Category: Los Angeles County

**** Tianjin Bistro has closed

We hadn't had much luck on our recent road trips, so the Missus decided we should revisit someplace tried and true. Her choice? Tianjin Bistro.  The Missus really connects with the food at Tianjin Bistro, probably because the municipality of Tianjin (one of four in the PRC, the others being ChongQing, Beijing, and Shanghai) is about 70 miles or so(I've heard it's more) from Beijing, where the Missus went to High School and College. So the flavors of the dishes served at Tianjin Bistro are somewhat comforting to the Missus.

 Formerly Mei Jia Deli, and located in the same strip mall as another of the Missus's favorites, Hunan Chilli King, I think that Tianjin Bistro's food is a bit better than what Mei Jia Deli produced.   

The interior of the restaurant is small, and pink tinged, and the customary strips of colored paper line the walls announcing various offerings.

The woman who usually works here is very friendly, and enthusiastic. Ask about a dish (in Mandarin of course) and she'll recite to you how it is prepared, and what makes the version of the dish at Tianjin Bistro so "special". The woman's warmth and tact is especially apparent in her dealings with various customers. Even though it seems that Mei Jia Deli's bone-spitting, bossy customers that would just help themselves to the free porridge, and walk into the kitchen and yell out their orders have gone by the wayside. There are still customers like the older man who came in, and when placing his order, took out a sesame cake from a plastic bag, telling the woman "this is how hard it should be", knocking it against the table "tok-tok-tok"……. The woman accepted that in good spirits, and I guess what came out of the kitchen was ok, since the old man made sure to check every one, knocking it with his knuckles, or tapping it against the table. The guy must have mighty massive muscular masseter muscles… and teeth of steel.

The Missus had seen a dish on one of our previous visits that She wanted to order, the Jing Jiang Rou Si  (京酱肉丝 – Beijing/Peking Sauce Pork Shreds – $7.99).

The Missus saw that this was served in the appropriate manner, with scallions and bean curd wrappers, so She wanted to try it out. The pork strips were cooked well, not as soft as I prefer, but still tender. The flavoring was adequate as well. I believe it could have used a bit more bean paste for a deeper savory flavor, and perhaps be a tad sweeter.

I loved the process of wrapping my food….it made me feel like I was eating duck! I did think the cucumbers, while adding that wonderful palate cleansing flavor to everything was chopped much too thick, and proved to be a bit cumbersome. But overall, this was an enjoyable dish. 

The Missus saw the Shrimp with Fried Gluten ($9.99), and decided to order that as well.

When the Missus had inquired about this dish, the woman really went off on how they make their own wheat gluten, how many times they rinsed it, etc, etc, etc…..

I'm usually not a big fan of Kaufu (wheat gluten), but this was the best dish of the meal. And changed my opinion of what is usually used as a "meat replacement". The Kaufu was so soft it practically melted in my mouth. It was also a flavor sponge absorbing all the salty-sweet-soy flavors of the dish. I almost forgot about the shrimp which were perfectly tender. Man this was good!

We also ordered the Tianjin Sauteed Eggplant ($6.99):

Seared to perfection in a hot wok, the texture was silken, the temperature was molten, and the scent was  heavenly smoky.  In spite of looks, the flavor of the dish was very mild, lacking "zing". The garlic sprinkled on the top was the only thing that stood out with regards to taste. We took most of this home, and when I added a bit of "acid" (vinegar) the dish woke up a bit. It could have used a bit more sweetness as well.

And yes, there was Xiao Mi Zhou (小米粥), millet porridge.

We left the meal satiated, and with a good amount of leftovers which would disappear fairly quickly.

And were hopeful that this would start us on another streak of good eats on our future road trips.

Tianjin Bistro
534 East Valley Blvd. #8
San Gabriel, CA 91776

Open Thurs – Tues 11am – 10pm 

Right after the calendar New Year, the Missus and I finally made it to Hunan Restaurant in Monterey Park. Since we'd already eaten at Hunan Chilli King (several times), Hunan Seafood, Xiang Wei Lou, and Hunan Style Restaurant, it only made sense that we should check out the simply named Hunan Restaurant. Hunan Restaurant is located on Atlantic Boulevard; we haven't been around this part of Monterey Park in a while, so it was interesting to see the changes since we last visited.

The restaurant is fairly small, and looks a bit worn. And yes, that is a 'C' letter grade taped proudly to the front glass.

 
Everything about the place is "all business", and I think the napkins, tossed haphazardly on the tables for use is a good representation of the restaurant.

 
This place really took me back to SGV service circa late '90s. Perfunctory to a fault….. if I dropped dead and fell on the floor at the foot of a table, the Servers would have no problem stepping over my dead body to complete their tasks. Perhaps a bit later, once the bill had been paid, and rigor mortis had set in(for practical reasons, I'd be easier to move), I'd be rolled out, using the "kick method" until I was no longer on restaurant property. Ah yes, remember the good 'ol days?????

