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Hedonists go to Beijing

Apr22

Location: 250 W Valley Blvd. Ste B2. San Gabriel, CA 91776. (626) 570-8598

Date: April 20 & Sept 7, 2014 & May 30, 2015 & March 3, 2019

Cuisine: Beijing Style Chinese

Rating: Really tasty

Ah, the riches of the SGV (San Gabriel Valley), so many delicious Chinese regional cuisines to chose from. Tonight’s entry is Beijing Restaurant, in the very same minimall as Shanghai #1.

Boiled peanuts are a traditional opener all across China.

From my cellar: 1994 Ulrich Langguth Piesporter Goldtröpfchen Riesling Auslese. 92 points. Tons of petrol, still sweet, but not too sweet. A great wine with this food.

Cold cabbage salad (3/3/19). Like Chinese coleslaw, quite delicious actually and very refreshing.

Cold cucumber salad (3/3/19). Not quite as good as the cabbage salad, but very good, with a cucumber cilantro taste.

Cold garlic pork (3/3/19). Slices of roast pork and a garlic sauce.

Shredded potato. Cold. The “mild” version of this dish. Like vinegar potato sticks.

Squirrel fish (3/3/19). Fried whole fish with tangy sweet and sour sauce. Nice.

Fried sweet garlic fish. I used to get this dish as a kid at a restaurant called Szechuan in DC. I don’t think it’s actually a Schezuan dish, but it Beijing’s version was delicious. Like fish and chips in goopy sweet sauce. Doesn’t sound so great, but it is.

Lobster (3/3/19). Lobster with garlic in a light breading. Tasty.

2005 Dönnhoff Niederhäuser Hermannshöhle Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel. 92 points. This was beautiful and in a great spot. An expressive nose that struck a fine balance between expressive floral notes, vibrant fruit, and chalk. On the palate the wine exploded in the mid-palate with a melange of stone & tropical fruits with a long mineral driven finish. Outstanding, my favorite Riesling of the night.

Meat pancakes. Sort of like a scallion pancake (and there are scallions inside).

But also one of those delicious Chinese meat patties (pork or beef?). Oily and scrumptious.

Leek pie. The vegetarian variant.

1990 Zind-Humbrecht Tokay Pinot Gris Vieilles Vignes. 90 points. Medium yellow in color this seems to be an off bottle. Very earthy on the nose, maybe too much so. Very dry. Not a terrible wine but not what this wine should be.

Peking duck (3/3/19). The meat carved in that style with a bit of skin on each piece. Pancakes and the usual scallions, cucumber, and hoisin. A very solid duck. Not as good as in Beijing, but very good.

Duck meat in soy sauce (3/3/19). Also with the duck came this Shanghai-esque dish with various duck meat in a sweet soy sauce. Lots of gamey duck taste. Delicious.

Eggs and pork. This has to be a homestyle dish. Scrambled eggs, pork, in a sweet and sour sauce. In fact, it tasted like great hot and soul soup. Really, really fabulous. Not fancy, just fabulous.

Eggs and tomato. Again, the vegetarian variant.

2012 Loosen Bros. Riesling. 84 points. Too sweet for me. Nose is full of flowery notes and little bit of honey. Short finish.

Cumin lamb. A fine version of this typical Western Chinese dish.

2012 Weingut Josef Leitz Rüdesheimer Berg Roseneck Riesling Spätlese. IWC 94. Seductive aromas of mango, banana, sweet herbs and honey. Rich, spicy tropical fruit flavors show a vague hint of botrytis and creamy depth. Certainly a touch on the sweet side, but nicely balanced and intriguingly long, this is one of the best spatleses of the vintage.

Lamb blintzes. I don’t know what else to call them. Inside the panfried crepe was a lamb version of that ground meat yummy stuff.

Meat pies. A different shaped take on the same basic ingredients, in this case pork and leeks, like in a potsticker. This has a higher meat to dough ratio and the thick skin holds in the yummy juices, so is one of the best.

Dry hot pot. This wasn’t actually ours, they just put it on our table by accident for a second.

Dry hot pot (3/3/19). You can pick what goes in here. I added bean curd, luncheon meat, wood ear mushroom, lotus root, etc. It had a great flavor and nice crisp textures.

2012 A.J. Adam Hofberg Riesling Kabinett. IWC 89. Fresh bouquet of pear, apple blossom and lemon zest. Delicately sweet on the palate, with a nice interplay of apricot and luscious citricity. Lip-smacking elegance on an appealing finish. A textbook kabinett.

Schezuan chicken. A drier peanut free kung pao. Might sometimes be called twice cooked. This had a LOT of taste, and both red Schezuan peppers (heaven facing?) and Schezuan peppercorns — for that tongue numbing effect.

Kung Pao Chicken. A more straight up version with softer meat chunks and the peanuts.

Cumin Lamb. With cilantro and onion. Really tasty dish.

Meat balls and cabbage (3/3/19). Not sure I’ve had this exact variant before. Meatballs were slightly sweet. I enjoyed it, as I usually like Chinese cabbage dishes and this was even better with the meat balls.

