After having rather dismal luck with Bei Jing Kao Ya (北京烤鸭), aka Peking Duck at both Happy Duck House and Array 36, we decided to give it one more try. You know, three strikes and you're out? So, we decided to stay in Monterey Park at our usual place; the Courtyard by Marriott on Atlantic.
Things started out pretty good. When I checked in, I found that I had made some kind of elite status with Marriott and to "celebrate" they decided to upgrade us! Well, we got a huge suite. It was two bedrooms with a living room between the bedrooms.
The place had three bathrooms; of course the Missus had to check out each one to see which She liked best! It even had three mini-fridges!
Way more room than we could possibly use. With just the two of us, one bedroom went unused. But, our favorite part was the huge patio!
Yes, the view is of Atlantic…….
And the seats were dirty; but we liked just hanging out after dinner and we used the cover sheets on the sofas.
It was a nice way to start the evening. Would this be an omen????
Courtyard Los Angeles Monterey Park
555 N Atlantic Blvd.
Monterey Park, CA 91754
For dinner, I chose a place that I'd read good things about Ji Rong Peking Duck, located at the Rosemead end of Valley. I had the Missus call and make reservations for a table and a duck. You need to reserve the duck in advance.
We had made reservations for right when they opened. There are two parking lots straddling the building, which houses 888 Seafood and Shin-Sen-Gumi among other businesses. There was ample parking when we arrived, but the lots were pretty full when we left. The restaurant itself looks fairly plain, a far cry from the craziness of Array 36. The staff are very professional.
So, once we were seated, the staff knew we had reserved a Peking Duck which goes for $85. We also ordered the Soup which was an extra $15. Along with several other dishes.
The standard accoutrements were delivered. Along with some pretty darn good looking duck! After our last few tries we were ready for another "fowl" (sorry, couldn't help it), but this was really good.
It was quite interesting, the skin was separated; the one's that were fattier were on the upper and left hand side; these were crisp with a creamy finish. The skin on the right were more crisp. The leftover skin with fat heated up super well in the air fryer later! The meat was slightly gamey and earthy. All of this went so well with the perfectly made tender, but up to the task pancakes. Which also heated up well using my microwave tortilla warmer.
We saved the two legs for home and they crisped up perfectly. This was so delici-yoso once you create your little "roll-up". In fact, the Missus said this was better than what we'd had at Quan Ju De in Beijing!
The duck bone soup arrived soon after. This version was served without carcass parts, with just some napa cabbage and tofu. It was very "ducky" and had a perfect amount of salt and white pepper.
Nice a mildly rich, I might have enjoyed this just as much as the duck!
The Hot & Spicy Pig's Feet ($14.98) wasn't very spicy, but had a nice gelatinous texture and was so tender.
It was more on the sweeter side of things, but still had some nice soy tones. This was quite good.
We didn't care much for the Hot & Spicy Pig Stomach ($18.98), which was more spicy than the pig's feet, but really tough.
It was also a bit too salty. Overall, think of eating salty rubber-bands.
The Missus was curious about the Black Fungus with Chinese (Yamaimo) Yam ($15.98).
This was okay. The mountain yam was sliced too thick and there was a true lack of seasoning on this. The Missus actually prefers the version I make at home.
The last dish to arrive was another favorite; the House Spicy Oyster Mushroom ($15.98). This was so good, a great meaty texture, perfectly seasoned.
It was even better as leftovers; as the spice and other flavors intensified, but the great texture held.
Overall, I wonderful meal. We were so happy, that we can't wait to return. If you take a close look, you'll find that other than the duck, most of the other dishes are under $19!
Finally, it seems like we found a place for Bei Jing Kao Ya!
Ji Rong Peking Duck
8450 E Valley Blvd.
Rosemead, CA 91770
It seems that we got really lucky on this road trip; from getting the room upgrade, to having a wonderful meal at Ji Rong.
I hope our luck holds out when return!
We checked in and waited until we were walked over to our seats. The restaurant has sushi bar only seating. I counted a total of 15 seats for our dinner.
As you can tell by that photo, hairy crab was going to be in the first dish, which ended up being a wonderful savory chawan mushi.
The new president, Ed Morales, was introduced and he 
The artist rendition for the 2025 
Even moreso in real life! See the slot in the front hill? That is where the "Spotter" sits and can view what is in front of the float. The Spotter speaks to the driver via a headset and has a set of brakes there at the front, in case an emergency type of stopping is necessary.
Kiwanis International has the theme "Being Together" and is going to be even more beautiful when covered in natural materials and flowers. The slot for the Spotter to view is at the top of the honeycomb
The Service organization of Oddfellows and Rebekahs has their 2025 entry depicted 
Here it is in real life! so vibrant and, again, cute. You can see the rectangular slot in front. The Driver, who only follows the 'Rose Colored Line' on the street is situated near the middle of the float.
