Pull right into a car parking zone in San Gabriel Valley, then take a whiff: Is that 5 spice tickling your nostrils? Hoisin wafting out that window? The scent of dumplings scorching in a skillet? As anybody who’s traveled to this nook of Southern California is aware of, hiding among the many drab, sand-colored strip-mall storefronts are a few of the nation’s most excellent Asian eating places.
Located quarter-hour from downtown Los Angeles, these eateries typically catch diners’ eyes with vibrant neon indicators and “Greatest Of” stickers pasted on the doorways. Step inside, and also you may discover soups brimming with braised meats and handmade noodles, baskets of steamed baos, or dim sum carts overflowing with dainty mouthwatering morsels.
Within the mid-1800s, the California gold rush introduced the primary wave of Chinese language immigrants to San Gabriel Valley (aka SGV). They had been largely from Guangdong (previously Canton), which led many People on the time to consider Cantonese meals was consultant of all Chinese language meals. That misunderstanding was cemented by the Chinese language Exclusion Act of 1882, which barred immigration from China altogether. It will be practically a century earlier than SGV acquired its subsequent main inflow of Asian immigrants—primarily from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Vietnam—who joined the Mexican, Filipino, Japanese, and South Asian People who had already made the realm their residence.
Within the Seventies, new eating places started cropping up celebrating the cuisines of Hunan, Sichuan, Shanghai, Taishan, Taiwan, and past. And lately, rich Chinese language traders have additional modified the face of SGV’s meals scene by opening a smattering of high-end eating spots.
An Angeleno of 27 years, I started my exploration of the realm’s meals scene in school with late-night rides to boba tea outlets and to Hong Kong-style cafes to review for midterms. As of late, you’re extra prone to discover me devouring Emperor’s jar soup, Uyghur massive plate rooster, or Asian American mashups like Bopomofu’s honey-walnut shrimp burger. No matter you’re within the temper to eat, you possibly can most likely discover it in SGV. Listed here are the Asian eating places I’m head-over-heels for.
This standard and environment friendly Taiwanese noodle home opens simply three hours for lunch as a result of its handmade threads are offered out by the afternoon. After beginning with refrigerator-case appetizers corresponding to shredded tofu with celery and carrots and smashed spicy cucumbers, transfer on to the meat noodle soup (the nationwide dish of Taiwan, natch), whose springy noodles relaxation in a posh broth and are available topped with flank steak and vibrant inexperienced spinach. Should you’ve acquired room for extra, order extra noodles—ideally those topped with minced pork and fermented bean sauce. (Make sure to deliver money, or be able to pay by way of Venmo or Zelle.)
Hui Tou Xiang serves tender dry noodles and wealthy noodle soups, however pan-fried pork dumplings are their strongest go well with. They stand out for his or her rectangular form, which makes for extra crispy floor space. The pork filling is equally pleasant with its contact of sudden sweetness. Then there are the soup dumplings, with their spectacular variety of pleats, delicate but sturdy wrapper, and gloriously splurty heart. Fundamental ambiance and decor—pleather cubicles, hardback chairs, fluorescent lighting—let the meals do the speaking.
Many pho spots look alike on this nook of SoCal, but it surely’s a blended bag relating to how good the broth is. At Golden Deli, it’s good—the clear soup sweetly beefy and fragrant with ginger, onions, star anise, cloves and cinnamon. Prime your bowl with tender slices of rib eye and brisket, and in case you like, tendon and/or tripe. A must-order pho precursor is chả giò, fried spring rolls, that are spectacularly crispy. One of the simplest ways to eat these is by wrapping them in a lettuce leaf and herbs, which make a crisp, cool counterpoint to the juicy filling of pork, carrots, mushrooms, and glass noodles. Since its first location opened in 1981, Golden Deli has turn into an SGV establishment, with lengthy strains which might be definitely worth the wait.
Newport Seafood is understood for its high quality seafood, typically seen swimming in its tank earlier than you order it. The signature dish is wok-fried, sauce-coated lobster with inexperienced onions, garlic, jalapeños, black pepper, and butter, a recipe developed by co-owner Ly Hua paying homage to his childhood in Phnom Penh. A detailed second is the baked shrimp and crab, served crisp and eaten shell-on. Talking of shells, certainly one of my go-to orders is clams with “spicy scorching sauce” whose identify is as deceptive as it’s redundant, since there’s little warmth to report however loads of aromatics like basil, garlic, and ginger. Hua and spouse Wendy Lam have roots in Guangdong however had been born in Cambodia; each sojourned by way of completely different nations to finally land in Southern California, the place they met. By their journeys you possibly can style your method by way of the restaurant’s menu full of Chinese language, Vietnamese, Thai, and Cambodian influences.
Dim sum in SGV has come a great distance, ranging from roving dim sum carts and shifting into made-to-order dishes introduced scorching from the kitchen. NBC Seafood Restaurant is among the few remaining push-cart holdouts. You recognize the kind: white tablecloths, lazy Susans, satiny gold chair covers that drape over the carpeted flooring. I like the bustle and hum of the place—the servers hawking their wares, the whine of turning cart wheels, the din of diners’ conversations. The classics are all you need at NBC, and the classics are what you’ll get: crystal shrimp dumplings; open-faced pork, shrimp and mushroom dumplings; steamed pork ribs; steamed and baked buns full of rooster or pork and pan fried radish muffins. Simply be able to wave and level when a dish catches your eye—that is no time to be shy.
