Image
  • Writing
    • Andy Gavin: Author
    • About my Novels & Writing
    • All Writing Posts
    • The Darkening Dream
      • Buy the Book Online
      • Sample Chapters
      • Reviews
      • Info for Reviewers
      • Press Coverage
      • Awards
      • Cast of Characters
    • Untimed
      • Buy Untimed Online
      • Book Trailer
      • Sample Chapters
      • Reviews
      • Info for Reviewers
      • Press Coverage
      • Awards
      • Cast of Characters
    • Scrivener – Writer’s Word Processor
    • iPad for Writers
    • Naughty Dark Contest
  • Books
    • Book Review Index
    • Favorite Fantasy Novels
    • Andy Gavin: Author
    • The Darkening Dream
      • Buy the Book Online
      • Sample Chapters
      • Short Story: Harvard Divinity
      • Reviews
      • Info for Reviewers
      • Press Coverage
      • Awards
      • Cast of Characters
    • Untimed
      • About the Book
      • Buy Untimed Online
      • Book Trailer
      • Sample Chapters
      • Reviews
      • Info for Reviewers
      • Press Coverage
      • Awards
      • Cast of Characters
    • Naughty Dark Contest
  • Games
    • My Video Game Career
    • Post Archive by Series
    • All Games Posts Inline
    • Making Crash Bandicoot
    • Crash 15th Anniversary Memories
    • World of Warcraft Endgames
    • Getting a Job Designing Video Games
    • Getting a Job Programming Video Games
    • Naughty Dark Contest
  • Movies
    • Movie Review Index
  • Television
    • TV Review Index
    • Buffy the Vampire Slayer
    • A Game of Thrones
  • Food
    • Food Review Index
    • Foodie Club
    • Hedonists
    • LA Sushi Index
    • Chinese Food Index
    • LA Peking Duck Guide
    • Eating Italy
    • Eating France
    • Eating Spain
    • Eating Türkiye
    • Eating Dutch
    • Eating Croatia
    • Eating Vietnam
    • Eating Australia
    • Eating Israel
    • Ultimate Pizza
    • ThanksGavin
    • Margarita Mix
    • Foodie Photography
    • Burgundy Vintage Chart
  • Other
    • All Posts, Magazine Style
    • Archive of all Posts
    • Fiction
    • Technology
    • History
    • Anything Else
  • Gallery
  • Bio
  • About
    • About me
    • About my Writing
    • About my Video Games
    • Ask Me Anything
  • Contact

Archive for Monterey Park

Ring in Tang Gong

Sep30

Restaurant: Tang Gong

Location: 111 N Atlantic Blvd #350, Monterey Park, CA 91754. (626) 888-5188

Date: August 14, 2019

Cuisine: Cantonese Dimsum

Rating: Great new made to order Dimsum

_

Our friend Derek has been the manager variously at Elite Seafood, World Seafood, and China Red.
Unknown
Now he’s helping open up Monterey Park newcomer, Tang Gong.
7U1A6033-Pano
In an era when the Cantonese Palaces are closing, it’s rare to have a new one opening up — including all the glitzy Hong Kong style trappings. These places cater (haha) to big Chinese weddings.
7U1A5897-Pano
And a huge private room (where we were located).
7U1A5896
Derek posing with Yarom.
7U1A5907-Pano
7U1A5909
The dim sum menu. Like most Cantonese places, there is banquet at night. They had just opened a few days before when we arrived.
7U1A5923
Chicken Feet with House Sauce. Sometimes this is called XO sauce. It’s not exactly the same as regular XO sauce.
7U1A5930
Beef Tripe with Scallion and Ginger. Sounds gross. Looks gross. Tastes great. Chewy, yes. But delicious.
7U1A5919
Steamed Pork Ribs with Garlic. These also aren’t the best looking items in the world, and there are the little knuckle-like bones in there, but the meat taste was fantastic. Very juicy and full of pork flavor.
7U1A5926
Har Gow. Shrimp dumpling. Classic, straightforward, and enjoyable as always.

7U1A5939
Pork and Shrimp Shui Mai. I always order the classics when checking out a new place. These were solid, much like Elite’s.
7U1A5937
Fried Pork Dumpling. These have that chewy fried mochi shell and delicate pork inside. Really delicious.

7U1A5957
Sea Cucumber and Dried Scallop Dumpling. I hadn’t realized this was “in a soup” (should have looked at the pictures better). This makes it hard to share but it was scrumptious. Lots of interesting umami flavor.
7U1A6014
Pan Fried Leek Cake. There is some shrimp or something in here too. I love these for their greasy shell texture. Pretty much a “Beijing Pie.”

7U1A6000
XLB (Juicy Pork Bun). Soup filled lovelies. Solid renditions of these. Not the great kind you get at a specialty house where they make them constantly fresh, but still very enjoyable with the vinegar.
7U1A5945
Baked Crispy Pork Bun. 10/10. Light slightly sweet crispy shell, airy interior, and sweet BBQ pork. Awesome.
7U1A5949
Shredded Duck and Seat Pea Rice Roll. Interesting. The peas are either an interesting or distracting textural element alongside the chewy soft chow fun.
7U1A5963
BBQ Pork and Corn Rice Roll. More straightforward and I think I enjoyed a bit more.
7U1A5991
Seafood Salad Roll. Fried with a creamy “seafood salad” inside. Delicious though.
7U1A6019
Baked BBQ Pork Pastry. The buttery pastry version with the same BBQ pork.
7U1A5972
House special lobster. Good, typical.
7U1A5954
Peking Duck. The meat itself was good, although maybe it could have been a touch crispier. I prefer the pancakes to the buns, but the hoisin was good.
7U1A5987
Crispy BBQ Pork. Interesting pork pretty. Quite delicious.
7U1A6022
BBQ Chicken. Super succulent chicken.
7U1A5979
Traditional Beef Chow Fun. Pan fried noodles with beef.
7U1A5994
Braised E-Fu Mein. I liked these crispy noodles even better. Tons of flavor and very addictive (viva la grease!)

7U1A6002
Canton Style Steamed Greens. Very tasty.
7U1A6006
Beet Greens (you can see the purple color) steamed with garlic. These were more bitter and I didn’t like them as much as the straight up greens.
7U1A6029
White Chocolate Peanut Gelato — I hadn’t made a White Chocolate base in a while so in light of my rent “experiments” in chocolate took another pass at it — came out awesome, using all Valrhona Ivoire chocolate layered with house-made Peanut Dulcey Ganache — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #peanut #WhiteChocolate #valrhona #ganache

Hpnotiq Blue Hawaiian Sorbetto — like a frozen cocktail — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — Thai Coconut Milk, Pineapple, Lime, and Hpnotiq liqueur –#SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #dessertlovers #dessertporn #icecreamlovers #gelatoitaliano #foodporn #gelatolover #food #foodgasm #foodblogger #dessertgasm #desserttime #foodphotography #gelatoartigianale #gelatomania #dessertlover #icecream #icecreamlovers #sorbetto #Hpnotiq #BlueHawaiian #pineapple #coconut #lime
7U1A6044
Overall, very solid new place. Service (thanks Derek) was of course perfect. We loved the big private room. Dimsum was “typical good” very much like Elite or Derek’s time at World Seafood. We didn’t have too much that was really novel, but the execution on all the typical dishes was excellent. I want to see how they settle into the rhythm of things in a couple weeks and return.

