Barans and radici don’t do lunch
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Maybe it’s my generation of Chinese parents but it’s almost always Chinese food ( I get it Chinese food is number one!), buffets (lol), and maybe Japanese if they are feeling adventurous
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There’s still buffers in South Bay?
You mean those typical pan-asian-ish with seafood buffets?
There is Ichiban in Gardena. For AYCE there is KBBQ, Mongolian BBQ, and Shabu.
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Yes I meant those pan asian buffets where everyone lines up for the snow crab legs haven’t been to one in probably 15 years, didn’t really know they were still around.
Looking on the yelp page I’m almost nostalgic enough to go and take trip to one of those places, buffets were definitely a mainstay in my youth.
I got excited that Yuan Fen might be in the South Bay. Then I searched and realized it’s in Rowland Heights. LOL Hope you had a great meal.
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Also curious on how that meal went at Yuan Fen.
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No kidding. My wife and I are getting increasingly frustrated by the lack of Chinese food in the area… Even places like A1 and Peter’s Place, which were ok at best, but filled a need, have disappeared since we moved here. Over the break, we ended up driving to SGV nearly every day to eat. It’s gotten to the point that we’re likely to move out of the area once the boys are off to college. That said, I’m hopeful the new Canaan at least has the expanded menu…
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Have you had the Dongbei dishes/menu at Jiayuan?
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Also I drive out to SGV all the time for Chinese as well lol. Out of nostalgia since I been going to SGV since the 90’s as a kid but also the food is leagues above around here. I just want some handmade noodles made by a auntie that’s been doing it for decades
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Matsui Torrance still runs their lunch special at dinner. This comes with an assorted tempura (2 shrimps and some veg), soba or udon, 6 piece nigiri, and a small salad. It came down to this or the Go Go Matsui bowl that comes with with 7 shrimps. I felt the special was reasonable at just under $18. The tables in the front do get a cold breeze when the door opens, so I’d advise to sit in the dining room to avoid the winter draft.
Sorry no pix. One can find those with a quick search. Chow ciao
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Yeah the chinese food here leaves a lot to be desired but I couldnt trade the weather and the proximity to the ocean/beaches unfortunately.
I need to get back out to SGV soon I’m lucky if I make it once a year, it makes me jealous that you guys can go so often, sounds like you’re eating great!
I’m skeptical that Canaan will have an expanded menu I would bet it is similar to the one in torrance. Have you tried tasty china? They are our go to for chinese food and nice china cafe has some good off menu items if you order ahead.
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Yah. Jiayuan is fine. But I love stuff like Sinbala for Taiwanese, or Heji for those rice noodles, or any form of handmade noodle, lol. Even desserts, like WTF?!?! Why do I need to drive so far for Taiwanese bao bing???
Same. We love it here. The weather is insanely nice. Being near the water makes me happy, even if we don’t use the beaches much. I’m hoping that we can get a gradual influx over the next few years. My wife is like, I am not living in a place where I have to drive an hour for good food, once the kids are in college 
We haven’t done Tasty… unfortunately, my wife had a bad experience there and refuses to go back, although it’s probably the one place we can get a meal that we’d enjoy.
Do say more about nice china? My wife gets noodle soups and I get duck, but what’s off menu?
I ask one of the waitresses at Torrance Canaan. It sounds like it will be somewhere in between the Cerritos/Torrance locations. Which would be a good start, lol.
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That’s great news! I was not wowed by the offerings of the torrance canaan location any additional chinese offerings would be welcomed
Sorry about the bad experience at tasty china hopefully at some point you can try again
Nice china they have a specials board, also if you call at a non-busy time and can speak chinese (the chef is cantonese and I believe the helper speaks mandarin) they can tell you what specials they can make for you pre-order style. Usually the standard pre-order things I believe are stir fried lobster, 100 flower chicken (chicken pressed with shrimp paste), steamed fish, peking duck, spareribs inside a kobacha pumpkin. I have heard anecdotally that he will make pretty much anything if you ask him to, but YMMV. I asked him to make almond tang yuan which he used to make and he said he doesn’t do that anymore.
They are super busy for the holiday time periods because families order those dishes and take them home. I tried to pre order 3 days before christmas and he said he wasn’t taking any more orders. You can also eat there and many families do from time to time ask about byob if that’s your thing too. We’ve had the peking duck, 100 flower chicken, and steamed fish which were all delicious although the steamed fish was quite expensive.
Here’s some off menu special pictures: syori the foodie: Nice China Cafe@Torrance ★★★
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There is plenty of Chinese people here to support a more Canaan Cerritos menu imo
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100%.
So interesting! I’ll have to try some of these dishes!
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Canaan Torrance… For what it’s worth, the menu is limited but things are well executed. Stinky tofu is excellent. Shrimp and eggs, a very simple dish is perfectly prepared - shrimp are plump, fresh and the egg is just the right consistency. They had an oyster thin noodle that no one ordered that was so delicious. Also, the grass jelly dessert is surprisingly good and satisfies my Taiwanese dessert craving in a bind.
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What you said about Nice China Cafe is mostly accurate. He does a lot of gatekeeping, so it’s hard to even see his banquet menu. I think he prefers to cook for an actual banquet rather than ones and twos. His cooking can be very good, but the joke is that it really depends on his mood.
The cheat code there is to order a half roast duck before 6 p.m., or call ahead. There is a good chance his BBQs will run out right around that 6 p.m. window. Don’t order the plate size, though. The cut is subpar. The roast pork flavor is good, but it’s not “half fat” (which is how I like it).
My go-to is the beef chow mein, double pan-fried. Ask for it extra crispy, but he’ll probably just ignore you. The beef chow fun can be really good too, but it’s not consistent enough for me. He gets a bunch of banquets during the holiday season, so him not taking more orders is understandable. More than a few times, we’ve just turned around the second we saw two banquet tables feasting.
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