Top Asian Restaurant in Duarte
Youngs Gourmet
1340 E Huntington Dr, Duarte, CA 91010, United States
Id read all the 5 star reviews and decided to give Youngs Gourmet a try. We ordered Flaming Pu Pu platter, Rainbow Chicken and House Special Chow Mein. The food smelled amazing in the car on the ride home. Once we got home and began to eat said food, it was a totally different story. Seriously, the worst Chinese food I have ever experienced!!! Most of the items in the Pu Pu Platter were just not palatable. The meat on a skewer was tough or overcooked/burnt or both- did not even remotely taste like beef to me. Fried shrimp and egg rolls had very minimal flavor. BBQ spareribs were burnt and dried out. Chow Mein had little to no flavor- very bland. Not sure if we actually got Rainbow chicken but whatever it was it had very little taste except white pepper. We ended up tossing most of it because it was that bad. $42 was a high price to pay but, lesson learned, wont be back. Really disappointed. Alot of folks seem to enjoy their food but I cant honestly say we did. Good luck.
Panda Express
904 Hamilton Rd, Duarte, CA 91010, United States
I well, never return to this Panda Express again unless its for takeout or to eat in the patio. This is the worst Panda Express Ive ever been to for a noise level from the kitchen and from the chairs scraping on the floor! Not pleasant at all to eat inside! Plus they were out of the sweet sour sauce but didnt notify us when we were purchasing egg rolls that they were out of the sauce! How can a huge company like this let their inventory get down and be out of the sweet sour sauce is beyond me! One of the worst eating experiences ever for noise level! I called Panda Express corporate in complained. They took my information and sent me a coupon to get a free item if I bought a two item combo plate! Do you think I feel like going back to Panda Express to buy more food. Not really! They have gotten rid of sweet sour pork. They could add sweet sour chicken to the menu but they never have. Even though Ive asked for it, they got rid of eggplant and tofu and both of their soups. Their containers for your extra side have gotten smaller and they dont give you as much in your two item plate! Yet the family purchased the building next to Panda inn in Pasadena for 42 million dollars!
Charm - Thai Home Cooking
2414 E Huntington Dr, Duarte, CA 91010, United States
Terrible service. Wanted Orange Chicken—-not available under previous owners . Had it before with same owners. Sat down at table about 1pm. I was only customer. I was asked if I wanted to eat there or wanted takeout. I said I wanted to eat there. Ordered Orange Chicken. I was told they had been out of it since Sunday (4 days). I then ordered Yellow Curry and was brought a bill. Then I was again asked if I wanted to have takeout or eat there. I again told them I wanted to eat there. They told me I could have Orange Chicken if I ordered takeout. (Wonder how Orange Chicken had arrived). Then I was told I could either order Orange Chicken takeout, or leave with nothing. ‘I was being thrown out—-so took the Orange Chicken to go—wanted it one last time. Over $19 for Orange Chicken with white rice that I never eat. I would never go back there. I hope they go out of business soon. No customers is good sign. Trying Thai Thyme in Monrovia next week.
Mackys Noodle House
917 W Duarte Rd, Monrovia, CA 91016, United States
The variety and options of noodle types is nice to have. The soup is pretty tasty also. The owners dont hire enough staff so during peak hours, expect to wait for a table. Not because there arent any available, but because the staff are so busy running around they dont get to cleaning off a table for you for 15+ minutes. Most staff are pretty friendly though most have also mastered the Asian restaurant technique of staring right at you while not making eye contact and ignoring your hand waving for service. Their non noodle soup food items are pretty good too.The parking is shared with good fortune market and a few other good and drink places. It can get packed and hard to find parking at peak times. Overall a good noodle restaurant with consistent quality.
1919 Lanzhou Beef Noodle
148 E Duarte Rd, Arcadia, CA 91006, United States
I tried the beef noodle soup, the dry spicy noodle, the beef wrap and the pig ear. All were delicious. The soup was light and flavorful, the noodles plentiful and chewy, the beef soft and tender. The wrap had a nice contrast of savory with some sweetness. The dry noodles were similar—savory and sweet with a hint of Szechuan numbness. Not my favorite flavor but this was subtle enough that it was enjoyable. I especially liked that you can choose a wide variety of noodle types and can see the chef hand pulling them in the back.The prices here are fair, and maybe slightly cheaper than other similar spots I've been to that charge $18 for a less generous bowl of noodles. Definitely see myself returning here in the future.
Top other services in Duarte:
Arts Kitchen
1741 E Huntington Dr, Duarte, CA 91010, United States
Why did I wait so long to try this place? I guess because I thought it was another Filipino place I tried a while back, that was good but not great, but just realized it was further west on Huntington. Anyway, stopped for lunch and they have your typical buffet table with Filipino favorites to choose from as a combo or a la carte. I tried a 3 item combo with lechon (crispy pork belly), beef Kare Kare and a chicken dish which I'm not sure what it was other than delicious. They give you a choice of rice only or half rice and half noodles (i think it's called pancit) It also comes with free soup. All the dishes were delicious and somewhat elevated compared to your stand bys like DJ Bibingkahan or Pinoy Pinay. Even the rice was cooked well. Hard to explain the difference other than the quality of ingredients and care, probably cooked in smaller batches which makes a world of difference. There are a few other sit down restaurants that serve Filipino food but not “fast and ready” like it was here and certainly not at these prices. My whole meal was about $12 and was enough for lunch and dinner. Definitely coming back.My only gripe was they didn't have goat (my fave) or the traditional sour and savory tamarind soup (also a fave). The corn soup was great, but just had my taste buds set on the tamarind.They change soups daily, so will have to come back often to try their version.Finally my pro tip. If you want lumpia (small egg rolls), call ahead. They said it would be around 20 mins for those, so will have to call ahead for that next time as well.