For more LA dining reviews click here,

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

7U1A5910
7U1A5912
7U1A5911
7U1A5913
7U1A5914
7U1A6046

Related posts:

  1. Ring the Ji Rong Gong
  2. World Seafood is Elite
  3. Capital Dim Sum
  4. So Many Palaces, So Few Sundays
  5. SGV Nights – Seafood Palace
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: BYOG, Dim sum, dimsum, Gelato, hedonists, lunch, Lunch Quest, Monterey Park, SGV, Tang Gong, Tony Lau

So Many Palaces, So Few Sundays

Dec24

Restaurant: Monterey Palace Restaurant

Location: 1001 E Garvey Ave. Monterey Park, CA 91755. Phone number (626) 571-0888

Date: November 11, 2018

Cuisine: Cantonese Chinese

Rating: Tony always gets great stuff out of the kitchen

_

Tony Lau’s Cantonese dinners are some of the best Chinese dinners of the year. He always manages to get the best out of these old school Cantonese kitchens.
7U1A1082
Monterey Palace is definitely one of these old school 80s Cantonese Palaces on Garvey.
7U1A1084-Pano
The interior is the usual somewhat overdone, slightly Chinese wide space.
7U1A1091-Pano
We had a nice private room.
7U1A1101
They specialize in roasting so there were pigs and ducks in the window.
7U1A1099
Peanuts on the table to begin with.
7U1A1119
Suckling Pig. Of course we had to. This was pretty typical of good SGV suckling pigs. Crisp skin, nice porky meat and the light hoisin sauce.
7U1A1125
Garlic shrimp. Crispy fried/baked. Not sure how they get them exactly like this.
7U1A1129
With roe too and WAY better than the similar steamed “bug” dish at Newport Seafood. This had a lot of flavor. You could munch on the shells if you like too.
7U1A1132

Scallops, pea pods, and sea cucumber. Very light sauce. A totally different sea cucumber prep than I had in China. But good. The scallops and pea pod part of the dish reminded me of velvety dishes I’d get at Chinese places in my youth (early 80s).
7U1A1138
Beef with mushrooms. Simple, but nice tasty beef actually.
7U1A1143
Sizzling pork. It came first in a bowl.
7U1A1155
Then they transferred to the hot skillet to finish it off. Much like the old “sizzling war bar.”
7U1A1153
Cantonese roast duck. This is close to Peking Duck, but not as crispy. Basically roast duck. Served with the heavier buns.
7U1A1154
And the usual condiments. Not nearly as good as a great Peking Duck, but still excellent.
7U1A1157
Lobster steamed with garlic. This simple prep is often one I get for crab. Just steamed, over glass noodles, and with lots and lots of garlic. Actually turned out to be excellent with lobster as it played up the moist and tender meat.

7U1A1167
Mushrooms, veggies, and pan fried meat (can’t remember which type). This was a slightly different dish and nice.

7U1A1163

Some ancient dessert wine for my gelato.
7U1A1170
My son’s favorite and his birthday pick: Triple Chocolate Cloud Gelato – the base made with Valrhona 63% Satilla Chocolate and then layered with Dark Chocolate Creamcheese Ganache and house-made Valrhona brownie cubes — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #SummerTime #TripleChocolate #chocolate #valrhona #javara #brownies #icecream #dessert #FrozenDessert

There was also a tiny bit of Saffron Pistachio Gelato – Persian Saffron infused milk and Pistachios from Bronte Sicily — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #saffron #pistachio #nuts #sicily
7U1A1173
The restaurant brought fruit.
7U1A1114
Overall, this was a great meal. Monterey Palace is a pretty dated old school Cantonese place and I bet that if you just went and ate dinner it would be fairly middling (although enjoyable enough). However, Tony Lau always manages to get the very best out of them. This meal wasn’t my favorite Chinese style, I like a somewhat more varied, spicier, and more “Chinese” Chinese food style personally. In some ways it actually reminded me of what we had in Guilin China (which isn’t that far from Canton). You can see a lot of examples from China itself below in my Chinese dining guide.

For my catalog of Chinese restaurant reviews here and in China, click here.

Wines jumbled below:
7U1A1102
7U1A1103
7U1A1122
7U1A1109
7U1A1105
7U1A1106
7U1A1107
7U1A1108
7U1A1110
7U1A1136

Related posts:

  1. Lincoln Seafood Restaurant
  2. NBC Seafood – Best Ever?
  3. SGV Nights – Seafood Palace
  4. Cui Hua Lou – Szechuan Shed
  5. Day of the Dumplings
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: BYOG, Cantonese Chinese, Chinese Food, Gelato, hedonists, Monterey Palace, Monterey Palace Restaurant, Monterey Park, SGV, Tony Lau

Lincoln Seafood Restaurant

Dec22

Restaurant: Lincoln Seafood Restaurant

Location: Lincoln Plaza Hotel, 123 S Lincoln Ave, Monterey Park, CA 91755. Phone number (626) 571-0018

Date: November 19, 2017

Cuisine: Cantonese Chinese

Rating: Very good

_

I’m always up for a new SGV Chinese restaurant and even more so when it’s a dinner organized by Tony Lau — a friend of mine who really knows how to get the best out of Cantonese restaurants.

From my cellar: 2015 Jacques Perritaz Cidrerie du Vulcain Apple Transparente. Very nice fresh 4.5% alcohol French cider.

The habitual peanuts.

2011 Michel Gonet Champagne Grand Cru Le Mesnil sur Oger Blanc de blancs. 90 points. huge mousse with lots of persistent fine bubbles. sweet nose of sweet rolls and perfume flowers. youthful, fresh, acidic palate. flavors of pistachio, lime, and mineral. long finish. needs to rest a couple of years but should be good as it puts on weight.

Steamed crab. Pretty much straight up but delicious fresh crab.

Vinegar/garlic sauce for the crab.

2009 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Bougros Cote de Bouguerots. BH 95. This is a big step up in refinement, particularly aromatically with an abundance of oyster shell and tidal pool nuances that add breadth to the white flower, citrus and Chablis-style green fruit. The rich, powerful and mouth coating flavors possess real drive but also beautiful detail on the intensely mineral-driven finish that possesses outstanding length. This is really quite dry, at least within the context of the 2009 vintage. In a word, terrific.

Whole crispy salt and pepper prawns. With roe, and cooked perfectly so that you could eat the shell too.

2014 Veyder-Malberg Grüner Veltliner Maischegarung Hochrain.

The heads of the prawns return with chilis. Not as good as the bodies, but great still.

From my cellar: 1995 Domaine Anne Gros Clos Vougeot Le Grand Maupertui. AG 92.  Deep red-ruby. Extravagantly rich aromas of blackcurrant, pepper, smoke and tar. Large-scaled, deep and very sweet; explosively fruity and impressively tactile. Chewy tannins are buried under a wave of finishing fruit. A knockout Clos Vougeot truly worthy of its grand cru status.

Whole suckling pig. A great version of the cantonese classic. Super crispy skin, awesome meat.

Azienda Bricco Asili (Ceretto) Barbaresco Bricco Asili. Great wine, can’t remember the year.

