Same. Wifey noodles, cats ear noodles, knife cut noodles.
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was the wife actually there? i ask because ethnic chinese restaurants don’t typically embrace the chief in ‘chef’ concept in terms of standards remaining the same when the main cook isn’t there. she’s usually at the baldwin location which is why i go there instead of the OG location. we’re on pretty good terms because i was the first person to bring her non-chinese clientele back in the day and they’ve gone back without me.
FWIW, she’s also tied to noodle palace in rosemead - i’ve seen her stop in and do some stuff in the kitchen - but i don’t think she does anymore - they’ve branched out and do the shanxi oat noodles that lao xi doesn’t.
did they add the shrimp w/sriracha sauce noodles to the menu?. i confess i tried not to blanch when she told me one of her underlings had developed the dish.
was just a couple of weeks ago. the menu isn’t all that extensive, but i got the sense that they assemble stuff when you order it (like that place on garvey in MP whose name escapes but IIRC it’s in or near the same plaza that used to house the old pete wood KBBQ - god i haven’t been there in about 7 years!) so don’t go it you’re in a hurry.
the fish dumplings may not be quite as good as the ones at qing dao bread food, but they’re pretty good.
the lamb pies (with leek IIRC) were reminiscent of beijing pie house though not necessarily worthy of a peter north reference as someone once suggested on chowhound; - more leakage than, well, getting shot in the eye. i’ll just stop here.
the SJB were visually pleasing and had plenty of liquid, but were subjectively deficient in fat content.
XLB suffered from the same subjective impression that on the fat scale, they were maybe about 15 proof whereas i was hoping for about 80. the construction was not all that delicate and my dining companion lamented that they placed together touching, resulting in tears and leakage. they also seemed to be caught off guard by our request for ginger and had to scramble to slice some a little on the thick side. i’d rather get them at p p pop in that price range.
is shanxi, not shaanxi.
i did a couple of months ago. you can find the post using the search function (which most folks seem to avoid doing since the pandemic as a lot of the intelligence has become outdated) i don’t know if the menu has been revised, but i saw an unusual percentage of spicy dishes on the menu compared to other places which prompted me to speculate that it was a shaanxi subregional hanzhong (sichuan province is directly to the south of shaanxi province) style, especially since they also include some beef dishes; shaanxi tends to focus more on pork, or lamb/mutton.
IIRC the noodles were typically shaanxi in length & girth; i’ve owned belts smaller than these noodles, but while they were thick enough to retain decent ‘Q’ they seemed a bit… waterlogged - like they’d been cooked in the morning and left to soak in water until serving. maybe i’m projecting an expection of a western technique to undercook them, then cook them in the sauce so that they bind and the pasta still turns out al dente. or worse, they added oil/fat to the water to keep noodles from sticking - which also results in sauce not binding to the noodles.
i can still remember the place it replaced, empress harbor; i was dating a niece of the owner so we always cut to the front of the line. i understand jason chen (tang gong) is opening a place in monrovia, of all places, taking over the old “the monrovian” location.
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Not sure, I only noticed a couple younger guys out front. As for the menu, I don’t remember seeing the sriracha sauce noodles, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there - I just focused on the specialties!
We ventured to Min Min yesterday and enjoyed everything we ordered. SJB were nicely crispy on the bottom and sufficiently juicy inside. Pan fried dumplings (pot stickers) were also very well crisped without excessive scorching. The pies/pancakes were not excessively juicy as the old Beijing Pie House version, but nicely satisfying once cooled enough for safe consumption. We ordered the pork and pickled vegetable buns. The steam buns were made to order and also reminded us of Noodle House on Garvey (RIP) when they were blowing up. There was no lack of pickled vegetable in the filling. Beef noodle soup had an aroma of sesame oil, but didn’t overwhelm on the pallet. My wife needed to add some of their potent chili oil to her bowl of noodles to reach her liking. We tried to add on the Multi Grain Pancake and was chuckled at for ordering too much food. Ultimate that didn’t arrive, which was OK by us as we enjoyed our meal and would go there again. Thanks FTC-ers for the tip on Min Min.
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Min Min sounds good!
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Well, yeah, it’s a more integral ingredient in Mainland styles. Can you imagine a Sichuan place without chili oil? But, even then, there’s a range.
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Yeah, my sources told me Ipoh Kopitiam was just “ok” and to stick with the basics. Caveat being some are folks that are self-admitted Singaporean/Malaysian food snobs that haven’t been remotely happy with any version attempted here 
Even then, they suggested just sticking to the kaya toast. My takeout version was thin too, but tasty (and only local option, so there’s that). I rather enjoyed my white coffee, but as it was my first, I can’t vouch for how well-executed it was. Definitely got the richness, and buttery taste, but no burnt-sweetness interplay (for that, the coffee milk tea at KT Cafe on Garvey used to do the trick 
)
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Zheng Dou Kee Wonton King opens at 518 W. Garvey in Monterey Park serving, well, Hong Kong style noodles and stuff.
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Drove by Zheng Dou Kee Wonton King today and saw the lights on. Will try soon.
Not restaurant related but I bought SGV’s own Clarissa Wei’s Made In Taiwan book. Hope to make a trip to Taiwan in the near future. I guess California will have to do for Taiwanese.
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I’ve tried to recall the other Shaanxi place, and finally came up with it, the wonderfully named Wen Hui Noodle Hours on Garvey in Monterey Park. Has anyone been? I hate to see places get overlooked, particularly when there are only few of that style*
*Obviously, there are times where a place or two do emerge as “(b)est” for a reason, as well as reasons why some do not get mentioned and are rightfully overlooked 
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Just tried this place. Great wok hei on the chow fun, generously-wrapped wontons and in a rich clear abalone broth. They were out of pineapple buns today. Busy with locals (I was the only non-Cantonese speaker there). A strong opening.
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That’s cool deco. Always New Years. But another skewer place?
Deep fried skewer?
Array 36 opens in Temple City at the site of many past restaurants including Fresh QBake and Zen Buffet. Another in the string of way upscale Chinese restaurants. It’s so dark you can’t see your hands and you can’t dine without a reservation.
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After I posted about Wen Hui Noodle Hours, I realized there is also Noodle Palace in Rosemead, which also serves some Shaanxi dishes. So, it went from the normal 2-3 Shaanxi-style places, to what?, five! That may be an all-time SGV high.
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It’s so interesting to me in SGV that some of these spots are serving different regions on one menu. Not counting things like XLB’s and American Chinese but Sichuan and Shaanxi. Noodle Palace has both Shānxī and Shaanxi.
Kinda interested in these 2 noodle dishes. Dalu Mian and beef knife cut.
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Not only did Nine Dining replace New Haojing on Valley Blvd. in Alhambra in the onetime Cafe Spot location, but they took over the entire strip center.
Offering XLB during dim sum is a prime example.
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