The Missus started with the Stinky Tofu Hunan Style($4.99):

The Missus always says that if I'm able to start eating Chou Dofu without hesitation it isn't going to be any good. And She was right in this case. The tofu wasn't particularly smelly, and the sauce wasn't particular spicy, nor salty, or sweet for that matter. It just plain tasted watered down.

The Missus noticed a dish written on one of those ubiquitous strips of paper taped to the wall. It was bamboo shoots stir fried with La Rou (Hunan preserved pork 腊肉), and was the best dish of the day.

The dish was nice and smokey, courtesy of the La Rou. The Chinese celery did a great job of refreshing the palate. The Hunan ham was very waxy, and there were some bits that were almost inedible, but the flavor was good. There was a severe lack of spice in this dish, even though the Missus ordered it "big spicy".

The Missus listening to what other tables were ordering, decided to order the Steamed Whole Fish Hunan Style ($9.99).

I've had some terrible fish in my life, but this one is right up there at the top. First, there was nothing fresh about this semi-rancid fish. The flesh was mushy, and one bite was about it. Also, not enough hot oil and soy was used, and the fish was parched. Third, this fish was topped with only dried chilies, which combined with a lack of sauce, was still totally dry…..like eating seeds and paper. It was like eating a handful of dried Chilies de Arbol. I think that's enough…. I think you get the point.

The SGV has tons of restaurants, and whether you visited on a bad day, or perhaps the dishes aren't to your taste, you are bound to have a lousy meal now and then.

Hunan Restaurant
423 N Atlantic Blvd
Monterey Park, CA 91754

**** Yun Nan 168 Restaurant has closed

On a recent trip to the SGV, while driving across San Gabriel Boulevard on Valley, I noticed a new restaurant had sprouted up. What was once a Spike's Teriyaki Bowl, is now something called Yunnan 168.

Even though it was pretty early, we decided to stop by and grab a "breakfast" of sorts. The interior looks brand new but kinda generic….. and of course the 'B' DOH Restaurant rating was hung with care…. as if it was a badge of courage.

Like the other Yunnan Restaurant we've been to, there's a a table of cold appetizers.

Much of it looked delicious, and all the usual suspects were in view, from the Pao Jiao(pickled pepper) chicken feet to the bean curd noodles.

And much like the other "Yunnan" Restaurants we've been to, the menu seemed very "Sichuan" with dishes like "ChongQing Fried Chicken" and "Ma Po Doufu". We did start with a nice plate of appetizers:

The Missus was overjoyed at seeing pickled long beans. These were good, not as salty and spicy as the Hunan version, but very nice. My only problem was that the beans were diced into fairly small pieces, which made eating them a rather laborious task. Think of eating a bowl of peas with chopsticks. Still, quite good, and even better as a part of our leftovers (more later). 

The sliced bean curd "noodles" were good as well:

Other versions of this dish are sometimes bland and dry, often breaking when attempting to eat. These had some mild spice, with a bit of tartness to them.

Of the three cold dishes, the eggplant was the best, with a nice garlic-chili-vinegar punch.

The texture was yielding, but not mushy. If anything, this could have used a touch of salt, which was ironic based on our main courses.

While choosing the cold dishes were hard enough, with all the offerings, selecting two dishes from a menu consisting of almost 200 items was quite a task! Looking thru the menu, I noticed something translated as "Yunnan Fried Rice Cake". I was curious, and had a feeling this was a Nian Gao dish. I had the Missus ask our Server, who confirmed my hunch. Having just made Chao Nian Gao at home I was interested to see what Yunnan Nian Gao ($6.95) would be like. It didn't disappoint:

 
 The use of ground pork along with "ham" was a good choice, since the dish teetered on the edge of saltiness. The ground pork helped to level the flavors a bit. I loved the pungency that the chives added to the dish, and the occasional bite of preserved vegetable made this a pretty complex dish with regards to flavor, in addition to adding a bit of crunch. The rice cakes were cooked adequately, with a touch of "wok hay". Since we had a few places to hit on this visit, we packed a good amount of this as leftovers. The next day, I mixed the pickled green beans into this dish before heating….. and it was even better!

We saw a gentleman enthusiastically slurping a noodle dish on one of the tables across from us….. it just looked (and sounded) so good we decided to order it; Yunnan Noodle with Special Sauce (Yunnan Da Lu Mian – $4.95):

 
From my experience Da Lu Mian is usually a noodle dish with various toppings in a "gravy", and this filled the bill. However, as good as the Nian Gao dish was, this was ten times as bad. The noodles were water-logged on the bottom, like they had not been drained well, residing in a pool of pinkish water. Perhaps it is supposed to be served that way. The noodles were also a tad over-cooked. Even worse, the meat topping was extremely salty, almost inedible. The pork was hard and grainy, and in spite of the looks it had very little for the palate except for the saltiness. The Missus barely finished a bite.

