my last visit this place still delivered.

Tasty Noodle House
827 W Las Tunas Dr
San Gabriel, CA 91776

And yes, Golden Deli in the same strip mall still has crazy lines…..

Though to be perfectly honest….I'll take this…..

Road Trip – Sea Harbour (Rosemead) Revisited

May 12, 2019 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Dim Sum, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

We had a nice night of sleep after dinner at Bistro Na's. Frankie was staying with one of his favorites Aunties, so I used some points and booked an overnight stay. And though we had enjoyed trying some new places on this visit; when it came to dim sum, the Missus wanted Sea Harbour, especially since it had been about three years since our last visit. Of course we got there a few minutes before opening; the lines don't seem quite as long these days. And were promptly seated when they opened….where we got a close-up view of the spot prawns.

The Missus was specifically interested in trying something She saw in various Instagram posts (and no; I don't do "Insta")

Yep, basically squid ink colored – gold leaf topped har gow. shades of gold leaf topped sashimi (in Kanazawa)! So, this was nearly ten bucks….. But, it was well put together. Sea Harbour really knows how to make their shrimp; these were plump, tender, and full of flavor. The mushroom in the dumplings had an earthy sweetness to them.

Next up was the mushroom tart.

These looked better than they actually were. The mushroom filling was really mild and didn't stand up to the pastry. Meanwhile, the pastry started to break down rather quickly and got quite gummy.

I was really happy to see that the Fish Roe and Scallop Dumpling was back on the menu.

It had been taken off the menu on our last visit a few years back. Perfectly textured wrappers; sweet-oceany scallops, balanced out with the crunchy masago.

Of course the Missus had to get Her Chicken Feet. A favorite of Hers.

And I had to get a favorite of mine, the Shrimp, Dried Scallops, and Chinese Celery Dumplings .

And these did not disappoint, wonderful combination of savory (dried scallops) – oceany and sweet (shrimp), all balanced out with the palate cleansing and textural contrast of the Chinese celery. The wrappers were faultless.

On one of our previous visits we tried the Black Fungus and Celery Dumpling and didn't think it was very good. So, we decided to try them out again.

This time around, it was much better. Great texture, the flavor of the celery coming through. Still a bit on the mild side in terms of flavor, but again the wrappers were perfect.

I was really disappointed in the Soy Sauce Noodles this time around.

Overcooked (even the bean sprouts!) and bland. Where the heck were the scallions?

Things finished off with another favorite of the Missus; the Radish Cake with XO Sauce.

While I don't think the searing of the radish cake was done quite as well; it lacked the light coat of crispness, this literally melted in our mouths. The XO Sauce adds another dimension in terms of flavor. It's still quite delicious.

Overall a nice meal. A big plus was that SH opens at 10am on weekends, so we were able to get back on the road before 11am, and head home.

We need to head up to the SGV more often.

Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant
3939 Rosemead Blvd
Rosemead, CA 91770

Soup Weather in April! Revisits to Facing East and Woomiok (Yet Again)

April 29, 2019 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Korean Restaurants, Xiao Long Bao

Good lord, is it really almost May? We've sure been on a bit of a weather rollercoaster this year, eh? Anyway, this rainy-cooler weather means I can get more "soup fixes" and here's a couple.

Facing East:

Man, has it been nearly two years since my post on Facing East? Time sure does fly. Based on those three visits, I was surprised to see Facing East still alive and kicking a few weeks back while I drove up Convoy. They must be doing something right. It was probably time for a revisit. After all, I revisited Steamy Piggy, right?

Upon arrival, I was a bit shocked at how much the menu had changed. Gone were all those gimmicky Xiao Long Bao and in its place was Ramen (?), Nabeyaki (??). I mean I expected the Asian-fusion Baos and heck even teriyaki chicken and the legion of fried foods….but Drunken Noodle?

Well, this was going to be interesting indeed.

