Late Lunch in Rowland/Hacienda Heights

Glad to join the community… I’ve been lurking, but since I live in OC now and rarely make it out to LA, its been hard to join in the discussion.

Any late lunch specials (up to 4pm) in the Rowland area? Nearby places to pick up some snacks for an evening at the Hollywood Bowl?

Not food-related: We’ll be taking the Park & Ride bus to the Bowl. Advice on exactly WHERE to park for the Park and Ride? The instructions are frustratingly vague: “Schabarum Regional Park, 17250 E. Colima Rd. and Azusa Ave. (parking off Colima Rd.). Bus stop in parking lot.”

1 Like

Hi @jaykayen,

Welcome to FTC! :slight_smile: People are always welcome to join even if they are in the OC. People like @Porthos @OCSteve post about OC restaurants all the time; join the fun. :wink:

Your post threw me off at first, because I read “in the Rowland area?” (thinking Rowland Heights?) and then “for an evening at the Hollywood Bowl”… and I’m thinking, Rowland Heights isn’t even near the Hollywood Bowl, LOL.

If you’re looking for good spots in Hacienda Heights and Rowland Heights then I’ll help fire up the bat signal: @ipsedixit @chandavkl @TonyC and others know the area pretty well.

1 Like

Schabarum Regional Park is right across the street from Puente Hills Mall on Colima. When you pull in, there is a booth where someone will tell you where to park.

1 Like

Kitty corner from this parking lot is a big strip mall with a Ranch 99. Go to Earthen. Here is another thread about what to order there.

1 Like

Welcome @jaykayen! Yes, as @Chowseeker1999 said, there are a fiew of us that post on restaurants in Orange county. We would love to have more of a voice down here, so post away!

1 Like

Definitely target the shopping centers at the intersection of Azusa and Colima since they’re right next to your parking. For snacks go to 85 Degrees in the center on the SW corner. (Earthen is in the NW corner center.) No need to give you any recs for 85 Degrees–just walk in and let your eyes guide you. Shanghailander in the same center as Earthen, but in a freestanding building, is one of the best Shanghai places in the LA area.

Here are some suggestions (because I work at the pleasure of her highness, @Chowseeker1999) based on your criteria - late lunch and nearby places to pick snacks for an evening at the Bowl.

Lunch

Earthen - open until 3:30 (closed on Tuesdays).
Get the House Chicken, some steamed veggies dumplings the 3 flavor noodles, and then wash it all down with some 1000 year old eggs.

Los Cabos
Ceviche is good, and try the Empapelado, which I’ve never really had anywhere but here me thinks.

Sinbala
Sausages, eel rice, and pan-fried turnips are always good bets, and sometimes the dry chicken noodle is good too

Snacks
Nijiya Market on Colima in City of Industry is always a good place to pick up some goodies. Japanese Kit Kats FTW! There’s also places like 85 C Bakery or JJ Bakery (both in Hacienda Heights) if you want to some Taiwanese breads and sweets, (egg tarts travel well, for what it’s worth, and even when they don’t they’re still pretty tasty).

And if you’ve read this far, I think you should definitely think about getting some mochi balls and durian rolls from Phoenix Boutique on Colima in Rowland Heights.

1 Like

will all those suggestions travel well on a park & ride bus? the issues of palatability and… aromatics come to mind.

the shandong chicken would probably be ok, cold dumplings may not be so appealing (though i know YOU like them). ditto on the ceviche which would continue to denature in the “cooking” solution and possibly get more than a little mushy. at least you didn’t suggest the stinky tofu which might cause fellow bus riders to assume somewhat quizzical facial expressions while questioning one’s hygiene, etc…

I’m presuming the OP is going to eat lunch and then do the park and ride to the Bowl. The snacks, on the other hand, must make the trek on the Park & Ride to the Bowl, hence the separate segmented discussions.

I could be wrong however, as reading comprehension was never part of the curriculum in my ESL classes.

the implications of the separation into categories of lunch and snacks eluded me. never mind.

Yeah, not sure I would recommend traveling with things like ceviche, 1000 year old eggs or pan-fried turnips.

The snacks are separate!

Midoh Japanese Kitchen - very good gyutan and tonkatsu

Jun Ka Bok - delicious pork rib stew

Earthen - green onion pancake, house chicken and fish dumplings

Shanghailander - pork with brown sauce, eggplant w/ shrimp paste, sheng jian bao

Snacks:
Nijiya - Fugetsu Do peanut butter filled mochi

O’ My Buns - cinnamon walnut bun

Hong Kong Fishball House and Yi Mei.

To me this is one of the best side by side food crawl in in SGV.

Rolling Wok, 3 item combo with soup and rice is $6. One of the best deals in SGV. Make sure one of the items is the fried salmon.

Lu’s Garden, sweet potato porridge with squid and various veggie dishes

It’s also one of the most disgusting deals in the SGV.