The Missus had enjoyed our last overnight Road Trip to Monterey Park so much, that She wanted to do another one ASAP. This time, She wanted to try some places we hadn't visited before. I did a bit of research and found that a Szechuan restaurant with origins in New York had recently opened. In of all places, old neighborhood of Rowland Heights….Rowland Heights?
Well, we decided to make it an overnight kind of thing and I went and found another place for sort of "brunch" the next morning. We made good time and got in kind of early and decided to drop by Hong Kong Plaza which we hadn't been to since before Covid. First we dropped by Hong Kong Market, which had kind of changed a few years back. It's now got a bunch more snacks and stuff.
And a more interesting variety than 99 Ranch Market.
I will get various snacks and also items like aged black vinegar and better quality soy sauce from here. One thing we noticed, the market was totally dead on a Friday afternoon.
We decided to take a walk around; places like Hong Kong Fishball House, Yi Mei Deli, and Shau Mei, remnants from when we lived less than half a block away in the late 90's are still open. We decided to take a stroll in the indoor portion of the mall and was shocked.
Good lord; it was totally empty…..
It felt so eerie walking along past the empty businesses.
And passing Happiness Restaurant made us especially sad.
And not because we've had great meals here, it's because on our last visit there was a turtle named Manie, who was 6 1/2 at the time and was the actual namesake of Manie's Restaurant which preceded Happiness. We wondered and hoped that Manie is ok.
The end of the parking lot was layered with trash and the overall feel was quite depressing.
We then headed to our accommodation for the evening. I had read that the Best Western Plus on Gale had been renovated and got a "interior" room, which was a major blessing because the freeway noise (the hotel faces the 60) can be quite loud. As it is, we had a pretty quiet room, with noisy, but effective A/C, and got in a short nap before we headed off to dinner.
Refreshed after our nap, we decided to walk to our dinner destination a mere 15 minutes away. Of course, no one walks around here and we got some stares, especially with all the cars entering and exiting the 60 as we crossed over.
The mall where Mountain House is located is fairly new and the area used to be on the seedy side when we lived close by. Indeed, there are still homeless camping out behind the Motel 6 next to the mall. But man, this looks a lot different than when we lived around here.
We arrived 15 minutes before opening and there were already folks waiting in line for the place to open. Mountain House only takes reservations for parties of 6 or more people.
The interior is pretty fancy, almost Traditional Taoist in nature. With everything from a koi pond to semi private alcoves in the somewhat maze like set-up.
Things started off with some tea, which the Missus enjoyed.
And we liked the ornate patterns on the lovely tea cups.
In spite of the rather fancy setting; we found the prices to be quite reasonable. Of course, it had been so long since we'd had good Sichuan in the states so we went a little crazy.
The gratis cabbage with chilies was a nice start. Nice ma-la sensations were brought to the forefront.
We started with what might be the signature dish at Mountain House the "Liang Yi" – Hanging Laundry ("Swing Pork Belly" – $13.95). Where strips of pork belly and cucumber are hung on a rack.
The Laundry" hangs over a bowl with a smoky-mildly spicy chili oil, with a large dollop of garlic paste in the middle. We quickly noticed that fat was dripping off the slices of pork belly enhancing the concoction.
This was the Missus's favorite dish of the evening. She loved the combination of mildly spicy-pungent-savory flavors all finished with the clean, refreshing cucumber.
Of course we had to order the La Zi Ji ($19.95). Which was brought to the table on the blade of a shovel.
This was also lovely, great ma-la, the small pieces of chicken were nice and crunchy. There was some bones to be found so you approached things with some caution, but this was really good. The leftovers were also great, heated in an air fryer, though I almost blinded myself when I opened it!
The Rabbit with Mixed Pepper ($25.95) was indeed spicy.
But there were too many shards of bone and it was way too salty.
I loved the Ma-La Intestine ($23.95).
Crisp and light, offal-ly pork intestine, perfectly numbing and spicy, not overly salty….the swiney excellence came thru nicely.
We ordered something called the Bamboo Trio ($16.95). Which featured Duck Tongue, Bamboo Shoots, and "Poached Chicken" (Ko Shui Ji – $16.95).
This was an interesting Liang Cai (cold dishes) trio; the Duck Tongue in a chili oil was interesting. Usually, when we've had duck tongue, there's a hard inedible piece of bone in the center making eating it somewhat ponderous. The center of the tongue in this dish was cartilaginous, reminding us of nankotsu, with a pleasant crunchy shewiness.
The Bamboo Shoots were crunchy, with pickled peppers, creating a nice earthy dish.
The chicken in the Ko Shui Ji was tender and the overall flavor was by the book Sichuan.
The dish we enjoyed the least were the Won Tons in Hot Sauce ($9.95).
The won tons were decently flavored and tender, but the sauce lacked balance…..in spite of looks, it was overly greasy, not especially spicy, and just not pleasant to eat.
The Missus ordered one….then another dessert. I guess She really enjoyed it.
Overall, the highs really outweighed the lows. And we thought this was the best Sichuan we've had in over a decade. The Missus couldn't wait to return to try other dishes….and we'd end up returning sooner than I thought. My goodness, if the Sichuan here in San Diego was half as good as what we had here.
