Pine & Crane DTLA

Americas - USA West Los Angeles
1

Don’t see much about P&C, but we enjoyed our meal. From a price to quality ratio, nothing to complain about! Unless we’re going to King’s Hawaiian or Hof’s Hut, it’s almost impossible for us (me, wife, two teenage boys) to get out of dinner for less than $120… Our meal tonight was under $100 and we were stuffed.

Dan Dan Mian was solid. Very tasty and noodles were nicely Q, could have used a bit more spice (that’s a recurring theme for me, that their flavors are pretty light… not necessarily a negative by my book, but if you like heavier flavors, you probably won’t like it much.)

Bean curd / picked cucumber starters again were very light. I probably prefer the version at Northern Cafe in Gardena, which are much more in your face.

Shen Jian Bao were filled with cabbage and pork. Again, a light filling, not greasy at all. Filling was probably a bit looser than I like. But the skin was perfectly fried, light and airy on top!

Gai Lan was one of the best versions I’ve had. Lightly adorned with sesame oil and salt, without the usual oyster sauce. The stalks were nicely cut, as were the leaves, so that you could perfectly blanch them without making them too soft / mushy. The stalks were still crispy, which I loved.

Gua Bao must’ve been good. My son devoured them, I never had a taste.

Fried rice cake and mushrooms. I loved this dish. Lightly coated, not greasy at all. Big chunks of fried oyster mushroom, mochi balls and rice cake. With that 5 spice popcorn chicken seasoning and plenty of fried basil leaves. I could eat this all day.

We also jammed in two desserts - grass jelly and shaved ice. Again, very light but not lacking in flavor. Refreshing on a nice warm day like today!

Next time, I’d probably try the beef roll (I liked the way the roll part looked!) and one of their noodle soups.

While we don’t get to DTL much, we’ll probably try to get here every once in awhile!

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2

+1 doesn’t get much hype here, and I’ve enjoyed every meal I’ve had there.

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3

We hadn’t been in a while but have now been back 3x in two weeks :slight_smile: Quite honestly, one of my favorite comfort meals in LA and for early weekend brunch, it’s a 30-minute drive from home!

  • porridge set: simple but perfect. large bowl of rice porridge with Taiwanese breakfast accompaniments like pickled radish, gluten, fried peanuts and small fish, fermented tofu, fried egg, bamboo, bean curd, etc. the beauty of this dish is you get a little of everything which is a pain in the a– to do on your own!
  • thousand layer pancake with egg and cheese: the pancake is thick, crisp, flaky and not too greasy. i don’t share this, lol.
  • dan bing: if you like the thicker pancake, this isn’t for you. this one is thin and a bit on the moist side. but it’s my style. i could do without the cheese but it’s still a well-executed version!
  • fried taro cakes and mushrooms: still as good as i remembered it.
  • beef roll: this is the one thing that doesn’t hit the mark for me. the pancake is great. the beef is good but the ratios just seem off, i.e. too much filling.
  • hot and sour soup: it’s Taiwanese! very light and not gloopy. heavy on bamboo and wood ear. more sour than hot. but i prefer it over other heavier styles.
  • spicy shrimp wontons: perfect filling. but i prefer a thicker wrapper and the saucing wasn’t my favorite.
  • fruit shaved ice: I LOVE THIS DESSERT! it is very simple… perfectly shaved ice - it’s hard to describe but it’s light like the korean bing su but retains character and crunch like taiwanese ice. but there are no big chunks and it melts yet crunches. the toppings are strawberries, pineapples and a round of egg pudding. topped with black sugar syrup, i forego the condensed milk, which makes it too creamy in my mind. this is just good fruit, ice and syrup and it feels downright healthy. not ashamed to admit i consumed the entire large bowl on my own.
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