MikeLee's Profile
"Suan Tsai"or "Tzai Tsai" Chinese pickled condiment
I'd just experiment with a few batches. It's not like cilantro, fresh peppers and scallions are expensive.
Funny thing, I got Beyond the Great Wall and there's a recipe for Tribal Herb Salsa and I thought of that when I first saw it at 101. But that recipe is different, it has rice vinegar, no oil and no pepper.
Luscious Dumplings with Pics
There was a line outside the door when I arrived at Luscious Dumplings in San Gabriel. The small shop was located inside a strip mall off of Las Tunas Dr. Outside its doors there were already four groups ahead of me. The waiter handed me an order form and told me it would be 15 to 20 minutes. I waited and mingled with the small crowd. There was pizza parlor completely devoid of customers just next door. But nobody in the group waiting to be seated even gave it a second glance.
I looked over the brief but flavorful menu. It featured familiar items like celery and pork dumplings, stewed pork noodle soup. There were also more adventurous items like beef tendon in hot sour sauce and fried dumplings with chive, pork, egg, and glass noodle filling. I decided on fried pork dumplings. Then I waited for my number to be called.
While I waited I glanced down at the hours of operation sign and saw what accounted for the lines. In addition to having only about 8 tables, Luscious Dumplings was only open for customers a total of 33 hours every week. Tuesday through Saturday it was open from 11AM to 2PM for lunch and then again for dinner from 5PM to 8PM. Sundays it was only open for lunch 11 t o2 and Monday it was closed. If you wandered in looking for a mid afternoon snack or a late dinner, you were out of luck.
Once I got inside the place was bustling and filled with Chinese families and friends out for Saturday lunch. I sat down to my drink and a small dish of pickled cabbage. It was slightly sweet and had a nice tang.
My dumplings came. These looked like the usually Pot Stickers I’ve had a million times at Dim Sum restaurants. There was one difference. These had some kind of glaze on the fried side, something sweet and sugary that caramelized on the dumplings. The fried side was sticky sweet and a nice surprise. The sweetness was a nice counter to the pickled cabbage or the heat of the chili oil that used as a dipping sauce. The pork filling was juicy. There wasn’t a lot of garlic or ginger covering up the simple pork taste. It was a fine dumpling. The glaze was an added treat though it did cause a few of my dumplings to stick together.
The price for 10 dumplings was $6. It was a good price but there are better deals to be had in the San Gabriel Valley. Mama’s Lu Dumpling House serves 10 Juicy Pork Dumplings (XLB) for $4.99. The 8 monster sized pan fried dumplings at Qing Dao Bread Food are just a dollar more. And $6 can be a feast at Yung Ho Tou Chiang. Still no one was complaining at the busy Luscious Dumplings. I don’t know if the crowds are like that all the time (though I’d love to visit 6 days straight to find out) but if Saturday is any indication, be prepared to wait.
Luscious Dumplings
704 W Las Tunas Dr
San Gabriel, CA 91776
(626) 282-8695
Price Range: $6 for 10 dumplings (or 8 of the “Pork with Soup” XLB) or $6 for a bowl of noodle soup with 5 dumplings.
My review with pics
http://tocookandeatinla.blogspot.com/2009/08/dumpling-hunt-part-7-luscious-dumplings.html
Banh Mi at Sandwich Express in Reseda w/ Pics
Living in Van Nuys means I can’t get out to the San Gabriel Valley as often as I like (which is constantly.) That’s bad news when I’ve got a late night craving for 101 Beef Roll. But the good news is I don’t have to trek all the way to Mr. Baguette and Lee’s Sandwiches when I start jonesing for a good Banh Mi. Relief is just down the road at Sandwich Express in Reseda.
Heading West on Sherman Way past the airport on a Sunday night there’s little traffic by the time I hit Reseda. I find a spot on a side street easy enough and head over to Sandwich Express.
The outside is a little faded. The sign could do with another coat of paint. It doesn’t look like a place from great Vietnamese sandwiches from the outside. At first glance one might mistake it for an Italian sub place.
