There is no shame in liking Slippery Shrimp … or maybe it’s that there’s nowhere near enough shame to go around; we went there with a relative from Colorado, and every table but one that we passed had a platter of that. And she fell for it too. Authentic, hell no, but I could put it in my pants.
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We used to go to Yang Chow when they opened since they, and Plum Tree, served this newfangled non-Cantonese food that we weren’t used to. I remember they had a creamy minced chicken dish that was quite good.
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I actually had my first visit to Yang Chow last year and was pleasantly surprised. Very tasty american chinese food, in the same way that Uncle Jon’s Ham & Eggs is very tasty.
I started going to Yang Chow in the first few days after it opened in 1977. Went for lunch maybe twice a month for the next 2 years as I worked in Lincoln Heights at the time. I actually became somewhat friendly with one of the sons, who worked there for a short time but moved to Africa and then Hong Kong.
I’ve always found the negativity about Yang Chow to be unfortunate. I assume it’s because they found a groove and stuck to it when the world of regional Chinese cuisine was exploding, although I always enjoyed their food. I moved away from LA in late '79 but moved back in '82. We’d drive up to Yang Chow from OC several times a year and would also visit the Canoga Park location with friends who lived in the West Valley. Msybe it’s the nostalgia, but I think they’re just fine as they are.
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I think the argument can be made that yang chow IS serving regional Chinese - that region just happens to be America.
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It’s definitely a “thing”.
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Don’t forget that times changes and things evolve. Today Paul’s Kitchen is seen as the quintessential old style Americanized Chinese food, but 50 years ago that was comfort food for us Toishanese Americans.
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Paul’s and Man Fook Low were each once a month through the '70’s for me. Also managed to fit in New Moon once in a while.
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My most memorable restaurant in the late 70s is a hole in the wall call Lok Yu (陸羽). Back then it had like 5 small tables with folding round chair. It’s a dive but they served the best beef chow fun (干炒牛河). Still now very few restaurant can match their flavor.
They expanded with a couple restaurants in SGV/RH in the 80s. That only lasted a few years. Quality had gone down hill once they moved away from Chinatown.
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[quote=“chandavkl, post:35, topic:4372”]
Vietnamese place (Vien Dongs) in the same little mall.
[/quote]I think it was the first place I had a fresh spring roll. When a couple of posters debated whether there were any Vietnamese places in Chinatown I thought of that place, but didn’t know the name.
[quote=“chandavkl, post:42, topic:4372”]
Plum Tree
[/quote]Oh my goodness. This thread is a fun memory trigger.
“yang chow IS serving regional Chinese - that region just happens to be America.”
The Pasadena one was the default source for Chinese when Mrs. O’s parents were still with us. If it was us plus bro-in-law’s family we’d all go and take a big table, otherwise Dad would call in an order on his card and we’d pick it up on the way over. It always included one Orange Beef and two Slippery Shrimp.
Most surprising dish I had there was the sautéed spinach the younger niece ordered one night. Nothing fancy about it except its perfection. Goes great with that shrimp …
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speaking of chow fun, why are the rice noodles used here in SoCal narrower than the chow funs i used to get in NYC and SF?
i remember being pointed to Mon Kee years ago…i had some excellent shrimp w/black bean sauce meals there back in the day!
Well I haven’t noticed a difference between chow fun here and in SF and NY, all locations where I commonly eat chow fun. However perhaps a little bit of history of chow fun production in LA might provide a clue for your question. The chow fun I grew up with here in LA through the 50s, 60s, 70s, and even the 80s was a different product from what we’ve seen more recently. The main purveyor was a place called Bicycle Lee in Chinatown, the noodle was wider that what we see now, and in hindsight it was also inferior to today’s chow fun noodle in that it was a little rough and crumbly. What changed was that starting probably in the 80s, when the Vietnamese started manufacturing chow fun noodles. Their version added starch to the rice flour, producing a smoother, springier rice noodle, and a noodle that was not as wide as the old style, rice flour only noodle. Don’t know if the Vietnamese make the rice noodles in SF and NY these days so I can’t address what has gone on there.
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thanks for the info, chandavkl! i dont remember anything crumbly about the wider noodle that i had more “fun” eating…interesting that the Vietnamese started the noodle making with starch…from now on, when i plan on eating chow fun, im taking a ruler
now that i think about your knowledge, im suddenly feeling overtaken by a desire to begin a chow fun quest!
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I grew up in Chinatown, arriving in the early 80’s. Mom never moved out, so I’m there a couple of times a year for family visits. I haven’t set food in the Chinatown Market in years, if not, decades. So I have no memory of this restaurant.
The fantastic restaurant and food scene in SGV is amazing. But sure it’s sad there isn’t enough support in LA for two thriving Chinatowns like in NYC with downtown and Flushing. Having said that, when I visit, almost every outing is in SGV. My mom laments it’s difficult for Chinese restaurants to thrive in Chinatown because the regulars are seniors from the neighborhood and the senior housing buildings and they won’t/can’t pay for good food.
Well as one New Yorker pointed out, the area of the SGV dominated by Chinese restaurants is bigger than all of Manhattan. With a “Chinatown” that big, chances for another significant Chinatown in LA are not likely.
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I’d argue that the Alhambra/Monterey Park area is one Chinatown and the Hacienda area is another. They are certainly not linked by anything other than traffic.
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