A Really Great Chinese that I haven't been to yet.

[hwy61rv]

My 13 year old daughter Jackie just had a birthday & we have a family tradition that the birthday girl gets the meal of their choice, either home cooked or restaurant. Jackie wants a great Chinese Dinner, so I said Seaharbour Seafood which she loves But....... she wants me to find a new place so its more of a discovery!!! We love discovering new places. I need some suggestions. Some places we really like & go to regularly (thus they are disqualified) are Ocean Star Seafood, Golden Deli, Triumphal Palace, Empress Pavillion, Pho 97(79), Giang Nan, Din Tai Fun, Mei Long Village, Schezuan is probably too spicy, so help a family man out & even recommend a dish or two. Thanks

[stacey8989]

If you like Peking Duck-

Lu Din Gee Restaurant

1039 E. Valley Blvd, B102
San Gabriel, CA 91776
Tel: [phone]
http://www.pearlcatering.com/index.html

[mpken]

Newport Seafood for the House Special Lobster, Clam with Basil, French Style Beef, Goeduck 2 ways(soup, sashimi style, or deep fried), pea shoots, and maybe a crab?

[PeterL]

Mission 261.

[rameniac]

hehe for what it's worth, golden deli and pho 97/79 are vietnamese not chinese...

[WBGuy]

Nobody's mentioned Green Village yet. It's got good Shanghainese food, so it's not spicy. It's got great ambiance that's perfect for a celebration, and it's relatively inexpensive.

[Das Ubergeek]

I was just reading through the rest of the comments on the way to recommend Green Village in San Gabriel. It's on the second floor of the shopping plaza ACROSS from Mei Long Village.

Pork pump is the standard order at a hucai (Shanghainese) restaurant, but skip it and go for the bean curd with pork sauce instead. It is absolutely outstanding. Xiao long bao are quite good (not as good as MLV, but still good). Vegetables are generally OK but they have the "clear glop" problem. While ordering orange chicken is a no-no anywhere except Panda Express, there is an "orange eel" at Green Village that is fantastic... mostly crunch, but when you get done crunching you have just the essence of eel. Also, red-cooked tofu (listed as pork on the menu, ask for tofu instead) is very good -- if you've never had red-cooked food, it has nothing to do with the colour, but rather that the sauce is reused and reused and reused until it's infused with all the flavour of what's been cooked in it. It sounds gross but it's absolutely a mindblowing amount of flavour. I recommend tofu because it won't get in the way of the sauce.

[jenn]

not to be mean but Green Village isn't there anymore and hasn't been for a number of months. It was replaced by a most excellent Hunan place called "Dong Ting" something. I've been there three times now and always had a great meal. Last went with picky Chinese american friend who pronounced it excellent.

If your heart is set on Shanghai style, there is a new Shanghai place on the same floor--seem to recall its called Shanghai City.

[Chandavkl]

No actually, Green Village left San Gabriel square in 2004 and was replaced by another Shanghai restaurant, Green City. It was Green City that was replaced by Dong Ting Spring, the Hunan place. Meanwhile, Green Village reappeared in the shopping center just west of San Gabriel Square (250 W. Valley Bl.) late last year. I believe the existing Shanghai restaurant in San Gabriel Square is Shanghai Kitchen

[raytamsgv]

Try the following:

Kim Ky Noodle House (Chiu Chow Noodles--open for breakfast and lunch only, cash only)
1108 S. San Gabriel Blvd., San Gabriel 626-289-8839
9014 E. Garvey Ave., #H Rosemead 626-569-9511

Empress Harbor Seafood Restaurant (Cantonese seafood)
111 N. Atlantic Blvd., Ste. 350, Monterey Park 626-300-8707

Tasty Garden (Hong-Kong style food)
1212 S. Baldwin Ave., Arcadia 626-445-9388
288 W. Valley Blvd., #110-112, Alhambra 626-300-8262

Here are some mini-reviews I've written:http://www.geocities.com/raytamsgv/ch...

