WTF??? How does the Monterey Park branch compare to Temple City?
Hi @Sgee,
From what I understand the Monterey Park location was the OG, and a couple of my SGV friends said they liked it more than the Temple City expansion.
@Chowseeker1999 good to know, I concede I ordered poorly the one and only time I was at the MP location.
TC location was eons better than the MP one.
Sorry since I didnāt clarify the specifics in my use of Cantonese. But the feel of the restaurant and itās service feels like those found in Cantonese restaurants. As for itās roots and style, thanks for elaborating
Did the Seafood Palace in TC re-opened recently. It was closed when I drove passed it a few months ago.
Thanks, as always, for the detailed post! I go w/ my dad, and the owner seems to love him (my dad is Taiwanese). It never wouldāve occurred to me to even try the beef noodle soup there. The owner gave us some off-menu (I think) item that was cold and insanely thinly sliced beef (I think), drizzled w/ just a touch of chili oil. That dish was almost transcendent. The rest of food (Iāve only been twice) is simply very good.
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i like their deep fried fish in seaweed.
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one other thought, with all the initial emphasis on sichuan, why not chong qing special noodles? chong qing is to cheng du rougly what osaka is to tokyo.
What are your thoughts on Mian, and do you have other favorites? I was recently at Mianās Las Vegas location and found their noodle dishes superb, way more nuanced than anything from the SFBA chain which includes Chongqing Xiao Mian. Good cold dishes too.
The former mayor of Taichung visited Dai Ho and might even be a friend of the owner, who presented the owner with some calligraphy/brush writing that is framed and hanging on the wall of DH, though that was back in 2009 when I last went. I assume itās still hanging there. Quite the endorsement from overseas back then! Though I must say OG Taiwanese business owners love as much publicity they can get (and endorsements) from public figures.
Blame it on the Asian American yelpers who focused on hyping Seafood Palace for salt and pepper crab 
yet missing out on the super delicious Chiu Chow side of the menuā¦
Havenāt been to the OG location but if the Temple City location was bomb dot com, MP should be as good, otherwise we need to hold them accountable for quality!!
At this point Iād recommend Best Noodle House over CQSN again. Iāve tried to branch out at CQSN, and now that BNH has stepped up their kitchen game, I donāt have any dish I prefer at CQSN. BNH has superior food at this point, and the staff there are just too kind, to boot.
Now thereās a name I havenāt heard in awhile! Whatās she doing these days? Has she found a real job or married well yet? Iāll never forget this shameful fiascoā¦ the comments section actually goes fairly easy on her, IMO.
mian gets a lot of hype, but i was personally underwhelmed. IIRC i like the spicy wontons which has some anise/five spice powder and gave it a hum around the 100 Hz mark if the dish was a musical chord.
a lot of favorites were listed, and some were left out with the understanding that it would be stuff you canāt get up north, so that was addressed when i first responded to robert the OP.
having said that, iād suggest embassy kitchen as being one of the best remaining cantonese places in the SGV. order the shrimp paste stuffed chicken 24 hours in advance.
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https://clarissawei.com/portfolio/
Sheās still kicking around.
That portfolio shows an excellent work ethic and a specific, interesting POV to me. Looks like sheās making a solid career out of her writing. Sheās certainly seeing more of the world and learning more about various food ways than most other food writers.
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Actually Clarissa has a real job as a full time food writer for the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. Those who follow her on social media were amused by her comment when describing finding an apartment in Hong Kong that consumed a sizable chunk of her paycheck that said āAdulting is hard.ā
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There might actually be hope for her yet!
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better than to live life with silver chopsticks in oneās mouthā¦ i suppose.
i havenāt been to either in a while, i defer.