Top Pan Asian Restaurant in San Gabriel
Bonchon San Gabriel
710 W Las Tunas Dr, San Gabriel, CA 91776, United States
While I would love to give Bonchon a higher rating, I just cant. I enjoyed the food, but the service was atrocious.Dont get me wrong. I went there because of personal recommendations from friends to get the Korean fried chicken, and they werent wrong. I had one other place, and Bonchon blows it out of the water with their exterior and the chicken tenderness. However, the main thing that bothers me is the service provided to me at Bonchon.I went to Bonchon and ordered 3 items: 20 pieces of soy garlic wings, the seafood udon soup, and the bulgogi house special fried rice. Each of the items had something wrong with it.The fried chicken only had 19 pieces rather than the 20 I was promised. While I do realize this may not be a huge problem, I still would like the full amount that I ordered since I am paying the money for it. Aside from that, it was fine. However, we also ordered the soup and the fried rice. We waited about 10 minutes for the fried chicken -- which was good, but that was probably because everyone else already had their orders so it wasnt busy for the kitchen. When we finished the chicken, which was in about 20 minutes, the fried rice and the soup didnt come out yet. We waited about 5 more minutes before asking about it. When the waitress came out, she claimed that it was in the process of being made, but we could tell that they didnt even start on either of the orders.After about 7 minutes, the fried rice came out. To be honest, the fried rice was okay. There wasnt anything special about it since it is just fried rice but with bulgogi in it. In my opinion, it is a pretty standard dish. The only problem that we had was that it took such a long time since they forgot about our order. When we finished the fried rice, we waited another 4 minutes before they brought out the udon soup. When it was brought out, the server wondered whether it had seafood added into it and said they would check. We decided to not touch the soup since we thought that they would come back with a reply. After about 4 minutes of waiting, we decided to ask about one of the servers whether the udon had seafood. They came back and said that it did. I think that was a terrible customer service on their end since the server said they would check whether it had seafood or not. It wasnt until we asked about it that they confirmed for us rather than coming out and saying whether or not it did.In totality, the fried chicken was good while the udon and the fried rice werent anything special. The main caveat; however, was the horrendous customer service. I dont plan on going back just because I dont want to wait for a long time just to be served poorly.P.S. The time approximations were due to watching the basketball game and using the clock.
Top other services in San Gabriel:
Yama Seafood LA
911 W Las Tunas Dr, San Gabriel, CA 91775, United States
This place is a dream and a gem disguised as a hole in the wall independent seafood market. Its been my best kept secret of where I can get my better than restaurant sushi grade quality fish. Now, this place doesnt make rainbow rolls and different types of rolls etc. The only rolls you will see ate the simple seaweed wrapped mini rice n salmon rolls, cucumber rolls, avocado rolls and tuna rolls. They also have some cooked fish mini rolls etc. All wrapped by seaweed on the outside. Lots of items from Japan and items you would find at an Asian Supermarket or regular grocery store IF youre lucky. California Rolls? Lets just say theyre quite large more than avg and sell out in MINUTES. All rolls are never by customer order. Its only what they have available and put out.Now lets get to the star of this; the sushi grade fish. There is a LONG LINE. EVERY DAY. 100% WORTH THE WAIT. The avg. wait time is around 8 min per person in line. If there are people in front of you expect to wait at least an hour. It is only done by one expert and no one else. The other 2 gentleman are there assisting in either making fresh sushi rice, making rolls for the deli case and/ or helping keep the area sanitized. Now the fish; Ranging from different country region of Salmon (e.g., Scottish, Norwegian, etc.) Blue Fin Tuna, Ahi Tuna, Yellow Tail, etc. There are different sized portions behind the glass counter (picture a deli). You pick which portions of which kinds and the kind Ser will ask if you want them sliced as they will be wrapped with a lemon slice and a serving of wasabi. The cashier will put a lil mini bag of ice on top of each fresh serve to keep it fresh before you get home.My best advice is to arrive early as opening time of 11am. Place closes at 7pm except that at least by 3pm all rolls are sold out and hopefully the latest by 5pm sold out. Fish is served till closing. You will wait and theres nothing that can be done to speed things up. Show any disrespect and you will get a lot of silence and glares from the respectful community. Show respect and patience, as you will be served when your turn is up. They have sushi ware dishes, sake cups, bottles. This place does honest pricing more than a restaurant would. Only difference is you wont get fancy rolls here. Just real sushi grade quality seafood. Its the #1 place to go to if you plan on making your own rolls. Guaranteed. Its super jam packed busy. Every day. Good luck!