Inside is crisp, clean operation though it could use more menu displays. They have an excellent Banh Mi menu on the wall and Slush menu behind the counter area. But there’s a whole counter of food options on the one side and I had no idea what they were offering.
I start things off with a Kiwi Slush with boba. It was bright green, sweet and tart, just like a fresh kiwi fruit. Kiwi makes a very good dessert or sweet drink.
The Banh Mi is ready a few moments later. I order the special which apparently means a little bit of everything. The sandwich is stuffed with red cured pork, white pork loaf, rich pate, headcheese, mayo and even a few shrimp. The pickled vegetables are cut thicker than at Mr. Baguette or Lee’s and they include a few spears of cucumber. The meats were very porky. The cured pork was chewy and would have been tough it wasn’t sliced paper thin. The headcheese had a nice bit of cartilage in it. The pickled veggies provided a nice crunch and acid and the jalapenos gave it a bit of heat. As usual the sandwiches were a bargain, $2.95. With my drink it was a filling meal all for just over $5 total.
On my way out I noticed a small shrine by the door. I don’t know whether it is meant to welcome guests or bring in good luck. Sandwich Express deserves plenty of both.
Sandwich Express
18575 Sherman Way
Reseda, CA 91335
(818) 757-7698
Price Range: $2.95 for sandwiches
My review with pics
http://tocookandeatinla.blogspot.com/2009/07/banh-mi-at-sandwich-express-in-reseda.html
Fish Dumplings and Pan Fried Dumplings at Qing Dao w/ Pics
Throw in for gas money and sure!
Rice balls and Ginger Bean Milk at Yung Ho Tou Chiang
I find this more like the difference between a burger and a patty melt. But that's just me.
Rice balls and Ginger Bean Milk at Yung Ho Tou Chiang
Sorry for any confusion.
But fair or not I personally find it impossible not to draw comparisons between the two.
Rice balls and Ginger Bean Milk at Yung Ho Tou Chiang
No. 101 Noodle is in Alhambra. Yung Ho is further west in San Gabriel just past New Ave.
Rice balls and Ginger Bean Milk at Yung Ho Tou Chiang
When I got to Yung Ho Tou Chiang they were already putting the chairs up and starting to mop the floors. I was afraid I was too late. The menu said open till 6 PM and it was just before 5. Time I thought for a quick early dinner. Turns out when they say close at 6 PM they mean the place is shut and the staff is on its way home by 6. Of course this way I avoided the lunch and breakfast rush.
Yung Ho Tou Chiang is located on valley just before the New Ave. intersection. It’s in a strip mall with a fair sized parking lot. Arriving in the early evening there was plenty of spaces.
Inside the space was quite large and impressive for strip mall place. They showed me to a booth and gave me the menu.
The first thing that caught my eye was the prices. Most of the items under the Dim Sum were $2 or less. Some items went as low as 85 cents. The rest of the menu was also a bargain. Soups and Noodle or Rice dishes were between $4 and $6.50. Cold Dishes were ranged from $1.50 to $2.50. There were a few items scattered around that were $8, $9 and one was $15. But overall the menu was made for the budget conscious.
I stuck with the dim sum portion of the menu. I ordered a Sweet/Cold Ginger Bean Milk for $1.30. It was a glass of soy milk with a heavy taste of ginger. It was pretty refreshing on a hot day.
Next came a Mushroom with Pork Bun for $1.00. It was a good sized steamed bao with a filling that was more pork than mushroom and had little dried shrimp as well. The filling was seasoned with soy and ginger. The bun was a little on the heavy side but there was a good ratio filling to bread.
After that came the only real disappointment. I ordered the Beef Pan Cake for $2.75. It was a bit of a let down compared to the exquisite Beef Roll at 101 Noodle Express. The beef filling was tender, rich and had a strong anise flavor to it. But instead of spreading the filling out evenly over the pancake and wrapping it, they first folded the pancake on itself, put the filling in the center, coated the outside with sesame seed and fried it on both sides. The pancake was heavy and a little tough where it was folded in on itself.
