Chinese Restaurants – Page 55

Guess the revisits…plus one

November 16, 2010 mmm-yoso Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, Loco Mocos, Pizza, Ramen

*** Update 11/18, 0800 - The contest is closed……. there was only one person who guessed all six restaurant correctly. Congrats to Hao! The answers are all at the end of the post. And just for laughs I gave an eCup to the person who did the worst as well.

I haven't done one of these in a while……. I'll send a Peet's eCup to the first five folks who email(link upper right) me the correct guesses of the following revisits.

For the following three, list the dish and the restaurant:

1. This one is kinda hard, but not that hard……

Someone once mentioned lucious eyebrows…….

2.. This one is the easiest.

How about some drippy yolk porn……

3. This dish used to be much better when the restaurant was under previous ownership…..

But things have been getting better as the folks making the food have been gaining more experience.

For next three, you can just name the restaurant.

4. This "little little" place used to be in a different location.

5. I've never posted on exactly this dish, but guessing the restaurant should be pretty easy.

6. OK if you can't guess this one……. well, I'm not sure what to say…..

Easy, right? That's it, get those six and be one of the first five to email me the correct guesses and you'll get a Peet's eCup….. But let me ask you, are you a gambler? Would you go double or nothing? If you guess the name of this dish correctly, along with the previous six, I'll make it two eCups…… get it wrong, and you get nothin'(be accurate – as in what kind of meat etc, or the Chinese name would be even better)……. A couple of hints, it's not from a restaurant in San Diego, and it is delicious……

I'll let things go until the morning of 11/18

Just remember, send me the guesses via email, a valid email so if you're correct I can send youthe Peet's eCup. One guess per email address please.

Good Luck!

OK, here are the answers:

#1 – It's Beef Sate Noodle "Dry" from Tan Ky Mi Gia.

#2 – The Kaloko Moco from Island Style Cafe……

Everyone who played got that one right. At first, I was a bit apprehensive about a Loco Moco with a crepe as it's base….. but here it really works.

#3 – Is The Noble Chef.

Since the new owners have taken over, my favorite dishes have been slowly getting better, as the guy behind the wok station gains more experience.

Our favorite dish here in the past was the Shrimp with XO Sauce Fried Rice. It still lacks the punch it once had, and Wok Hay (spirit of the wok) is still lacking.

Don't get me wrong, it's a good fried rice; just not as good……

#4 – Is Sieu Sieu BBQ, which literally means "small small"…..

I had gone to Barbecues Galore to try and purchase more Ono Kiawe Charcoal. I was told by the manager of BG, that a "well known" BBQ Manufacturer had bought the company and then took the charcoal off the market because it was competing with items in their product line. I'm not going further than that since I can't confirm this info. I may try purchasing the charcoal on the Ono Charcoal Website.

#5 – Is Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori.

I'm not sure if they still serve it, but Tonkotsu style ramen was being served in limited quantities during lunch.

#6 – Is of course Pizzeria Bruno. Everyone who played got this correct as well.

That last dish is Mi Zheng Rou, also called Fen Zheng Rou….. rice steamed pork. More on that in a later post.

My thanks to everyone who humored me and played along!

Hangzhou: Zhiweiguan (again) and Fei Lai Feng (Peak Flying from Afar)

November 7, 2010 mmm-yoso China, Chinese Restaurants, Hangzhou, Travel

After dinner at Zheweiguan, I slept quite well…. probably because I was exhausted. The Missus got up the next morning raring to go. We decided to just grab a quick breakfast at Zhiweiguan(again), and catch the bus to the Lingyin scenic area.

This time we went with the first floor area, which sells snacks and fast-food type dishes. At this time of the morning it was waaaaay more empty than usual.

The drill here, similar to many other places is…… first you go to the counter and buy script:

You then go to the various counters, place your order, pay with script, and get your food. If you have script remaining at the end of your meal, you return them to the counter and get a refund.

This is what we ended up with:

The Missus enjoyed the porridge (when doesn't She?), but the youtiao (fried dough) was on the greasy and soggy side.

The Xiao Long Bao were actually better here then in the more upscale restaurant on the third floor.

The bean curd skin stuffed with glutinous rice and broad beans was also pretty good.

Crisp on the exterior, perhaps it could have used a bit more flavor, but the glutinous rice sure was hearty and filling. This made for a fairly substantial breakfast for us.

After the meal, we caught the bus to the Lingyin Scenic Area.

Even as we walked up the trail to Lingyin Temple, a line of buses were already unloading tourists.