The young lady who was my Server was very nice, though again the food took a while to come out. Even though I was the only customer in the place.

While there was no way I'd be having ramen here; I thought the Duck Noodle Soup, which looked like a play on Niu Rou Mian would work out well for me.

There were six nice slices of roast duck, which had been torched. The duck was fairly tender and retained a nice sweetness and gaminess that had carried through being added to the broth. The standard issue noodle were over-cooked and on the mushy side for my taste. The broth was like what I'd had in the NRM on my previous visit, slightly spicy, lots of pepper, more greasy than rich, lacking in enough savory and anise tones for me. I really enjoyed the pickled vegetable, which helped to cut the greasiness, though the bok choy was mushy by the time the bowl hit the table. The portion size was quite generous.

So, while there was no more Foie Gras XLB, the Pork and Crab XLB was still on the menu.

On the positive side, while the tips of the wrapper was too hard, the wrapper as whole was better than what I'd had before. It had a bit of pull to is and nothing leaked. There was also a good amount of soup in the XLB. The meat however, was tough with rubbery bits in it and I couldn't make out any crab! I had three and took the remainder back to the office where I had folks try them out….both Calvin and "YZ" mentioned how tough the meatball was…..and both were surprised that there was supposed to be crab in this. It even lacked the normal sweet-porkiness I expect from a good XLB.

So there you go. A revisit. The menu has changed a bunch, but I still found the dishes to fall short…..

Facing East
4647 Convoy St Suite 101C
San Diego, CA 92111

Woomiok (Yet Again):

A few drops of rain and the Missus wants to head back to Woomiok. Though I should be happy that Woomiok has become a favorite of Hers.

On this visit, we noticed that there have been dishes added to the menu, though the Missus got Her usual Seolleontong. I went with the #7 which had Brisket, OxTail, Ox Knee, Cheek, and Shank.

The panchan has also been enhanced with the addition of japchae. Unfortunately, it's pretty weak in flavor. We noticed that folks on other tables didn't finish theirs as well. Though, to be perfectly honest, I think the baechu (napa cabbage) kimchi has been getting better on each visit.

As always, the Missus enjoyed the the kkakdugi and the squid panchan.

As for my version of Seolleontang, well, I thought it was quite large. Enjoyed the strips of egg and the king mushrooms.

The broth coated my tongue nicely, and with the perfect amount of salt and scallions added it was quite nice. The meats were fine; though I really missed the tendon. I'll be going back to the regular mixed meat next time. Also, we might tell them to just hold off on the thin noodles which always seem to be overcooked….we just like to add rice to the broth….it becomes like a comforting porridge of sorts.

So that's it….I promise; no more Woomiok posts for a while.

Woomiok
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Hope you had a great Monday!

Hong Kong BBQ & Dim Sum Revisited

April 28, 2019 mmm-yoso Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants

A few days ago; in the comments of my Yummy House revisit post; "DerekR" asked me for some roast duck recommendations. I mentioned having had a decent roast duck from Hong Kong BBQ & Dim Sum a few months back (sorry; no post on that one; but here's one from a few years ago). A couple of days later, that question, and my recommendation was still on my mind. So, with some time for lunch; Calvin and "Big Daniel" and I decided to head on over to see how things were.

We ordered four dishes….one of which made me crack up…..

The first to arrive was the House Pan Fried Noodles. Man, the potion size was quite large.

The noodles and the gravy were fine….the noodles crisp and crunchy, slowly softening from the gooey gravy, which wasn't overly salty. The proteins were a mixed bag; typical low quality dry chicken and the fish, while decently velveted had that muddy flavor of low quality fresh water fish. The shrimp were quite tender and moist, but basically flavorless. Not terrible.

"YZ's" sources had told her that along with the roast duck, the roast pork here was good. So, we ordered that.

This was the best dish of the day; thin and crisp skin, tender fat, that wasn't waxy in texture, tender meat. Good seasoning, not too salty, pretty good overall. Maybe a tad better than the roast pork we last had at Golden City.