After that however came a real treat, Rice Ball Soup with Mushroom and Pork for $3.50. It was a clear broth with four dumplings floating in it. It was topped with a generous helping of cilantro and crispy onion flakes. The dumplings resembled little matzo balls. They were made of glutinous rice flour and had a meat filling inside each one. The outside was sticky and slightly sweet. Like matzo balls, they expanded when they reached the stomach. The filling was the same pork and mushroom mix from the bao. The whole thing may be a little salty for some people’s taste but I found it excellent.
The whole meal came out to less than $10. This is a place to eat up and not break the wallet. The rice balls are superb and a great bargain at $3.50. Just try and get there early.
Yung Ho Tou Chiang
533 W. Valley Blvd.
San Gabriel, CA 91776
(626) 570-0860
Price Range: Dim Sum menu from $0.85 to $5.75
My Review w/ Pics
http://tocookandeatinla.blogspot.com/2009/07/dumpling-hunt-part-6-rice-balls-and.html
Fish Dumplings and Pan Fried Dumplings at Qing Dao w/ Pics
I owe this one to Chowhound Chandavkl who said that this place had the best sole dumplings in LA.
Qing Dao Bread Food is inside a strip mall on Garfield Avenue in Monterey Park. But don’t expect to find parking. The courtyard style mall is home to several busy eateries. Fortunately I found street parking within short walking distance. Qing Dao has a very modest storefront.
Inside it is even simpler, just a narrow strip of floor space running from the door to the back with the kitchen and bakery case dominating the rest of the shop. An electric fan was set up to provide air circulation but I didn’t find it stuffy or hot inside which was surprising. Nearly every one of the tables was occupied and the kitchen was bringing out tray after tray of steaming dumplings. You’d think this place would be a sweatbox in the middle of winter.
Along the wall were large pictures of the food offered. I zeroed in on the boiled fish and leek dumplings and the pork and shrimp pan fried dumplings.
First came the fish dumplings. They were 12 of them fresh out of the pot judging by the cloud of steam that hung over them. They came with a small saucer of sauce with at least two cloves of freshly crushed garlic. The dumpling skins were thick but soft and not too chewy. They had the right amount of filling so you got the right amount of fish to noodle. The filling was no delicate French style fish mousse. The filling was firm, hearty and speckled with green scallions and not overly fishy. Dipped in the garlic sauce and a little vinegar really added to them.
Next came the pan fried dumplings. I order potstickers every time I go out for dim sum, so I was expecting the same here. The first thing I noticed was that these dumplings were much bigger. I got 8 with my order they were enough to easily feed 2 or 3 people. They were at least twice the size of the largest potstickers I’d ever ordered. They were puffed up white pillows on one side and golden brown and crispy on the other. I bit into the first one and seared the roof of my mouth (with only a glass of hot tea to drink!) Inside medley of ground pork and big pieces of whole shrimp. The wrappers were very thick. On the pan fried side where they were seared the dough was cooked through and slightly risen. It was bread, like a bao or a pancake. The tops were they had steamed were like a thick noodle or Western style boiled dumpling. It was a great mix of textures and the stuffing inside was savory and lip smacking good.
I tried a variety of dipping sauces. I mixed some of the chili oil with soy to create a tongue burning dip. That was a little too much. It got in the way of the great texture and flavor of the dumpling. I tried the vinegar which was better. Eventually I settled on a little bit of soy or nothing at all.
Both orders cost $6.95 each. Given the amount of food it was a bargain. Both orders could have easily have been split among friends.
With apologies to Chandavkl, I enjoyed the fish dumplings but the pan fried ones were what really grabbed my attention.
Qing Dao Bread Food
301 N Garfield Ave
Ste G
Monterey Park, CA 91754
(626) 312-6978
Price Range: $6.95 per dumpling order
My review with pics
http://tocookandeatinla.blogspot.com/2009/07/dumpling-hunt-part-5-fish-dumplings-and.html
Drunken Crab and the Art of Being a Waiter.
That's rough. A friend of mine's a waiter and he'd love to work Culver City. Maybe I'll tell him about the situation there.