So instead of hitting the temple with the first wave of tourists, we took a detour, and decided to check out Fei Lai Feng (Peak Flown from Afar), also known as Nimble Vulture Peak (Ling Jiu Feng). This 700 foot peak was supposedly named by an Indian Monk named Hui Li. Hui Li noticed that this limestone peak was so different from everything around it, and also that it resembled the mountains in India. He theorized that the peak had flown to this spot from India… thus naming it "Peak Flown from Afar).

There are trails around the peak, with over 500 Buddha Statues carved from limestone, many dating back to the Song Dynasty (10th Century).

Even more fascinating for us, were the caves lining the base of the peak.

There are over 300 carvings in the wall of the caves….. which adds a sense of drama to the whole experience.

Within one of the main caves, named Shexu Cave, there is a spot where the sun shines through a crack at the top of the cave. I was told this is called "one thread of heaven" which makes quite an impact.

That's not to say that the trails up and down the peak aren't quite dramatic in their own way. Because it takes mild effort to walk up and down the peak, there are less tourists, and some very nice carvings.

Of course, it's not just the carvings that catches the Missus's eye……

So far on our visit to Hangzhou, we enjoyed Fei Lai Feng the most…… but right across the street was Lingyin Temple.

Stay tuned……

Tea Garden. Fancy-ish beverages and really good snacks!

November 5, 2010 Cathy Chinese Restaurants, Stuff, What Cathy Eats!

Tea Garden has closed

Cathy is penning today's issue of mmm-yoso!!! The guys (Kirk and ed(from Yuma)) are merely writing things in their brains.

Hi. The other day, FOY(friend of Yoso), Food Detective, asked me in a comment if I had been to Tea Garden. I haven't, even though I have driven by, parked in front of it, walked past it and knew it was there. It is on Convoy, at Engineer Road, across from China Max and sometimes has parking when no place else on that street of countless amazing restaurants has parking available.

Deceptively small looking from the front, there is seating capacity for 57 inside. Of course, as is the rule for Convoy Street and its environs, parking availability does not correspond.You walk in and can grab a menu and sit on the couch next to the cash register, or just read the wall behind the register (that is just the beverage menu), or order a special straight from the whiteboard. Pay. Get a number. Find a seat. Free wifi, a shelf filled with board games, two televisions and nice surroundings. For our first visit,

We decided to try a green tea float ($4.25). Green tea, strong brewed, over ice with vanilla ice cream floating at the top. Very rich flavored. There must be matcha powder in it.
My standard Beverage of Indecision (coffee-tea-milk, no sweetener added) ($3.75)-no sweet at all. I could taste each of the three ingredients distinctively. Very nice. An appetizer of popcorn chicken ($3.99). Crispy and moist, mild thin breading flavored with fresh basil leaves (on the plate) from the fryer.
An appetizer of salt and pepper squid ($6.99) Soft squid, light breading topped with a relish of garlic, scallions and red pepper. Just enough heat.
House Special fried rice noodle ($7.99). A wonderful smoky flavor infused in the thin noodles and perfectly sauteed shrimp, beef and chicken along with green onion tops, onions, carrots, sprouts and (I think) bamboo. Maybe it was a fungus. Those brown things…they had a woody texture and not much flavor. Lots of flavor in everything else.
The other day (before this crazy heat wave happened), The Mister wanted soup. So we went back and He ordered the BBQ pork ramen ($6.99). This had a not salty, surprisingly rich broth, along with peas, carrots and cabbage as well as a few pieces of sliced BBQ pork (standard, not outstanding) and noodles which had a nice 'tooth',although not as good as the noodles at Yakyudori, my new favorite.
At lunchtime, most main courses come with a free iced black or green tea. You can ask for no sweetener (I think it is a simple syrup) and taste the tea…
I wanted to try the fried tofu ($5.59). When this came, I thought it looked like a thick, hard crust and was almost disappointed.Instead, I was pleasantly surprised at the delicate thinness of the coating and soft, soft fresh tofu inside. The dipping sauce was a very dark soy and sesame oil base and filled with chopped garlic, green onion tops and some red pepper flakes. Extremely complimentary for the tofu, and just the right amount of heat. I think if I had ordered the salt and pepper fried tofu (50¢ more), this dipping sauce would have been overpowering.

All in all, the food here has been great. A pot of hot tea is $5.95. Other items on the menu I am wanting to try include a Hot Clay Pot, fried udon, fried rice, congee, sizzling steak, other soups, brick toast, shaved ice and something called "vinaigrette soup" ($5.95), either shrimp, pork or squid. Oh and juices, smoothies and…yes, more appetizer snacks. You can easily get a meal, the plates and bowls are a very good size.