Soy sauce fried rice. Very tasty, with shrimp, egg, and bits of a spam like stuff in there.

Pork dumplings. These aren’t the lightest or most elegant dumpling I’ve ever had, but with a little vinegar they were pretty delicious.

Crystal shrimp. This hot pot contained all sorts of Schezuan pepper goodness, cabbage, and…

These flavorful little shrimp. The sauce was awesome over rice too.

2006 Clarendon Hills Grenache Old Vines Romas. IWC 94. Vivid ruby. Exotic Asian spices and smoky minerals accent fresh raspberry and boysenberry on the nose; shows more perfumed anise, patchouli and vanilla notes with aeration. Sweet black raspberry and cherry-vanilla flavors are sharpened by tangy minerals but betray no rough edges. This really stains the palate, leaving deep dark berry liqueur and candied floral notes behind, eventually. This is irresistible now.

Lamb burger. Roast lamb on a weird Western Chinese bread. The meat was tasty, the bread kinda heavy.

Shrimp and Spam. The same shrimp, and the yummy spam-like stuff in a dry hot pot.

Spareribs. Tasty hot cumin laced fried pork ribs.

Pork Noodles. The noodles were a little heavy and pan fried, but it was certainly tasty. Green beans, garlic, and pork round it out.

Cabbage and egg? Another homestyle dish of cabbage, egg, pork, mushrooms, and maybe even some spam. Really tasty tough.

Toothpick lamb. Another lamb dish, very similar to the skewers.

Cabbage. I have to say, this was probably the best cabbage dish I’ve ever had. How can a vegetable this humble be so tasty? Maybe it was the porky soy sauce.

Broccoli with garlic. Pretty straight up.

Eggplant in garlic sauce (3/3/19). A nice version of this dish. Not the spicy kind, which I prefer slightly, but still good.

String beans (3/3/19). Always like this dish. Solid version, some crunch on the beans.

Ma Po Tofu. Always one of my favorite dishes. This version had that numbing delicious schezuan flavor. It wasn’t super hot though.

Xia Xia Noodles. You mix all the stuff together and…

This savory concoction emerges. The sauce is a sort of sweet and tangy meat sauce.

Roast Mutton. Delicious fatty cuts of BBQ lamb (mutton being older sheep) with a spicy powder. Quite rich and flavorful.

Crispy beef. The pure form of this classic beef and celery dish.

Crispy potatoes. Like chinese potato sticks! Nice and very crispy.

Vermicelli. This was a nice savory dish with bits of pork and a silken texture to the noodles.

Some gelato by me on 3/3/19:

Noce e Heath Gelato – trying out my new Northern Italian Walnut I decided it needed something else, and something sweet, so Heath bar seemed to fit the bill — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #walnut #noce #HeathBar #heath #toffee

Danish Lakrids Licorice Gelato – I haven’t made this in 2 years and wanted to update the recipe. Polarizing, but surprisingly addictive — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #lakrids licorice #LoveItOrHateIt

Apricot Aperol Sorbetto – This is an old RnR favorite but I haven’t made it a while. Apricots from Avignon — made by me for @sweetmilkgelato — #SweetMilkGelato #gelato #dessert #icecream #FrozenDessert #nomnom #sorbetto #apricot #aperol

Overall, I was very impressed with Beijing Restaurant. My first two feasts here ran $27 and $24 each with tax and a huge tip. The third was $38, but we ordered 12 dishes for 4 people! It wasn’t fancy, but nearly every dish was incredibly tasty. Really good fun. The cuisine has a western feel, lots of Schezuan elements and dishes. I love that stuff. It’s also breadier, or doughier than many other areas of China.

For more LA Chinese reviews click here,

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

By: agavin
Comments (4)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Beijing Resteraunt, BYOG, Chinese cuisine, Gelato, hedonists, San Gabriel, San Gabriel California

Banqueting at Shanghai #1

Feb19

Restaurant: Shanghai #1 Seafood Village [1, 2, 3]

Location: 250 W Valley Blvd. San Gabriel, CA 91776. (626) 282-1777

Date: February 16, 2013

Cuisine: Chinese

Rating: Very authentic Shanghai style

The San Gabriel Valley is a veritable treasure trove of Asian dining, particularly regional Chinese. Shanghai #1 Seafood Village is the LA branch of a high end Shanghai chain specializing in banquet dining.

The decor is Stark meets Chinatown. Interestingly, as cheesy as it is, it’s fairly authentic.

As this is a Hedonist/Foodie Club wine diner, we prearranged a banquet and reserved the usual giant table.

The menu is like a giant full color fashion catalog for food, but I thought I’d show a couple pages by way of example.

NV Peter Paul Wines Champagne. A nice, nutty mature champagne.

Marinated legumes (lima beans?). A very mellow sophisticated taste, and some of the best lima beans I’ve had.

