Update 2:
While the Westside has many wonderful things, one thing it does not have is Cindy’s Kitchen. We were chatting with some friends and suddenly, we found ourselves heading east. Time for a revisit to Cindy’s Kitchen! 
With the So Cal Summer in full effect, walking into Cindy’s we were thankful for their wonderful selection of 31(!) different types of Chilled Stewed / Little Appetizers (Lu Wei / Hsiao Tsai) to choose from.
Duck Gizzard with Green Onions:
The Chilled Stewed Duck Gizzards with Green Onion were a unique Lu Wei appetizer we hadn’t seen before prior to Cindy’s Kitchen. A nice meaty chew, firm but pliable with a good long-stewed flavor, this was a nice contrast to the rest of our dishes.
Pork Ear with Green Onions:
Probably one of the best renditions of Chilled Pork Ears in L.A., this was fresh, cool, refreshing, with a nice gelatinous chew, and a delicate crunch from the cartilage with a good stewed flavor that never ventures too salty like some versions. Excellent! 
Pork Stomach with Pickled Vegetables:
What’s so incredible about Cindy’s Kitchen’s version of this Chilled Hsiao Tsai is that the Pork Stomach is smoked and stewed. There’s an amazing smokiness, tenderness, and the Housemade Pickled Vegetables provide a slight piquant contrast to keep the dish lively. Delicious! (@Xochitl @theoffalo and other Offal fans.)
Ground Pork & Mushroom Over Rice:
As incredible as before! 
Finely chopped Stewed Pork Belly, Mushrooms and Taiwanese magic: Chef Ling’s version of this Pork & Mushroom Rice is incredible in its balance: It’s got just the right amount of salinity (too many versions of this taste like they just dump in Soy Sauce and let it cook), not too salty, tasting freshly made (not reheated leftovers like some places), a beautiful layering of lean and fatty Stewed Pork finely diced up to help with the mouthfeel, the Mushrooms give it that true deep, deep savory crave-worthy, drool-worthy quality and it tastes like decades and decades of cooking Taiwanese food culminating in this one dish.
It is outstanding!
Sauteed “A” Vegetable with Garlic:
Nice Wok work, great saute for these “A” Vegetables with a good smack of Garlic in each bite.
Zha Jiang Mian - Soybean Dry Noodles:
As before, notice how finely chopped the ingredients in the Zha Jiang Mian (Soybean Dry Noodles) are. It reflects a kitchen that cares about the quality of its product. Mix it all together:
Not too sweet, not too salty, not too heavy or gloppy like some versions of Zha Jiang Mian have turned out. The Bean Sprouts, Cucumber slivers and the finely chopped up Marinated Ground Pork, Firm Tofu in their Housemade Zha Jiang Sauce all combine together to create a bowl of wonderfully pleasing deliciousness!
Easily our favorite Zha Jiang Mian in L.A. right now! (Thanks again @ipsedixit!)
Pork, Leek & Shrimp Dumplings:
A pleasant surprise from our initial visits, Cindy’s Kitchen makes their Dumplings from scratch, in-house, and their Pork, Leek & Shrimp Dumplings are the ones to try at least once. A beautiful rustic, medium-thick Dumpling skin. But what really makes these Dumplings shine is some unique convergence of the Marinated Ground Pork, Leeks and Shrimp. It’s more than the sum of its parts; delicious!
Another Visit:
Pork Ear with Green Onions:
Fresh, snappy, delicious.
Pickled Bamboo Shoots:
Their Pickled Bamboo Shoots Chilled Appetizer is also another standout item. When you think “pickled” tartness comes to mind, but Chef Ling’s version falls in the vein of something more along the lines of a wonderful Sauteed Bamboo Shoots with bits of their Pickled Greens. These are Young Bamboo so it’s really tender, beautifully seasoned and refreshing served chilled!
Spicy Tofu:
Another of their 31 selections of Lu Wei / Hsiao Tsai (Chilled Stewed / Little Dishes), the simply named Spicy Tofu is so much more than that. They make their version in-house, and it’s got a nice firm, but rough-fried exterior with a tender interior. The Housemade Spicy Chili Oil they marinate their Tofu in is incredible! It’s nuanced, not just pure burn-your-mouth Chili heat, but more aromatic with a nice gentle spiciness, and when served chilled in this Summer weather? So good!