Thank you Food Detective!!! This is a great place.

Tea Garden 4685 Convoy Street, Suite 110 San Diego 92111 (858)277-8988 Website

Hours: Sun-Th 11:00 a.m.-midnight, until 1 a.m. Fri-Sat

Eating with Friends all over the place: Ba Ren, Chautara (Madison), Sea Harbour (Rosemead – Los Angeles)

November 3, 2010 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Dim Sum, Los Angeles County, Madison, Wisconsin, Road Trip

I received an email from a FOY (Friend of Yoso) today who mentioned that my posts have recently been a bit long-winded. Actually, the term used was "verbose". Under certain circumstances, I'm pretty sure that I'd be somewhat…. well pick the verb; maybe offended might fit the bill…. and perhaps I'd even respond with a somewhat colorful adjective of my own. The humorous and jovial tone of the email erased all possibility of that, and was a reminder that many of you are perhaps more interested in seeing what I ate, rather than reading about it.

And I just happened to have a bunch of photos….. revisits all, of recent meals with friends. The locations are miles apart, but here goes……

*** Ba Ren has closed

Ba Ren:

Yet again. I usually don't even take my camera out any more. During a recent visit, Akira requested a meal at Ba Ren. I believe the main reason being that I remember what his favorite dishes are here. So here's what Akira, Mr S, and I had.

After all these years Ba Ren still delivers……

You can find links to my zillions of posts on Ba Ren on our rotation page.

Ba Ren
4957 Diane Ave
San Diego, CA 92117

*** Chautara has closed

Chautara – Madison (Wisconsin):

I made sure to return, since I enjoyed my meal there on my previous visit. This time around, the food seemed to fall short, the Lamb Palungo way tough, the beef over-cooked, my dish, the Khasi Ko Masu was the best of the lot, but was a bit too salty. At least the photos came out a lot better than on my previous visit. Oh, and those thingys that look like Xiao Long Bao? They're "momos" a Nepali/Tibetian type of dumpling. My eating companions on this evening were from Shandong and Taiwan respectively, and were surprised when that hit the table.

In case you're wondering what, or where Chautara is, you can find out here.

Chautara Restaurant
334 State St
Madison, WI 53703

Sea Harbour – Rosemead (Los Angeles):

Believe it or not, after my breakfast at Gardena Bowl, on my recent visit to LA, I still had lunch in store. I was meeting Akira, and good FOYs PeterL and Angela, who drove all the way from San Diego, for Dim Sum at Sea Harbour. Packed as always, it was a fun and mostly delicious meal.

I love this first photo…. of the Durian Pastry…. it looked so good that PeterL could not help himself and snatched one away as soon as it arrived!

Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant
3939 Rosemead Blvd
Rosemead, CA 91770

So there you go…… more photos, less verbiage… sheesh, I feel like a laundry detergent ad, you know, more cleaning power, cheaper price!

Man, it's hot around here, I hope everyone is keeping cool!

Red Lotus. Good Mandarin and Szechuan food. Santee.

October 27, 2010 Cathy Chinese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! – that's the name of this blog. It's just food that we have enjoyed. Kirk, ed(from Yuma) and Cathy are the main bloggers, although some others occasionally participate. Today, it's Cathy's turn.

Hi. There's a new Mandarin-Szechuan restaurant in the same location as a now closed Mandarin-Szechuan restaurant in Santee. I enjoyed Flaming Wok for many years, but it closed and Red Lotus took over.
Red Lotus is an ABCDE (American Born Chinese Dining Establishment) because as soon as you sit down,
A bowl of fresh fried crunchy bits and plate of 'dipping sauce' are brought out to your table. But those are fresh fried crunchy bits and the sauce is somehow not too sweet and has some vinegar-y tartness and is quite pleasant.
The egg drop soup ($5.75), not salty, very deep flavored chicken stock and swirled with egg and not cornstarch thickener, is excellent.
A nice view from our table…while we were waiting.
Ma Po Tofu ($7.50). Very nice heat, very good pork and a good, fresh, firm tofu.
No. Not just a chicken dish.

Chicken egg foo young ($7.50). Crispy, moist, flavorful with crispy bean sprouts, onions topped with a great, not salty, un-gloppy gravy.
Of course, there are lunch combo specials, daily from 11:00-3:00.
These come with a cup of soup and the requisite fried crispies and nuclear red colored sweet thick yet somehow tasting made from scratch dipping sauce.
The spicy honey shrimp lunch special ($5.95) includes rice, egg roll, cheese wonton and this -light, crispy, fluffy batter- deep fried juicy large shrimp, glazed with a sweet-hot sauce. Really- see the shrimp to batter ratio? It's good.
The hot spicy chicken ($4.95-all shrimp dishes are $1 more) wasn't too spicy, the sauce is smooth and has plentiful white meat stir fried with a thin crisp crust which lets the chicken stay juicy yet have a pleasant light crunch of a crust. This was with fried rice.

