That’s Ian, I think, and he’s only helping out with service when I last spoke with Ryan.
Edit: Perhaps that cook in the picture quit and he’s not the servicing person I saw at Needle.
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Almond Jello mystery solved?
Your Char Siu looks delish. Was “each piece perfectly and evenly cut” by you? Was it a DIY reheat?
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the char siu wasn’t the diy, so it was cut by chef ryan.
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Oyster Sauce Beef! God can you imagine eating that with a bowl of steam rice and a plate of ong choy? Drooling
@moonboy403 eat this for me please lol
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hibiscus fruit iced tea (lightly sweetened) | hibiscus, rose hips, apple, citrus peels, grapes, pineapple, and mint
It’s like a more refreshing version of a Hawaiian fruit punch without the artificial flavorings.
char siu fried rice | char siu, long bean, egg, rice, scallion
Everything is spot on this time!
milk tea | evaporated milk, organic milk, needle’s signature black tea blend
Prominent tea aroma and not too sweet. I like it!
chicken sandwich | jidori chicken leg quarter, black pepper sauce, lettuce, tomato, milk bread
We start off with a very high quality toasted milk bun that has tons of springiness and doesn’t compress into nothing when I squeeze down the sandwich. Next, chicken is cooked to perfection here. Skin is crispy and flesh is as juicy as it can be! Adding to that, there are nice crunch from the fresh lettuce ,brightness from the tomato, and a delicate black pepper sauce that brought everything together. It’s a lovely sandwich overall.
fries | ketchup
Crunchy!
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I could smell that fried rice from my iPhone
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beef & onion | first light grass-fed wagyu bavette, onion, scallion, bell pepper, oyster sauce
Simple but tasty especially with use of quality ingredients.
Char city. These beef slices are hard seared on one side rather than being dragged through oil. You get better char and more flavor with hard sear but the tradeoff is a more rough mouthfeel. Is it too greedy to ask for both?
Even cutting of all bell peppers reflects the restaurant’s excellent attention to detail.
Same with onion but the dish will be even better with more charred edges.
I think the flap meat slices can be cut a bit thicker so there’s a better bite and they’re less likely to be broken up. On the other hand, these are grass fed so they’re less marbled and they might not be as tender unless baking soda’s used. Decisions. Decisions!
Of course I got some of that finely cooked jasmine rice to go along with the dish.
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What a breakdown 
Looks like an awesome dish.
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Yay! They’re rockin’ a little patio action.
Delicious looking reports @moonboy403. I trust your “spot on” on the fried rice. 
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sitch in the patio 
Not good. Sorry. Thanks for taking one for the team.
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The non-native Aedes mosquito has likely become endemic to Silver Lake / Atwater / Frogtown by now. The critters are more aggressive than our usually crepuscular native Culex mosquito species, and they prefer to target the ankle area. Also, Aedes needs less standing water in order to breed. Oh, and they’re more likely to carry Zika, Chikungunya, and dengue.
Thanks, 2020. #CS1999wasaprophetnotapariah
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Blue Star Donut X Needle
Blue Star
blueberry bourbon basil cake donut (v)
maple bacon donut
passion fruit cake donut (v)
Needle
nitro red bean ice | red bean, oat milk, crushed ice
It’s my second time trying this drink that’s a riff off of the commonly found red bean ice in Hong Kong. Just as before, there’s a nice oat flavor that’s cleaner than the traditional use of evaporated milk. As for the red beans that are cooked down in rock sugar, they’re tender with a tiny bite but I personally prefer that they’re cooked down a bit more so they’re creamier and more velvety. Despite my preference, this red bean variation is still a nice drink.
Remember to mix em up.
fatty char siu & jasmine rice | salmon creek farms pork shoulder, honey glaze, byofe (bring your own fried egg)
Rice and fried egg are perfect pairings for these beautifully done char siu.
Crispy and golden edges. BYOFE. Desperate time calls for desperate measures. 
Mirror glaze 
Charred in spots, lovely chew, and just the right amount of sweetness to balance the savory flavor. Gorgeous stuff as usual.
thao family farm yu choy | minced pork, dried shiitake, preserved radish, water chestnut
I rarely order veg because I’m a carnivore but the lil @JeetKuneBao in my head was whispering VEG the whole time I was placing my order. I just had to oblige. I didn’t have much expectations for this dish since it’s just veg BUT DAMN WAS I WRONG.
This dish is fucking good! These yu choy is much better than what I get from 99 Ranch with a much more crunchy yet tender consistency while still carrying that classic grassy flavor with subtle sweetness. But the real MVP is the stir fry minced pork and chopped up bits of ingredients that provide an explosion of flavors in my mouth. These complex sweet and salty notes are reminiscent of a great Cantonese steamed meatloaf with an entirely new array of textures. Between the 4 ingredients in the toppings, each provided a very distinct mouthfeel. There is crisp crunch from the water chestnut, slightly chewy but still crunchy texture from the preserved radish (choi poh), chewy minced pork, and soft and spongy quality with the shroom.
These go superbly well with rice! I wouldn’t mind ordering only the yu choy dish with rice and go to town.
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Wow! Dude those char siu pics really gives it the justice it deserves unlike my pics that I took with a potato iPhone 8. Look at that glistening.
That Yu Choy dish looks great and to come up with a new canto dish is genius.
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It’s like flavoring the veg with Cantonese steamed meatloaf! I’m positive that you’ll love it as much as I did.
For those who aren’t sure what Canto steamed meatloaf is, here’s one that I stole off of Google:
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patio dining for takeout orders is now open
nice attention to detail in the packaging
char siu fried rice - char siu, long bean, egg, rice, scallion
clumpless, like a fresh, poop-free, litter box. really liked the bites of char siu.
beef & onion - first light grass-fed wagyu bavette, onion, scallion, bell pepper, oyster sauce
@moonboy403 went over the technical details, I wouldn’t have minded if this was a bit more seasoned.
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Looks like the beef slices are cut a bit thicker than mine. I personally much prefer the yu choy.