Next up was a second carb dish….Calvin saw Minced Beef Fried Rice on the menu and got it into his head it was Wadan Oyok Fan; Cantonese Minced Beef and Egg Rice….but, there was no false advertising here as what we got was Beef and Lettuce Fried Rice.

This was so bland, the beef tough, the rice hard……iceberg lettuce brought nothing……

And last, but not least, the Roast Duck.

This was not terrible, but definitely not as good as what I'd had a few months back. The skin was crisp, the fat rendered nicely, it was on edging to the salty side, and the meat was rather tough.

So, I guess I'll wait a couple more months and try again. If that doesn't work out, it's back to the drawing board.

Overall, large portions, good prices, perhaps a notch below Golden City.

Hong Kong BBQ & Dim Sum
10550 Camino Ruiz(Inside of Vinh Hung Market)
San Diego, CA 92126

Yummy House Revisited

April 23, 2019 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

After my fiasco of a visit to Yummy House (no hot tea, no tendon hot pot, no ong choi, no rice!!!!), I decided to give the place a "rest". I mean, really, the signature Peking Duck really didn't impress me very much. And while the kitchen seemed a total fail during that last visit, the folks working front of house, tried their best, and it really wasn't their fault. So, six months down the line, as we hit another streak of cooler weather, I decided to revisit…..solo of course….just in case of another total fail.

The gentleman working didn't understand much English but was very nice….the current menu is a copy of a take-out menu in a plastic cover….with a good amount of writing on it.

I decided to just order what were my two favorite dishes from my previous visits.

Starting with the Suan Cai Yang Rou. Of course, the Missus would enjoy the left-overs, with our own suan cai; both the fermented cabbage and juice added.

This was not bad; the suan cai was on the mild side and there wasn't a bracing fermented savory-sourness; but I'm thinking that folks might not enjoy that as much as we do. The lamb was decently tender and really added a nice gaminess to the soup that worked real well. The sour cuts the barnyard, while adding it's own layer of cheesy-sourness to the whole thing.

I was interested to see how the Beef Tendon Stew; what I thought was the best item I'd had at Yummy House would fare this time around….and yes, they actually had it.

This was much thicker than what I'd had before; but it was really good. Great acidity from the tomatoes, the beefiness from the meat came through nicely. Well seasoned, with a mild touch of spice. My only complaint was that the larger chunks of tendon were too hard. Rich and hearty and even better than what I'd had before.

Of course there were leftovers. The Missus enjoyed the doctored up suan cai yang rou and the stew. When I showed Her the photos of the menu, She looked at the Chinese name of the place, took in what I knew about the cooks, and made a recommendation. Calvin had been wondering about the tendon stew since our last, terrible visit when they were out of everything. So, one day, when our lunch hours were synchronized we headed on over.

We did have the same two dishes from the previous visit. This time there was less tomato in the tendon stew, but the chunks of tendon was much more tender.

We also ordered the Green Beans; which were a tad over-cooked.

It was also on the oily side, but unlike the previous version of this I had, was seasoned nicely.

And then the dish the Missus told me to order; something we'd had at banquets in China, "Four Joy Meatballs"….the Northern version of Lion's Head. The Missus told me to make sure there were four…….and there was.

These were surprisingly good, a nice porkiness, with a hint of five spice. The meatballs were moist, with obviously a good amount of filler; which, in this case, helped the cause making the meatball tender and very moist. The brown sauce wasn't too salty and had just enough ginger to help cleanse the palate of the richness of the meatball.

Funny thing; in spite of the number four being bad luck (four in Chinese sounds like the word for "death" – which is why we'd never catch Yellow Cab – 619-444-4444!); but in this case it symbolizes the four joys of life. The round meatball symbolizes a "gathering"…..so basically the gatherings where the four periods in life are celebrated.