Newport Seafood Restaurant
518 W Las Tunas Dr, San Gabriel, CA 91776, United States
I've been eating their delicious lobster for years & usually it's tradition to order the house special for birthdays or for any celebrations. Definitely one of our favorite meals! I hate to come here to talk trash about how very poor the service is here. It is full of very rude employees who can careless about the customers. I understand they are very busy but I asked couple questions to to coordinate a take out dinner for the evening. At 11:30am I asked “Can I place a pickup order for 6pm pickup?” She yelled loudly “No you have to order or call back later!” I said “you guys will be very busy later & I know my order won't get through”. She ignores what I said and she yells “pick up order now or call back later!!” So, to accommodate the restaurant I was about to place an order place a dinner order extremely in the morning. I then say “ok so I'll order the…..” This rude employee HANGS UP MID ORDER! She clicks on a customer!!! What kinda 3rd world service is this? The standards for the place is very low. They people they hire don't give a care in the world for the customer. We are just big dollar signs to them & the attitude these people give us as if we (customers) are bothering them when we paying for their food and service! I wish I got them name of the rude employee, over the phone I knew she was a women. Whoever she is she lost $300 sale for every birthday and holiday. We always order the 4-5lb house lobster & 3 shrimp fried rice. With the very expensive place with horrible service That's easily range between $250-$300. We (my family) will stop supporting this lousy business. I hope the owner sees this review. They need to clean house or else this rude employee will shut this business down herself!
Hui Tou Xiang Noodles House
704 W Las Tunas Dr, San Gabriel, CA 91776, United States
This review has been a long time coming, but I came here with a bunch of fellow foodies for dinner on a Saturday night. We arrived fairly early - before 7 - were all able to avoid the dinnertime crowd and find parking in the pretty small lot. Since this restaurant is located in the same plaza as the popular Luscious Dumplings and Phoenix, it can get incredibly crowded while waiting at restaurants or for a parking spot!I believe what draws customers into Hui Tou Xiang is their special buy four items, get one free promotional deal. I mean, thats what drew me to look into the restaurant in the first place. They also have simple spicy appetizers they serve to the table while you wait for the food, which was pretty nice.Hui Tou Xiang is popular for their special potstickers that are in a rectangular shape rather than the traditional pot sticker shape. I believe this is so that both sides of the pot stickers get an even cook making the skin of the dumpling to taste uniformly crispy on all sides.Pork hui tou: Flavorful and tasty. The skin of the dumpling was slightly crispy but still chewy, which I liked. The flavor of the pork was good as well.Beef hui tou: Not as flavorful and juicy as the pork. There wasnt as much of a taste. Skin was cooked evenly, but Id skip the beef and just go for the pork.Crab xiao long bao: It was pretty tasty, but I still prefer Mama Lus to this one. Not too memorable, but flavors were good. Im not a big fan of crab XLB in general, so paying a whole lot more money to get crab instead of pork isnt my thing.Sesame noodles: No taste at all. We added all the additional sauces given to us and all we could taste from the noodles was the sesame oil. No flavor, no taste, no good.I think we ordered one more dish/received one for free, but I have no clue what it was - which probably means it was just okay.Overall, the food was decent for the price we paid. I wouldnt say that anything was extraordinary or outstanding. Honestly I dont think Id come back to this restaurant when I can get Mama Lus instead.
