Google, though not Yelp, indicates Liang’s Kitchen is permanently closed.
i checked yelp and they have a review from 3 days ago. must have been on their last legs. oh well. there goes another personal favorite.
i don’t recall seeing these places mentioned as having shuttered:
- yang’s braised rice in focus plaza (serving only that dish). apparently they were having trouble with staffing.
- dragon garden which replaced xian tasty on garfield north of garvey offering the “denitrified pork leg”
I’m so out of the loop I didn’t even realize Xi An Tasty had closed. That’s a loss, I liked that place. Any current favorites for Biang Biang // Paomo?
yeah, xi’an tasty was pretty good, but liang’s kitchen was my favorite place for yard long belt width/thickness noodles (though i don’t think they did the spicy version, i liked it with tomato and egg) as well as that thick lamb soup (great broth) but they seem to have closed recently as well (sigh)
i tried meet qin noodle on main in alhambra and their noodles were overcooked when i was there and their QPR in terms of portion size i found underwhelming. their servings wouldn’t be large enough to accommodate a single uncut noodle (which would make it difficult to share).
i have yet to try the place but i suspect recently opened noodle art in MP will be a good alternative. there’s also a shaanxi place in industry called xi’an i have yet to try.
northern cafe (in MP) doesn’t seem to do biang biang but their knife cut noodles have very good Q. their big plate of chicken is probably the way to go there.
for paomo, i recall lao xi noodle house making a tasty shanxi variant but IIRC they also added potato and what seemed to be glass noodles to make it a huge carb bomb as well. anyone who does the burgers should offer one to get rid of the stale flat bread, but the quality of the broth can vary.
i’ve been using yelp as resource to determine which of my favorites are still open. i’ve noticed a common theme of reviews posted in 2021 with many reporting poor service and/or diminished quality. i fear that this does not bode well.
1 Like
With the caveat that it’s been a while for me, Shaanxi Garden on Valley in San Gabriel was about on a par with Xi’An Tasty. Xi’An Kitchen in City of Industry was solid. As Shaanxi Gourmet declined, Xi’An Kitchen quickly became the best option for Shaanxi in the SGV until the above two came along.
The newish place in Monterey Park is Noodle Art. I haven’t been, yet, but folks whose opinions I trust rate it highly.
2 Likes
@secretasianman @JThur01 thanks!! Will definitely check out Noodle Art. Great name and good reputation is definitely worth a visit. Bummer about Meet Qin!
there was one shaanxi place that underwhelmed me and i think it was shaanxi gourmet and i’ve associated shaanxi garden with it for no reason i can explain; whatever the reason, shaanxi garden has never really done it for me. perhaps it was an off day when i tried the place. or i’ve just always preferred liang’s because they also do that fried then steamed noodle dish that was always on everyone’s table when i first started patronizing the place.
speaking of other great noodle places, kam hong is still there, though i understand that the place has changed hands a few times. but no one’s mentioned the place in years.
1 Like
Ocean Island has opened in the former Monterey Park Yum Cha Cafe location next to GW Supermarket. Similar dim sum to go operation.
2 Likes
except a lot less dingy
1 Like
Chandavkl, this place is so new that there’s not a single review anywhere yet.
1 Like
That means I’m doing my job.
14 Likes
Well, since it’s just West of the 605, I guess The Old Spaghetti Factory in Duarte qualifies for this thread. The last time I had experienced this chain was perhaps 45 years ago in the Ocean Park area of Santa Monica.
On the positive side, there is ample free parking; there are interesting antiques and flags that make conversation pieces; there is a nicely restored Pacific Red Car (in which you might dine) in the center of the main room.
Otherwise, the sour dough loaf didn’t taste sour. Caesar salad lacked any tang but was not offensive (To get a Caesar not made with iceberg, there was an upcharge. The romaine did not transform the salad). The minestrone soup was good but a tad salty. The spaghetti was mushy and would not know the meaning of al dente. The marinara sauce was very watery and bland. Sauteed mushrooms were actually good. The “gourmet” crab ravioli was largely flavorless and probably cooked/mic’d from frozen. Interestingly, diners were offered boxes in which to take home the remains of their pasta dishes (pass).
But the vanilla ice cream and the spumoni ice cream were not bad. Service was well paced if rudimentary.
2 Likes
Tang Dynasty finally opens in the old Chang’an space in San Gabriel.
from yelp:
“Signature traditional Hunan cuisine exploding with a multitude of complex flavors, paired with light and refreshing Chinese style party cocktails.”
if anyone in LA (or anywhere else) has attempted to pair chinese food with alcohol it’s news to me. this begs the question: what is a chinese style party cocktail?
The Beijing Bomber? The Shanghai Surprise?
Blossom Market Hall opens…
1 Like
the pairing of drinks with authentic chinese food is a pretty ambitious undertaking. for the most part, all i’ve seen is recommendations of dry white wines like a reisling or a gewurtz or even a champagne or some sort of muscat. or beer - but that’s for what most americans envision as chinese takeout, which would be cantonese or perhaps szechuan. szechuan & hunan/xiang share a spicy aspect in their profiles, so some sort of white wine spritzers should work with spicy assertive dishes, but hunan also uses dried/smoked ingredients. maybe a pinot noir or even a blonde ale? i imagine ginger ale figuring prominently as a mixer.
and where are the palates that would appreciate this? are there enough of them in the 626? that restaurant space suggests a targeting of higher end clientele. i’ll be curious to see how this works out.
1 Like
Interesting…what looks promising???