By the way I clicked on your post because "Drunken Crab" means something very different in Chinese cuisine
http://community.travelchinaguide.com/forum2.asp?i=52969
Spicy and Sour Rice Noodles at Dandan’s Guilin with Pics
You can check my blog or you can cruise the boards here. Dasubergeek, J.L. and others always have great suggestions.
Food Fantasy Question
Say you hit the lottery and decided to
A) get the finest fresh seafood in the city and
B) go to a fine restaurant and have them cook it up for you (or cut it up and serve it if you pick a sushi place)
Where would you go for the fish?
What would you pick if you have a choice?
Where would you go for the meal?
Where to get Sichuan Peppercorns
I've had very mixed results buying Sichuan Peppercorns. The ones I got at the 99 Market on Sepulveda were completely worthless, no numbing sensation no matter how many you scarfed down. I got a 1 oz jar online from The Spice House which wasn't a whole lot better. Need to chomp on nearly a full tablespoon before you got the slightest numbing effect on the tip of your tongue.
The best I've found to date have been from Pacific Natural Spices which can be found at Light My Fire in the Farmer's Market by the Grove. They sell 1.2 Oz bottles for $3.99. Just to be sure I immediately popped a few in my mouth, no more than five or six. After a few moments I had that familiar numbing sensation in my entire mouth. That's what I'm looking for.
Any other good sources?
Thai Gulch:Bua Siam Small Plates w/ Pics
My first few months in LA I spent most of my time driving up and down Sherman Way. That’s how I first became familiar with Thai Gulch. One of the first restaurants I tried and the one that became my favorite is the very definition of Hole-In-The-Wall, Bua Siam.
You really have to look hard. Bua Siam is easy to miss. It’s in the same strip mall as the impossible-to-miss Cha Chaa. If you look down Cha Chaa’s yellow exterior to the corner and then look a little left, you’ll see it. From the outside it looks no bigger than a postage stamp.
The interior, well, at first I thought it was the same size as my apartment. That might be too generous. It is a very small space with just a few tables they got from Ikea down the street in Burbank. But it never felt cramped, at least not to me. The dining area is always spotless. There’s a decorative fountain in the corner that’s constantly running (giving the space good Fung Shui I believe.)
When I first came to Bua Siam it was for exotic dishes from all over Thailand. They used to serve a wild boar curry that I ordered every time. The menu has since changed and wild boar no linger makes an appearance. However the reason I’ve continued to come back to Bua Siam is their small plates. They have several of their dishes available in tapas sized platters at prices ranging from $4 to $2.99. A filling lunch can be had for under $10. They offer bay leaf stew, rice cakes with shrimp sauce, and an excellent version of the Thai “jerky”, beef or pork deep fried and served with a spicy sauce.
Last Sunday I make a stop at Bua Siam and go for two small plates that I haven’t had before. Both had very long English names and my apologies if I don’t get them exactly right. The first was called Soup with Broad Rice Noodles, Fish Ball, Squid and Red Sauce. What came was a bright red soup with broad flat noodles and a treasure trove of goodies. Floating in the broth was a huge piece of white fungus. In addition to the fish balls and squid there were deep fried puffs of tofu and slices of fish cake. The red broth was mildly spicy, sweet and acidic. The rice noodles were perfectly soft and great to slurp up.
Next came Thai Spaghetti with Pork Spare Ribs and Tomato Sauce. Again the description did not disappoint. The dish was thin rice noodles with a spicy tomato based sauce. It was topped with bits of ground pork and small nuggets of stewed sparerib. The ribs were falling off the bone tender. You just had to pop them in your mouth and suck off the meat. The sauce and noodles had a little spice. There were pieces of whole dried chili on top should you want a real kick with your lunch.
Bua Siam never seems crowded yet is never empty for long. Soon after I sat down, nearly all the places were filled. It’s a little gem in Thai Gulch. One I hope will last for years to come.
