Restaurant: JTYH Heavy Noodle II

Location: 9425 Valley Blvd. Rosemead, CA 91770. (626) 442-8999

Date: September 17, 2014

Cuisine: Chinese

Rating: Tasty

The SGV has every kind of Chinese food. JTYH specializes in homemade noodles and dumplings. For those of you not in the “noodle know” knife cut noodles are made by shaving a block of raw dough directly into boiling water with a sharp knife.

Heavy Noodle, lol. The sequel to Heavy Metal the Movie?

The decor rivals Crustacean and The Bazaar. Not. But the food is tasty and the prices astounding.

Uh oh, Yarom is ordering. Expect pig ears!

The menu.

1998 J. Rochioli Chardonnay South River Vineyard. Oxidized, and certainly not getting any better, but with an enjoyable custard vibe.

Pig ear w/ spicy oil. I told you so. This is two pig ear dishes in 4 days. I’m not a fan.

2012 Caspari – Kappel Enkircher Ellergrub Riesling Spätlese feinherb “Alte Reben”. Sort of half dry with a lot of asphalt.

Cold cucumber. Chinese pickles. These are fine.

2005 Dönnhoff Schloßböckelheimer Felsenberg Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel. 93 points. Nice and sweet and nectar-like.

Smoked Chicken. You would not believe this is chicken. Tastes like ham!

From my cellar: 2001 Ulrich Langguth Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Spätlese. 92 points. Quite ripe – more Auslese in style – with a typical Mosel flavor profile. Enjoyable, and a good value for an ’01 Spatlese.

Celery. Yep.

2010 Willi Schaefer Graacher Domprobst Riesling Spätlese. 92 points. Lime juice, orange, apricot and apple. The sweetness of the pure fruit does show but it is cut through by very good acidity and it finishes very cleanly.

Beef roll. This “burrito” of vegetables and cured (pastrami-like) beef is pretty awesome.

From my cellar: 2002 Bouchard Père et Fils Gevrey-Chambertin 1er Cru Les Cazetiers. IWC 92. Ruby-red. Highly aromatic nose combines dark berries, Cuban tobacco, smoke and game. Sweet, lush and fat, especially in the context of this vineyard, showing more texture than definition today following the racking. Best now on the very long, subtle finish, which features suave, sweet tannins and excellent firming acidity.

Boiled dumpling: pork w/ napa or leek. I’m not sure which dumpling Yarom ordered, but these had a tad more vegetable than I would have liked. Still, I ate three.

2009 Flying Goat Cellars Pinot Noir Rio Vista Vineyard. 91 points.

Shredded potato. This is a common central Chinese dish. Pretty darn yummy actually, particularly dipped i a bit of dumpling sauce.

2003 Flowers Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast. 91 points. Holding well with good fruit and good balance still. Nice red cherry fruit roll-up, compote strawberry and vanilla. Secondary flavor of toasted walnuts and almonds. Nice smooth wine, would drink now.

Szechuan Style Beef (I think). Some tasty beef in a red chili sauce with just a bit of spicy numbing peppercorn.

1997 Arrowood Syrah Saralee’s Vineyard. IWC 90. Ruby-red. Complex, musky aromas of raspberry, game, mint, nuts and woodsmoke. Ripe, layered and deep, with a pleasing pliancy and enticing flavors of raspberry, cola and smoky oak. Finishes with fine tannins and a persistent, subtle flavor of tangy raspberry.

Spicy Lamb Ribs. We’d be all set for passover, because this was more like lamb bone and chilies. It was tasty, but there was merely a hint of meat on them thar ribs.

2004 Saxum Syrah James Berry Vineyard Bone Rock. Parker 93-98. Made from a blend of 85% Syrah, 12% Grenache, and 3% Mourvedre, there are 500 cases of the 2004 Bone Rock James Berry Vineyard. It possesses a saturated ruby/purple color along with tight, restrained aromatics of blackberries, blueberries, and flowers, good acidity, fleshy, full-bodied flavors, and fine elegance, delicacy, and finesse … rare for a wine of this size and intensity. It will drink well for 10-12 years.

Corn. Chinese succotash!

2003 Pax Cellars Syrah Walker Vine Hill. Parker 94-96. The inky/purple-tinged 2003 Syrah Walker Vine Hill is a 552-case cuvee produced from a 12-year old vineyard planted on a southern slope in sandy goldridge soils. One of the estate’s silkiest, most opulent efforts, it is a stunning, enormously concentrated 2003 that tips the scales at 15.2% alcohol. Nearly 100% stems were utilized during its fermentation. A saturated purple color is accompanied by a massive blast of blackberries, cassis, and white flowers in this full-throttle, super-concentrated effort. There is a meaty-like richness in the mouth, as if one were chewing the wine rather than drinking it. Enjoy this impressive Syrah during its first decade of life.

Fried Pork Dumplings. These were the real deal. The filling was great and meaty. The covering was THICK!

2004 Dumol Syrah Jack Robert’s Run. Parker 95. The terrific, dense purple-colored 2004 Syrah Jack Robert’s Run is a 200-case cuvee that spent 18 months in French oak. Notes of melted tar, roasted peppers, meat juices, blackberries, and cassis emerge from this full-bodied, rich, flavor-filled, intense effort. Enjoy it over the next 10 years.

Hand-made noodles with preserved meat. Basically like pasta fresca with vegetables and sweet salami. Fabulously yummy though.

2006 Pride Mountain Vineyards Merlot. Parker 86. There are 5,000 cases of the 2006 Merlot, a blend of Sonoma and Napa fruit that includes 12% Cabernet Sauvignon. Its dark ruby/purple color is followed by subtle aromas of road tar, mocha, and sweet cherries, medium body, and austere, aggressive tannins that attenuate the finish. Drink this 2006 sooner rather than later as I do not believe the fruit is sufficient to hold up to the structure.

agavin: not sure we opened this, but it was on the table.

Dan Dan Noodle. You still it up. There was chili oil at the bottom. This is a pretty classic rendition. Quite nice with a little bit of heat.

Bok choy. Standard Chinese vegetable.

1997 René Renou Bonnezeaux Cuvée Zenith. 92 points. Opened and served immediately. Dark yellow to gold color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of apricots, honey and a bit of tangerine. Dash of honey on the palate up front followed by a bit of lychee. Pretty light and somewhat nimble on the palate. Medium acidity, light to medium body. Drink over the short term, maybe the medium term.

Spicy Shrimp. Similar prep to the “ribs.” You ate the shells and that was fine, they were cooked down to a nice sweet crunchy state. A bit of peppercorn in here too. Very nice.

Shrimp fried rice. Classic.

2005 Domaine Huet Vouvray Moelleux 1ère Trie Clos du Bourg. VC 97. Light golden yellow color; almond, green apple, lanolin, white pepper, wet wool nose; rich, structured, deep, ripe apple, peach, mineral, almond, tart pear palate; long finish.

Cumin lamb. Here’s where all the meat went! These chunks were succulent and tender.

Beef fried noodle. More noodles, but again “hand-made” and again very good.

Food was extremely tasty at JTYH, and extremely reasonable. The feast was $28 a person with a huge tip. We didn’t actually get the “knife cut” noodles though (even though ordered) instead getting three types of the “hand-made” (which are more like a handmade spaghetti). I would have liked to try their knife cut, which are thicker and shorter (probably the same dough). I’ll just have to come back.

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