French style beef. Also a classic, but very nice. Lots of flavor and very tender.

2006 Marcassin Pinot Noir Three Sisters Vineyard. BH 76. An advanced and overtly funky nose of strong reduction is nuanced by that same bothersome note of melted vinyl that I seem to consistently find with the Marcassin wines. On the plus side, the round, supple and impressively-scaled flavors possess very solid mid-palate concentration yet the finish is edgy, short, bitter and noticeably warm. Bottom line: Given the description, suffice it to say that this wine is singularly unpersuasive. Caveat emptor.

agavin: our bottle was better than that.

Roast goose. Like peking duck — only goose! Dark and rich.

And served with the hoisin and green onions.

And the squishy buns.

1997 Zind-Humbrecht Riesling Clos Windsbuhl. VM 89+. Very unforthcoming nose hints at lime blossom, spearmint and citrus oil. Structured and quite dry in the mouth; distinctly austere for a riesling from this vintage. Combines just 4 g/l r.s. with 8.5 g/l acidity, the highest of these ’97 rieslings. Will go petrolly with bottle age. This plot, which ripens slowly and stubbornly retains acidity, was the last of Humbrecht riesling vineyards to be harvested in ’97.

100 flower chicken. Now this was a new dish and absolutely spectacular — as Yarom puts it, an 11. Prawn meat and the chicken were spread into a patty and pan fried with crispy skin on top. Totally boneless with a dimsum like taste. Amazing!

2006 Caymus Cabernet Sauvignon Special Selection. 92 points.

2012 Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino. VM 91. Bright red with a pale rim. Sweet spices, red cherry and camphor are immediately obvious on the nose, while an herbal note clears wth aeration. The red cherry note repeats on the palate, where it’s complicated by hints of tobacco and sweet chocolate. Long and vibrant but very suave, this really improved in the glqss so decant about four hours ahead at least (in fact, Giacomo Neri told me he believes this would have tasted better eight hours after opening, and even more so if tasted the next day). Lovely brunello.

Greens. Not my favorite greens. Very stalky with a slightly bitter taste.

 

1999 M. Chapoutier Côte-Rôtie. 92 points. Very nicely put together Cote-Rotie. Nose showed meat and some leather along with sweet morello cherry, blueberry and violets.

Secret soup.

Turtle stew! This one was thicker and richer than the last 2 we had. You can see the thick turtle meat and there was a lot of garlic and some crunchy vegetable (lotus?).

Mixed up.

They also brought it with these crispy pan fried noodles.

You poured over the noodles. Amazing!

Soup in the bowl (in case you missed it).

Weird Chinese Tapioca dessert.

And I brought strawberry gelato and white chocolate gelato with milk chocolate stripes.

Overall, I was actually surprised given the dated look of the place (in an ancient Monterey Park hotel) how great the food was. Tony Lau really knows how to get the best dishes out of places and they also really treated us great. I’d certainly go back as this was a great Cantonese meal from a kitchen that is on point.

For more LA dining reviews click here.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. SGV Nights – Seafood Palace
  2. New Bay Seafood
  3. Top Island Seafood
  4. Shanghai #1 Seafood Village
  5. Newport Special Seafood
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: BYOG, Chinese Food, Gelato, hedonists, Lincoln Garden, Monterey Park, SGV, Tony Lau, Wine

Ocean Star isn’t such a star

Nov16

Restaurant: Ocean Star Restaurant

Location: 145 N Atlantic Blvd #201-203, Monterey Park, CA 91754. (626) 308-2128

Date: October 6, 2015

Cuisine: Cantonese Dim Sum

Rating: Mediocre cart dim sum

_

I go out to the San Gabriel Valley all the time, and I figured that I ought to give one of the old school cart dim sum places another try.

Ocean Star has been around forever. In fact, I think I ate there sometime in the 90s.

The place was mobbed, and it wasn’t the youngest demographic in the world. The lobby too had that over-the-top SGV 90s decor. Look at that chandelier, the marble, the cove lighting.

Same thing goes int he enormous and chaotic hall.

Chicken soup with scallop wonton. Ok, basically one giant wonton.

Shrimp rice noodle. One of the better dishes. The usual sweet sauce.

Shu mai. Not the best shu mai by any means, but certainly edible.

Har gow. Just so so. Not bad, but a little “stale.”

Lotus wrapped sticky rice.

Mushy and not very good tasty.

BBQ pork. This was pretty tasty. Sweet and fatty.

They had those crazy crispy cruller rice noodle things on the cart. Didn’t try them though.

The food was lackluster. They had a large variety — if you managed to hail the right cart — but almost everything I tasted was a bit flat. Almost freezer burned. Really, for being out in the SGV, this is no better than The Palace in Brentwood. More options perhaps. The food quality might even have been a bit worse.

Service was kind of typical. They were nice, but I couldn’t manage to get either mustard or ice water. I did get tea and the check. It also took a while for the carts to come to me and when they did, I kept getting the lame carts, like the congee one, or the vegetables, or the tripe. It took a real while before I got the actual good stuff.

Prices are cheap. So if you like to pay less for worse, and join the crazy crowd of seniors, Ocean Star is your place. I’ll go to Elite or King Hua.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Ocean Avenue Seafood
  2. Mastro’s Ocean Club Malibu
  3. Epic Ocean Party 2015
  4. Christmas is for Dim Sum
  5. Say Hi to Shi Hai
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: California, Chinese cuisine, Dim sum, Monterey Park, Ocean Star, san Gabriel valley

Beijing Pie House

Oct05

Restaurant: Beijing Pie House

Location: 846 E Garvey Ave. Monterey Park, CA 91755. (626) 288-3818

Date: May 5, 2015

Cuisine: Beijing Chinese

Rating: Pies were great

_

I’ve been wanted to try the infamous “pie house” for quite some time. Clearly a lunch place — or even better, a hangover joint.

The usual facade.


The menu.

The tiny Garvey Blvd interior.

Corn soup. Pies apparently come with this bland yellow soup. Straight up it tastes like liquid polenta (i.e. almost like nothing). Add some sugar and it tastes like… sweet nothing.

Pork Soup Dumplings. XLB are great as always. These weren’t the BEST XLB I’ve ever had, but they were certainly yummy.

The sauce was awesome.


Condiments to knock up your sauce if you like.

House Special Pie. These hockey puck-like disks of greasy goodness sure were delectable.

Crispy skin covered pork, egg, and green onions. I’d like to try the straight pork and leek and the lamb and leek.

Lamb and leek pancake. Similar ingredients, and you could taste the nice lambiness, but the ratio of dough to meat favored too much dough. I bet the lamb and leek pie is way better.

Overall, We just began to sample this “cuisine.” Clearly the pies are the way to go. The skin was great and lots of room for meat. Next time I’m ordering all the meat pies.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

Related posts:

  1. Beijing Tasty House
  2. Hedonists go to Beijing
  3. Din Tai Fung Dumpling House
  4. Mark’s Duck House
  5. The Crack House
By: agavin
Comments (0)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Beijing Pie House, Chinese cuisine, Meat Pie, Monterey Park, pork

Say Hi to Shi Hai

Feb02

Restaurant: Shi Hai

Location: 1412 S Garfield Ave. Alhambra, CA 91801. (626) 282-3888

Date: January 26, 2015

Cuisine: Cantonese Dimsum

Rating: Fun dishes, good, but dumpling skins too thick

_

My quest to try all the great dimsum houses in the LA area (mostly the San Gabriel Valley) continues with newcomer Shi Hai.