Bua Siam
12924 Sherman Way
North Hollywood, CA 91605
(818) 765-8395
Price Range: Small Plates $2.99 to $4.00, Entrees mostly under $10
My Review with Pics
http://tocookandeatinla.blogspot.com/2009/07/thai-gulch-part-3-tasty-little-plates.html
Banh Mi in Rosemead with pics
In this economy, everyone is looking to cut back on expenses especially on eating out. But if you want to save money but not give up quality, check out Valley Blvd. Starting at Alhambra and heading east, you’ll find some of the finest bargain meals to be had in the entire city. One of the best combinations of quality and price is the Banh Mi, or Vietnamese sandwich. The boulevard is lined with Vietnamese offering all kinds of delicacies. There are dozens of bakeries and sandwich shops serving Banh Mi. But there’s a stretch of Valley in Rosemead where two of the most well known purveyors of this Vietnamese classic are just a few blocks apart from each other; Lee’s Sandwiches and Mr. Baguette.
I start at Lee’s Sandwiches. It’s not a Mom and Pop operation as evidenced by the slickly constructed exterior. It has its own parking lot and a drive through so getting in and out is a snap. From the outside you’d think it was a KFC or Boston Market. Lee’s isn’t that huge but it is a multi state franchise with over 30 locations.
Inside it looks just like any other major chain fast food joint. But look closer at the menu and you’ll find durian ice cream, red bean smoothies, and mini pork pate chaud. It’s the American Fast Food model applied to Southeast Asian food.
For my Banh Mi I order the Cured Pork and Pork Roll. It’s a hearty 10 inch sandwich cut into two pieces. The meats are sliced deli thin. The cured pork is red almost like Chinese char sui and has a slight ham flavor. The almost white pork roll reminds me a little bit of good bologna sausage but made with pork. The sandwich is topped with pickled carrot and daikon and sliced jalapeno that gives it a kick. It costs just $2.75. It has the national chain sandwich places beat by a mile in both cost and taste. What’s there to brag about in a $5 foot long?
While Lee’s Sandwiches may be a superior fast food chain my next stop, Mr. Baguette, was in a whole different league. I gladly call it fine dining off paper plates and plastic trays. Mr. Baguette has only three locations but you should find the one closest to you and make it a regular stop. The one in Rosemead is off a fairly quiet street so if the parking lot is crowded you can find street parking easy enough.
From its name you know Mr. Baguette prides itself on one thing in particular. They offer their house made baguettes with everything from clam chowder to sandwiches to just plain.
They also offer the traditional Vietnamese meats, also house made. It’s a tempting display. But I’ve already had a cold Banh Mi, I decide to go for something warmer and order the grilled pork sandwich.
I get a foot long baguette filled with grilled pork for $3.75 (I didn’t have a tape measure but it sure looked like a foot.) The pickled vegetables and sliced jalapenos came separately in a plastic baggie. It was I was feeling pretty full from Lee’s and I considered eating only half and taking the rest home with me. That plan changed as soon as I bit into it. One taste and I knew I was going to finish the whole thing right there. The first thing that got me was the crunch of the crust. It crackled beautifully every time it met my teeth. But it wasn’t too hard. There was the “broken glass” effect you sometimes get with really hard (or stale) crust. After the crunch it was tender inside. It held the meat and vegetables inside but wasn’t too tough or chewy, perfect sandwich bread. This may be the first time I ate a sandwich and was so thoroughly taken with the bread, but it was almost like a magic trick. You wondered how they could do it. Not the filling was any slouch. The pork was juicy with salty glaze and a little grilled smokiness, the pickled vegetables provided the tang, and the jalapenos gave it just the right amount of punch. My only regret was that I only had room for one sandwich. I have to go back and try all the others. I can’t imagine shelling out $5 any more for a sandwich served in what amounts to an oversized hot dog roll.
Great food for under $5? It is there to be had if you’re on the right street.
Lee’s Sandwiches (Rosemead)
8779 E. Valley Blvd.
Rosemead CA 91770
(626) 291-2688
Price Range: Between $2.75 and $2.95 for most sandwiches
Mr. Baguette (Rosemead)
8702 E Valley Blvd.
Rosemead CA 91770
(626) 288-9166
Price Range: Between $3.75 and $5.50 for most sandwiches
My review with pics
http://tocookandeatinla.blogspot.com/2009/07/great-banh-mi-in-rosemead.html
Boho - Gone downhill?
