I’ve been trying to remember the name of the old Chinese (Cantonese) restaurant that was on Pico Blvd. just East of Overland on the North side of the street. My wife thinks it was Wan Q but wasn’t Wan Q near Robertson? Same time frame though.
Nothing I know of fits that description going back to the 70s. Wan-Q was near Robertson. Song Hee was just west of Westwood Bl., and Hoi Ping just east of Beverly Dr.
Thanks. We went to Wan Q a lot so we could just be ‘mis-remembering’.
1 Like
Do it!
1 Like
Thread created
3 Likes
Googling has revealed Twin Dragon at Pico and Holt, but that’s even farther East. 
1 Like
What’s the story of Hu’s Szechwan on National (Palms)? Its facade looks positively antediluvian.
1 Like
perhaps mai szechuan would make an appropriate response to hu’s szechwan.
It’s a bucolic Sichuan joint run by a curmudgeonly old-timer from prelapsarian days of yore.
1 Like
Thanks man.
At one time it was the best Chinese option on the entire Westside.
2 Likes
Thank you chandavkl.
While the SGV need not worry, the food is still good at Hu’s, nice spicy wontons, better than average KPC and twice-cooked pork.
1 Like
I have a chef friend who loves that place. Only been once myself. Small family owned place that has been around forever. Don’t know enough to comment on the food myself
love that!
1 Like
Going back maybe 40 years ago I had a Chinese client who lived in Malibu and every time he came into our Century City office he’d drop by there and also rave about the food. Prior to 1970 there wasn’t any non-Cantonese Chinese food on the Westside (or for that matter, anywhere in LA) except for Twin Dragon. Then in the 1970s with the change in immigration laws, the faux Szechuan/Hunan craze radiated out of New York and swept across the country, and I presume Hu’s Szechuan was part of this movement. It was strictly geared to non-Chinese diners as Chinese diners were few on the Westside, but the cook had a nice touch and we even used them to cater some of our meetings over the years.
3 Likes
Your historical perspectives are much appreciated! Speaking of non-Cantonese: For how many years did Hunan Tasty (or was it Hunan Taste?) operate on the corner of Olympic & San Vicente?
And how do you like the food from Hu’s these days? Strictly for nostalgia’s sake, or chow-worthy?
Do they do a good sweet and sour pork?
I’m thinking maybe 35 years, including the 2012 flip from Hunan Taste to Hunan Tasty, ending with the Fortune House replacement in 2017. Haven’t been to Hu’s in probably 15 years, nor do I have any interest in going back. First of all we had the 1990s openings of really good Westside Chinese restaurants starting with places like Royal Star, J R Seafood and VIP Harbor Seafood and going on from there. But on top of that, the way Chinese food evolves there’s little sense in going back to the past, best demonstrated by my experience with a restaurant called Kam Lok in SF Chinatown. It opened up in the late1970s at a time where SF Chinese food was way ahead of LA and Angelinos would make regular Chinese food runs to the Bay Area. My wife and I flew up one Saturday morning, ate lunch and dinner there, and then flew back that night, that’s how good the food was. Never went back again, though, because every subsequent visit to SF we’d hear about a new and better place opening up. But out of curiosity we went back 2 years ago. Walked into the restaurant and it was like walking into a time warp. Same setup, same menu, and as we found out, same owner/cook. Full of older diners which made me wonder if some of them were in the dining room my last visit 40 years previously. But the food wasn’t very good (and Mrs. Chandavkl scolded me for going back there). I’m sure it’s not that the cook lost his touch, but rather he just didn’t improve. And that’s also why I never went back to Hu’s.
5 Likes