Restaurant: Indian, The Tavern
Location: 633 S San Gabriel Blvd #105, San Gabriel, CA 91776. (626) 287-0688
Date: September 11, 2022
Cuisine: Chinese
Rating: Solid, if odd
It’s hard to describe this particular SGV restaurant.
From the outside it looks like most of them.
But then inside it has this weird western saloon theme. Presumably it was some kind of “Indian bar” back in the 50s. The decor has partially stuck, but the menu is almost all Chinese.
We had this rustic table in the “party room.”
Not so PC!
Shrimp Egg Roll. Very hot and crispy, moist interior. The sweet sauce was also a bit spicy which was kinda nice.
Grilled Taiwanese Sausage. Sweet and salty sausage, always great.
Scallop in “lobster sauce” (egg white). Surprisingly good.
Sliced pork belly w/ minced Garlic. Dark garlic sauce on the side. Not bad but not the best dish of the night.
Salty dark garlic sauce.
French Steak medium rare on rare side. Best “Chinese” steak I’ve had. Pretty much a regular steak, medium rare with black pepper.
Tea Smoked Duck. Very nice. Smokey and pretty moist.
Preserved pork belly w/ garlic sprouts. Great dish. Smokey pork with leaks and garlic coated in all that smokey pork fat.
Lobster with XO sauce. Weakest dish of the night perhaps? Slightly over-cooked but still enjoyable.
Smashed Cucumbers. Out of order but a great version of this dish. Lots of garlic flavor.
Fish filet in green vine pepper soup. A bit of numbing flavor but not that hot or numbing. I’ve had better versions of this dish but it was still decent.
Stir Fried Double Fried Eggs W. Napa Cabbage. Excellent cabbage with that awesome greasy/salty flavor.
Tofu with house sauce. Very nice tofu with a lovely deep ginger flavored brown sauce.
Shrimp and Taiwanese Sausage Fried Rice. Excellent fried rice.
Vanilla White Gelato — a very simple and elegant Tahitian Vanilla Bean White Base (no egg) — 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 #vanilla
Cinnamon Caramel Sauce.
Overall, the place was surprisingly excellent. There were long gaps between dishes (particularly at the beginning) and the order was kind of Chinese random, but the dish quality was very good. There were some slightly weird dishes too, but they tasted good, so nothing to complain about. I’m not exactly sure what region of China the kitchen represents. And then there is the unique and peculiar “decor.” Certainly interesting.
Jennifer had a bit of an accident during her recent trip to tour the Chernobyl basement.