All in all, this is a very good selection for Santee. There are many ABCDE dishes (shrimp with lobster sauce, Moo Goo Gai Pan, Double Happiness) which are all done very well. Fresh ingredients and quality cooking. I suppose it is more stereotypic Americanized Chinese, but it's really well done good food. A very short drive or long-ish walk with going uphill to get home for me.

A Plus!!! You get Fortune Cookies here, too. Really easy Chinese Word Fortune Cookies.

The Red Lotus Mandarin & Szechuan Cuisine 9888 Magnolia Avenue (At Mast, in the Albertsons Center) Santee 92071 (619)596-3749 Mon 4:30-9:30, Tues-Sun 11:00-9:30

A Cafe…um “A” Cafe…Hong Kong Style dining

October 26, 2010 Cathy Chinese Restaurants, What Cathy Eats!

Welcome back to mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Cathy is blogging today. Kirk and ed(from Yuma) are busy with other things.

The other day, I got a frantic SMS from Mr. C. who was at work and apparently was hungry and wanted to know if there was Hong Kong style food in San Diego. As if I am my own Google.

Of course, I immediately answered with
this photo. I appeared to be organized. "A" Cafe is on Convoy Street, and part of the parking lot from hell group of restaurants.
This is the sign on the building from the parking lot side.
There is a menu in the window at the door. Yes. It says "Hong Kong Style Specialize".
You are seated quickly and asked about beverages. There are many boba/juice/2 pages of beverages on the menu, but ordered hot tea ($1.75. Each.) It is small inside (8 tables) and there is a patio area. The tea apparently is brewed and put into a cup and them more water is added to the container using the same bag. It brews a nice second cup.
We ordered two dishes to share and a good size cup of a nice, not salty egg drop soup was brought out for each of us.
Chicken fried rice ($6.99). Not bad. Not great. Chicken fried rice.
Mixed seafood chow fun (rice noodle)(no gravy) ($8.99). Lots of seafood. Not bad. Not great. I liked the noodles and onions most. The shrimp was large and flavorful, pieces of fish good, squid was tender.

Turns out that Mr. C also had not found what he was craving, some sort of noodle dish…which he says can be found at Garden Cafe in Rowland Heights, off the 60 freeway at Colima and Fullerton. Road Trip!

We were still hungry, so walked through the parking lot, to Tapioca Express.

Mr. C. had not been here before, but he was the person who introduced me to boba drinks. He was fascinated with the 'snack food' aspect of this place. We decided on just a dessert, which took less time than choosing beverages…
We each got a coffee tea milk: mine hot, his cold with boba. We shared the fried baked donut dessert, which comes with dipping sauces of whipped cream and-yes, diluted frosting. (total was ~$11)

Not a bad lunch. But not great.

A Cafe 4646 Convoy San Diego 92111 (858)874-6989 Open 7 a.m.-midnight Sun-Th (until 1 a.m. Fri- Sat)

Tapioca Express 4646 Convoy San Diego 92111 (858) 636-7889 Open 11 a.m.-midnight Sun-Th (until 1 a.m. Fri-Sat) Website

Hangzhou: West Lake and Zhiweiguan

October 13, 2010 mmm-yoso China, Chinese Restaurants, Hangzhou, Travel

At then end of my last post on Hangzhou I mentioned that we were still a bit confused as to the exact location of the famous Xī Hú (West Lake) I was looking at a pagoda on Wushan Hill, when I heard a woman talking to the Missus. I was to find out later that the woman told the Missus that there's nothing really worth Her time on Wushan Hill. When the Missus asked the woman which direction to West Lake, the woman pointed up at this sign…..

Sigh….. can you say clueless tourists? Actually, this woman was really friendly, born and raised in Hangzhou, and told us to follow her; she'd show us to the bus stop that would take us around West Lake.

And even though there were times that the Missus could only understand every second or third word due to the woman's accent, She did learn quite a bit. The woman told the Missus that most of the young people working the restaurants in all the tourist areas are not from Hangzhou, and really don't care about anything except making money. This was a theme we heard everywhere, if someone was rude or provided terrible service, someone would say that "it is because they are not from here." The woman gave the Missus a few tips and pointed out the bus stop. The Missus was also told that there was a Silk Expo taking place, where everything was real silk, and prices were good. We caught the bus and arrived at the building right across from the famous Long Jing (Dragon Well) Tea Farm.