The noodles also came with a clear broth with pea sprouts. This was meant to be eaten separately(we asked).

I'm not really into chlorophyll flavored salt water…….

Still, we had enjoyed the Nian Gao, and the cold dishes were pretty good….. and of course there's Guoqiao Mi Xian (Crossing the Bridge Rice Noodle Soup) on the menu, among another 190 or so dishes. We may return in the future….gotta watch that salt though!

The place is very clean, and the folks working here were very helpful and enthusiastic. It sure ain't no Teriyaki Bowl restaurant……

Yun Nan 168 Restaurant
1530 South San Gabriel Blvd.
San Gabriel, CA 91776

**** Hunan Style Restaurant has closed

Believe it or not, even after having Shengjian Bao at Kang Kang Food Court, Xiao Long Bao at Giang Nan, and Jiaozi at Qing Dao Bread Food, we still weren't through! You see we dropped by Tianjin Bistro to pick up Suan Cai Yang Rou Guo which I had on Christmas Day. While waiting for our take-out, I noticed that the long awaited Hunan restaurant had opened across the street. Seeing the name on the sign got my interest.

You see this restaurant had the same name as a place that was on our "list" for the longest time before it burnt down…… When I mentioned this to the Missus, we decided to grab a bite. In cases like this, we employ our "left-over" strategy, in which we make sure to select dishes that would still be good the following day.

We entered, and was seated immediately. The first thing we noticed was in spite of the place being almost full, there were no wonderful fragrances of chili in the air…. not a good sign for us. The menu was rather small in comparison to other Hunan restaurants in the area, and seemed to have quite a few dishes that seemed more like Sichuan than Hunan.

The interior of the place is very, well, red, with a kind of strange mish-mash of decor.

There was a woman manning the front desk right as you entered with toddler in tow. Three young ladies, all of whom seemed to be college students were scurrying around. And then there was the bell….. that all powerful bell, you know, the one that Chinese restaurants use to let the staff know that dishes are ready. I'm sure that the woman had taught the girls that the bell is all powerful, and a ring of that bell supersedes any action, be it taking an order, clearing a table, and perhaps bodily functions. Every time that bell went "ding", all three girls ran to the window like crabs scurrying up the shore at midnight. Once, one of the young women was in the process of taking our order when…. "ding". The girl immediately stuffed her pad into her apron and went running off! Unfortunately, she finished second best (I wonder if there's some kind of "ding" point system going on) as another girl had gotten there first. The young lady turned around, and headed off… to another table! The woman with the toddler had to remind the girl that she had been waiting on us!

And though the Missus was a bit irritated at this, and even a bit more at the freebie little dish of peanuts and peppers, which looked very pretty, but was very bland.

I was having a blast watching the girls run like crazy……. with all that wasted motion, it was obvious that they were new to this. I bet their feet hurt like the Dickens after work.

Eventually, we did get our order taken, and after a bit of a wait our order arrived.  The first item was the Steamed Hunan Style Preserved Meat:

The Hunan Pork was the best of the items on the plate. The texture of the pork was nice, a bit waxy, but not too greasy. The smoked fish and duck were very dry and almost tasteless. As a whole, the flavors seemed watered down. There wasn't much heat to this in spite of the chilies. Not even close to the version we enjoy the best at Hunan Seafood. I will say that the steamed rice was of good quality, and fragrant….perhaps it was the best item we had all evening……

The other item we ordered that evening was the Sauteed Lamb ($9.98), the stir fried lamb and cilantro dish I enjoy so much.

First the good; whomever cooked this has good technique, the lamb was melt in your mouth tender. The ratio of cilantro to lamb was good.  The not so good, of all the Hunan dishes I've had in the area, this was one of the blandest….. In spite of us ordering this dish "very spicy", there was not the faintest sheen of sweat on my forehead. It also needed a good dose of salt. When I reheated this dish the next day, I added a good dose of soy sauce and a pinch of sea salt…….

There was an interesting and very telling vignette that we watched unfold on a table right across the way from us. A gentleman in perhaps his late forties, early fifties, and two boys that assume were his sons were seated there. The boys looked to be perhaps of college age. The father looked around the place, and kept talking to his sons. He pointed across the street couple of times…. and then it came to us…. Hunan Chilli King is right across the street! When their dishes arrived, the gentleman had one bite….. and entered into "protest position"….. he folded his arms and wouldn't eat another bite during the rest of the meal. He kept talking to the boys, and though we couldn't hear what he said, he kept looking across the street……..

It's obvious that this place is still going through all of the problems associated with opening day. From what I saw on my way to the restroom, the kitchen is staffed generously, but the dishes come out fairly slowly. It was fairly obvious to the Missus and I that in regards to technique, our dishes were prepared well. But both dishes fell short in the flavor department. So perhaps we'll revisit one of these days.

Hunan Style Restaurant
529 East Valley Blvd
San Gabriel, CA 91776