Mountain House
18888 Labin Court
Rowland Heights, CA 91748
We returned to our room with tons of leftovers; fat and happy.
Our room overlooked the strip mall with all the restaurants on Gale across from 99 Ranch Market. It was interesting watching the battle for parking spaces…..
We were really enjoying our time here……
Thanks for stopping by!
The pig tongue was as expected, fairly chewy and very porky. Quite typical.
We quickly noticed that on this visit, the dumpling wrappers were very soft, lacking in the slight "pull" that we enjoy in jiaozi wrappers. The filling of the shrimp, pork, and leek was very moist and actually had a good amount of "soup" in them…very nicely flavored, though a bit short in the shrimp department.
But man, that filling was so gamy, moist, juice just poured out of it when I took a bite.
We did notice that the dish has changed since our last visit. The shrimp shells and the shrimp seems to have some coating; like the tofu skin, the portion size is smaller. The shrimp is not quite as delicate as it used to be. But the flavor is still there and the shells and tail are a pleasure to eat.
Soon enough the large plate of bun, herbs, and veggies. And of course the Missus enjoys the Banh Trang Me dipping it into the mam nem. As for the Mam Nem, we noticed that it's not quite as potent as it used to be.
It's self check-in at a touchpad at the hostess stand. Soon, a text message arrived that our table was ready.
We were seated, hot tea ($2) was promptly brought out and we could order from the photo menu as well as from the passing carts. 
Additional beverages were also available from a cart. 
Shrimp Noodle Roll ($5.99) came from a cart and was filled with large, plump, flavor filled shrimp. Slippery and satisfying.
Our order from the kitchen (each item $5.99) was delivered quickly. The Shrimp Har Gow was filled with the same large shrimp and wrapped in a not too thick nor too chewy tapioca based dough.
The steamed Tofu Skin Roll was filled with pork, carrot, mushroom and crunchy water chestnuts. 
The Black Mushroom Sui Mai was really tasty. The Sui Mai filling (pork/shrimp/ginger/mushroom/scallion/water chestnut) was a large serving size to facilitate holding the large black mushroom. Flavors in every bite! 
We ordered the soup dumplings from a cart. None were leaking. The dough was chewy, especially at the top folds but overall the filling was quite nice. 
The fried shrimp balls ($7.99), ordered from the kitchen, were a great choice. Very large, cut in half and simply a mass of cooked shrimp formed into a paste then rolled in breadcrumbs and fried, this serving could be a complete meal if I could control my cravings. 
The picture menu had this "Sweet Tofu-available only on Saturday-Sunday", so I had to order it. What a great way to end the meal! Soft, warm, fresh made tofu served with a sugar-ginger sauce. It was quite perfect. 
Our Order Card. Seven items plus the hot tea ($49.95). A very nice special meal. 
The bread was fluffy, slightly moist, a bit on the sweet side but that's to be expected. The filling wasn't too sweet, nice savory tones. Overall, a bit heavy in the bread versus the filling, but this wasn't bad at all.
I'm glad we headed out early as we spent a good amount of time checking out various galleries and all the wonderful art!
In what was a very classy move, I was brought out a cup of the bisque as well since I had to wait for my next course! Super cool! The bisque was decadently smooth and velvety, but the Missus said there wasn't enough earthy mushroom flavor for Her. Of course, She's become 
Perfectly seared , this wiggly slice of heaven was delici-yoso, with the duck demiglace adding another layer of rich-savory flavor. The "French Toast" teetered on the sweeter side, but the foie gras nicely brought it back to earth.
This was a nice meal, with classy, yet warm and unstuffy service, and worth the price in our mind. The Missus enjoyed the wine pairing. It was a great way to end our time in Santa Fe.
It was a nice day and a good hike, though I was kinda huffing along at the top of the peak. Considering that Santa Fe is at 7,000 feet and adding another 1200, it's no wonder.
This is the 
I actually wanted to check out the cathedral. Apparently, the oldest existing 
Which seemed to be a combination of charred and dried. The flavors were quite intense and the crunchy texture quite interesting. The ricotta gnudi was a nice mildly acidic-cheesy addition which added a textural contrast to the dish along with a good milkiness. It was the Missus's favorite item of the evening.
We found this to be on the bland side in spite of the Sherry Beurre Blanc, the Cardamom Phyllo was soggy when it hit the table and this was just a bunch of root vegetables in a bland sauce. Not quite worth the $32 for the dish.
It was a pleasant stop and we'd eat here again if in the area. And we saw Jean Pierre walk to the dining area and engage in a lively conversation with another gentleman……in full on French. The Missus and I loved it!
Man, this place was quite busy. The lines did move quickly though. The Missus bought some chocolates and a couple of bags of "elixirs" and we headed on out.
Well, to be more specific; it's about the staircase in the chapel. The construction of the Lorreto Chapel was completed in 1878. Unfortunately, due to some weird "oversight", there was no way to reach the choir loft which was 22 feet above. After many consultations the Sisters of Loretto were told that the only way to access the choir loft would be by ladder as a staircase would interfere with the design of the chapel. At wits end, the Sisters started praying to the 
