Welcome!
I think that’s why I generally don’t go to Taiwanese places. But your food sounds so good (esp the fried rice) that I may need to try this place. 
And I do love black cod…
LOL. I wrote that knowing it might not cater to everyone. To me, Taiwanese food is all about letting the natural flavors shine while complementing with light aromatics. The food really is delicious, but it is more “subtle.”
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I need to go here!
Do they have 3 cup chicken and flies head?
The have a full section of menu dedicated to 3 cups preps - chicken, tofu, calamari, intestines, frog, duck tongues, abalone!
I don’t think they have flies head.
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So they made the LA Times 101 list. Good for them and well deserved!
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Thanks for the reminder! I saw it on the list, and i was like, “Where did I see that recently???” Duh, right here.
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been about a year or so since I’ve eaten at EJF - so picked up takeout to my mom’s place since she lives nearby. Man pricing has really gone up and portions have gotten smaller. My wife wanted honey walnut shrimp, $30 for 12 small shrimp - ruff.
Good to see the owner is as gruff as ever lol. After I ordered the owner told me to go sit on the sofa and he’d let me know in 25 minutes. 40 minutes passed and I went to go check. Apparently, the food was sitting on the back counter for the last 20 minutes… sigh.
Took it home, my mom asked how it was, I told her how cold the owner was per usual. She told me that’s why she stopped going there cause service has gone really downhill as they’ve gotten more popular. The servers definitely had a DGAF attitude to tables ordering.
One couple asked what vegetable is good right now - waitress “I don’t know. I don’t know what vegetables you like” but… in that tone of annoyance. lol
Ordered
honey walnut shrimp - wife said fine, average, but wasn’t expecting much since it’s a taiwanese spot
miso black cod - she really liked it, daughter hated the amount of bones in it.
pork and egg fried rice - I thought the rice was good, made in a similar style as DTF but not as Q. Rather have DTF fried rice in the same style but better and less expensive.
bittermelon salted egg (wanted louffah but when I asked the owner just gave me a swift “no” - since out of season) - pretty good version of it.
Three cup mixed (squid/chicken) - mom said not enough chicken skin on the pieces so pieces tasted a bit dry.
Will go again soon and eat there with a larger group. Couple friends want me to take them. Have my eye on other dishes (like the goose and some soups) that my family doesn’t normally like to eat.
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Yeah. It’s been like that for a while with Shrimp and Seafood dishes. Even at dingy places it’s like $20+ That is why I didn’t feel bad for recommending Transparansea Shrimp to a friend today which for double that amount was like $35…
LOL, yeah, the owner can be pretty gruff… if you just tell him you used to go to Fusion back in the day, then he immediately warms up to you! The food is definitely not cheap, although I feel that’s the case everywhere these days. Was in NYC and paid $30 for snow pea leaves with salted egg / tofu.
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Was there New Year day as well! Posting pics because I can’t recall names.
Some kind of cold bean curd appetizer. I’ve had ones I enjoyed more but this one was still nice and refreshing.
I think this was suan mao? Which google says are garlic stems. Along with some sausage/cured meat. Accidentally dug in before taking a pic. 
Either way this was great! Super flavorful! Meats were almost too flavorful but the greens were infused with the sauces and super tasty.
Fried rice. The previous dish is great with rice. A very light version. Worked for our purposes but if I were to compare with what I remember of din tai fungs fried rice I’d pick the DTF fried rice for being much more tasty on its own.
Dong po rou (pork belly). Had a couple great pieces? But significant portion of this ended up dry for me.
Chicken bamboo soup. And some other veggie I forget. Great soup! I’d get this one again.
I think the other fish we wanted was out so we got this which I believe is tilapia. Good sauce, fish very light in flavor. It was nice.
It’s been a long time since I’ve been here. While not everything was a slam dunk this time, there are a few great dishes. So I can easily see it being a YMMV situation. In general though, the cooking seems a bit more refined than typical hole in the wall chinese restaurants which is nice.
Edit: Ugh sorry for sideways pictures. Not sure why they’re coming in like that as they look correct on my phone but are screwed up in here. Sadly can’t see a way to fix unless I go through a lengthy process which I think I’ll pass on for this post. 
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Not tilapia. It’s black cod.
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We’re going back on Saturday to celebrate MIL birthday. Looking forward to some steamed fish and gonna have to get that garlic shoot / pork dish!
on your phone - edit the photo, rotate it once, save, rotate back and it’ll upload fine
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Dinner with in-laws tonight. Meal did not hit the highs of previous meals. Ingredients still high quality, but execution was uneven…
Black pepper steak - was fine. Have had better renditions but the beef was perfectly cooked and tender. Could’ve used a more pepper.
Oyster / intestine thin noodle soup - flavor was spot on, intestines cleaned well and fresh meat oysters. But whereas the first time was perfect, this time the soup was too watery.
Two chicken soups - the broth felt a bit light. Didn’t have the usual depth of chicken flavor. One of the soups also was undersalted, which is rare of me to say.
Miso black cod - still excellent
Stewed napa - very nicely done. Only thing missing was the stewed fish skin, which some places use and imo, makes the dish
Spicy intestines and tofu - this dish was a letdown. The first time, even though we asked for a lower spice level, it was delicious. This time the flavors were muted. As if cutting out the spiciness also cut out other ingredients.
Boiled goose - still delicious.
What did annoy me is the 1/2 goose is listed at $60. But on the bill, it’s rung up as $80. I let it go, as it’s new years and all, but $20 is a pretty egregious menu pricing mistake… And I suspect it’s been going on awhile although I haven’t paid the last couple times.
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My mom used to make napa with dried shrimp. Very Taiwanese af. I wish some of these next gen Taiwanese places in LA and NYC did more homestyle dishes instead of the usual lu rou fan, beef noodle, etc. I love those dishes to death btw. In NYC they all have flies head I love flies head as much as any Taiwanese-American but come on.
Was one of the soups sesame oil chicken soup?
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Also I must have miss this in the OP but lol at the huge mark up for stir fry greens. Every Chinese restaurant does this because they know every table will order it lol say what you want about Pine and Crane in Silver Lake but at least they don’t do this. I’ve had dragon whiskers and sweet potato leaves at Pine and Crane.
We did chicken w/ fresh bamboo and chicken w/ pineapple and bitter melon. Both were good but not great.
Re vegetable prices, yeah, it’s pricey even when you factor in tax is included.
Yep, that’s what keeps me going up places like EJF and Momo Cafe in Arcadia. Sometimes you just want that homestyle Taiwanese cooking!
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