NV Jean-Pierre Brouchard Champagne In florescence. 92 points. A brilliant Blanc de Noirs exhibiting a dense, yet crisp mouthfeel with subtle elegant mousse. The nose has a lot of mature red apples, lime zest and newly made French toast. The length on the finish is very nice. The wine is crisp and clean, still it shows all the best sides of the Pinot Noir varietal. Overall impression is that of a very good Champagne which drinks terrifically tonight but would not mind resting another couple of years.

This was much fruiter than the Peter Paul, but I liked the nuttier drier one better myself.

Roast duck in a heavy sweet soy. Bony, but very tasty.

Marinated cucumbers (pickles) in a sweet soy vinegar.

Squid with a sauce not unlike eel BBQ sauce. Very tender and tasty.

1998 Monbousquet Blanc. Parker 91-93. Earthy, mineral nose; earthy, mineral palate; medium finish.

Some kind of meat enchilada. Well, not exactly, but meat and vegetables in a cold thin crepe.

Meat and gelatin (aspic?). This had a very pleasant texture (like jello) and a subtle flavor.

Lotus root stuffed with sweet rice in a tea marinate. Very interesting texture and a lovely tea flavor.

2008 Ken Brown Syrah Rosie’s Rosé. Not bad, lot’s of strawberry.

Old Shanghai baked spareribs. Amazing Chinese-style ribs.

Chicken with scallions and soy sauce. It looked a little scary, but it tasted great (except for the requisite bone).

From my cellar: 1990 Robert Ampeau & Fils Volnay 1er Cru Santenots. 94 points. Wonderfull intense colour, complex nose and pure Volnay fruit. Dark cherry fruits, wet forrest and just a little animal characters. Just right to drink now, no decline at all.

My favorite wine of the night, but I’m a Burgundy troll.

Crab dry cooked with coconut? Hard to say, but it tasted great. A dry, slightly spicy crab that emphasized the flavor of the crab itself.

2010 Westerly Vineyards Pinot Noir. 90 points. full bodied pinot with nice fruit, full mouth feel.

Roasted pig leg. This had to be the ham part, the rear? femur.

The sever just slices through the skin and fat to reveal…

All sorts of goodie tender pork. Really melts off the bone.

2012 Bread & Butter pinot noir. I actually liked this better than most American Pinots, as it wasn’t really oaked at all. Very fruity, with berries. A young fresh wine, like a pleasant Villages.

Pepper steak. This was lovely chunks of juicy steak with a black pepper and soy sauce.

2011 Pierre Gonon St Joseph. Parker 93. The 2011 Saint Joseph offers lots of olive tapenade, black currants, blackberry, tobacco and spice in a medium to full-bodied, supple and beautifully fruited profile. Filling in nicely with time in the glass, this chewy, rich effort has ripe tannin, excellent freshness and a big finish. Enjoy it over the coming decade or so.

Lots of rich fruit, but not at all overbearing.

Shrimp two ways. On the left, salt and pepper fried shrimp (extremely tasty) and on the right, white sauce popcorn shrimp (pleasant but mild).

2005 Radio-Coteau Syrah Las Colinas. Parker 91. The 2005 Syrah Las Colinas reveals floral, blackberry, and peppery notes, medium to full body, and loads of meatiness in a pure, richly fruity style.

Shanghai style sweet and sour fried fish. This was one of those goopy straight up orange sweet and sour sauces, but it was awesome. Particularly dripped over rice. And the method of flaying the meat out and frying it created a much crisper effect, even if the appearance is a bit horror movie.

1994 Stonestreet Cabernet Sauvignon. Parker 91-93. I have been a fan of this winery’s Pinot Noir, but I have not seen the newest offerings. However, I do have enthusiastic tasting notes on Stonestreet’s other red wines. The 1994 Cabernet Sauvignon appears to be even more intense and powerful than the 1993, with an opaque purple color, and gobs of lavishly oaked, smoky, cassis fruit intertwined with aromas of roasted herbs and high quality toasty oak. This powerful Cabernet reveals plenty of tannin, low acidity, and outstanding concentration and purity. This large-scaled, remarkably well-balanced wine should drink well young yet last for two decades.

Our bottle was corked.

Special Shanghai BBQ red pork. Oh so fatty and oh so tasty!

Mushrooms and bock choy.

Shanghai noodles. These are pan fried rice cake with scallions and sweet soy. Odd soft texture, but delicious.

2004 Colgin IX Syrah Estate. Parker 96. Aubert demonstrates a superb know-how with Syrah. These wines are macerated for 35-45 days, and given frequent pump-overs as well as punch-downs. They are aged completely in French oak. The floral-filled 2004 IX Syrah Estate (486 cases) offers super-pure blue and blackberries intermixed with hints of new saddle leather and meat. High but sweet tannins, powerful flavors, and an overall sense of poise characterize this stunning effort.

A strange Shanghai take on Ma Po tofu. It has peanuts, and a bit of spice, but the tofu is the firm kind instead of the silken tofu, and there is no yummy pork and mighty numbing Schezuan heat like here or here.

Crispy meat buns. A really great film skinned take on the soup dumpling.

On the right is a hard boiled egg that was underneath all that red pork belly. It’s saturated with sweetness and pork fat!

Fruit for dessert.

