Restaurant: Sham Tseng BBQ
Location:634 Garvey Ave, Monterey Park, CA 91754. (626) 289-4858
Date: February 12 & October 22, 2017 & July 21, 2019
Cuisine: Chinese BBQ
Rating: Best BBQ fowl and pig!
One of the first Hedonist Chinese diners I ever went to — 5 or more years ago! — was at Sham Tseng, but back when they had a different location.
Now that is closed and they have only (I think) their original location — which we have been to a whole mess of times.
It’s not much to look at, a sort of BBQ shack.
Check out the glamour!
But we had the “private room” — I’m chuckling even now. Back in the parking lot, in this sort of strip mall hooker motel like apartment building, up the shady stairs…
Down the creepy hall…
And even mysteriously for lease is…
The glorious interior two room “palace.”
Oh yeah!
Various sauces.
Beef tendon and pig ear. Not my favorites. I actually love beef tendon, but in spicy sauce where it’s chew is complemented by some flavor.
Corn Soup (7/21/19). A corn egg drop soup. Light and delicious.
Suckling pig. Now this some seriously amazing pig. Super little, incredibly crispy skin, super tender meat. Sham Tseng knows how to BBQ!
Oink!
Lobster in black pepper sauce. Fine, although not their speciality.
Lobster with garlic ginger sauce and noodles (7/21/19). This was a better lobster prep for them, although a bit of a tough beast, the sauce on the noodles was excellent.
Roast goose (2 pictures). This was an incredible dish too. Super moist and great crunchy skin. Eaten with the sweet orange sauce.
Fried bits (7/21/19), including tofu, chewy chicken bits, and maybe squid.
Egg yolk salt shrimp. A little too heavy for my taste.
Fried fish bits with garlic. Not bad.
Different fish bits with green onion (7/21/19). Really delicious.
This chili oil isn’t nearly as good as mine.
Spiced lamb chops. Super tasty.
Roast chicken. Some of the best straight up chicken I’ve had! Again cooked perfectly.
Hyper fried pork or such. Actually pretty darn tasty.
The party spread even to the staff.
Green beans. Fine.
Chinese broccoli (10/22/17). Fairly typical Chinese green.
Pea tendrils with garlic (10/22/17). I like this kind of colon sweeper better.
Chinese broccoli (and regular broccoli?) with mushrooms in velvet sauce (7/21/19).
Rice noodles with chicken (10/22/17). Vaguely sweet.
Singapore noodles. Nice version of this curry flavored dish.
Fried rice with everything.
Shrimp fried rice.
Fried rice with salty fish and chicken.
Ma Po tofu. Not very spicy sort of goopy version.
Buns and sauce for the peking duck!
Peking duck. Some more stunning poultry! Fabulous and as good as Tasty Duck.
Different presentation on 10/22/17.
Duck meat.
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Steam fish. A bit dull, but perfectly cooked.
Beef stew (7/21/19). Don’t know what else to call this, but pretty much… beef stew.
Chewy fried rice balls with red bean inside (10/22/17). What historically passed for dessert in China.
Lemon meringue pie. Yep. Not sure why, but it was fine.
Confetti cake. Even odder.
Radical new flavor: Gianduja Extra Virgin Olive Oil — a tricky high fat EVOO base made with 2014 Giuseppe Quintarelli Olive Oil and layered with house-made Piedmontese Hazelnut and Valrhona Chocolate Ganache — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato) — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #evoo #OiliveOil #Quintarelli #SavorySweet #ganache #valrhona #chocolate #hazelnut
Italian Lemon Cookie Meringue Pie — Limoncello Zabaione base with lemon cookie flavor mixed with Italian Lemon Creme Cookies and Sicilian Candied Lemon and topped with house-made toasted Meringue — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato) — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #lemon #LemonCookie #cookie #Sicily #Sorento #Limoncello #Meringue #LemonMeringuePie
Overall the private room is a fun time at Sham Tseng. Downstairs is a crowded mess. And while most of their non-BBQ dishes are just fine (solid, but nothing amazing), their BBQ poultry and pig is off the charts great — really really good.
For more crazy Hedonist dinners here!
For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.
Remnants from a table of old folks too senior to finish their food hedonist style.
Below is a slew of wines. I’m feeling too lazy to catalog them:
I brought the Rav.
And I brought this too. Not enough fruit.
