Thanks for the report back @paranoidgarliclover. 
The most important takeaway for me was what you said that if this was in the SGV it’d be in the unmemorable but decent category. Now I have a good gauge.
And as you said, if we didn’t feel like driving out to the SGV then this is great for the area LOL. Thanks.
Yes, Northern Cafe is in the same shopping center as Earthen in Hacienda Heights. I would go to Earthen 9 out of 10 times in that shopping center. The 10th would be Tasty Noodle (unrelated to the San Gabriel restaurant of the same name, related to the Irvine restaurant of the same name).
Thanks for the perspective @chandavkl. I’ve been to Earthen once, so that also helps me understand better.
Yes, I think tempered expectations might help to prevent disappointment. I’ve been to ROC once and have never been tempted to return. The dishes there, while similar appearance-wise to what I want to eat, taste distinctly different enough that I don’t think someone would actually find it all that similar to the stuff in the SGV (even if they had a relatively underdeveloped palate for subtle differences in Chinese food).
The stuff at Northern Cafe will scratch the itch maybe 75% of the time for me, which, given how bad traffic is and how much gas costs, means I’ll probably go a couple of times a month.
OTOH, I’d be going to Mian like all the time if I lived close by and if my intestines could handle it; even living on the other side of town, I actively crave it.
Still, you gotta walk b/f you can run, so I think that Qin West and Northern Cafe means that Westwood has very decent affordable options for Chinese food. I’m pretty happy.
I feel the same way about ROC. The place I scratch my itch on the Westside is Meizhou Dongpo, but it’s not what I would call affordable. I think I’m going to try Northern Cafe today.
BTW, in Westwood Village proper, there’s also Top Leaf.
Dave also mentioned Koala T earlier in the thread (which I walked by yesterday for the first time). Have you been to either place? What do you think of them?
Koala T is kind of fusiony and with the opening of Northern Cafe there’s probably no need to go there unless you want to hang out with all the kids.
Never been to Koala T but Top Leaf is a’ight. I’ve tried the three-cup chicken and mapo tofu. Both are solid but not spectacular. The mapo tofu is more Taiwanese style than Sichuan. Not as spicy or numbing as I like.
Totally agree that the soup in xiao long bao is really missing something. Spicy shrimp wonton was also lacking flavor and had a very gummy wrapper.
OTOH, the pan fried pork and cabbage dumplings were really quite tasty.
Noodles very average.
Tried Northern Cafe yesterday. On the positive side, I thought the cumin lamb was outstanding. Studded with chilis, cumin seeds, and chunks of garlic. I would definitely order this again.
On the downside, the mapo tofu was awful. Watery and insipid with no meat. We ended up mixing the tofu with the cumin lamb just to give it flavor. Scallion pancake was also disappointing. Bland and chewy.
Really wanted to try the Chongqing chicken but they were completely out of chicken. I will definitely be back to try that dish as well as the potstickers, which looked pretty tasty.
Agreed, XLB broth lacking and filling was kinda homogeneously mushy. I asked for ginger and they actually julienned some up in the kitchen (guess they don’t provide standard). That helped.
https://instagram.com/p/BFZ5NmSA-rs/
The spicy shrimp wonton skins I had were fine, maybe not as “q” but not too overdone. Not very spicy though but I guess that should be expected. Liked the black bean sauce on the table with it.
https://instagram.com/p/BFZ--lmA-pc/
I started off going out in search of rice noodles to scratch an itch–was thinking boat noodles at Sapp or Luv2Eat–but didn’t feel like driving far, so I detoured to NC to check it out. Didn’t really do it for my specific craving so I bang-banged it to Qin West after and had a Guilin Soup…
@chandavkl and @Bigmouth: thanks for the info on the other restaurants. Bigmouth, does mapo tofu normally prominently feature meat? I’m just trying to remember the few times I’ve had it, and I can’t remember it having a lot of meat. Sorry to hear about the sauce, though. 
They do have trays w/ different chili oils, FYI.
@CiaoBob: which noodle dish(es) did you have?
Ground meat.
Sort of like ragù with cubed tofu mixed into it.
one of the chili oils they offer has salty black beans mixed in.
i LOVE that condiment, especially when mixed with the mapo tofu that you didn’t like.
@ipsedixit: gracias.
@westsidegal: I assume you meant to respond to Bigmouth (since I didn’t have the mapo tofu). I think I only tried the version of the oil you described (does the red one have a vinegar-y taste to it? I think partner tried it and said it was a little sour), and I did indeed like it. What else did you try there?
Traditionally, yes, though I’ve had great versions without meat, too. Real mapo tofu is spicy and flavorful with plenty of chili, ginger, garlic, and fermented black bean. This was tofu in red water. If you want to try real mapo tofu without driving to the SGV, go to Meizhou Dongpo. Like night and day.
That’s good to know but those ingredients should be part of the sauce to begin with. Adding all the spices to a dish after it’s been cooked is never the same. Not to mention, we got our food to go, so that wasn’t an option. Anyway, lesson learned. I just won’t order the mapo tofu there again.
the mapo tofu was the only item i had.
similar in style to the mapo tofu at qin.
“as served” the qin version was more flavorful,
but WITH that GREAT chili paste, the northern cafe version was far better.
qin’s chili paste is not in the same league
FWIW, I found the mapo tofu at Qin and Northern Cafe about equally disappointing “as served.”
I’ve had mapo tofu maybe 2-3 times in the SGV, but all my other experiences come from my mom making it at home from a mix. I’ve never seen a thin sauce in any prep, though, so that’s disappointing to hear.
I think the menu at Northern is simply too extensive for them to do all of the dishes (or even a majority) well. I think I’ll eventually whittle down the menu to a few essential dishes that I like. 
Will have to try Meizhou Dongpo. Partner and I walked by and took a look at the menu once when we were looking for a casual dinner after a movie. Needless to say, the prices weren’t casual for us, so we didn’t try it. What do you recommend there? I think @CiaoBob also enjoyed the food there?
Are you joking @paranoidgarliclover? Or are you just being overly kind to them in their fledgling weeks?
Northern’s menu is not particularly large for a fucking Western menu - let alone a Chinese menu - which often run to the hundreds of dishes, all of which I expect to be prepared well.