The drawing of the 2025 
This beauty is surreal and so detailed; everyone (on either side of the parade route) will see something different.
The 2025 entry for the Luthern Hour Ministries and 
There will be 'stained glass' windows on the church, all created with natural materials. This float will be magnificent with it's theme "Behold! Jesus the Savior is Born". The Petal Pushers volunteers assist with decorating about eight floats during decorating days.
The Fraternal Service Organization of Elks will have another float in the 2025 Rose Parade.
"Cherished Memories" is the theme. Remember that all floats must 'fit' down the parade route, so the Elk at the back of the float must be able to collapse down to the maximum allowable size.
Shriners Children's 2025 float will feature a working waterfall!
So far, in it's basic stages, I can see that the two parrots will be lifted up to go down the parade route, then lowered as it gets to the tight spots along the route. 
I have not seen any drawings for the City of Alhambra entry, but it was also tested on July 13. 
A cortadito ($3.39) was a nice alternative to coffee. The espresso with sweetened condensed milk really hit the spot. 
A new beverage is an iced passion fruit, yuzu pear lemonade ($5.45) and we just had to try it. Topped with edible violas and mint, this was a very pleasant, not overly sweet treat.
A peach target ($4.55) and a matcha raspberry eclair ($3.90) were our choices to try later that day. Wonderful crust and pastry and fruit and cream. Very nice indulgences.
A walnut-raisin batard ($4.65) is a must purchase item. Crisp crust, an almost sourdough base and walnuts and raisins; a perfect snack or breakfast.
Two cheese rolls ($1.19 each). were enjoyed in the car on the way home. Crisp and flaky and sugar topped with a whipped cream cheese filling. Another perfect item.
We ordered Torrejas (Cuban French Toast) ($9.15), a wonderful breakfast item, especially with the cream cheese and fresh fruit.
Instead of an eggy sandwich, we shared a lechon sandwich ($8.69) Roasted pork, so tender and topped with pickled onions, served on fresh, pressed bread that was spread with a wonderful house made chimichurri sauce. This satisfied the cravings I had for about half a year.
The tater tots were nicely fried, crisp, not hard, and the interior slightly creamy. 
As I took my bag of peanut brittle and the fried garlic to the register; the guy in front of me bought a $170 worth of bottled sodas! I asked the friendly cashier about this and she told me "it's totally normal"! Whoa!
This was a huge, but interesting dish. The menu said pork rinds, but this was fried chunks of pork. Man, it was quite porky and full of flavor, but really hard and chewy, like chunks of fried jerky. Make sure your teeth are in good shape if you order this. We enjoyed the yuca. While the exterior was crisp, the interior just melted in your mouth, the texture was amazing! I don't think they do the usual "boil and fry" here. I'd gladly get the yuca again!
The dan bing, the pancakes to wrap the duck in was really good, great texture, nice and warm.
These seem a little smaller than I recall, but the sausage was nicely grilled and the proportion of ingredients seemed right, so one could enjoy the salty-sweet-savory flavors of the "bouncy" nem nuong and the crunch of the crisp egg roll wrapper. The wrapping was done perfectly, neither too loose nor too tight which would make the rolls tougher, creating what I'd call "bad botox spring rolls". The sauce was as before slightly sweet-sour, with garlic and umami tones. I does seem a bit more watered down than I recalled.
I did notice that one of the shrimp was "MIA". Still, the Missus enjoys the crisp rice flour cup/shell, which has a hint of coconut. The shrimp were plump and tender, nicely cooked. These are quite a treat with the mung beans, pickled veggies, the anise-citrusy tiet to (perilla), and the slightly sweet-chili-fish sauce concoction.
It turns out that in December, we had time to decorate Rose Parade floats on three occasions from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. and wanting a nice meal before heading home in traffic, we decided instead of driving aimlessly to look for a place to eat, we would return to Tam's. The Mister began reading directions from the phone (since I don't know how we got here the first time) and at one signal light, noticed 
It turns out there is an "Afternoon Tea" menu offered daily from 3-5 and we were just before 5 and were able to order from this special menu. 
Y1.- Wonton Noodle Soup ($12.99). A very large bowl of a not-salty but deep flavored pork based broth filled with ten thin-skinned wontons, each filled with meat and shrimp. Bok choy and springy noodles filled this bowl. Very filling and flavorful.
The Mister decided to order the Y10. – Deep Fried Chicken Wings with Salt & Pepper ($12.99). Four large, meaty drums and four large meaty flats, fried to a delightful crunch while lightly coated in salt, pepper and topped with garlic, chili and green onion and not really spicy. 
This Afternoon Tea menu, just like the Breakfast Menu, includes a beverage. The lemon tea was great- a very strong tea with lemon slices and the coffee, served with a small pitcher of Black & White brand evaporated milk were kept constantly refilled.