Overall, this was a really great meal. First rate Chinese and quite authentic and typical of high end banquet meals in China. We didn’t have the totally tricked out menu with all the sea cucumber, shark fin, and the like, but I don’t love that stuff anyway. Nearly every dish was wonderful. Service was fine (for Chinese). They brought things a little rapidly, but it was fine. Great experience.

For more LA Chinese reviews click here.

By: agavin
Comments (1)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Chinatown, Chinese cuisine, hedonists, San Gabriel California, san Gabriel valley, Shanghai, Shanghai #1 Seafood Village

Newport Special Seafood

Dec23

Restaurant: Newport Seafood

Location: 518 W Las Tunas Dr, San Gabriel, CA 91776-1073. (626) 289-5998

Date: December 19, 2013 and January 24 & September 11, 2016 and May 22, 2022 (and many other times between)

Cuisine: Cambodian Chinese

Rating: I used to like it, but now I’m jaded and think it’s perhaps the most overrated place in the SGV

Many people consider Newport Seafood one of the best Chinese restaurants in SoCal. Essentially, it’s Southern Chinese, with some Cambodian and Vietnamese influences (the owners are Cambodian). I’ve been a couple of times, but this post is a composite of a December ’13 and a January ’16 meal (click those links for the specific by night pictures and wines) and another September ’16 meal. The wines below are all from the ’13 meal as the latter time there wasn’t anything particularly exciting except for a pile of leftovers I brought from an epic dinner the night before. People somehow think that giant New World Syrah goes with Chinese food — not! Except for a dish or two, total wine pairing fail. This cuisine would be best served by Burgs (both colors), dry Riesling, Gruner, and the like.

This is a big place, and moderately “fancy” as San Gabriel Chinese joints go. Even on a Thursday night, it was mobbed, and people were waiting for a good long while. The weekend is crazy busy.

No Newport visit is complete without shots of the ladies with the giant crustaceans.

The menu 5/22/22.

Boiled peanuts. Helpful in avoiding peanut allergies.

Cold spicy cucumbers. A nice version of this Szechuan classic.

Chinese savory cruller. I’ve always liked these puffy donut-like (without the sugar) breads.

Sea Cucumber Salad. Actually pretty good if you don’t mind the gummy texture.

Vietnamese shrimp salad. Those strong vinegar/sugar flavors and the peanuts are very Vietnamese. The standard lettuce, a little less so. Really, a lousy salad — pretty much ruined by the generic lettuce.

Cold duck. I thought we ordered “crispy duck” — this wasn’t — but it wasn’t bad either.

Green chicken. This was pretty good for straight up boiled/steamed whole chicken. Unusual chili paste too, which I now recognize as fairly typical Cambodian.

Basically a pork larb with some curry and heat and Thai basil. Pretty good. A touch of funk too (fish sauce or shrimp paste).

Many of the waiting guests amused themselves with the “wildlife,” like this toddler (conveniently in the picture for scale). We’ll get back to this big ugly crustacean, as he was part of our dinner.

As were these red fish (red cod? rock fish?).

Tricia got the honor of grabbing the crab!

2006 Sine Qua Non Autrement Dit. 90 points. Very nice blueberry/strawberry nose. not hot on the nose. really nice full palate and mouthfeel with a nice mix of red and blue fruits, and integrated earthiness. did not noticably detect any heat or wood on this. certainly a bigger and different type of rose, but this bottle was nicely restrained and seemed in good balance tonight.

Newport Special Crab. Our entire giant crab was steamed in a mild and pleasant sauce the emphasized the sweet and delicate flavor of the VERY fresh crab. In fact, he was alive and kicking in Tricia’s hands about 15 minutes prior. This was perfectly cooked and moist.

2005 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage Blanc. Parker 96. The 2005 Hermitage blanc is an amazing effort that defines the classic style of white Hermitage. It offers hints of marzipan, roasted hazelnuts, quince, licorice, honeysuckle, citrus oil, and wet stones. It is a superbly concentrated and powerful wine. It should drink well for 30+ years.

Westlake Soup. It was mild and pleasant with a lot of various stuff in it. A splash of vinegar jazzed it up.

Crab and asparagus soup. Very mild and pleasant. Not that much crab but a lot of white asparagus.

2000 Aubert Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard. Parker 91. The 2000 Chardonnay Ritchie Vineyard is a rich, full-bodied, textured, powerful, smoky effort that tastes like a Meursault premier cru on steroids. It possesses ample layers, excellent underlying acidity for balance, and plenty of leesy, hazelnut, and tropical fruit notes.

Newport Special Lobster. In a delicious green onion, garlic, and slightly spicy sauce. The sauce was amazing. The lobster was perhaps a tiny bit overcooked, but was great. It’s mostly about the sauce.

Giant steamed prawns. These were too much plain crustacean for my taste. Lots of work to pry out the meat, and it was just steamed shrimp. I think of them as giant steamed sea bugs.

Salt and pepper crab. Interesting. Like a fossilized salty crab. The meat itself was tasty, but I preferred the sauced version below.

