I’m thinking of spending a few days in Alhambra on my next trip to LA. I pretty definitely want to eat at:
Yang’s Kitchen
Ipoh Kopitiam
Borneo Eatery
Other places I’ve flagged over the years (some aren’t mentioned on this board so maybe date back to the Chowhound era):
Beijing Pie House
Beijing Tasty House
Chef Fu
Chengdu Taste
JYTH
Kam Hong Garden
Mian
Nature Pagoda
Ruby BBQ
Shanghai Dumpling House
Shenyang
Sichuan Impression
Recommendations of what to order where, what’s skippable, or which other places to consider? I’ve been to Chengdu Taste a couple of times, I think the others are all new to me.
Definitely Colette and Nature Pagoda. Min Min Pie House is three blocks down from Yang’s Kitchen. Great Sheng Jin Bao (Fried Buns on the menu) and Fried Leek Dumplings. Their meat pies are pretty good too.
Zheng Dou Kee has very good congee and cheung fun. Stir-fry dishes and HK wonton are also very good. Jim’s Bakery has excellent portuguese egg tart. Golden Deli is the iconic Vietnamese restaurant that has been consistently good. Canitas el Momo in Monterey Park (Mulitas)
Beijing Pie House closed during the pandemic and the Monterey Park location eventually was taken over by Jin Hae Pie House, which isn’t especially notable… I think the best restaurant in Alhambra is Henry’s Cuisine, sort of a high level Hong Kong style cafe. See Bill Addison’s comments about Henry’s in the past two years LA Times Top 101 restaurants in the Los Angeles area.
This is (appropriately) turning into a WSGV thread rather than purely about Alhambra…
Min Min makes better pies than Beijing Pie House did…
Colette is fantastic but is actually quite far from Alhambra… Bulgarini and Dos Besos are definitely also worth a stop if you’re gonna go in that direction…
Array 36 > Bistro Na’s (not such a hot take; also in Temple City, not Alhambra)… Go with a group for best enjoyment.
Wang Jia for Shanghaiese, especially lion’s head…
Orange Bistro for new Taiwanese
… And of course (can’t believe it hasn’t already been mentioned), Fosselman’s Ice Cream, for lychee milkshake…
Had a nice meal at No 8 on the Bund, formerly Embassy Kitchen. I’m not an expert, but my uncle grew up in Shanghai and approved.
The eel dish was fantastic. I really liked the dual shrimp prep dish. One side was reminiscent of the Lotus of Siam shrimp prep and the other was crystal shrimp style.
Every table had Man Lou Tou Tofu and a claypot rice that we didn’t order, but would like to try next time we go.
True! But, to be fair, robert’s original list only had a few from Alhambra proper (Yang’s Kitchen; Ipoh Kopitiam; Borneo), plus a couple on the lower portion (Chengdu Taste; Sichuan Impression). The others are all the way over (for emphasis) in San Gabriel, a whole 3 miles Aside from JTYH, which is further out, in Rosemead.
To me, that’s a good list. Well rounded. I can’t speak of Chef Fu, though how similar is it to the last outpost of Liang’s Kitchen that it used to be? If so, lamb-intensive, that would be a yes.
The crowd here skews heavily to favoring Cantonese and Taiwanese, but I’ll vouch for some of the mainland places. Beijing Tasty House and Shenyang Tasty (as it is now known) are the (b)est for their respective cuisines. Go with the regional/municipal specialties there. And, RIP, Beijing Pie House, if only for their irreplaceable radish pie and wild greens pie.
Chao Wei Ju for Chaozhou noodle soups with some of the best sauces for dipping.
Coconut and Co for kaya toast.
Corner Beef Noodle House and Ahgoo’s for Taiwanese spots. Maybe a little too far east but both are so good. Yes I am bias!
I love Rubys BBQ but I think Hing Lung Company in SF Chinatown (and Ming Kee in Oceanview) are the best casual HK bbq spots, perhaps even in the country.
Yes to Wangjia for Shanghainese. Be sure to go across the street for the egg rolls at Golden Deli and drinks at Bopomofo.
I’ll throw in Qing Dao Bread Food as well for the real deal Shandong northern goodies that would make my Shandong granny happy.
Huge Tree Pastry is the OG Taiwanese breakfast spot and still the best in SGV.
Unless there’s been a change, I would say it’s just not updated. The Yelp content of Beijing Pie House has been maintained, even though it’s Jin Hai Pie House now. There is the below, from the Yelp photos:
Aside from JTYH, which is further out, in Rosemead.