The name apparently means “sea world.” Hopefully no “blackfish” served here. 🙂


I brought only a 100mm macro lens and so capturing the dining room was a challenge. It’s sort of SGV  high style 2015. This substantial wine nook betrays the recent Chinese interest in wine — even if all that Bordeaux and Cal Cab clashes hideously with the food!


Another nice pretty menu.


The usual tea.


We didn’t actually have to ask for mustard, and when we asked for water and soy sauce and vinegar we got 2 out of 3 on the first try! This is A+ service for an authentic dimsum house, some places you ask 3-4 times per item.


Shrimp dumpling (Har gow). The filling was good, but this dish betrayed Shi Hai’s biggest problem, their thick sticky shells. Getting these puppies out of the steamer intact was nigh on impossible so you ended up with a filling and a pile of shredded skin on your plate.


Shrimp and Bean Sprout Leaves Dumpling. I never find these “veggie” type ones as good as the meatier varieties. This also had the sticky skin problem too.


Surf clam and crab egg shrimp dumpling. I liked both the way these looked and the ocean flavors.


Octopus dumpling. Content-wise, this may have been just a Har Gow in disguise, dressed up as little octopi. But they sure are cute.


Shanghai juicy pork bun. Always a favorite. These weren’t the best XLB I’ve ever had, but they were tasty just the same. Here the dough thickness was reasonably in check.


Crispy cruller rice noodle. This is only the second time I’ve had the rice crepes with something friend inside (the first being at Elite). Weird, but it works, combining the soft and sticky textures with the crunchy. The thing inside was basically a tempura shrimp.


Baked BBQ Pork Bun. The flavors were good, but these felt a tiny bit soggy.


Roast Suckling Pigeon. This succulent little roast fowl is ironically paired with… Pringles! Despite that, it was a tasty little game bird. The skin was nice and crisp and the meat had a dark gamey quality I really liked.


The pigeon was served with mayo and salt.


Heads up! — shows of the 100mm lens to nice effect.


Sticky rice with lotus leaf.


The inside was a little wet, but the sausage was good.


Shi Hai Dan Dan Noodles. Now this is a little odd at a Cantonese place, but maybe it’s a nod to the popularity of Szechuan.


Either way, while it looked kind of wet, the flavors were deep, with a lot of sesame and that pleasant medium numb from real Schezuan peppercorn. I love this stuff.


Steamed sweet bun. How could anybody resist these little piggies? They were filled with some kind of dark taro/sweet bean mixture. No pork involved as far as I can tell.

Overall, Shi Hai was good but not great. I’d put it in the second tier of SGV dimsum underneath Elite, King Hua, and Sea Harbor, but in line with Lunasia and Shanghai #1 Seafood. It absolutely blows away what Downtown and Westside places I’ve tried, and is certainly a worthy destination. Shi Hai also has an interesting menu, and I’d like to go back and try another round or two of dishes. If only they tuned up their dumpling shells to be lighter and less gummy they’d be great.

It should also be noted that it’s just a short wander across the street for some excellent snow afterward!

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here.

The build out might be new, but it retains a modernized version of the old 80s Monterey Park Style — cove overload!

 

Related posts:

  1. Lunasia Dim Sum
  2. Elite Dim Sum
  3. Sea Harbor Dim Sum
  4. More Awesome Dimsum – King Hua
  5. Din Tai Fung Dumpling House
By: agavin
Comments (1)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: California, Chinese cuisine, Dandan noodles, dimsum, Monterey Park, san Gabriel valley, SGV, Shi Hai

Cantonese Pig Out!

Oct01

Restaurant: Capital Seafood

Location: 755 W Garvey Ave. Monterey Park, CA 91754. (626) 282-3318

Date: September 28, 2014

Cuisine: Cantonese Chinese

Rating: Great Banquet

_

The Cantonese banquet is a long standing tradition, and many of the big San Gabriel Valley Cantonese places do both a dimsum brunch and ornate banquet services.


Capital Seafood is no exception, hailing from the glory days of cheesy 80sMonterey Park build outs. Look at the faux Louis XVI decor!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mitl4ZBjFvI]

Tonight our little private banquet was located just adjacent to a huge wedding in the main room. Play the above video for a sample of the 100 decibel festivities.


Our “room” was actually just a corner of the big space that had been screened off… literally with Chinese folding screens.


From my cellar: 2009 Domaine Bruno Clair Bourgogne Rosé Marsannay. 89 points. The 2009 Marsannay Rose is a serious wine. It shows plenty of intensity and generosity, I only wish the aromatics were a little more focused.


Boiled peanuts.


Candied Walnuts.


From my cellar: 1996 Maison Roche de Bellene Chambolle-Musigny Vieilles Vignes. 92 points.


Suckling pig. Special ordered, with pickled cucumber and jellyfish. The pork was some of the best roast pork I’ve had. It was incredibly succulent with crispy skin.


The right hand sauce is a slightly sweet sauce, similar to that used with Peking duck.


2007 Domaine Marc Morey & Fils Chassagne-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Chenevottes. Burghound 92. Very mild reduction combines with notes of lemon, straw and orange peel that introduce intense, delicious and well-delineated middle weight flavors where the citrus influence really comes up on the very dry and energetic finish. I quite like this but it is more suited to those who enjoy nervous whites with ample acid support.


Shrimp and tofu. The little white puffs are fried soft tofu. The shrimp are whole giant prawns fried with salt and peppery. They were quite delicious, cooked to a tender level where the shells caramelized and were soft and edible.


1999 Prager Chardonnay Smaragd. 88 points. Botrytized chardonnay from the Wachau. Weird. I love Bodenstein’s wines, but this is strange.


Fried giant clam. Two parks of the geoduck giant clam: body and neck. Basically fried clam strips Chinese style, but plenty tasty.


2005 Moraga Vineyards. 93 points. Sensational sauvignon blanc in the stye of a great Smith – Haut Lafite.


We saw them serving this crazy dish at the wedding and just had to try it.


Lobster salad! (with dry ice)


The fresh lobster meat is mixed with melon, mayo, and flying fish eggs. The overall concoction was pleasant enough but oddly sweet, and the cloying sauce hid the delicate meat.


XO sauce. This fermented, slightly spicy, sauce is rather famous — and expensive.


2003 Emrich-Schönleber Monzinger Halenberg Riesling Spätlese. IWC 90. Aromas and flavors of blueberry, blackberry and honey combine here with woodsmoke, black tea, nut oil and subtly stony nuances. The wine is rich and full, with its slight sense of heat enhancing the effect of distilled fruit concentration and smoky pungency. The finishing effect is long and noticeably sweet.


Fried bullfrog. Chunks of bullfrog are deep fried with garlic. Super tasty, although there were a lot of bones to pick out.


2012 Robert Mondavi Winery Pinot Noir Clone 777. 93 points. Clean and sparse. Sharp but not bitter. Nice oak finish.


Steamed egg. I thought this was tofu, but it’s apparently just egg.