TK92 Korean BBQ
250 W Valley Blvd ste p, San Gabriel, CA 91776, United States
In a sea of A5, wagyu, kobe style bbq places opening up these days, come along the higher-end prices and memberships. It seems like a good KBBQ these days costs an average of $60+/pp = :/I wont say TK92 is bad quality or bottom of the barrel but I very much appreciate they are not forcibly up-selling you on all these much higher price meats, especially if Im not on the hunt for them. The meats were still great here, I was satisfied and full.One thing Ill say is that many of the nonmeat dishes were better quality than Ive had at other restaurants, even ones that specialize in them. I know youre not supposed to fill up on the carbs, but the Jjolmyeon (spicy cold noodles) was so good here. Great presence with the spice and sweetness as well as the chew from the noodles. This with some freshly grilled meat was the best bite. Another noteworthy nonmeat dish was the Japchae. I was let down spicy rice cake was on the menu but they didnt actually have it. Im not sure if they just didnt have it that night, or if its just completely off the menu.I do like how the banchans were already at the table when we sat down so we could get started on them right away. One fault of this though was items that should be hot were no longer hot, such as the pancake & Japchae. I was surprised there was no kimchi, so we asked for some and it seems they dont readily have it at the table like the other banchan.There are 2 tiers, the cheaper one $36.99 while the other is $39.99. With the higher tier, I think the only difference is you get 3 other meat selections with one of them being the Premium Marinated Beef Short Rib (only one order per person). This was the most tender meat I had. None of the meats left me dissatisfied and with that, I go back to the much higher priced AYCE (more premium) places you can find in the greater LA area. Im not a butcher, and the meats are already good here, so I have a hard time justifying the more premium cuts. Yes they might be more tender (sometimes not), better marbling. But I dont see that much of a difference.Service was great here and I never had to hunt sometime down to get a grill change or order meats. You can only order 3 meats each round just FYI, but it wasnt an issue. It seems they dont do any type of dessert for bdays, but instead comped a bottle of soju which I think is even better.Its more spacious here than even I knew and I think thats because of the really high ceilings. Tables appear to be spaced apart fairly well so it did not feel too cramped even though it was busy when I went. There is a comic/anime/retro aesthetic to the place that is pretty cool. There is a fairly sized waiting area that I feel as though could be its own separate bar area and perhaps was one at a time. There is a parking lot with narrow spots which are sometimes hard to find because it fills up fast.If you are looking for some KBBQ in the area and dont want to break the bank you should check out TK92.Cheers!
Bistro 1968
402 S San Gabriel Blvd Ste A, San Gabriel, CA 91776, United States
Free parking!!! They have a lot next to their entrance with pretty wide spaces. What a treat. If you don't want to wait in line for a table, it's best to get there right when they open or at least by 11am. They also had a projector where sports was being shown. Maybe they do football Sundays?Of the dishes we tried, these stuck out to me:-baked pork bun. Their bun was so unique. It tasted like the pineapple bun topping - the best part of the bun!-sticky rice in lotus leaf. This was a generous portion and had a lot stuffed into it-pan fried noodle in chili oil sauce. I could've eaten a whole plate. It came a couple veggies too: mushrooms and snap peas-pumpkin sesame ball. 4 balls in one order. Two of them are red bean and 2 are pumpkin??? Wasn't really sure why they call it pumpkin when two were clearly stuffed with red bean. They were tasty though!-lobster roll. This was good but I'm not sure if I would order it again. The consistency of the lobster tasted a lot like shrimp and who knows, there might have been shrimp in there. The crunchy wrapper was good though.They have the dim sum staples too including two versions of har gow - regular and golden. According to my friends, the golden one wasn't really that much different in taste than the regular. It just looked fancy.A dish that fell short was the XLB. There wasn't much soup and the dumpling wrapper was on the thicker side. It had a lot of filling but reminded me more like a meatball than a dumpling.I'd definitely go back to try a couple more dim sum dishes and their regular menu items. I was salivating at the large plates of noodles that were being delivered to other tables.I thought the price was in line with some of the other nicer ambiance dim sum places. The food tastes fresh and I didn't feel sleepy after.
El Pavo Bakery & Restaurant
5111 Walnut Grove Ave, San Gabriel, CA 91776, United States
3rd time here. First time was for the empanadas. Theyre small so you can eat a bigger variety, thats what I prefer. Second time was for the bakery. Their bread is so good, and whatever you call their round buns with the sugar on it, is the best Ive had. Its similar to Asian pineapple buns, and this is not as soft or as sweet, and I prefer this. I can eat more of them this way. This time Im here for the food. I got a combo plate. They have 7-8 different kinds of prepared meats. Asada, Chile Verde, buche, tripa, beef and potato, carnitas, chicken, etc. I got 2 kinds with beef and rice. It comes with some lettuce and tomato onion on it. I asked for sour cream on top which made it awesome. It came with 3 tortillas which were steaming hot. I got a few baked goods again and a soda. Definitely worth coming here for the food and bakery. Well worth the prices. My plate was around $10. A burrito is less, tacos are around $2 and you can order their meats in containers to take home.