And did some shopping……

After doing some shopping, and buying a couple of gifts, we got back on the bus. The Missus pointed out a gentleman who had an entire Jinhua Ham lying on the console behind the driver……

The woman we had net told us to get off at the Qu Yuan Feng He ("lotus in the breeze at crooked courtyard") stop.

The woman was right, this turned out to be the part of West Lake we enjoyed the most.

Even though it was pretty hot and humid, this area felt fresh and cool. I'm sure some of it was due to the immense beauty.

Walking along the causeways things started getting a bit crowded, though there were still areas where folks had carved out an area to peacefully read and relax.

You started seeing tourist cruise boats taking people on tours of West Lake.

As we circled the North part of the lake, things started getting a bit more crowded.

The views were still quite beautiful, in spite of the crowds and noise.

There are tons of things to see, including one that got the attention of the Missus; the Tomb of Wu Song. Wu Song, is one of the great heroes of Classic Chinese Literature. According to the Missus, when She was young, all children knew the story of how Wu Song "killed the man eating tiger with his bare hands." Water Margin, one of the Four Great Classic Classic Novels of Chinese Literature tells the story of Wu Song.

By the time we got to the Eastern part of West Lake, I was bushed, sweaty, and had pretty much burned out on West Lake. Plus my left foot was starting to ache pretty good.

You could really tell that the Missus felt pretty tired as well since we started noticing the people more than the views. Like the guy at the right in this photo…..

We started counting the "crimes against Western fashion and mores" this guy was commiting. A short list:

1 – He was carrying his wife's/girlfriend's handbag.

2 – He was wearing capri pants!!!

3 – He was wearing a long sleeved dress shirt tucked into those capri pants.

4 – He had his shirt tucked in, but wasn't wearing a belt

5 – And last, he was wearing capri pants, but had dress socks on!!!

As you can tell, it was time to move on; we were hot, tired, and sticky….. and hungry.

The one restaurant we had heard about before setting foot in Hangzhou was Lou Wai Lou (楼外楼). When the Missus mentioned Lou Wai Lou to the woman earlier in the day, She recommended Zhiweiguan instead. She told us that this is where she brings guests who want to taste Hangzhou food. Zhiweiguan is a monstrous restaurant by Western standards at over 7,000 square feet, and four stories. The area outside the restaurant sells snacks and take-out food.

Like most of these multi-story restaurants, the first floor did snacks, fast-food, and cafeteria style service. It was just packed like crazy on this evening.

Wanting something less chaotic, we skipped the first floor, and went to the third floor. (The second floor did seafood, and the fourth floor holds the banquet rooms and bar). As we stepped up to the third floor, we realized that even though this place was less chaotic, it was just as packed! We won't complain about the service here, as the Servers and staff was literally running from table to table!

Though it was much cooler here, we could tell that the A/C was working full blast.

We were both bushed, and the heat and humidity had sapped our appetite. We just ordered a couple of items.

The Missus wanted ot taste the Nian Gao (rice cake) which She really loved.

The wrappers on the Xiao Long Bao were really thick and gummy.

I thought the filling was decent, but the Missus thought it to be too sweet. In fact, the Xiao Long Bao being served downstairs looked better.

The Missus enjoys a good Jiu Niang Tuan Yang (Fermented Rice with Sesame Balls 酒釀湯圓), and really enjoyed this version.

One of the most well known dishes of Hangzhou involves pork belly…. so you know that I was going to have Dongpo Rou! Named after famous Song Dynasty poet and artist Su Dongpo (Su Shi). According to the story, Su Dongpo had a visitor arrive, and decided to simmer some pork. Su Dongpo and his friend became engrossed in a game of chess. Suddenly realizing that he had left the pork simmering, Su Dongpo rushed to check on his pork. he was amazed when he saw that the pork had attained a beautiful color, and the juices created were wonderful. At least that's how the story goes……

This classic dish is pork belly (aka streaky pork) cooked in a combination of soy sauce, sugar, and Shaoxing (which is about 60 km from Hangzhou).

We decided to order two of these.

Man this was sweet…. like pork candy, much too sweet for me. It was also tougher and drier than I would have thought that braised pork belly would be. I wasn't really satisfied with this, I needed to have it again to see if this was really how Dongpo Rou should be……..