The custard-light-fluffy thing was really quite awesome, with a nice richness and a bit of umami from the soy.


2005 Brewer-Clifton Pinot Noir Melville Vineyard. IWC 91. Light red. Spicy strawberry and blood orange aromas are further enlivened by white pepper and a light kiss of fresh rose. Then broader and deeper in the mouth, offering ripe cherry and raspberry preserve flavors, with the orange quality repeating. Nicely balances richness and energy and finishes with impressive clarity and grip. This has serious presence and concentration, but leans more to elegance than to sheer power. Greg Brewer, who believes that “the human aspect is the most important and influential part of the concept of terroir,” told me that the goal of Brewer-Clifton is to “minimize that aspect by staying as neutral as possible: same corks, same yeasts, same wood and so on. By keeping execution homogeneous we emphasize individuality, especially vineyard character.”


Braised duck. The meat was good, but the heavy brown gravy didn’t taste very Chinese and wasn’t my thing.


2004 Roger Sabon Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Prestige. IWC 93. Deep ruby. Lush raspberry and cherry preserves on the nose, with hints of candied plum, espresso, flowers and dark chocolate. An impressively rich Chateauneuf, with powerful dark fruit flavors perked up by refreshing mineral lift on the back and nicely supported by supple tannins. Rich and chewy on the finish, with lingering notes of smoke, meat and cherry liqueur. Serious stuff, and in need of cellaring.


Caramelized fish. This fried Chilean Sea Bass with mushrooms, ginger, and garlic was pretty amazing. There was a ton of flavor.


2001 Les Cailloux (Lucien et André Brunel) Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Centenaire. IWC 96. Dark red. Incredible nose melds plum, spicecake, woodsmoke, mocha, earth, minerals and dried herbs; this covers all the major Chateauneuf du Pape food groups. Like liquid silk in the mouth, but with powerful underlying spine. A saline, superconcentrated wine that coats every millimeter of the palate with explosively rich, insinuating flavor yet does not come across as extreme or over the top. In fact, this is almost understated today, with a wonderfully long, elegant finish. A wine to chew on as much as to drink.


French style beef. A sort of peppered filet mignon. Very yummy and went well with the heavier red wines.


1999 M. Chapoutier Côte-Rôtie La Mordorée. Parker 95. Chapoutier’s La Mordoree cuvee is produced from 75-80-year old Syrah vines planted in both the Cote Blonde and Cote Brune, aged in 100% new oak casks, and bottled with neither fining nor filtration. The 1999 Cote Rotie La Mordoree is the finest he has produced since the 1991 (two bottles drunk over the last six months confirm this fabulous wine’s potential as it is just now beginning to emerge from a cloak of tannin). The 1999 has closed down since its pre-bottling tasting. The color is an inky purple, and the wine is dense and powerful, with notes of smoky blackberries, creosote, and espresso. Concentrated flavors reveal high levels of tannin (surprising in view of last year’s report), and a rich, long, 45-second finish. This impressive 1999 will take longer to reach its plateau of drinkability than I thought last year.


Scallop and egg fried rice.


2003 Cayuse Syrah en Cerise. Parker 90. The dark fruit-scented 2003 Syrah En Cerise Vineyard is medium-bodied, displays outstanding depth of fruit, and possesses appealing mouthfeel. Spicy blackberries make up its expressive, pure, deep, and long flavor profile. It should be enjoyed over the next 4-5 years.


Salty fish fried rice. A little different. Salty, but good.


Pea tendrils. In case your “system” is feeling clogged.


2007 Zilliken (Forstmeister Geltz) Saarburger Rausch Riesling Auslese. IWC 92. Pale golden yellow. Ripe peach, guava and chamomile on the nose, complicated by a hint of brown spice botrytis. Luscious citrus fruits with cool minerality refresh the palate. In spite of the wine’s weight, a spicy elegance dominates the finish.


Mango pudding and coconut jelly. The mango pudding was insanely good. It had a light jiggly quality and a flavorful intensity. The mellow sweetness of the other jelly was also very pleasant.

Overall, Capital did a great job and this was one of those fun and interesting banquet meals filled with different flavors. Not every dish was perfect (duck, I’m looking at you), but it was still a great meal and the pig was outstanding.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here,

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

Related posts:

  1. Feasting Lunasia
  2. Elite Dim Sum
  3. Spice Up Your Life Szechuan Style
  4. Banqueting at Shanghai #1
  5. Sea Harbor Dim Sum
By: agavin
Comments (2)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Cantonese cuisine, Chinese cuisine, hedonists, Monterey Park, Monterey Park California, san Gabriel valley, Tony Lau, Wine

Elite Dim Sum

Apr29

Restaurant: Elite Restaurant [1, 2, 3]

Location: 700 S Atlantic Blvd, Monterey Park, CA 91754. (626) 282-9998

Date: April 8, September 22, October 29, 2014, April 18, 2015, August 22, 2015, February 21, 2022, and many other times

Cuisine: Cantonese Dimsum

Rating: 31337

_

This post is a composite of several trips to Elite (necessary to get a true handle on its greatness). These include two 2015 Hedonist blowout brunches (with wine) and several with my brother (who is also a dimsum fiend).

Elite is clearly one of the top 2-3 dimsum places in the SGV (and hence all of Southern California). Many of our group think it’s the best one. Everything is made to order.

Elite is at the top of many people’s list.


The interior is upscale, but hardly the most modern. There are tanks hidden in the corner and they serve upscale Cantonese banquet in the evening.


Yay pictures!


A controversial thing about Elite is that they charge for sauce. $0.75 for the mustard on the left and $3 for the XO. The restaurant is so cheap, it hardly matters.

Spicy jellyfish. Not bad at all.

Chicken feet in house sauce. Not my thing, but some like it.

Har Gow (Crystal shrimp). Excellent versions of the standard.


Pork Shui-Mai. Also great versions of the classic.


Dumpling. Not sure which dumpling this was, but it had a blend of shrimp and veggies and other yummies all fried together inside.


Scallop Dumpling. This was one of the best scallop dumplings I’ve had. There are all sorts of trefy goodies in there.


Meat and Mushroom dumpling. Another cool shape. Delicious too.


Shark’s fin and red clam dumpling. Hopefully no actual sharkfin (feel bad for those finless sharks). However, this was a delightfully clammy dumpling.


Dumpling. This one had peanuts and some other seafood bits inside.

Fried shrimp dumpling. There is a mild white sauce behind. This dumpling had an interesting coconut flavor to the interior.


Shanghai Style Steamed Bun. We love XLB, and these particular examples were awesome. My brother and I snarfed a tin each on at least 2 trips.


“Free” Sauces. A sweet one on the left (for duck and the like) and the XLB sauce on the right.

Tofu wrap. Mostly vegetables wrapped in bean curd. Hot and soft and delicious.

Shrimp with chow fun roll. Basically one of the chow fun “slimes” cut into a cut roll.


Spinach pancake?


Golden Corn BBQ Pork Rice Noodle. Historically in our family we called these “slime.” This was some excellent slime.


Shrimp Rice Noodle. One of the most classic of the “slimes.” An excellent one too.

Crispy Shrimp Rice Noodle. I’ve never had a “slime” like this before. There was a big shrimp in here sort of Chinese tempura fried. Delicious.