Curry crab. Crab drowned in a super yummy Singapore curry sauce. Awesome!

2011 Wagner-Stempel Riesling Trocken. Parker 89. Fresh apple and lime garlanded with narcissus, apple blossom and basil characterize the aromatic and palate performance of Wagner-Stempel’s 2011 Riesling trocken, whose combination of caressingly silken texture with bright, infectiously juicy citricity displays the family resemblance to its Scheurebe counterpart. At 12.5% alcohol, this manages to convey a sense of buoyancy through its delightful, apple pip- and herb-tinged finish. Look for it to prove deliciously versatile over the next 2-3 years. There is now, incidentally, just a single large bottling of generic Riesling at this address and it is 100% estate-bottled.

Shrimp with walnut. This was one of the best versions of this classic slightly fried and slightly sweet dish I’ve had in a while.

2007 Hermann Donnhoff Riesling Spatlese Niederhauser Hermannshohle. Parker 96. Gardenia, peony, and resinous herbs in the nose of Donnhoff’s 2007 Niederhauser Hermannshohle Riesling Spatlese give way to a palpably extract-rich palate of vibratory intensity, suffused with stony, saline, and tactile suggestions of mineral matter, yet at the same time rich orchard fruits. If the Krotenpfuhl was painted with water colors, the medium here is definitely oil, exhibiting both dynamic and intricate brush work as well as dense layering. This masterpiece – picked simultaneously with the corresponding Grosses Gewachs – was only beginning to show its depth in the spring and needed almost six months in bottle to really shine forth. Take as long as fate permits you to savor this; I can’t imagine it disappointing a quarter century or more from now.

Steamed Whole Fish. With soy, ginger, etc. Delicate and lovely, although not a ton of meat. Too “clean” for my taste.

1984 Gros Frère et Sœur Clos Vougeot Musigni. 95 points. This is a great wine (good location in the vineyard and top winemakers) from a very off year — and it’s 29 year-old pinot noir. But somehow (and I’ve had 3 bottles) it’s still in great shape. Really quite lovely with a complex tar and cherry thing going on. I happen to find it fabulous.

Sole Fish with Salt and Pepper? In any case, some VERY fried fish nuggets. It tasted a tad oily.

Sweet and sour fish filets. I liked these better than the dry salt and pepper version. Soft, fried, and vaguely sweet.

Fish Filet with Basil. These were super tender and succulent and a bit fried. Incredible savory (MSG) flavor. LOTS of msg. Definitely one of their best fried fish dishes.

2008 DuMOL Pinot Noir Aidan. Parker 93. The 2008 Pinot Noirs are led by The 2008 Pinot Noir Aidan, which is made from the modern Dijon clones of 115 and 777. Yields in 2008 were a minuscule 1.75 tons of fruit per acre, hence production is down considerably. Aromas of forest floor, plum sauce, black currants, blueberries and a complex rose petal-like character emerge from this dark ruby-colored 2008. With medium to full body and good acidity, this beauty can be drunk over the next 10-12 years.

Sizzling Beef. Had lots of flavor. But these days I find this kind of dish boring.

Vietnamese Beef Stew. Yummy stuff. Very soft fatty meat, tons of flavor, and odd asian textures. Great over rice. Very interesting slightly curry and fish sauce flavor. Meat had a lot of tendon. I liked it a lot as it was intresting.

2001 St. Francis Anthem. 90 points. Nice blend with some earthy tones.

Beef Loc Lac (French Style). Kind of like Chinese Salsbury steak. Lots of flavor, but mostly one tasted the sauce.

Our private room.

Sauteed Peasprout. A nice garlicky vegetable. Kind of like a broom for the intestines.

Another mysterious green, or maybe just different looking peasprouts.

Green beans with pork. Classic dish. These were slippery fellows and hard to scoop up. Delicious with nice crunchy beans but oh so salty (lots of MSG).

1997 Turley Wine Cellars Petite Syrah Hayne Vineyard. Parker 96-98. I do not believe I have ever tasted a more concentrated, essence-like wine than Turley’s 1997 Petite Syrah Hayne Vineyard. Made from 55-year old vines that yielded only 9.8 tons of fruit for five acres, this opaque black-colored wine is the biggest, richest, most concentrated, tannic wine I have ever tasted. It will need at least a decade to shed some of its ferocious tannin, and will undoubtedly last for 40-50 years. Even more remarkable is its purity and overall equilibrium. Despite its Godzilla-like size, this is an astonishingly concentrated, gorgeously made wine. I have never, ever, seen a wine like this!

Kung Pao Pork Chop. It wasn’t very spicy, and it was seriously double fried, but it was darn tasty.

Sweet and sour pork chop. Tasty, but certainly not tender!

Fried Pork Chop with Salt and Pepper. Very salty and fried, but delicious.

Crispy duck. Sixth months later, we get the duck. This was a fairly contentious dish, some thought it dry. I kinda liked it once you soaked a meaty piece in the sauce.