We returned to our room exhausted, though I had Dongpo Rou on my mind as I drifted off to sleep……

Road Trip: Dim Sum at Sea Harbour – Rosemead (Los Angeles)

September 28, 2010 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Dim Sum, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

Today, stewing in my triple-digit-temperature sodden juices, I had the evil idea of doing a post on my latest bowl of Bun Bo Hue, or perhaps another Pho post. But just the thought of looking at a photo of a steaming bowl of Pho, was just a bit too much for me. So instead, let's just go directly to our current favorite Dim Sum Restaurant, Sea Harbour in Rosemead. When folks say they're going to LA, and want a recommendation for Dim Sum, I'll usually recommend Sea Harbour. Heck, when Ed from Yuma, wanted a couple of recommendations for Seafood Restaurants in LA, Sea Harbour was on that short list. And based on his post, Ed really enjoyed his meal at Sea Harbour. And if you needed another seal of approval, during our visit to Urasawa, Hiro-san himself told me that his favorite restaurant is Sea Harbour. Need I say more? You probably notice a dearth of posts on Dim Sum in San Diego…… that's mainly because the wild swings in quality and mixed experiences over the years have made us a bit "gun shy", after all, the usual layout of funds for a good dim sum meal, exceeds the risk associated with a good bowl of soup! Especially when the return on investment for dim sum in San Diego during the last few years have crashed faster than the stock market…..

On weekends there will usually always be a wait at Sea Harbour….. even if you arrive before the 1030 am opening, it's likely you'll be standing behind someone who got there even earlier than you. Still, if you get there before 11am, on a normal weekend, it's likely the wait won't be too long. Turnover is very quick here…..

Like Elite and Happy Harbour, Sea Harbour does Dim Sum the upscale "menu style". The check off list is quite large at about 130 items….

It's always quite an effort to decide on what to eat. As much as Siu Mai would seem a "no-brainer", a visit to Sea Harbour is something of a special meal for us, so I've yet to have that here. The standard Char Siu Bao, is usually persona non-grata during our Dim Sum meals, as the Missus hails from Shandong and Beijing, and the dough is much too sweet for Her tastes.

So we tend toward the dishes that are not quite the norm for a typical Dim Sum meal. On this day, things started off with the Baby Pak Choy with Ginko and Bean Curd Sheets:

This was almost an entree sized dish. The pak choy was prepared perfectly, still crunchy, not saturated. We both love bean curd sheets. The broth was a light, but tasty chicken stock. The only negative for us in this dish were the ginko nuts. They were very bitter. I have been using ginko nuts a lot recently, and immediately knew these were not prepared well, the texture was mushy, and the flavor unpleasant. Still, the pak choy was good, even as leftovers.

The Shrimp, Dry Scallop, and Chinese Celery Dumplings were excellent.

Over the years, I've resigned myself to either overly sticky, or brittle and ripped wrappers for steamed dumplings. These on the other hand were perfect; with just enough pull. The amount of Chinese Celery was just right, adding that wonderful palate cleansing effect. The size of the cut was good as well; you knew you were having Chinese Celery. The shrimp was flavorful; and even though we really couldn't make out a dried scallop umami, the proportion of the other ingredients was just right for our tastes. We really should be having more of the steamed dumplings at Sea Harbour.

Though it's really hard when you see stuff like Foie-Gras Minced Beef with Spinach on the menu.

I was surprised that you could really make out the flavor of goose liver in this. The spinach was good quality, and not bitter in the least. A rich, but good dish.

We were split on the Cheong Fun with Bittermelon and Chicken.

The Missus thought that while the bittermelon was perfectly cooked, it was much too bitter for Her. I on the other hand enjoyed this. We both thought that the sauce for the Cheong Fun had a good salty-sweet balance to it.

The biggest disappointment of the day were the French Style Goose Liver Won Ton.

Very bland won tons (where was the goose liver?), in an insipid broth. This dish was very disappointing, as both the won tons and the broth lacked flavor.

Second place for most disappointing dish was the Fish Cake with Corn and Peas.

Which also suffered from the blandness bugaboo. This one almost got me to request soy sauce and chili paste, which is not provided on each table like the typical Dim Sum Restaurant. I can understand the desire to have each customer taste the real flavor and quality of each item ordered. But man, this was fairly tasteless.

The Missus and I were split on the Pan Grilled Spinach Pork Bun.

The Missus thought these were too sweet (of course), and too light and fluffy (???). I thought the sweetness wasn't over-powering, and really enjoyed the shrimp in the Buns. I'd have these again, but don't think the Missus would allow me to order them.

As a whole, we really enjoyed this meal, and ended up with some leftovers. And even though we ordered several of the most expensive items on the Dim Sum menu, our bill came out to a tad over $40, much less then we had expected spending.

