Array 36 - Temple City

the shanghai crab roe stewed tofu, shanghai style smoked fish with preserved plums, river shrimp, and crispy shrimp were good.

pacing and food temp sucked.

review forthcoming @moonboy403 @Clayfu?

the luxury menu

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So the Peking duck was bad? :frowning: it looks so good on social media

Also I feel like food temp/texture is a huge part of Chinese cuisine so that is a huge ding

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i just see lots of missed opportunities for the caviar supplement :rofl:

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will have to go to bistro na to order the caviar supplement with peking duck!!

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I went a day after @porkbelly did and it might not even be the same restaurant based on his complaints.

Our service was incredibly attentive and food came out pretty quickly and at a good pace between dishes. We probably had a few more demands too as we needed wine glasses and also kept adding on more dishes as the night went on.

I enjoyed the Crab Roe stewed Tofu, RIver Shrimp, the Sea cucumber with leek (maybe one of the best SC preps i’ve had in a bit), the steamed turbot.

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Do you think you got the industry hook up?

Honestly this is why I’ve been extra skeptical of the place, perhaps too much so. The unassuming places get a pass, but Array 36 seems to be the apotheosis of presumption. Then again, maybe I should visit for this very reason.

Who’d have thought right? :upside_down_face::upside_down_face:

I only put a name to a face when I went to Tak Shing Hong for my Prince of Peace lozenge fix. I’m almost keen to go because of that alone.

Nah. They don’t know me. I joked it was cause my table was 70% tall white males.

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Gotta pay em proper respect that they deserve.

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The mainlanders saw all the gweilos and probably thought “they must be vips” lol

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spirit on duck and then flamed isn’t either traditional way to do Peking Duck. (closed oven or open hearth methods).

Kind of a pan-chinese menu. Looking forward to osmanthus (flower) infused stuffed lotus rood. Had it the first time in Suzhou. THen saw it on a menu yeas later at Shanghai Seafood Village #1 (was that the name?) on Valley. It’s a great sweet and an awesome dessert, western style. Even made it myself during lockdown.

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People are sleeping on Array 36. Great quality, exotic dishes. My favorite Chinese restaurant in LA.

I loved their white fungus drink. The white fungus adds an unusual but pleasant gelatin-like thickness.

The Chinese-menu-only stinky mandarin fish was exceptional. Traditionally this dish is made from salt-cured fish, but Array 36 uses fresh fish and a stinky sauce.

The drunken shrimp had outstanding flavor and texture. Also Chinese menu only.

We loved the dried shrimp and scallion oil noodles (again, Chinese menu only). This is like the Chinese equivalent to spaghetti aglio e olio.

Their jiao bai (Manchurian wild rice) is one of our go-to dishes. Interesting flavor and texture. You guessed it — Chinese menu only.

The okra is a great starter. Nicely al dente.

Geoduck is geoduck. But it happens to be my favorite food in the world.











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busy?

Reasonably busy, but not full when we arrived, and they told us no reservations needed for two people at 6 pm on a Thursday when we called. I got the sense that if we had said 7 pm they would have taken the reservation.

Bogo for anniversary

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New Years Dinner with the family. SIL was paying so she ordered. Overall, the execution was uneven. The highs were very high but there were some stinkers…

  1. Peking pork ribs - delicious rendition. Right amount of sauce, perfectly balanced flavors. The ribs were so tender but yet not overly so. Truly one of the best versions of this dish.
  2. Peking duck - as good as the ribs were, the duck was on the opposite end. Skin was sometimes crispy, but often flaccid. The meat was tender and flavorful but it was a very small amount of meat. And there was simply too much fat left over on the pieces…
  3. Lobster with e-fu noodles - this was a high. We got a 5lb lobster and it felt like 5lbs. Tons of tail chunks, everything had a ton of meat. Some places you get a 5lber and it feels like a 3-4lber. This felt very generous. Very simple prep but when places get it right, it sings.
  4. Oil noodles - super simple prep but delicious. Noodles were still chewy.
  5. Chicken soup with tiger lily (?) - My in-laws love this dish and were so excited for us to try it. But to me, it was just meh. Like the soup was fine. But I typically prefer chicken soup preps were the meat is still edible - this one was not. I know it’s intentional, it’s just not my style.
  6. Shen jian bao - so good. The dough was perfectly fried, perfect thickness and wonderful texture. The filling was juicy but not overly greasy.
  7. Cumin lamb - this was fine. they prep it on a cast iron plate, so the lamb gets nice and crusty. But it’s nothing special imo.
  8. Steamed live fish - loved this. Fish - I think black cod - was super fresh. Steamed just to fully cooked but not more than that.

Not sure the quality supports the price. I’d go back on someone else’s dime but not if I’m paying.

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A very fair report back. Thanks, and Happy 2025!

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Thanks for the report. We were very close to going there tonight but we decided to explore more places.

I thought the Peking duck was the worst dish we’ve had there.

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Haha. Yeah… You would think given how they hype up the duck and the flaming duck pres, that it would be good. But it was truly one of the worst versions I have had in LA. My dad, who isn’t much of a foodie, used to be a stickler on duck. The skin had to be crisp and in the proper sized rectangles. The fat had to be rendered out. And this was none of that. But truth be told, I think our execution on that dish yesterday was very different from what is typical there? I’ve seen pics where the skin looks properly done. This came out mostly flabbly and more in strips, with much of it attached to meat. Unacceptable imo.

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The first time I went I was a bit underwhelmed and ready to skip indefinitely. Went again, ordered different things, and had such a better meal that I’ve been multiple times since (just get lazy about posting here about it). IMO it’s definitely a place where some menu knowledge goes a long way.

I personally like the okra, some kind of chili oil bean curd I think and the truffle pulled chicken (the truffle sounds lame but I really enjoy the dish). Also the Huaiyang shredded dried bean curd (based on the menu I see on Yelp). Their Yanduxian/Bamboo shoot soup was also one of the thickest and richest versions I’ve had in LA (in my limited experience) in a good way.

I’d personally say I like the food at Bistro Na a smidge more but you can walk in to Array 36 whenever as opposed to needing a reservation for Bistro Na. I probably would not go there specifically for duck and would guess there are better places for duck in the area. On the whole, I think the meals I’ve had there have been pretty affordable actually. But I don’t think I’m getting stuff that’s too crazy price-wise.

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