Westfield santa anita

hello you fine people:

SWMBO is so excited about checking out the hep stores at the westfield santa anita mall.
i’m even more excited, because i don’t have to go. woo woo.

along with the tres cool shopping, there is supposed to be very good food available.
does anyone have any recommendations for what’s the best stuff at this location?
not nearby, but in the mall, please.

many thanks.

Hi @linus,

Within the Arcadia / Santa Anita Mall? There’s a Din Tai Fung (the supposed flagship of Southern California, after they moved from their original location on Baldwin), it’s much larger and nicer. Food? It felt like it was a bit more commercialized than before, but we only made it out there once since the move.

There’s a Meizhou Dongpo restaurant in the mall as well. Here’s some thoughts and pics:

And I remember TonyC mentioning a pricey Hot Pot place called Hai Di Lao there. Besides that, there’s a Cheesecake Factory and Benihana in the mall. There’s a new EMC Seafood (a branch of the K-Town EMC Seafood with a raw bar, etc.), but we haven’t been (just noticed it that one time we visited).

Side Chick (level 2), with FTC’s very own chef JLee!

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My favorite of the lot.

gracias, humans.

principessa, in her reading about the place, thought there was some sort
of food court/hall that was better/different than your average mall food court.

also, maybe a floor where there are shit tons of top drawer food samples, a la one
of those fancy department stores in, tokyo, say?

There is a small wing with food stalls, mainly consisting of Asian offerings near Din Tai Fung.

And not really a department store, but they do have a Wing Hop Fung with bird nest, fish maw, cognac, tea, ginseng, wine, et al.

I believe they had samples of tea and some other goodies at Wing Hop Fung.

Hi @linus,

Yah, what @A5KOBE said: There’s a “wing” of the mall that has:

Din Tai Fung
Uncle Tetsu Cheesecake (haven’t tried it, seemed gimmicky though)
Really Bad Udon
EMC Seafood (branch of K-Town EMC)
Side Chick
and recently a “we serve all types of Japanese food” restaurant (sushi, crazy rolls, ramen noodles and more) (haven’t been)

Ah, it looks like they carry the Rudy Kurniawan wine collection there…

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Hi @J_L,

LOL. I had to Google that. So you’re saying it’s like Hawaii Supermarket with their “special collection” of fake liquor? :wink:

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Damn, I thought my Karuizawa Single Cask Samurai 30 was too yuck-forward on the finish.

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hi, dopey OP here:

so if her majesty decides to surprise me with a boozy present, tell her no (ducking first) because all the alcohol there is ersatz?

thanks.

You can also try Monkey Bar, same area as Side chick and EMC. Craft cocktails and craft beers, eclectic menu. My choices would be Side Chick, Monkey Bar, and dessert at Match Matcha.

I have bought a couple of Japanese whiskies and they were legit. Of course, these were the more ‘modest’ priced bottles compared to their top shelf.