Shredded Pork Rice Noodle. Not the best of the set.


Elite BBQ Pork Bun. Like a jelly donut, just filled instead with porky goodness!

The bun interiors.


Baked chicken bun. Delicious slightly sweet crunchy exterior top filled with chopped seasoned chicken meat.


Fried Meat Stuff Dumpling. With a title like that, I had to order. This was the chewy fried rice coating with sweet ground meat paste inside. Kinda delicious except it was fairly hollow (not enough filling).


Baked BBQ pork dumpling. Little flakey. pastry triangles stuffed with the usual red BBQ pork.

Fried shrimp ball with almond. This is the usual shrimp cake but coated in almond. It really added a nice texture. Quite fun.


Beef ball.

Macau style pork belly. What it looks like!

Chicken wings.


House Roasted Duck. The duck does not suck. In fact, it was great. There was that usual authentic Chinese bone factor, but the taste was first rate.


Spare Ribs. The fatty creepy-looking spare ribs.


Beef short rib in pepper sauce. Like a bulgolgi pepper-steak.


Pork “leg” with lotus root and peanuts. “leg” turned out to mean feet. Ick.


Soy sauce chicken. The usual mild and tender chicken.


Chinese Broccoli.
1A4A3140
Some other slightly different green.


Buddhas delight.

Spicy mushroom caps. Just mushrooms in brown sauce. Didn’t seem spicy.


Sticky Rice Lotus Leaf Wrap. Also excellent. Full of goodies.

The rice interior.


Salty Fish Fried Rice. Not for everyone, but quite delicious to my taste (very umami).


Elite fried rice. A bit of everything.

Seafood Chow Mein. Those crispy little noodles I love soaked in a seafood sauce. Great noodle dish.

Beef chow mein. Excellent, although I liked the seafood a bit better.


Salt and pepper prawns. Eat them shell and all giant prawns. Yum.

The Lobster Noodle was only $16. Unfortunately, it was the weakest dish. The meat itself was okay, but the sauce was bland and the noodles over cooked. We barely ate the noodles (although we did finish the lobster).

Durian bun. One of the best Durian buns I’ve had. With a really creamy mushy (banana texture) interior with that weird but yummy Durian flavor (rotten bananas with pineapple and petrol?)


Macau Egg Tart. Nice custard pies. Just a smidgen inferior to Shanghai #1’s version, but still fabulous.


Milk Buns. Filled with almond creme filling. Scrumptious.
1A4A3185
A custard filled bun.


Almond milk pastry. Under that pastry shell is a sweet almond soup.


All in all, Elite really lives up to the name, serving some seriously tasty classic Cantonese Dimsum. They also have a great banquet menu for evenings. Some of the set banquets even go up to $2800 (a table?) and involve all sorts of epic dishes like suckling pig with foie gras!

A large percentage of my fiends who go to dimsum think it’s the best in the SGV. I personally think it’s about tied with King Hua. Certainly Elite, King Hua, and Lunasia are at the top, and there is a tier slightly below including Sea Harbor and maybe Shi Hai.

For more Chinese dining reviews click here.

On our April 18, 2015 brunch we had three tables in a private room and a lot of wine. Since it’s pointless to “pair” it, I’ll just list the bottles.


NV Angéline Godel Champagne.


1998 Deutz Champagne Blanc de Blancs. JG 92+. Tart and crisp. Clean and refreshing but not a lot of subtle aged champagne flavors poking out.


NV Billecart-Salmon Champagne Brut Réserve. VM 90. Light, bright gold. Fresh red berries, orange zest and white flowers on the perfumed nose. Juicy and precise, offering energetic redcurrant and blood orange flavors that show good concentration and a supple texture. A mineral nuance adds bite to the finish, with the floral note echoing.


NV Taittinger Champagne La Française Brut. Burghound 88. An overtly yeasty nose speaks of apple and a hint of petrol. There is good verve to the delicious if only moderately complex flavors that are underpinned by a medium level of effervescence on the clean and reasonably dry finish. This is one of those wines that has no faults but no major attributes either.


1996 Kistler Chardonnay Dutton Ranch. VM 94. Green-gold. Extraordinarily penetrating, musky, Burgundian aromas are a cross between Chassagne truffle and herbs and Meursault roasted grain and toasted nuts (and the structure is akin to that of a Puligny). Great purity and intensity of fruit in the mouth; sharply focused and restrained today, with near-perfect fruit/acid balance. Finishes with terrific grip and palate-staining persistence.


2013 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars Chardonnay Karia. 87 points. Aromatic nose with barrel notes and lemon. Medium weight textured palate emulates the bouquet, fairly pure fruit leads to a medium plus finish. Very toasty but fruit has some elegance.


2012 Bedrock Wine Co. Heritage Compagni Portis. VM 91. Melon, white pears, green pears, mint and jasmine lift out of the glass in the 2012 White Compagni Portis Heritage, which emerges from a site planted in 1954. This crisp, beautifully aromatic white field blend is an excellent choice for drinking over the next few years.


2011 Liquid Farm Chardonnay Golden Slope. VM 92. Light yellow-gold. Heady, complex scents of poached pear, lemon curd, toasty lees and iodine, with a bright floral quality gaining strength with air. Sappy, penetrating orchard fruit and candied ginger flavors stain the palate, with notes of anise, honey and smoky minerals contributing complexity. Powerful yet lithe chardonnay with superb finishing focus and spicy persistence. I’d bet on this wine as a cellar candidate.


2012 Liquid Farm Chardonnay White Hill. VM 92. The 2012 Chardonnay White Hill is bright, focused and tightly wound. Lemon peel, crushed rocks, pear and smoke jump from the glass as the 2012 shows off its energetic personality. The style is focused and taut, especially with the style of the Sta. Rita Hills. Imagine a Chablis like sense of energy with the depth and radiance of California. If that sounds like an appealing combination, well, it is! the 2012 was done mostly in neutral oak, with some of the wine seeing only stainless steel.


2012 Henri Boillot Puligny-Montrachet. Burghound 89. Here too there is enough reduction to push what appears to be ripe fruit to the background. The pure and well-detailed middle weight flavors possess a highly seductive mouth feel along with lovely balance and excellent persistence for a villages level wine. The class of a fine Puligny is very much in evidence and this is worth your attention.


2010 Domaine de Chevalier Blanc. VM 91-4. Pale straw-yellow. Lemon, chamomile, vanilla, ginger and a faint lactic nuance on the restrained, minerally nose. Pliant and sweet in the mouth, offering good concentration and fat to the vinous lemon, guava and grapefruit flavors. Very minerally on the long finish, showing lingering notes of peach, vanilla and coconut. This should age splendidly and will probably be at its best between 2020 and 2035.


From my cellar: 2010 Domaine de Saint-Just Saumur Chateau Brézé – Clos David. 90 points. A geeky dry Chenin I wanted to try with dimsum. Turned out to work well, bright and floral at the same time. Peach and pear.


1999 Bert Simon Serriger Herrenberg Riesling Auslese. 93 points. Medium yellow in color. Lovely aromas of sweet summer orchard pit fruit compote, lemon-grass, flint, hint of petrol and honeysuckle. A thick, viscous palate shows good depth to the quite cooked yellow fruits, creamy vanilla poached pears and minerals on a long and sweet finish.