2002 Sean Thackrey Orion Syrah. Parker 96-100. A riveting example of Syrah is the 2002 Orion. It boasts a black/purple color with more mint and blackberry notes intermixed with exotic floral characteristics. With great intensity, full body, multiple dimensions, and superb purity as well as length, this blockbuster is incredibly well-balanced/harmonious. It should drink reasonably well young, yet keep for 12-15 years.

Parker sure (over) loves these new world syrahs.

Fried Noodle with Chicken. I happen to love these thin fried noodles drenched in the white Chinese sauce.

Fried noodle with seafood. More or less the same great taste.

Vegetable fried rice. Not as exciting as the meat version, but certainly good.

Pork fried rice. A nice tasty rice.

A rare photo of me.

Shrimp with Garlic Sauce? This was mildly spicy with a lot of flavor.

Lana and Tricia duel.

Oranges for dessert.

We brought in these cakes for a birthday.

Mascarpone with Strawberry and Oat Milk Matcha Almond.

Overall, honestly it’s tough to review Newport Seafood. When I first came here in 2013, I was only a year or so into my frequent SGV journeys and I loved it — more or less in the way that I have always loved all Chinese food. Hell, I even used to like PF Changs and Panda Express. But now, several hundred real Chinese meals later, I feel that Newport is just oddly overrated. It’s like the expensive gateway drug to the SGV. Sure it’s enjoyable. They have good dishes. Even some great dishes (nothing wrong with the lobster at all other than the price). But little is interesting, it’s way overpriced, and they lean very heavily on the “flavor” (MSG). I’m not a monster fan of this Chinese Cambodian hybrid style either. It’s 90% Chinese, but fairly close to Chaozhou style. Still, I like either Tai Sui (Cambodian) or Seafood Palace (Chaozhou) MUCH better. And I also like straight Cantonese a lot more (of which there are many better examples) and particularly Sichuan or any kind of regional Chinese.

So no, I’m just not really impressed with Newport at this point.

Or check out Newport’s Beverly Hills location.

For more LA Chinese dining reviews click here,

or more crazy Hedonist dinners here!

Some more wines from September 11, 2016:

By: agavin
Comments (2)

Posted in: Food

Tagged as: China, Chinese cuisine, crab, hedonists, Lobster, Monterey Park California, Newport Special Lobster, San Gabriel California

Tasty Duck Will Bring You Luck

Sep30

Restaurant: Tasty Duck [1, 2, 3]

Location: 1039 E Valley Blvd. Ste B102. San Gabriel, CA 91776. (626) 572-3885

Date: September 28, 2013

Cuisine: Chinese

Rating: Great Duck!

My Hedonist food and wine club loves the SGV. This community 20 minutes East of Downtown LA boasts a staggering array of good Chinese restaurants and Tasty Duck is one of our regular spots. Even though its intensely crowded, we shoe horned 23 people in on a busy Saturday night. Of course this meant 11-12 people at tables meant for 8-10, but what’s a little elbow in your pancake among friends?

NV Pierre Péters Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut Cuvée de Réserve. Burghound 93. A stunningly elegant nose of pure floral, Granny Smith apples, spice and freshly sliced lemon complements to perfection the intense and equally pure flavors that possess excellent punch like remain delicate and ultra-refined on the balanced and persistent finish. The supporting mousse displays a very find bead and the overall impression is one of subtlety and grace. Not only is this a wonderful effort but the value it offers it beyond stunning.

Cold appetizers: Jellyfish (top left), wine chicken (top), and beef (bottom). This kind of plate is very traditional in China. The beef was my favorite, marinated, a bit salty, and smoky.

Some white Bordeaux that was beyond gone. Too bad!

The main event: Peking Duck. Not only was this delectable, with fantastic crispy skin and delicate meat, but it’s artfully arranged. We had two plates of these per table and it was a feeding frenzy!

Here are the traditional accompaniments. Excellent pancakes, hoison sauce, and scallions and apple/pear. One mystery question I must ask: why do Chinese restaurants insist on putting far too few pancakes and too little hoison sauce on the table? We had to ask for refills about four times (which they happily brought).

The best American rose I’ve yet had. Rather wonderful.

Cumin lamb. A typical specimen, but with tender flavorful lamb. Some places border on mouton.

2010 Samuel Billaud Chablis 1er Cru Montée de Tonnerre. Burghound 92. While there is a trace of exotic fruit to the otherwise very pure aromas of white flower, citrus, wet stone and seaweed, this offers ample Chablis character. There is an attractive succulence to the fleshy middle weight flavors that exude a fine minerality on the clean, dry, linear and overtly saline-infused finish. Like the straight Chablis, this too evidences a hint of bitterness though it should pass in time.

French style Beef. Extremely tender and delicious, almost sweet, morsels of filet.

1971 Weingut Paul Ayl Ayler Kupp Riesling Auslese Goldkapsel. Unfortunately a bit over the hill.

Some amazing Shanghai style soup dumplings. Tasty little morsels stuffed with pork and broth.