Deep Fried Pork Intestine with Chili:
Again, we’re not usually Offal fans, but Cindy’s Kitchen’s Deep Fried Pork Intestines with Chili might very well be the most delicious preparation of Pork Intestines in L.A. right now (especially since Raku’s Intestine Kushiyaki are gone (RIP)):
Deep fried, crispy exterior, tender interior with fragrant Dried Chili Peppers and Sesame Seeds and Chili Oil. It’s very much in the style of the Szechuan Fried Spicy Chili Chicken (La Zi Ji) but with Pork Intestines. And it doesn’t have any of the funky Offal taste to it. Delicious! (@Xochitl @PorkyBelly @CiaoBob and others.)
Beef Stew & Tendon Noodle Soup (w/ Thick Noodles):
I didn’t grow up with a Taiwanese Grandma to make me Homemade Beef Noodle Soup like @JeetKuneBao (lucky!), but I think Cindy’s Kitchen’s Beef Noodle Soup might be our favorite Taiwanese version of Beef Noodle Soup we’ve tried. I love Corner Beef Noodle House’s version - it is much more complex and spice & herb driven, but they’re getting sloppier and sloppier, giving you massive uncut “steaks” of Beef Shank and Tendon, with no knife or fork, you’re basically expected to chew and rip off bites of the Beef from the long slab-strips, but I digress - Cindy’s version is simpler, but very pure.
There’s a genuine taste and quality to this bowl of joy: The tender, long-stewed Beef Shank pieces and Beef Tendon pieces are bite sized and delicious. Always tasting fresh (cooked that day, not reheated), with a balanced flavor that’s not too salty, and not drowning in MSG either.
You have an option for Thin or Thick Noodles (we took @ipsedixit’s advice and go with Thick Noodles), and don’t forget to add in some of their Housemade Pickled Vegetables:
Take a spoonful of the cooked-for-hours Beef Broth, some Noodles, a bit of the Stewed Beef Shank or Beef Tendon and it’s just happiness! Really satisfying, crave-worthy and not too heavy. SO GOOD!
Hometown Braised Pork Belly:
We were thinking of @PorkyBelly when ordering this dish: Chef Ling’s Hometown Braised Pork Belly is mostly really tender, nicely stewed with a great balance of fatty and lean Pork. It leans on the pure savory-stewed side (as opposed to some versions that have a bit of sweetness as well (like Shanghai versions)). We had a couple pieces that were tough and meaty (I’m thinking it’s the edge pieces, sitting at the edge of the pot / bottom), but the vast majority were great.
Another Visit:
Pork Ear with Green Onions:
Pickled Bamboo Shoots:
As great as the previous visit.
Cucumber Salad:
Their Cucumber Salad (another of the 31 Chilled Appetizers) were crisp, crunchy, snappy, not too salty, nor too vinegary.
Ground Pork & Mushroom Over Rice:
This is the type of dish that would fit the definition of drool-worthy: As tasty as before, with the finely diced up Stewed Pork Belly (lean and fatty Stewed Pork), Mushrooms and their balanced, Soy Sauce-based Stewed Gravy. This was incredible, yet again! (They are thankfully consistently great.)
Beef Stew & Tendon Noodle Soup (w/ Thick Noodles):
I think their Beef Noodle Soup is getting better and better. As amazing as before, succulent, tender, but meaty morsels of Stewed Beef Shank and Beef Tendon, some Bok Choy, their Housemade Pickled Vegetables, that incredible long-cooked Beef Broth and Thick Noodles = JOY!
Cindy’s Kitchen continues to be a bastion for delicious Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup, Handmade Dumplings, Zha Jiang Mian (Soybean Dry Noodles), and the absurd Ground Pork & Mushroom Rice. Their 31 different Lu Wei / Hsiao Tsai (Chilled Stewed / Little Dishes) are always vibrant and fresh, and some of the best selection around. This tiny mom & pop hole-in-the-wall continues to delight and deliver great food at reasonable prices, and some of the best bites we’ve had this year.
Cindy’s Kitchen
16409 Colima Rd.
Hacienda Heights, CA 91745
Tel: (626) 961-0789