Sushi Fire- Duarte
1723 Huntington Dr, Duarte, CA 91010, United States
This is my daughters favorite restaurant. The food is fantastic and the service is excellent. Sushi Fire is 1 of very few places that good service was a standard. Theres been too many places that I have been to that good service was exclusively given to Asian patrons.
Jims Famous Charbroiled Burgers
915 W Duarte Rd, Monrovia, CA 91016, United States
A burger is a burger, right? Not always. Let me say that I haven't had a burger in a few weeks and this was the first time eating my food hot right after ordering since we were able to eat outside for the first time in a while.Anyway, the service was great from the start. The gal behind the counter noticed me taking pics of the menu and assumed I was struggling and handed me a take out menu. Was very friendly from that point on as well and great about adding condiments and napkins for our meal. I guess she knew we were in for a messy meal and of course she knew about the size of the French fries (see pic). I thought she was nuts with the number of ketchup packets but we used them all. Note: we visited on 1/26/21 around 8:30pm.I ordered the pastrami burger, my buddy ordered a cheese burger and we split large fries (big mistake - go with regular for two people, trust me)My burger was awesome. Juicy beef patty with nice thick pieces of lean pastrami with all the right condiments. They also use red onions which is always an upgrade. The fries were huge and tasty, but I prefer them extra crispy and will have to make that change for the next time.Final notes - they have crushed ice! I love crushed ice and it makes drinks taste so much better. They also have carrots in their yellow chili peppers which is unique and makes me think they pickle their own chili's. Just two more reasons to return!
Nano Cafe
441 W Duarte Rd, Monrovia, CA 91016, United States
The reviews for Nano have always seemed to be very positive, and seeing as how they had Eggs Benedict on their menus - I thought Id take my parents to try out their dishes. Unfortunately, this was the first time my dad had Eggs Benedict, and he left with a very bad overall impression of the popular breakfast dish.Nano Café seems to be a house turned café - there are lots of tables in the front of the restaurant, but we were taken to the back - walked past the kitchen - where there were additional tables. Some waitresses seemed very friendly, but our waitress seemed to have woken up on the wrong side of the bed. But, no matter since we were here for the food, not the service.My dad wanted to try the Eggs Benedict and I decided to try the Eggs Florentine. That was mistake number 1 and 2. I should not have ordered the Eggs Florentine, especially after my dad had decided to go for the Eggs Benedict! When both dishes came out, they looked quite similar. The only difference is that my dish has turkey and spinach while my dads has ham. What completes an Eggs Benedict dish is the Hollandaise sauce. Unfortunately, the sauce was sour - like it was going bad! My dad asked me if this was what Hollandaise sauce is supposed to taste like. No, its not! The turkey was dry, and the spinach mixed with the overall sauce just made the overall dish taste bad. I only finished half of my dish. And there wasnt anybody to finish the other half. My dads dish tasted no better than mine. In fact, his dish had the sauce directly on the eggs and the muffin. Mine had the sauce on the dish - I guess they missed the muffin. We left with a bad experience of Eggs Benedict.My sister ordered waffles with eggs and bacon, a much safer and better tasting dish. The waffle tasted as expected. Not too sweet, but with butter and syrup, was good. Both of the Eggs Benedict dishes came with hash browns, which were crispy and tasty.Nano Café is definitely a brunch place that people should try, but I would not recommend the Eggs Benedict or Florentine. Their fried chicken and waffles or French toast looked much more popular! We also ordered orange juice, which was very pricey. Lots of parking in their lot.
Taco Lita
120 E Duarte Rd, Arcadia, CA 91006, United States
Edit: the only people that like this place have been eating there for 40 years.Are you kidding me? Anyone giving this place 5 stars is out of their mind. I grew up in Arcadia, seen and drove by this place a million times, never been there. So today I go because I figure I would try it. Sure, south el monte Is just down the street where I can get some really good Mexican food, but Im going to stay close and try this place., You know when I realized I was in trouble? There wasnt a single Mexican, Asian, person of color in the place, worker, customer, etc, and it was FULL on a Saturday. It was as if I traveled back in time to 1970s Arcadia. And it should have been. Because this is probably what middle America considered Mexican food in 1970. Hard premade taco shell, ground beef, cheddar cheese, shredded lettuce. ASIDE from the fact that there was zero diversity to the demographic here at Taco Lita, I also didnt smell any nice Mexican food aromas because there was no frying going on, no grilling going on, NADA. The prep line was an assembly line with hard taco shells under a heat lamp, shredded cheese, lettuce, sliced tomato, and a tub of lean ground beef, which appeared unseasoned, and unsauced. I still ordered. I ordered tacos and a burrito. It came out fast. I smelled the bag, no smell. I unwrapped the taco. It was so packed with lettuce the half a slice of tomato sitting on top fell off. I took a bite. No flavor. No salt. Nothing. I opened a packet of their Taco Lita hot sauce. It is similar to taco Bell mild sauce. That could not save the taco. I basically felt like I was eating cheddar cheese and lettuce. Because the meat had zero flavor, the hard corn shell wasnt salted, there was no fresh salsa, pico de gallo, no limes, no jalepenos, nothing!!! I literally put down my taco after 3 bites, stared at it, and threw everything away. I muttered to myself what did I just eat? $15 worth of wasted food. Honestly the nachos at 7-11 are better. The tacos at Jack in the Box have more flavor. This is literally the Mexican food you would serve a 2 year old child because babies like bland food with cheese. Im sorry Taco Lita. Photos of my obviously bland taco are attached here to document my observations and my sole opinion of this place.