That's what I can't get. That is a prime spot. Why can't they get a good place?
Where to take young kids in Hollywood?
I'm sure this is the spot. Right around the corner from The Grill
http://www.uwink.com/restaurants/locations/hohi
Where to take young kids in Hollywood?
I think that space used to be a Wolfgang Puck restaurant.
101 Noodle Express Beef Roll with Pics
It’s easy to drive right by 101 Noodle Express in Alhambra if you don’t speak Chinese. At the strip mall where it’s at, the Chinese is prominently featured on the main sign. The words “101 Noodle Express” are in smaller print and off to the side. Even standing right in front of the restaurant itself you can miss its small compact English name. Best to look for the strip mall with the bowling alley in the center (though that place appears to be closed for business.)
Once you’re in find a table quick. This place really fills up at lunch time. I was lucky to grab the last available and sit down. The interior is a slick version of a neighborhood joint. There are framed glossy posters of signature dishes and an HD display of the lamb soup. But one dish in particular 101 Noodle Express is known for, the Beef Roll (Niu Ruo Juan Bing.) The dish is simple but the execution perfect. A thin flour pancake, beautifully toasted with golden brown spots all over its surface, is slathered with a hoisin-like sauce, sliced beef that’s been cooked fork tender and plenty of cilantro. The whole thing is then rolled into a tube like a burrito or sandwich wrap. You get two mammoth rolls for one order costing $6.75. Each one is cut into three pieces the size of a McDonald’s cheeseburger. But the golden arches doesn’t have anything that can compete with the Beef Roll in terms of flavor. The pancake is nicely crispy. The meat is falling apart tender. It had bits of tendon and connective tissue cooked soft giving the beef even more richness and flavor. The hoisin sauce was sweet with a slight tang like good BBQ sauce but with a little pungency from the fermented beans, it went perfectly with the cilantro.
For those wanting more of a spicier kick to their meal, there is the usual chili oil at your table side but also something else, a green “salsa” made of cilantro and finely diced green chili. It packs a real punch. I tried some of it on the Beef Roll and it gave it a nice burn but honestly I loved the sweet rich flavor of the roll on its own.
The Beef Roll is more than enough for one person, but I went a little overboard and also ordered the Dalu Noodle. It arrived in a huge bowl. In appearance the soup resembled the Hot and Sour soup my family makes, a thickened broth with egg “rags” floating throughout. But there was no vinegar or white pepper in this soup. Instead there was a pile of noodles, cabbage, and tender pork. It was seasoned with ginger and had wood ear tree fungus in it. It was simple, hearty and filling. It would be a great soup to have in the middle of winter.
The soup cost $5.99. With the Beef Roll, my lunch could have fed 6 people (a Chinese soup-and-sandwich meal) for under $14.
When you’re on Valley Blvd. in Alhambra keep your eyes peeled for 101. It would be a shame to drive right by this one.
101 Noodle Express
1408 E Valley Blvd
Alhambra, CA 91801
(626) 300-8654
Price Range: Between $4.99 and $7.50 for most dishes.
My review with pics http://tocookandeatinla.blogspot.com/2009/07/beef-roll-and-soup-at-101-noodle.html
Where to take young kids in Hollywood?
Miceli's that's it! That's where I would take little kids.
Where to take young kids in Hollywood?
There's an Italian place near 2nd. I can't remember its name. It's a red sauce joint but a pretty good red sauce joint.
Maybe somebody else knows what I'm talking about?
Question for those who like to add butter to your steaks ...
I've tried sauce Bordelaise, it's divine. I haven't spread roasted marrow over steak yet, but that would be the next frontier!
Boho - Gone downhill?
That's terrible. I came when it first opened and the menu was wild and adventurous, they had tripe soup, oxtails and rabbit pate on the menu. Sounds like they've completely reverted to the standard bar menu.
Have you tried the Bowery? They had a good menu last time I was there though I was disappointed to see they'd stopped running specials.
