I can answer this because I grew up in Los Angeles County and spent lots of time in both South Bay/SGV.
The reason why you don’t see much high quality Chinese food is simply because the population of Chinese is not as high as the San Gabriel Valley.
The South Bay has/had a strong Japanese presence due to Japanese companies moving into the area such as Toyota. Lots of other companies followed suit and moved into the area as well. South Bay also has lots of Hawaiians as well. I went to the old Yaohan Market and hung out at the Kinokuniya bookstore in Torrance as a kid. Everyone was Japanese. Now if you go to any Mitsuwa you will see a variety of races. I was at the Bryant Park location of Kinokuniya a few weeks ago and I saw every type of race in there. Pretty cool to see people interested in Japanese culture. At the same time imo I think the Japanese food scene in South Bay has been pretty stagnant as far as openings with exciting new Japanese places. I guess if you compare it to Koreatown and SGV it is pretty stagnant.
tldr: because all the Chinese are in SGV cities of Monterey Park, Alhambra, San Gabriel, Arcadia, Temple City, El Monte, Hacienda/Rowland, Walnut.
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I sorely miss Yank Sing for business lunches 
Uncle Fung’s in Long Beach. Very casual (order at the counter, they bring food in takeout containers) but well-appointed space. I really enjoyed the food. The laksa broth was flavorful but light, unlike other renditions that are much thicker and oilier. Maybe could have used a bit more “fishiness” to my taste but wife enjoyed it. Roti prata was again not oily at all and nicely crisped. Chicken satay was perfectly grilled thigh meat - slightly crispy outside but tender on the inside. Only quibe was the sauce skewed sweet - it wasn’t bad but I’m generally not a fan of sweetness with meat. Overall, a delightful meal and I’ll be back!
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very excited to see lunasia is now open in torrance. what are the waits like compared to sgv?
(yes, we’re back in town again for a week at the end of the month.)
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is chitose omakase-only? their website is scant on details of any kind but the menu tab only mentions the omakase.
Went to matsui seems to mostly udon and soba combos. The soba and udon were both excellent and the tsuyu sauce was superb.
The tendon and oyakodon bowls were pretty meh. Seems like a decent neighborhood joint.
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The tofu salad is good, too. The menu is almost identical to that of the old Mishima restaurant on 3rd in Beverly Grove, open from the early 90s 'til about 2012 (and run by the eponymous company that makes furikake and miso soup packages). Total throwback menu at throwback (food court) prices.
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I actually really enjoyed Mishima back in the day no idea that they were related.
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Hakata Ikkousha delicious ramen. You can choose your noodle firmness, soup strength, and toppings.
If you order a “everything” I feel that it overwhelms the bowl. Also they don’t tell you the price of everything so my ramen cost like over 23 dollars which was quite irking. I guess everything cost like 7 dollars lol.
Definitely one of the best bowls I’ve had in South Bay but be careful with the toppings!
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we definitely enjoyed our ramen at hakata ikkousha in the summer (blog write-up here). might go back again on this trip. unless there’s another ramen place in the south bay (other than jidaiya) that people would recommend over it.
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Going to wadatsumi tomorrow any recommendations?
Unfortunately couldn’t get a rez at chitose that place is hard to get into!
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Roast beef bowl.
If you are really hungry double fist it with a chutoro bowl.
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Oh yeah Patisserie Chantilly or Nagomi Cake House for dessert. Kansha Creamery also but they tend to sell out of their Japanese inspired flavors if you go too late.
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Never had a bad meal at Wadatsumi. Rice is very good. When I go with the whole family we’ll get a variety of meat and sushi bowls/dinners to share. Make sure to go a few doors down for chestnuts at Hisaya.
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stopped at lunasia, torrance on the way from lax to seal beach yesterday. dine-in meal. it’s nowhere as good as the alhambra location but not quite as dire as reported above. we liked the jumbo shiumai and the congee and the sticky rice and the s/p squid. egg tarts and mini xlb quite good too. turnip cake was disappointing–inconsistent texture and one was over-fried.
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I’ve tried it a couple times since.
The congee is definitely top notch! Their soups have also been very good, as I really enjoyed the chicken corn (so easy in concept but very few places make it well) and their wonton soup is a nice rendition as well.
For me the turnip cake, as you noted, has also been the worst thing for me… Just really poor execution of one of my favorite dimsum items.
My general observation is their items look really pretty and use high quality ingredients, but there’s usually one thing that’s not quite right. The har gow, for example, uses plump, fresh shrimp and the dumplings themselves are huge. But the wrapper is mediocre, too thick, not taut enough. What does that make it? A decent har gow, but nothing more. Same with the sesame balls I had yesterday. Expertly fried, the filling was delicious and somehow the sesame seeds they used are more fragrant than what you usually get. But the “mochi” layer beneath the fried crisp exterior was not good… the best ones have a bit of chew, not enough to make it difficult to bite through, but just enough to add some textural contrast to the filling. The Lunasia version has no chew, it’s really thin and your teeth just cut right through it into the filling, so it just feels like all you have is the crisp shell and then the red bean filling.
I know I’m being picky… I’m just really particular about dim sum because it’s one of my favorite foods and I was spoiled all those years in the Bay Area.
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I need to try the dim sum in Bay Area it sounds awesome!
Had really good lo mei gai and dan taat there yesterday.
The way they stir fry and then make their pea shoots soupy and add fried crispy tofu is one of my favorite preparations.
Also their tripe is delicious not the typical black bean preparation. They use a lot of ginger and green onion. Tripe was “crispy” yet tender.
Only complaint was the chicken feet were not as tender as they usually are.
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We ended up going to hachi instead of wadatsumi as I guessed the atmosphere might be better for an out of town we. Had a blast and ate so much didn’t get to snap a ton of photos.
Want to comment that their sushi and sashimi are super high quality and on par with highly respectable local sushi joints.
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La espanola house bocato iykyk.
Shop was crazy yesterday. 20-30 ppl milling around the deli case with no line or organization. I ran straight to the register told one of the aunties to get me some jamon iberico, paid for my phone order sandwiches and cheese and ran out the door.
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Love Hachi! Wife and I have only been once but everything we ordered was so delicious. Need to get back there!
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