This second-generation restaurant by Chris Yang and Maggie Ho is a brunch hotspot 5 days every week and a dinner vacation spot for 4, however you possibly can all the time depend on merchandise from native purveyors: This time of yr, it’s all about kabocha squash from Yao Cheng Farm and dry-aged barramundi from The Level. Conventional dishes like congee and chilly sesame noodles are my go-tos, as is the strawberry amazake smoothie made with Chavez Farms strawberries and oolong “Fresca.” At dinner, Hainan fish rice is a inventive spin on what’s normally a boiled rooster dish, with added crunch due to crispy fish pores and skin. Dan dan campanelle delivers good QQ, and the smoked char siu pork jowl is completely tender and candy, capped off with an outer char. Yang’s wine listing is singular and thrilling, that includes sudden bottles corresponding to Domaine Bükk’s “Litro Libre” made with zenit grapes from Hungary. An awesome purpose to make a reservation for the weekend is wine nights: Flights are $34 and include three beneficiant pours.
Bopomofo is the quintessential SGV Cafe: It’s an informal cafe by and for second-generation Asian People and a facet mission of YouTube sensation Philip Wang of Wong Fu Productions and Eric Wang. They serve ingenious drinks like mint matcha lattes and lychee berry bliss, the latter made with calamansi juice, strawberry purée, and coconut milk. Should you’re peckish, think about my favourite menu merchandise, the honey-walnut shrimp burger slathered with wasabi-yuzu sauce and topped with candied walnuts, pickled jalapenos, and crimson onion. There’s additionally your normal number of popcorn rooster, crispy niblets dusted in home seasoning, obtainable in white or darkish meat and furnished with Thai basil aïoli.
SinBala has lengthy been the native standby for Taiwanese consolation meals and desserts. The basic order (from the large menu) is the pork chop over rice, a battered-and-fried behemoth with a crunchy layer that provides method to tender, juicy meat. There’s additionally the glutinous meatball, a staple of southern Taiwan, topped with a candy, orange-tinged garlic soy sauce. Each chew is a tasty mixture of pork, wood-ear mushroom, and lip-smacking sauce. In spite of everything that richness, a refreshing dessert is so as: Shaved ice topped with condensed milk and your alternative of mochi balls, grass jelly cubes, crimson beans, and boba.
Bistro Na’s launched SGV to the Imperial delicacies of the Qing Dynasty, representing a brand new period of deeper-pocketed Chinese language immigration to the realm. Inside its red- and gold-walled eating room, friends can feast on dishes that had been actually made for royalty. Dishes by Bejing-born chef Tian Yong embody terribly crispy shrimp in its rendition of walnut shrimp and Emperor’s jar soup, a mix of beef tendon, mushroom, fish maw, quail egg, and sea cucumber suspended in concentrated rooster inventory. The restaurant serves solely eight Peking geese per evening, and to say one, you’ll wish to name forward. The chook’s pores and skin has a uniform thickness that nearly shatters while you chew into it. Chef Yong carves it delicately and serves the dish himself in two levels—first with solely sugar, then in hand-rolled wraps full of cucumber, inexperienced onion, and selfmade plum sauce
Earlier than this Alhambra restaurant opened in 2019, there have been hardly any Halal eating places serving SGV’s Uyghur group. Right here you’ll discover dishes seasoned with star anise, cumin, black pepper and cardamom—signature flavors of China’s Turkic Muslim minority. Massive-plate rooster, the standout major, options flat noodles, potatoes, bell peppers, leeks, and chiles in a spicy, hearty sauce. Equally exhausting to cross up are the hand-crimped beef and onion manti and the hand-pulled laghman noodles with stir-fried beef and greens. Televisions present panorama pictures of the huge and various panorama of Xinjiang province, and make you mirror on this deep-seated tradition preventing eradication.
This Pasadena gem that opened in 2022 brings SGV Cantonese delicacies full circle. Although you’ll spot basic preparations—corresponding to dim sum staples like juicy pork dumplings and egg yolk buns or salt and pepper tossed calamari—there’s a brand new emphasis on seasonality and high quality of elements. A working example is chef Peter Lai’s rooster full of shrimp paste distinguished by phenomenally crispy pores and skin. Don’t miss the stir-fried greens, together with savory luffa tossed with salted egg yolk, and wokked chayote with minced pork and pickled olives. Should you’re feeling adventurous, ask your server what the specials are, however don’t veer too far off: Whereas the menu is huge and consists of fashionable takes, expertise has proven me that the classics are the place it’s at.
Within the Easter SGV enclave of Hacienda Heights lies one of many largest Buddhist temples in North America. Hsi Lai, which suggests “coming west,” is a wide ranging, 15-acre advanced with gardens and temples inbuilt Ming and Qing dynasty architectural kinds. Day by day, they put out a humble $10 vegetarian buffet as a service to the group. You’ll discover pretty normal dishes corresponding to tempura greens; sesame tofu salad; vegetable broth; stir-fried noodles and reduce fruit. The meals is nothing to write down residence about (and could also be bland to some, because it’s allium-free because of non secular restrictions), however the compound is value visiting for its meditative serenity alone. The temple encourages guests to take solely what they’ll eat, so be aware of waste.