1994 Zind-Humbrecht Gewurztraminer Heimbourg Vendange Tardive. Parker 99! These wines are made in frightfully tiny quantities, and are so rich that they make Chateau d’Yquem look like an under-nourished wine. Truly the stuff of legends, these possess 15%-18% residual sugar. All three will age for 40-50 years, but will anyone wait that long? They are “off the charts” in terms of flavor extraction, balance, quality, and the lavish quantity of extract and intensity they possess.

Wine of the night for sure!

Look who’s coming to dinner!

Crispy whole red cod with sweet and sour sauce. A really nice fish, similar to a couple weeks ago at the Shanghai place.

Bok chow and I think mushrooms, hard to tell. Mild but very pleasant.

1990 Comte Armand Pommard 1er Cru Clos des Epeneaux. Burghound 90. Still deeply colored. An expressive, dense, indeed huge nose of roasted, ever-so-slightly stewed fruit that is already showing a great deal of secondary and even tertiary development while the muscular, rich, extracted and solidly complex flavors are underpinned by a tough, firm and very prominent tannic backbone. This is a dramatic bruiser of a wine but it’s not clear that it’s ever going to harmonize as the finish is completely dominated by the structure and given that the fruit is presently much more advanced than the evolution of the tannins, it’s a tough call to say whether the fruit will be able to stand the test of time and this most recent bottle gave no cause for optimism in this regard, indeed it seemed to confirm that this is probably a lost cause. Optimists will continue to hold the ’90 Epeneaux in the cellar as it will certainly be around 30 years from now though whether it will be any more balanced than it is now is the essential question.

Some kind of crazy pork cut. Some serious fat here and the skin was a bit mushy, but the meat fell off the bone and was incredibly tender and delicious.

1970 Bodegas El Coto Rioja Coto de Imaz. Surprisingly good for such an old non-riserva Rioja.

The proverbial, “duck soup” that is the last part of “duck three ways.” Mild and pleasant with some tofu and cabbage. I can also vouch that it was served hot, as a ladleful was poured across my hand and I had to soak my thumb in ice water all night.

Their interesting take on “walnut shrimp.” The fried shrimp, sweet mayo sauce, and walnuts is supplemented with pineapple!

Part of “duck three ways”: sprouts with bits of duck meat.

Yarom chomps on the pig bone.

Scallion pancakes.

A very nice mixed fried rice.

Beef rolls with BBQ beef and cilantro. Really nice, tasted like rolled up Pho.

Sweet egg drop soup.

Eye ball surprise anyone? Actually a very unusual dish. Like egg drop soup but sweet with these big tapioca balls. Pleasant, although continuing the general trend in which Chinese desserts bat about 50.

Overall, another fantastic meal. The total damage, including tax and a whopping 30% tip was $35 a person! “Inflated” because of our multiple ducks. The service was great (for Chinese). They were very friendly and willing to serve us the dishes one at a time over a long period . This is actually fairly unusual as a lot of Chinese restaurants like to slam you out in 45 minutes by dropping everything on the table at once. The duck was first rate, as good as Peking duck gets — more or less. The other dishes were good too, with almost all of them being very well executed and not greasy.

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Yarom with the owner

By: agavin
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Posted in: Food

Tagged as: Chinese cuisine, duck, Hedonism, Peking Duck, San Gabriel, San Gabriel California, san Gabriel valley, Tasty Duck, Valley Boulevard

Tasty Duck Lives up to its Name

May07

Restaurant: Tasty Duck [1, 2, 3]

Location: 1039 E Valley Blvd. Ste B102. San Gabriel, CA 91776. (626) 572-3885

Date: May 4, 2013

Cuisine: Chinese

Rating: Great Duck!

My Hedonist food and wine club loves the SGV. This community 20 minutes East of Downtown LA boasts a staggering array of good Chinese restaurants.

NV Pierre Peters Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Cuvee de Reserve. Parker 92. The NV Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Cuvee de Reserve is a gorgeous wine that captures the essence of Chardonnay in the Cote des Blancs. Pure, wiry and wonderfully expressive, the Cuvee de Reserve flows gracefully with layers of varietal fruit from start to finish. This shows superb clarity, depth and polish, particularly at the NV level. The current release is 65% 2007 and 35% reserve wines from a solera cuvee that contains 15 vintages. Roughly 2/3rds of the fruit comes from Mesnil, while the rest is from Cramant, Avize, Oger and Chouilly.

Cold appetizers: Jellyfish (top), wine chicken (right), and beef (left).

1971 Joh. Jos. Prüm Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese. Rated 93. On the nose, lots of petrol and cotton candy. On the palate, still some good acidity and sweetness, with lots of tangerine and apricot and a long finish. May be a bit past its prime (storage was not the best according to the person who brought it) but still a lovely wine.

The main event: Peking Duck. Not only was this delectable, with fantastic crispy skin and delicate meat, but it’s artfully arranged.

Here are the traditional accompaniments. Excellent pancakes, hoison sauce, and scallions and apple/pear.

1989 Joseph Drouhin Clos Vougeot.Rated 91. Nice. Spice box nose with decent fruit and silky tannins. Defenite develpemnt. Classy finesse with earthy tones and soft red berries. It took a good hour or two for the fruit to come out, but once it did it was very nice.