So, here's the thing, we enjoyed our meal, but if you want to check this place out you may want to do so soon. It may be because I visited during lunch, but during both meals, there were no other customers in the place.

Yummy House
4633 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Road Trip – Bistro Na’s (Temple City)

April 15, 2019 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

One of the main reasons I was really excited about our road trip to the SGV, was our reservations at Bistro Na's. I'd read about the opening of Bistro Na's; supposedly serving "Imperial Court Cuisine", in places like Food Talk Central and various blog posts over the last two years. I'd had a taste of this style of cuisine during a our final meal in Beijing. And since this restaurant was an extension of Beijing's Najia Xiaoguan (那家小馆), I was quite excited.

And overall, even though the menu wasn't exactly totally Chinese Imperial Cuisine; at least in the way I've read about it, there was an interesting balance of flavors and textures with mostly excellent cooking technique. Also, one of the key elements of Jing Cuisine was the ability to blend the techniques of the Han, Manchu, Hui, and other ethnic groups as well characteristics of all other various schools, including the "Four Major Cuisines", the "Eight Great Cuisines", and all things in between.

Service was the best I've had in a Chinese eating establishment in years. It was gracious and efficient, and our main Server was amazingly warm and friendly, while being a total professional. Man, Ed from Yuma would have loved this place.

The location; right off Rosemead Boulevard was an area I hadn't been to in maybe 20 years! Man, has it changed. The last time we were in the area, at Xiang Yuan Gourmet, we came up Temple City Boulevard instead.

The parking lot for this strip mall is terrible, we ended up parking on the street across the way.

The interior is quite a sight to see….with warrens of rooms and booths. The décor is quite what I'd call traditional in concept. The menu; with every dish photographed is thick as a college textbook.

And of course, dishes are "social media" ready….though I'd never seen anyone take 12 photos of a single black cod dish until this day…..

The first dish up was the signature "Crispy Shrimp".

Man, this really set the stage for the meal. The texture of the shells, delicately thin and crisp, in contrast to the perfectly cooked flesh, plump and tender, was amazing. The sauce had some sweetness, but there was just the lightest touch of spice to move things along. The Missus preferred eating Hers separate, meat from shells, while I preferred mine together. If you have these, please eat those shells. Don't be like the "Black Cod Girls" and leave those behind. Excellent dish.

My favorite dish of the night would seem to be the most humble; the Chili Tofu Skin; yep bean curd skin.

The cilantro in this was really amazing…I know, that sounds weird, but it had a nice slight anise, that went along with almost a minty-celery flavor. The bean curd skin was so very crisp, yet light, the dressing, which had both a touch of cumin and what seemed to be a bit of Sichuan peppercorn, along with just the lightest touch of sesame oil just brought things together so well. It was so refreshing.

The one clunker for the meal was the Jellied Pig's Feet.

The texture was excellent, but the flavors seemed a bit off. It just didn't have enough porkiness for us. This was rather mundane.

What wasn't mundane was the "Secret Tofu". This was basically an steamed egg-tofu, laid on a bok choy leaf that's sliced, dusted, and fried.

Crisp and light, with a nice, pleasant egg flavor. The bok choy layer added a nice contrast in texture and a mild bitterness to the dish. The sauce added a mild sweetness and savory tones to the dish.

The Dry Braised Sea Bass was cooked perfectly; it was buttery and moist in texture. Our really nice Server kept warning us about how spicy it was….but it wasn't very spicy at all.

The sauce was fairly mild and straight forward, the topping which included mushrooms, bamboo shoots, scallions, and pork was nice as it added some contrast. The Missus enjoyed it, but I guess I wanted something with a bit more oomph? Though I've got to say, this tasted better then next day.

For dessert; there's a combination snack platter that has all those treats the Missus loved when going to school in Beijing. And even though it was a ton of stuff and $36, I told Her to order it. However, She decided just to go with this…..