Finally, try

Nem Nuong Ninh Hoa (Not Chinese, but good central Vietnamese food
)9016 Mission Dr., Rosemead 626-286-3370

[jennp]

I don't know if this is within the area that you're searching, but in West L.A. there's a restaurant called Hop Li. I think its on Pico, near Veteran. That's my favorite Chinese restaurant :)

[Pei]

It's super casual, but has Jackie ever been to a Chinese style "beer hut"? I know, she's way too young to partake in the beer part of that description, but they're really not like that. It's like saying you took your kids out for fish n' chips doesn't necessarily mean you were in a dark bar full of drunk people.

There's one near Rosemead and Valley, but I'll have to find the name or rely on other hounds who remember.

Basically, it's a lot of fun small plates of food. There's a lot to choose from: clam soup, various cuts of meat that are grilled on skewers, some deep fried appetizers, the usual Chinese tea drinks to choose from. It's mostly street food, but my teenage sisters and under-10 cousin have a fun time when we go. We've only been for lunch though, so I don't know how the crowd gets for dinner. Even if you don't go for her birthday, you should go for lunch some time because it would definitely be a discovery!

For a birthday blowout dinner, Sea Harbor is going to be hard to top, but I've always enjoyed 888 as well.

[modernist]

yes i was going to suggest "indian". good taiwanese pub food and fun atmoshpere. definitely kid friendly. and as a dad, you'll appreciate the cute waitresses with feathers in their hair.

[ipsedixit]

Two suggestions for you.

1. Seafood Village in Temple City - get the house special fish and the garlic crab.

2. Macau Street in Monterey Park - chicken and ginger hot pot, lamb with giner, chicken knees, and the egg tarts.

[modernist]

i went back to macau street about a month ago and found the food to have gone way downhill. we ordered like 7 dishes between two people. (everyone kept staring at us like we were crazy) they were all mediocre... may have been an off night but why put up with occasional off nights when you dont have to?

[eatdrinknbmerry]

haha ipsedixit, we're always on the same SGV boat. i'm gonna say the same thing - really love the Chiu Chow style Chinese food at Seafood Village. Temple City seems to be pretty packed with all the folks from Arcadia, San Marino and El Monte. I just go to the one on Garvey/Chandler. And yes, the garlic crab at $6.99/lb.

If your daughter can handle spicy food, Chung King Szechuan on San Gabriel Blvd is delectable as well.

I also like Green Village in the Great Mall of China on valley/del mar. they have this one thing i refer to as Chinese Fish n' Chips. It's white fish battered w/ seaweed threads - so crispy. Served with salt and vinegar... called "tai tiao huang yu" (yellow fish strips). Xiao long bao's there aren't bad.

[jenn]

Green Village is adios for months now. I actually think I posted about its demise because it was the most recent vanishing restaurant to distress my elder pup. Replaced by most tasty Dong Ting Hunan restaurant.

The fish you called was listed as "Ningbo" fish on the menu. I am told by Chinese American friends that they serve the same fish at MeiLong Village and that its pretty good.

[Hailyn]

While the Green Village in Focus Plaza (the 99 Ranch plaza) has been replaced by Dong Ting Chung, there is a new Green Village (with a different Chinese name -- not Lu Yang Chun like before, but now Da Shanghai) that has opened in the former King's Palace space east of the Focus Plaza on Valley. See today's LA Times article by Linda Burum.

[David Kahn]

Does Seafood Village have several stores, and, if so, are they all equally good?

[WHills]

I think the one in Monterey Park off of Garvey is the best.

The one in Temple City isn't bad, but service is terrible.

[raytamsgv]

Service is bad only if you don't speak, yell , AND curse in Chinese. :-)

[eatdrinknbmerry]

yes, i think Seafood Village in MP is the better one.

[ipsedixit]

I disagree. I prefer the Temple City one.

But then this is really like arguing which is a better car ... a Bentley or a Rolls-Royce?

Cheers. :-)

[Das Ubergeek]

The one in Rowland Heights is fine... and service was downright pleasant, which was a shock.

[WHills]

Capital Seafood on Garvey/Garfield in Monterey Park, especially if you go on a weeknight. They are having a dinner special where you can get shark's fin soup + abalone + Chinese dish for $35 a person. Not a big deal. Very yummy food too. It's located close to Ocean Star.

Empress Harbrous next to Ocean Star is pretty good.

Full House in Arcadia is also very yummy for Cantonese cuisine.

[shab]

I'm no expert by any means, but for something great, different and not too spicy, how about China Islamic on Garvey in Rosemead?