Spicy and Sour Rice Noodles at Dandan’s Guilin with Pics
I returned to Focus Plaza and Dandan’s Guilin Rice Noodles this time for dinner. Focus Plaza was just as sprawling as I remembered it. I tried to grab a spot in the two level underground lot to get my aging car out of the sun. No luck. In the summer months those are the first spots to fill up. I did manage to find some shade though beneath a tree.
The first time I came I was on a dumpling hunt. This time I was free to sample their entire menu. There’s very little English at Dandan’s. The menu has English translation but the order form is all in Chinese with numbers so be careful what you point to. The waitress spoke very little English but it didn’t get in the way of my ordering.
Like all Sichuan and other Western Chinese restaurants they offer a selection of cold appetizers. You can get a combination of any three for $3.99. I decided to go spicy and protein heavy. I ordered Super Spicy Beef, Super Spicy Pig’s Ear, and Super Spicy Shredded Tofu. All three items arrived piled onto one plate. All three dishes glistened with red chili oil. There were red pepper flakes and stems of cilantro. The taste was numbing hot, that mixture of red chili and Sichuan peppercorn that I find completely addictive. The red chili burns at the same time the Sichuan peppercorns numb the mouth and tongue. It’s a taste sensation unlike any other. The beef was dried to almost jerky consistency and sliced paper thin. The pig’s ears were also sliced thin, chewy and gelatinous with strip of cartilage running down the middle that has a bit of a crunch. It might not be for everyone but Chinese food is all about a variety of flavors and textures. The shredded bean curd was something new to me. The bean curd was compressed until nearly the consistency of hard cheese then sliced thing and cut into strips like short noodles. To see it on the plate, it looked like a cold pasta salad. The tofu shreds held their texture until you bit into them then they melted inside the mouth.
The next dish was a bowel of their rice noodles. I chose the Guilin Spicy & Sour Beef Rice Noodle. It was a large bowl of rice noodles, wilted lettuce and sliced cooked beef topped with pickled vegetables, toasted peanuts and a healthy dose of red chili flakes. You pour the broth over the noodles and start eating. The rice noodles are thicker than the one you find in Vietnamese Pho. If Pho noodles are vermicelli then these would be more like Thick Spaghetti. They made the soup very hearty and filling. The heat was intense with no Sichuan peppercorns to provide relief. The sour component came from the pickles, mustard greens and green beans. They had a strong vinegar taste that spread through the soup. This was a filling meal and at $5.99.
I also ordered something from the Guilin Country-Side Style Dishes. I got the Guilin Special Preserved Duck. I’ve had the Hunan version of preserved duck before. This was nothing like the Hunan preparation. The Hunan duck is like Prosciutto. What arrived at my table looked like, well, duck. It was topped with peanuts and had nice flavored jus all around it. It didn’t taste preserved at all. No excess saltiness. The meat showed no signs of drying or pickling. It appeared to be just a well seasoned stewed duck (maybe that was the point.)
I’m glad I returned to Dandan’s Guilin Rice Noodles. It’s authentic, rustic, and very affordable. My entire meal of 3 appetizers and two main dishes came out to $20.28.
Dandan's Guilin Rice Noodles
140 W Valley Blvd
Ste 203
San Gabriel, CA 91778
(626) 307-1989
For my pics click the link below
http://tocookandeatinla.blogspot.com/2009/07/spicy-and-sour-rice-noodles-at-dandans.html
Mama's Lu Dumpling House with Pics
Should point out that at Mama's Lu it appears as "Juicy Pork Dumpling" and "Xia Long Bao" doesn't appear anywhere on the menu (see pics).
Giang Nan with Pics
That is correct. But it appears in most restaurant menus as either Pork Rump or Pork Pump. Giang Nan calls it Pork Knuckle. Haven't come across any place that calls it "pork shin" on the menu.
Question for those who like to add butter to your steaks ...
Close but wrong part of the cow. Beef Marrow, either in sauce or just lightly blanched, that'll really do it
Duck Tongues at Phoenix Inn w/ Pics
The mark of a good Peking Duck house is the number of dishes featuring other parts of the duck!