Leaving, we noticed the huge crowd waiting outside the restaurant, braving temperatures that were surely approaching a hundred degrees. It left me wondering if I'd be willing to wait in this heat. Perhaps not, but we still think of Sea Harbour as one of the better spots for Dim Sum.

I'm always attracted to the "Chicken in the parking lot" here, and am racking my brains to recall what this place was before Sea Harbour. Maybe you'll be able to tell me…..

Sea Harbour Seafood Restaurant
3939 Rosemead Blvd
Rosemead, CA 91770

Road Trip: Luscious Dumplings and Michelle’s Pancake House – San Gabriel (Los Angeles)

September 12, 2010 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Road Trip

The Missus and I hadn't been back to the SGV quite as much as we desired since returning from China. A couple of weeks back, we finally had a chance, and we decided to check out a few places we hadn't been to. We started however, with a place we hadn't been to in quite a while:

Luscious Dumplings:

**** Luscious Dumplings has moved to Monrovia

Since we'd be checking out a place in the same strip mall, we decided on having some Jiaozi at Luscious Dumplings. Actually, I thought I'd posted on this place before but couldn't find a previous post. Luckily, I snapped a photo before we left…… check out the line! When we arrived, the place was empty, but it sure fills up quickly.

Luscious Dumplings is a small, bare bones operation, whose menu is presented on a half sheet of paper. You check off the items you want, and you're on your way. Within seconds a styrofoam cup of tea, and a small plate of marinated/pickled vegetable arrives.

On this day, after the Missus scarfed this up, totally against character, another little plate arrived at our table! Wow, great service, right? Well, not quite…. it seems that another table had requested more of the free appetizer, and it had been erroneously brought to us. Maybe it was our lucky day.

We had ordered two different dumplings, the first to arrive were the Chive, Pork, Egg, and Shrimp Dumplings(10 – $6.50):

These were excellent; the wrappers were almost pillowy, with just the right amount of pull. The filling was well put together as well. You could still taste the shrimp, and the pungency of the chive didn't over-power the rest of the ingredients.

Our order of Pork and Celery Dumplings arrived soon after:

The one outstanding characteristic of these dumplings were the lightness of the filling, so smooth and light, almost mousse-like. The Missus's Fifth Aunt, will often stir her Jiaozi filling for over an hour with chopsticks to attain the right consistency. The texture of these were pretty close. The flavor seemed a bit off to us. Celery is a wonderful foil for rich or gamey fillings, but here the flavor of ginger overwhelmed everything else. We couldn't even make out the celery in the dumpling.

Still, the dumplings here are well worth a visit. One thing I noticed, it seems that the prices here go up like clockwork, but these are worth $6.50.

Luscious Dumplings Inc
704 W. Las Tunas Dr.
San Gabriel, CA 91776

You can check out Wandering Chopstick's post on Luscious Dumplings here.

Right around the corner from Luscious Dumplings is a shop that FOY (Friend of Yoso) Andy thought might be an interesting shop to visit:

Michelle's Pancake House:

*** Michelle's Pancake House has closed

No, it's not the Chinese equivalent of IHOP or The Original Pancake House. The "Michelle" portion of the name is a direct phonetic interpretation of what seems to be the Owner's name. And this place specializes in "Dan Bing", Xiar Bing, and other dough preparations.

The dining area in the shop is about a third larger than Luscious Dumplings, which is not very large. We also noticed that the customers here seemed to be a bit older.

Much like China, there are a couple of communal tables, that folks share.

A little bowl of boiled peanuts, very mushy, and perhaps past their due date, arrived while we looked over the checklist and the menu.

We decided to start with the Egg, Shrimp, and Leek (chive) Dumplings (12 – $5.95):

Thte wrappers had that home made texture to them, and were perhaps a bit on the gummy side. The filling wasn't binded, so there was tendency for it to fall apart. We really couldn't taste the shrimp in these as well.

We also ordered two different Xiar Bing (stuffed breads). The first was the Radish, Thin Bean, and Shrimp ($6.95):

The dough was a pleasant surprise for us. The tops and bottoms were thin and crisp. It was a lot less oily than we had expected as well. The Xiar Bing were pretty filling, and I could only finish one.

The filling was interesting…. if you like daikon, you'll love these. I'm thinking that the thin beans in these must be really, really, thin….. like invisible thin. At least you could make out the faint flavor of dried shrimp even if you couldn't see it.

The second set were the Zucchini and Pork (8 – $5.95):

These were a bit smaller than the radish version, but felt pretty rich. The Missus didn't care for the strong "pork" flavor, but I thought it was fairly good.

