Pearl River Deli - Chinatown

& MP outlet > Arcadia

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2 floors! I remember going there as a kid looking at everything on the second floor. The smell of herbs and incense I always attach to Chinatowns (LA, SF, NY). I liked looking at the statues and altars. Miss that place itā€™s not the same Far East Plaza.

They should just turn the Wing Hop Fung to a epic food court or food hall.

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I remember working at their warehouse in high school making less than minimum wage and slaving for long hours. But yes, I like going to Wing Hop Fung too!

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@JLeeā€™s BBC 2.0 was tender and scrumptious, much improved from before. the salt levels and familiar flavors were on point. is there a word for noodle socarrat?
if not Iā€™m coining ā€œnoodarratā€ because this dish had it.

typhoon soft shell shrimp
just as good as before

hakka pork belly
this was porky, fatty, and dank (in a good way).

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@JLee when are you making Hakka noods?

Iā€™m not sure if it was Wing Hop Fung. This place was more like Bargain Fair meets kitschy gift shop. I donā€™t remember herbs & ginseng, etc. It was where Lasa is/was(?) and I think part of HRā€™s.

It was one of my happy places. :hearts:

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Great looking meal @PorkyBelly!

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Bargain Fair? The one in Montebello near the Catholic Church?
Waitā€¦ was Bargain Fair a chain?

Thereā€™s one on Beverly Blvd & Fairfax Ave. next to the old movie theatre.

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I dropped in this weekend to catch the weekend specials.
Typhoon Shelter Shrimp - I adore this dishā€¦itā€™s one of my favorite shrimp dishes ever. It reminds me of the salt and pepper shrimp I had growing up but with more flavorā€¦and these shrimp shells are easier to eat because of the soft shells.


Black Bean Clams with Crispy Noodles - You had me at crispy noodlesā€¦also black bean and clams. This rendition is well balanced and overcame the saltiness from the last. Kudos to the PRD teamā€¦they knew I was going to drive home before I could eat, so they packed the noodles separately from the clams and sauce. I came home and rewarmed/crisp the noodles in the toaster oven before pouring the clams and sauce over. It was excellent and my chowpup happily helped me finished my lunch.

Hakka Pork Belly Bao - Took a page from @chrisheiā€™s book and asked for everything to be packed separately so they wouldnā€™t get soggy on the ride home. The family loved this. Chef @JLeeā€™s bao were light and fluffy and just the right amount of sweet to balance out the luscious pork belly and mustard greens. This one was consumed fastā€¦no photosā€¦sorry.

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As someone who grew up there, Far East Plaza was the fancy part of Chinatown!

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My friends he done it! Sweet and Sour Pork! Like steamed whole fish, chow fun, ha gowā€¦another sign of a great Canto chef is S&P!

@moonboy403 @beefnoguy

Damn pork patty too

And Hainan Chicken is back thus weekend

@JLee going hard! Saiyan!

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I wonder why no salted fish?

Because I want to see how it taste with anchovies because I really like them and in concept they are a similar product to Chinese salted fish

Also Iā€™m still working on my own salted fish.

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JLee - sorry guys no siu mai itā€™s a pain in the ass

Also JLee - I am salting my own fish

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Iā€™m guessing there is a difference in the amount of active time each of those projects takes.

image

Will it be kinda like this in flavor profile?

Iā€™m not sure what @JLee is aiming for but in my personal experience the salted fish in steamed pork and salted fish fried rice is this one laid out by Woks of Life.

The canned black bean fish is good but different- smaller, less potent, and much more crumbly in texture. Iā€™ve looked a few times for DIY salted fish instructions and was surprised to find the recipes are a little thin on the ground and very vague (in english, anyway).

Considering how much a order of siumai normally costs in a restaurant? At Lunasia its around $6, would you be willing to pay $8 for an order because for me thatā€™s how much Iā€™d want to charge to make it worth my time.

Salting fish takes very little active time, itā€™s mostly passive.

But whatever I donā€™t need to justify my motivations I cook whatever I feel like since itā€™s my restaurant, thereā€™s plenty of places to get siumai around town and Iā€™m not interested in selling it for the highest price around town if itā€™s not the best also so thereā€™s that too.

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Gah! Flashbacks to childhood when this was a staple pantry item for emergency meals. Mom would stretch a can of this, pot of white rice and some steamed veggies for a family dinner.

Iā€™m guessing people here would pay it. Youā€™d probably get some pushback from other places. Considering the labor and the higher quality ingredients you use, think thatā€™s reasonable. Guess it just depends on if you feel the pushback from other places is worth it. You have a good rep but you never know what might trigger backlash from hipster foodies.

Once in a while Mom would put a salted duck egg with the steamed pork patty. I always enjoyed that.

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