Eggplant.

2010 Van Volxem Kanzemer Altenberg Riesling Alte Reben. Parker 93. The stony mineral and piquantly nutty elements present in so many of this year’s Van Volxem offerings are only enhanced when it comes to the ancient-vines 2010 Kanzemer Altenberg Riesling Alte Reben, but so is citricity, to the point where this seems electrically-charged. Mint and green tea remind me a bit of the herbal side that comes out in so many Scharzhofberger of this vintage, while iris and hedge flowers add allure. A satin-textured and rich though vivacious palate impression leads to a clarion, vibratory finishing flavor interaction of floral, herbal, citrus, nut oil, and mineral notes. I would anticipate at least 12-15 years of excitement. Interestingly, at 11.8%, this is slightly lower in alcohol than the other non-sweet wines in the present collection, which are in the lower 12s.

Part of “duck three ways”: sprouts with bits of duck meat.

1996 Domaine Chauvenet-Chopin Nuits St Georges les Murgers. Parker 90-92. This medium-to-dark ruby-colored wine has an expressive nose of cassis, cherries, Asian spices, and minerals. This massive, chewy-textured, full-bodied, and plump wine is rich, concentrated, muscular, and crammed with super-ripe blackberries awash in toasty oak.

Some amazing Shanghai style soup dumplings. Tasty little morsels stuffed with pork and broth.

2005 Camille Giroud Latricieres Chambertin. Parker 93-94. The 2005 Latricieres-Chambertin (purchased partly as grapes and partly as wine) offers a clear, enticing nose of tiny purple plums, blueberries, lilies, beef marrow, and hints of caramel and vanilla. Polished and bright, it exudes the refinement that the Chapelle lacked, leading to a real rush of lingering sweet, caramel- and vanilla-tinged fruit in the finish. The tannins are abundant but ultra-refined. Sock this away for at least a decade and figure on at least an additional decade to hold.

Great wine, although a little young. After 30-60 minutes it opened up and drank very nicely.

Shanghai style BBQ pork ribs. Twice fried (deep and stir) in a sweet and sour sauce. Very good for this dish, with relatively little bone.

1997 Rene Rostaing Cote Rotie. Parker 86-88. The dark ruby-colored 1997 Cote Rotie Cuvee Classique is an evolved, forward, fat wine with cassis and raspberry fruit flavors, medium body, and an easy-going, succulent, luscious, straightforward appeal.

Nice pairing with the lamb below.

Cumin lamb. A typical specimen, but with tender flavorful lamb. Some places border on mouton.

The proverbial, “duck soup” that is the last part of “duck three ways.” Mild and pleasant with some tofu and cabbage.

Their interesting take on “walnut shrimp.” The fried shrimp, sweet mayo sauce, and walnuts is supplemented with pineapple!

Scallion pancakes.

2006 Bressan Schioppettino. Rated 92. Clear ruby in color, with medium plus intensity and moderate consistency. The nose is clean, with medium plus intensity. The nose is quite complex, with aromas of red fruit, orange rind, sage, thyme, menthol, rhubarb, angostura bitters, black pepper, anise, violet and pine forest floor. The nose is developing, of fine quality and constantly evolving in the glass. The palate is dry, with medium plus to pronounced acidity, and flavors generally consistent with the nose. Showing red fruit, peppery spice, herbs and bitter lemon. The alcohol is moderate (-) at 13%. Thee polyalcohols are smooth (-). The tannins are medium to medium plus. The minerality is moderate +. The body is medium +. The flavors are moderately intense +. The finish is moderately persistent +. The wine is moderately balanced; it is skewed slightly towards hardness. The acidity is quite high. It’s almost as a little bit of white wine had been blended in, but the tannins are defintely still there. The palate is fine overall. This wine is ready to drink and approaching maturity, but is likely to have a long drinking window thanks to its structure. It is moderately harmonious + and extremely food friendly.

Crispy whole red cod with sweet and sour sauce. A really nice fish, similar to a couple weeks ago at the Shanghai place.

Fried rice with pineapple, which felt more Thai.

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Beef rolls with BBQ beef and cilantro. Really nice, tasted like rolled up Pho.

NV Minardi Vini Passito di Pantelleria. Rated 88. Not the most balanced Pantelleria I’ve ever had, and medium sweet, like a vin santo, but very pleasant and an excellent pairing with the mild but sweet Chinese desserts.

Red bean or black sesame (I wasn’t sure) pancakes. Tasty (for a Chinese dessert).

A gooey mochi and nut thingy.

Overall, another fantastic meal. The total damage, including tax and a whopping 30% tip was $32 a person! The service was great (for Chinese). They were very friendly and willing to serve us the dishes one at a time over three hours. This is actually fairly unusual as a lot of Chinese restaurants like to slam you out in 45 minutes by dropping everything on the table at once. The duck was first rate, as good as Peking duck gets — more or less. The other dishes were good too, with almost all of them being very well executed and not greasy.

For more Hedonist adventures or

For more LA dining reviews click here.