Good news. They listened to you and updated the link.
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i’m glad it was done, but i wouldn’t be so sure i had any influence on that!
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and one of them is the taiwanese fried chicken chain HOT STAR, with their second location now open on garvey between new and del mar.
their menu is eight items, and six of them are chicken. we availed ourselves of the special as pictured here:
two of the three in row A and everything else for $30 & tax
of row A, we went with choices 1 & 3
the pieces are sizable but NOT boneless. there are NO utensils, you get plastic gloves which reminded me i need to schedule a physical
the portion size of the other items reflects how the taiwanese seem to prefer to snack on small servings throughout the day.
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a lot of other links on the site still point to
which is an old link which still points only to tonyc’s article.
that’s what happens when you get sloppy and hardcode links and cross links in your html.
renamed “Zui Xiang Yuan” they retained the old FG menu
surprisingly full for a weekday lunch. they still do the steamed pork ribs w/rice flour
though with only two of us doing lunch, we could only try 2-3 things on the menu.: leek/pork/shrimp dumplings
spicy beef noodle soup, made extra spicy with an oil slick of chili oil (wasn’t my call)
can’t vouch for anything else still on the menu, but these items were still pretty much how i remember them a few years ago.
This is so funny. So this new “Zui Xiang Yuan” simply renamed the restaurant using the phonetic translation of the original Chinese name of Flavor Garden?
Awesome.
Hi @secretasianman,
Thanks BarryC. So would you say the dumplings are still good? Handmade?
yeah - somehow this conforms to the naming standards of the mall. don’t ask me how.
yes. they were as i remembered. very good texture between the leek, fatty pork & shrimp.
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So I finally tried this place out, and I have to thank you, Barry, for the intel on the beef roll–Flavor Garden’s blows 101 Noodle Express’ out of the water!
So I started off with the pan-fried leek dumplings:
These were very tasty, with a nice crunch to them! 
The filling was plentiful, but a bit mild. I found I had to resort to pouring my condiments inside each dumpling, as the skins were a little too thick and crispy for effective dipping, but hey, I don’t mind playing with my food a bit.
Next came the scallion pancake:
This was just okay. It was very crispy/crunchy, but also a bit greasy. Although I liked the visible amount of scallions, I find 101 Noodle Express to have a much more flavorful version of this dish.
Finally, the star of the meal:
Ooph! Look at that! And it’s so tasty, too! Just completely overflowing with beef, with a touch of hoisin sauce. 101 Noodle Express has been unseated, but I will still go because their hours run much later.
Overall value is tops here, too–my total bill was under $25 for all this food, after tipping.
Next time I want to try their sesame rice balls.
Zui Xiang Yuan (Flavor Garden)
1269 E Valley Blvd
Alhambra, CA 91801
(626) 284-3549
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glad to hear that someone else thinks that they’re rediscovered their stride - the level of execution was a bit uneven for a while.
Agreed. Amazing what a change of management can do, both on the downside and the upside. My last visit to “Flavor Garden”, which apparently was after the old owners moved their operation to Chino Hills, was awful. I only came back because I saw the change in name and assumed it was a new operation, bolstered by the fact that the restaurant was jam packed.
Thanks @chandavkl @secretasianman.
So is this the 2nd set of new owners at Flavor Garden? Or is this the original owners come back after selling the place to someone else?
i think the original owners are still out in chino hills. i don’t know who’s in the kitchen now.
I don’t believe the owners were the chefs.
you may be right, but that would to me be extremely unusual for what looked like a family operation when they started. the additional expense of paying for the chef would raise the bar in terms of fixed costs. but i do agree that whoever was in the kitchen wasn’t just a home cook though; there was a level of precision in the execution that suggested some sort of training/previous experience to me.
AH MAY BURMESE (rosemead - barely)
do not be fooled by the apparently limited menu (3 pages); half the stuff i saw coming out to tables was not on the menu, including an offal plate including ears and intestines. if i’d only known before ordering…
we ordered five (5) dishes that came out to a little over $30 not including tax/tip.
the mohinga i enjoyed as it was the most substantial version i’ve had.
the chicken coconut soup (the ethnic name temporarily eludes me) was very good.
as was the udon noodle salad
i liked the texture of the beef curry, cooked to almost falling apart, yet still retained its form and shape after cutting. the dried fish with spice in the middle of the tray… a bit of that sprinkled on white rice would make me pretty happy - if i could eat a lot of rice without it wreaking havoc on my blood sugar.
if only the tea leaf salad had had as much fresh vegetables as the salad that came with the beef curry… there was plenty of textural crunch from the other ingredients, but the lack of fibrous crunch was a letdown for me.
other than that, every dish had its own unique flavor and texture profile and was very good in its own way. give this place a menu that lists everything one can order (not to mention more parking) and i’ll happily return with a table of 8 and go crazy.
this place is in my top five of new places to try.
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Hot Star has opened their third US location in Pasadena by Colorado and Lake.
odd choice of location IMO. couldn’t even tell you what it replaced. on the fringe of the commercial district and very little foot traffic on that stretch of colorado; you kinda need to be going there to eat somewhere else to notice it.
Yeah, it’s where the Subway used to be.
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i couldn’t prove or disprove that; although IIRC the thai place next door has managed to stay in business for quite a while.