WHY The Chinese chicken salad. WHAT It’s not the most authentic Chinese food, not by a long shot, but New Moon makes a damn fine Chinese chicken salad and perfectly acceptable won ton soup, fried rice and stir fries—and the won ton strips with a plum dipping sauce are a tasty variation on chips and [...]
April 18, 2013 | Posted in
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WHY To spice up your seafood restaurant list. WHAT The Hunan province may be inland, but the restaurant’s name isn’t an oxymoron. The vast Dong Ting Lake and Yangtze River tributaries supply fish, shrimp, frogs and turtle, all of which are on the menu at this modern chrome-and-glass spot. Also here is Chairman Mao’s favorite [...]
April 4, 2013 | Posted in
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WHY For golden-crusted north Chinese pastries, flaky flatbreads, meat pies, stuffed buns and dumplings. WHAT Probably the first xian bing (meat pie) place in SoCal, this tiny café makes irresistible versions, filled with beef, lamb or veggie mixtures—like leeks with egg or wild mushrooms. Don’t miss the multi-layered homeland meat pie—filled with juicy seasoned beef, [...]
March 22, 2013 | Posted in
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WHY Don’t-miss dishes like salt-and-pepper shrimp, whole steamed fish and crab in black bean sauce. WHAT Vast and glossy, this reliable Cantonese restaurant is chaotic for dim sum and a bit more refined at dinner. The fresh and varied dim sum is served from rolling carts, and the seafood is consistently excellent. A seafood feast [...]
February 25, 2013 | Posted in
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WHY Chinatown restaurants can seem all too similar, but JR stands out for hot pots, lobster specials and well-prepared standards. WHAT The same owners’ JR Restaurant was one of the westside’s top Chinese restaurants, and faithful customers will find many of the same favorites at this slightly slicker updated spot with white tablecloths, beer and [...]
February 6, 2013 | Posted in
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WHY Our vote for the best Hunanese cooking in Southern California. WHAT A chile-emphatic menu offers carefully cooked Hunan dishes without the usual vats of oil. The toss-fried lamb, glowing like an electric-powered Christmas tree, is a powder keg of a dish lit up with a quartet of chile styles: fresh diced, dried whole, flaked [...]
November 24, 2012 | Posted in
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WHY Well-crafted dim sum by day and well-executed upscale Chinese cooking by night, served in an attractive dining room for surprisingly modest prices. WHAT The dim sum gets more attention at this swank Cantonese place on Alhambra’s auto row, but we think the dinner is equally worthy. As is the trend now in your classier [...]
October 23, 2012 | Posted in
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WHY Among the best Hunanese food in the San Gabriel Valley. WHAT There’s considerable talent behind the stoves at this plain but spiffy café next to the San Gabriel Hilton. The dishes showcase a multiplicity of chile types and styles: dried to an almost black-red or sun-bleached; whole or crushed into flakes; soft and almost [...]
August 22, 2012 | Posted in
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WHY The best dim sum in town, and a superb Cantonese dinner menu, too. WHAT The San Gabriel Valley’s reigning dim sum house eschews the rolling carts in favor of a large menu of beautiful dumplings and small dishes: deep-fried peanut and sesame cake, flawless sui mai, Macau roasted pork, Macau egg custard pies and [...]
June 17, 2012 | Posted in
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WHY Pan-fried pork dumplings that will have you eating far more than propriety or good health demand. WHAT Given the amount of competition, particularly in these parts, it takes a lot of chutzpah to call yourself ‘Luscious Dumplings,’ but this simple café’s wares deserve the appellation. Each dumpling’s covering sports a different decorative pleating that [...]
June 3, 2012 | Posted in
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