The filling was moist, but the pork kinda tough and chewy. I'm pretty sure by the smell and flavor that pork butt/shoulder was used for these.

I had my doubts as to how these would hold up after taking them home; but they heated up fairly well in the toaster oven.

The Missus learned that the owners are from Longkou (龍口) in Shandong Province, an area well known for the production of cellophane noodles. We were interested enough that I think we'll visit this place again.

Michelle's Pancake House
706 W. Las Tunas Dr.
San Gabriel, CA 91776

Thanks for the recommendation Andy!

One thing the Missus and I really appreciate about restaurant like these in the SGV; the menus are small, and are focused on the items they do best. And we're not done yet…. there was one more stop on this road trip so stay tuned……

Eating with Friends: Eating the SGV, Crab Hut 2, and here’s to new friends

September 4, 2010 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants, Los Angeles County, Memorable Meals, Road Trip, Seafood, Xiao Long Bao, yoso-silly

One of the wonderful things that has happened in the five plus years I've been doing this blog, is that I've made some wonderful friends. I'm not quite sure how it's happened, but I feel blessed to know such wonderful folks (Note to JohnL…. like I said, "don't let it go to your head", he-he-he). I've often done short posts on meals I've had with friends, so I hope you don't mind another.

Doing the SGV thing:

A bunch of us got together a couple of weeks back, and did a San Gabriel Valley food crawl. Two of them, TammyC and JohnL had done stuff like this with me before. I knew MrC would go with the flow…. but PeterL, well, he was the rookie, and we'd have to keep an eye on him. We sort of just headed out, and I asked questions about what the folks wanted to eat…….. and after ruminating a bit, I decided that our first stop would be Dean Sin World. And of course, Shengjian Bao.

It turns out that none of this group, other than me had ever had Niu Rou Chuan (Beef Roll):

Not the most stellar version, but man did PeterL enjoy this, perhaps a bit too much. John and Tammy know a couple of my "rules" when it comes to an eating crawl. You live in the moment, that is, you don't start counting how many tacos you've had, this will just screw you up mentally. You resist the temptation to have that second or third, or fourth serving of the same item. It will still be here next time…. there's more up the road. Unfortunately, Peter just wanted those two extra pieces of Niu Rou Chuan, and as we walked the few yards to Giang Nan, I could tell the NRC was starting to settle in Peter's belly……

Of course at Giang Nan, we had two orders of each type of Xiao Long Bao.

As well as some of the cold dishes…..

After this I offered up QingDao Bread Food, which is right across a street. The Missus & I will often do Dean Sin World followed by Giang Nan and QingDao Bread Food when we;re in the area. I even offered up Mama's Lu and other places, but these folks were Bao'd and Dumpling'd out. And Peter really needed a break, so we drove to Focus Plaza to stretch our legs, grab some drinks, and do some shopping.

Then it was time for lunch….. enough with the snacks, it was time for a real meal. I offered up Tianjin Bistro or Hunan Chilli King. Since we had MrC, and his asbestos mouth, everyone went with Hunan Chilli King. I even called the Missus on my cell phone and had Her give the Server our order. We had stuff that I've posted on before, except for these two dishes.

A Hunan (not so) Stinky Tofu, and a Hot and Sour Soup.

All told we did pretty good with the five dishes we ordered.

By this time, most everyone had hit the wall, so we went on over to Papa Walk for some shaved ice, then ended the road trip buying some items at Domies Bakery.

Overall, it was good time…. but JohnL sent me a text message later that evening telling me he was hungry again…… such is the life of a growing boy!

A week later we all met at the new Crab Hut in the Gaslamp. As always we had a blast. I ended up taking onle three photos, so you won't be seeing the four dozen oysters, the crawfish, the clams, etc, etc, etc…….

But at least I took a photo of the Sausage Plate.

And one of the two orders of Calamari and Fries…..

After the Seafood Creole……

We were just having too darn much fun that I stowed the camera…..

I left feeling like this…..

Ummm…without the flowers behind my ears of course.

Crab Hut Downtown
1007 5th Ave
San Diego, CA 92101

And here's to making new friends:

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Kayoko of Umamimart. And let me just say I had a blast. We had a bite at The Original Sab E Lee. I had a great time, and hope Kayoko was ok with my "food dorkiness", she sure did put me at ease, and was fun to talk to. Over the years, I've found that fellow food bloggers are some of the nicest people. So please check out Kayoko's post on our lunch, it just seemed to end too soon. Thanks again for the wonderful conversation and a great time Kayoko!