2009 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spätlese. VM 93. Exotic bouquet of passion fruit and mango, lifted by fine floral nuances. The wine’s luscious peach pit flavor and velvety texture are given shape and verve by a finely chiseled minerality. Dense yet airy, this spatlese boasts great refinement and stunning length. One of the stars of the vintage.


2013 Dönnhoff Norheimer Kirschheck Riesling Spätlese. VM 91. Brilliant aromas and flavors of apple, cherry blossom and oyster shell enlivened by herbal spices. At once dense and juicy, with finely chiseled acidity refreshing the palate. This delicate, well-balanced Riesling finishes in its own pure and invigorating style. While this is often my favorite Spätlese at this estate, my nod this year goes to the Hermannshöhle.


2006 Louis Guntrum Niersteiner Rehbach Riesling Spätlese. 85 points.


2010 Domaine Joseph Roty Marsannay. Burghound 88. Moderate wood still allows the ripe aromas of black cherry, cassis and a hint of underbrush to show through. There is a lovely vibrancy to the cool and delicious flavors that possess solid depth and length in the context of the appellation. This should drink well early on if desired yet reward mid-term cellaring as well.


1976 Bonneau du Martray Corton. 93 points. Very mature, but with a good bit of fruit and all sorts of secondary and tertiary complexity.


2012 Freestone (Joseph Phelps) Pinot Noir Freestone Vineyards. Burghound 89. There is a trace of menthol to the notably ripe aromas of essence of black cherry and plum scents. The medium-bodied and solidly well-concentrated flavors possess a lush and very round mouth feel before terminating in a dusty and generously proportioned finish. The supporting tannins are well-integrated and while there isn’t great depth at present the underlying material is such that more should develop with a few years of bottle age.


2012 Bedrock Wine Co. Zinfandel Old Vine. VM 90. Vivid ruby. Pungent, high-pitched aromas of cherry skin, raspberry, licorice and lavender, with a bright mineral topnote. Juicy and incisive, with sappy dark berry and bitter cherry flavors. Supple tannins add grip to the spicy, floral finish.

Supervising the remains. The two of us ate EVERYTHING pictured above!

A sign of of the authentic Chinese kitchen

Related posts:

  1. Din Tai Fung Dumpling House
  2. Dim Sum is Shanghai #1
  3. More Modern Dim Sum
  4. Newport Special Seafood
  5. Shanghai #1 Seafood Village
By: agavin
Comments (7)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Cantonese cuisine, China, Chinese cuisine, dimsum, Elite Restaurant, Har Gow, hedonists, Hong Kong, Monterey Park, Monterey Park California, XO sauce

Spice Up Your Life Szechuan Style

Sep23

Restaurant: Cui Hua Lou [1, 2, 3]

Location: 920 E Garvey Ave. Monterey Park, CA 91755. 626-288-2218

Date: September 20, 2013

Cuisine: Szechuan Chinese

Rating: Awesome!

ANY CHARACTER HERE

Chinese food is incredible regional, and we are blessed in SoCal with a lot of very specific restaurants (mostly in the San Gabriel Valley). Yarom (the leader of my Hedonist group) invited me out to try some spicy Szechuan and a totally undiscovered place he found while wandering around. We love Szechuan for its spicy/smoky flavors. This is a cuisine that packs a real punch and is one of my favorites in China.


The storefront, as usual, isn’t much to look at.


A menu with fairly literal translations.


And the usual minimalist decor.


1999 Joseph Phelps Sauvignon Blanc. IWC 87. Expressive, floral aroma combines melon, grapefruit, mint, licorice and fresh herbs. Supple yet tangy and firm, with nicely focused flavors of lemon, grapefruit, licorice and fresh herbs. Slightly elevated alcohol leavened by brisk acidity. Nice combination of texture and brightness.


Seaweed with chilies. Very pleasant, with a firmness and just a bit of heat.


Jellyfish heads and cucumber. More a texture dish, but it had a bit of a vinegary tang.


2011 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett. IWC88. Aromas of passion fruit and nut oil. The creamy tropical fruits flavors are light, well-balanced and elegant. Certainly fun to drink.


Cured beef shank. Like Chinese pastrami, with a bit of a smokey flavor.


Shredded stomach with scallion. Pork stomach really. I’m not an offal fan, but this was as good as stomach gets.


2007 Lamborghini (La Fiorita) Era Umbria IGT. 88 points. Good dark fruit and cherries on the nose. Significant fruit in the taste along with some herbal notes and good acidity. Medium length with some good tannins at the later part. May need more time to develop.


Stewed lamb in casserole (house special #1).


Inside the hot pot. This stuff was awesome. Probably the best dish (of many). Tasty tender lamb and this amazing hot chili sauce that really had a nice flavor.


Skewers of lamb on the left and Chinese hot dog on the right. Both were rubbed with cumin, making the lamb classic cumin lamb. The sausages were amazing, like sweetish hotdogs rubbed in cumin.


Some more skewers, lamb and chicken wing.


2009 Kongsgaard Syrah. Parker 97. The 2009 Syrah Hudson Vineyard is simply breathtaking. White flowers, spices, savory herbs, licorice, graphite and new leather are some of the many nuances that add complexity to a core of deeply expressive dark fruit. The 2009 impresses for its stunning textural elegance and sheer brilliance.


Cured beef shank in sesame bun. Basically Chinese pastrami sandwich!


Sweet and sour fish. Nice tender Tilapia with a flavorful sweet sauce.


1996 Lanessan. Parker 88. A sleeper of the vintage, Lanessan’s 1996 boasts an impressively saturated dark ruby/purple color, and knock-out aromatics of melted chocolate, asphalt, and cassis. Deep, rich, and medium-bodied, with excellent concentration and purity, this impressively-endowed, flavorful, well-structured wine should be at its finest between 2004-2016.


Beef tendon Xing Ziang Style. Unusual but pleasant texture in a tasty spicy sauce.


Potato with chili. Basically shredded potato with a slight vinegar and oil tang.


2011 Joh Jos Prum Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese. Parker 94. A yeasty, smoky prickle as well as the effect of dissolved CO2 causes the nose to wrinkle from a glass of Prum’s 2011 Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese A.P. #18, but behind that are heliotrope and lily-of-the-valley along with ripe apple, pear and melons that in turn inform a delicate, subtly creamy palate of striking transparency to stony, crystalline, alkaline and smoky black tea and liquid floral nuances. This shimmers and excites even as it soothes in a lingering, uplifting, glowing finish. It will certainly merit attention for the better part of a half century.


Kung Pao Chicken. One of the best versions of this classic dish I’ve ever had. Lots of very flavorful Szechuan peppers.


1999 Guiraud. Parker 90. Tasted as part of a vertical held at the chateau. There is a sense of conservatism to the Guiraud 1999, but it still retains attractive scents of dried honey, marmalade and a touch of chlorine. The palate is actually better than the nose, with a lovely seam of acidity and effervescent marmalade and quince-tinged fruit that is very precise toward the long finish. The ’99 should be looked back on as a success in an oft-forgotten vintage.


Pork XO sauce fried noodle.


You mix it up like this and there is lots of pleasant heat to go with the al dente noodles.


Check out that chili oil left in the bowl!