It's "Milky Cheese"; basically milk pudding with cheese in it in the shape of a fish. The Missus enjoyed it; I'm not a big fan of milk pudding and the cheese aftertaste wasn't my favorite thing in the world….this coming from a cheese lover.

The Missus really loved this meal. I expected it to be much more expensive than it was….we regularly spend more at El Jardin. Of course we didn't order any of the really meat heavy items on the menu.

We'll definitely be back. Muslim style dishes are quite common in Jing Cai; and we saw several on the menu we'd like to try.

If you do decide to check out Bistro Na's; at least on the weekend, make reservations. There was a huge line of waitlisted folks outside when we left.

Bistro Na's
9055 Las Tunas Drive
Temple City, CA 91780
Hours:
Sun – Thurs 11am – 230pn, 5pm – 9pm
Fri – Sat 11am – 230pm, 5pm – 930pm

Road Trip – Northern Cuisine Restaurant (City of Industry)

April 14, 2019 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

We had missed one of our yearly appointments back in our old "neck of the woods" last year. So, we needed to catch up and get that taken care of this year. We decided to use some of our "points" and make it an overnight stay. Our appointment ended right before noon, so we decided to grab lunch close by. I had Northern Cuisine, a restaurant that opened at the beginning of 2017, in the same mall that used to house Cost Plus when we lived in the area.

The restaurant is good sized with rather large tables. Looking at the menu, it was quite obvious that large parties would fit in well. And even though there is stuff like Song Shu Gui Yu (松鼠桂鱼), "Squirrel Fish", and Peking Duck on the menu; there was just one item I really wanted. more on that later.

We weren't super hungry so we just ordered three items and it was still too much for us to finish. Luckily our room had a mini-fridge and I'd brought an ice chest along.

First dish up was the "Big Plate Cauliflower"……the Missus loves Her cauliflower and I often make a cumin – "ma-la" version at home so we were interested in how this would be.

This was pretty good; there was a light dusting of Sichuan Peppercorn which highlighted the mild sweetness of the cauliflower. All items were cooked nicely. The pork belly was very tender and while not exactly "la rou" (Hunan smoked pork), it did have a mild smokiness to it. The chilies added a sneaky heat to things and the leek a mild pungency. Pretty good dish.

The Boiled Bamboo Pot was interesting for one main reason.

It was the presence of a certain canned meat product….though I'm thinking it wasn't the most popular brand. It actually did well in this as the earthy and crisp bamboo shoots needed some saltiness and more depth. The shredded pork was tender, but didn't really add any flavor. Overall, a bit on the bland side.

And then there was the item I'd been craving.

The Tianjin Baozi. According to the menu and our server, this is made fresh to order. I hadn't had a decent Baozi in ages and have recently been craving the Tianjin Baozi from the Tasty Noodle house location in San Gabriel. We wouldn't have time to visit there; so I thought getting my baozi fix in at Northern Cuisine might work out.

And while I wouldn't consider this to be traditional Tianjin Guo Bu Li Baozi ("stuffed buns that even dogs would not eat") it was quite good. The bun, while not overly yeasty in fragrance was light and tender. Both the filling and dough was a bit sweeter than what the Missus's "Shandong – Beijing" palate enjoys, but we quickly found that a drizzle of black vinegar really balanced things out and even added another dimension to the porky goodness of the filling. So, even though I wouldn't consider these to be close to traditional Tianjin style Baozi, I enjoyed them. It was prepared fresh, both the dough and fillings were light, and the black vinegar worked magic in balancing the flavors out. And we could only finish five…..

The service was decent; much more friendly than what we're used to at Chinese places in our old 'hood.

Northern Cuisine Restaurant
17515 Colima Rd.
City of Industry, CA 91748
Hours:
Mon – Fri 11am – 3pm, 5pm – 9pm
Sat – Sun 11am – 9pm

And those who are wondering how Frankie was doing while we were gone….well, "Auntie Ale" took good care of him….heck, he even made it to an "after-party"!

Thanks Auntie!