Twice cooked pork. Another fabulous dish. The pork had some heat and sweetness, with a whole lot of flavor.


Ma Po Tofu. One of my favorite dishes. This classic Szechuan dish was the spiciest of the night. The pleasant soft tofu is just on fire. The name literally translated as “Pocked Marked Old Lady Face Tofu” which is quite amusing.


Fried corn. Slightly sweet and passed for a dessert. But afterward,  we went down the street to a shaved ice place, which I’ll blog about seperately.

In conclusion, Cui Hua Lou, while apparently totally undiscovered, offers up some fabulous traditional Szechuan fare. If you like spicy, this place was really very good. Cheap too as this feast, including tax and tip, set us back $21 a person!

For more LA dining reviews click here.

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

Related posts:

  1. Hedonists Hunan Style
  2. Birthday Party, Hedonist Style
  3. Sicilian Style – Drago
  4. Food as Art: Chanukah in Style
  5. Life of Pi – part deux
By: agavin
Comments (6)
Posted in: Food
Tagged as: Chinese cuisine, Cui Hua Lou, hedonists, Hot Sauce, Joh. Jos. Prüm, lamb, Ma Po Tofu, Monterey Park, san Gabriel valley, Sichuan, Szechuan, Szechuan Chinese, Szechuan Pepper
Watch the Trailer or

Buy it Online!

Buy it Online!

96 of 100 tickets!

Find Andy at:

Follow Me on Pinterest

Subscribe by email:

More posts on:



Complete Archives

Categories

  • Contests (7)
  • Fiction (404)
    • Books (113)
    • Movies (77)
    • Television (123)
    • Writing (115)
      • Darkening Dream (62)
      • Untimed (37)
  • Food (1,765)
  • Games (101)
  • History (13)
  • Technology (21)
  • Uncategorized (16)

Recent Posts

  • Happy Hibi
  • Eating Naples – Palazzo Petrucci
  • Eating San Foca – Aura
  • Eating Otranto – ArborVitae
  • Eating Lecce – Gimmi
  • Eating Lecce – Varius
  • Eating Lecce – Duo
  • Eating Lecce – Doppiozero
  • Eating Torre Canne – Autentico
  • Eating Torre Canne – Beach

Favorite Posts

  • I, Author
  • My Novels
  • The Darkening Dream
  • Sample Chapters
  • Untimed
  • Making Crash Bandicoot
  • My Gaming Career
  • Getting a job designing video games
  • Getting a job programming video games
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer
  • A Game of Thrones
  • 27 Courses of Truffles
  • Ultimate Pizza
  • Eating Italy
  • LA Sushi
  • Foodie Club

Archives

  • May 2025 (4)
  • April 2025 (4)
  • February 2025 (5)
  • January 2025 (3)
  • December 2024 (13)
  • November 2024 (14)
  • October 2024 (14)
  • September 2024 (15)
  • August 2024 (13)
  • July 2024 (15)
  • June 2024 (14)
  • May 2024 (15)
  • April 2024 (13)
  • March 2024 (9)
  • February 2024 (7)
  • January 2024 (9)
  • December 2023 (8)
  • November 2023 (14)
  • October 2023 (13)
  • September 2023 (9)
  • August 2023 (15)
  • July 2023 (13)
  • June 2023 (14)
  • May 2023 (15)
  • April 2023 (14)
  • March 2023 (12)
  • February 2023 (11)
  • January 2023 (14)
  • December 2022 (11)
  • November 2022 (13)
  • October 2022 (14)
  • September 2022 (14)
  • August 2022 (12)
  • July 2022 (9)
  • June 2022 (6)
  • May 2022 (8)
  • April 2022 (5)
  • March 2022 (4)
  • February 2022 (2)
  • January 2022 (8)
  • December 2021 (6)
  • November 2021 (6)
  • October 2021 (8)
  • September 2021 (4)
  • August 2021 (5)
  • July 2021 (2)
  • June 2021 (3)
  • January 2021 (1)
  • December 2020 (1)
  • September 2020 (1)
  • August 2020 (1)
  • April 2020 (11)
  • March 2020 (15)
  • February 2020 (13)
  • January 2020 (14)
  • December 2019 (13)
  • November 2019 (12)
  • October 2019 (14)
  • September 2019 (14)
  • August 2019 (13)
  • July 2019 (13)
  • June 2019 (14)
  • May 2019 (13)
  • April 2019 (10)
  • March 2019 (10)
  • February 2019 (11)
  • January 2019 (13)
  • December 2018 (14)
  • November 2018 (11)
  • October 2018 (15)
  • September 2018 (15)
  • August 2018 (15)
  • July 2018 (11)
  • June 2018 (14)
  • May 2018 (13)
  • April 2018 (13)
  • March 2018 (17)
  • February 2018 (12)
  • January 2018 (15)
  • December 2017 (15)
  • November 2017 (13)
  • October 2017 (16)
  • September 2017 (16)
  • August 2017 (16)
  • July 2017 (11)
  • June 2017 (13)
  • May 2017 (6)
  • March 2017 (3)
  • February 2017 (4)
  • January 2017 (7)
  • December 2016 (14)
  • November 2016 (11)
  • October 2016 (11)
  • September 2016 (12)
  • August 2016 (15)
  • July 2016 (13)
  • June 2016 (13)
  • May 2016 (13)
  • April 2016 (12)
  • March 2016 (13)
  • February 2016 (12)
  • January 2016 (13)
  • December 2015 (14)
  • November 2015 (14)
  • October 2015 (13)
  • September 2015 (13)
  • August 2015 (18)
  • July 2015 (16)
  • June 2015 (13)
  • May 2015 (13)
  • April 2015 (14)
  • March 2015 (15)
  • February 2015 (13)
  • January 2015 (13)
  • December 2014 (14)
  • November 2014 (13)
  • October 2014 (13)
  • September 2014 (12)
  • August 2014 (15)
  • July 2014 (13)
  • June 2014 (13)
  • May 2014 (14)
  • April 2014 (14)
  • March 2014 (10)
  • February 2014 (11)
  • January 2014 (13)
  • December 2013 (14)
  • November 2013 (13)
  • October 2013 (14)
  • September 2013 (12)
  • August 2013 (14)
  • July 2013 (10)
  • June 2013 (14)
  • May 2013 (14)
  • April 2013 (14)
  • March 2013 (15)
  • February 2013 (14)
  • January 2013 (13)
  • December 2012 (14)
  • November 2012 (16)
  • October 2012 (13)
  • September 2012 (14)
  • August 2012 (16)
  • July 2012 (12)
  • June 2012 (16)
  • May 2012 (21)
  • April 2012 (18)
  • March 2012 (20)
  • February 2012 (23)
  • January 2012 (31)
  • December 2011 (35)
  • November 2011 (33)
  • October 2011 (32)
  • September 2011 (29)
  • August 2011 (35)
  • July 2011 (33)
  • June 2011 (25)
  • May 2011 (31)
  • April 2011 (30)
  • March 2011 (34)
  • February 2011 (31)
  • January 2011 (33)
  • December 2010 (33)
  • November 2010 (39)
  • October 2010 (26)
All Things Andy Gavin
Copyright © 2025 All Rights Reserved
Programmed by Andy Gavin