Mitsuwa Marketplace - San Gabriel
515 W Las Tunas Dr, San Gabriel, CA 91776, United States
I love this place almost as much as a hate Covid. I think it's smaller than some of the other J- supermarkets but I'm not willing to go downtown at the moment, and I certainly am not going to have my elderly parents run around town searching for mochi. I took a gamble and thought it would be less crowded here than other places.I really appreciate how they are keeping the staff and patrons safe by limiting capacity to 15 people inside. That being said, bring a book, layer up, and bring an umbrella because it can get sunny/cold/ boring. I think I waited maybe 35-40 min to get inside, around 11:30am? I felt kind of bad for some of the senior patrons waiting for so long, but I believe they do have senior hours on Saturday.I went to go pick up stuff for ozoni soup for Japanese New Years, and was surprisingly pleased to find fresh mochi still available. I'm pretty sure it wasn't frozen and then thawed, so I grabbed a few packs and some kamoboko from the freezer and called it a day. I heard the J-stores in West LA were sold out since the weekend, so was happy to find the items I was looking for.Thank you!
CHICHA San Chen
301 W Valley Blvd #116, San Gabriel, CA 91776, United States
CHICHA San Chen is apparently from Taiwan, and what sets them apart from other teashops is that they have a very specific brewing and measuring process (which you can watch) in making each cup of tea. That ensures that each drink is made according to near-perfection.The menu they offer is also not extensively filled with drinks. It seems that theyve simplified the entire ordering process. Teas are broken down by basic tea (green, high mountain, oolong) and where each originated from $4. From there you can add flavoring for $1 each and toppings for $0.50 each. You can also adjust for sugar and ice as you order - simplified ordering, but the price adds up. Theres also a pre-made menu of their popular drinks, that way you dont have to think about adding milk, boba, etc. as its already included in the order.I believe this teashop prides itself on being one of the only ones in the area that uses an espresso like contraption to brew out the tea. The worker will pour out the tea leaves, set the machine according to how much water, etc. should be added, and the tea comes out into a pitcher. From there, other workers will measure the designated topping weight with the food scale before adding tea, ice, toppings. So you can pretty much guarantee that if you order the same drink every single time, the drink should taste the same every single time.I tried their green tea with the in-house mousse and added boba (less sugar, less ice). All together, this drink cost $5.50 for a regular, small sized cup. I could really taste the freshness of the green tea the moment I took my first sip. Some other places have a watered down, not as natural flavoring, but you can taste the pureness of the tea and the slight bitter aftertaste with each sip. Like others have mentioned, the boba is cooked for about 2 hours - and honestly, if thats the process to make amazing boba, its well worth it. Probably one of THE best boba Ive ever had. The perfect amount of chewiness and sweetness without being too hard or too soft. If you let it sit in the drink for awhile, the boba does get a bit harder, but still - its pretty good. The only thing I wasnt a fan of was the mousse, which is Chica San Chens version of salted cream/milk foam. I thought that it could be a bit more thick in texture; the taste wasnt doing much for me - very sweet and seemed to be made with whipped cream or ice cream, so it tasted like a light ice cream on top. I didnt mix it in with the green tea - perhaps it would have been different if I had done so. Probably will not try the mousse again.Also ordered the Bubble Milk Tea (black team, cream and bubble) for $5.50 with no ice and less sugar. First sip, I thought the tea flavoring was quite strong and could possible have used more sweetness/sugar. But I drank a few more sips and the taste grew on me. You can tell that the tea and milk they use is pretty good quality because the tea tastes much more rich and creamy. Drinking it with the boba gave the tea a little more sweetness; I definitely think Ill order this drink with 75% sugar since I enjoy my milk teas on the sweeter side. But the boba was amazing as well.The only downside is that the drinks are pricey. I paid around $12 for both my drinks, when I feel like the max amount should be around $10. I saw some people hold cups that were larger than the regular sized. Not sure if thats because they knew the workers or the specific drinks come in larger sizes. I didnt see anything regarding upgrade to large size.Workers are friendly and able to explain their menu as well as the purpose behind the teas/store, which I appreciated. I came on a weekday afternoon and even though there were a few people ahead of me, the workers were efficient in getting out the drinks in a timely manner.Located in the Mian plaza - parking can be tricky!
Why Thirsty
7248 Rosemead Blvd, San Gabriel, CA 91775, United States
What a disappointment! Should have turned and left when I saw how out of place this restaurant was in a plaza occupied by Trader Joes. But, then again, out of place restaurants usually have the best food (at least from my experience). Why Thirsty, however, isnt one of these places.To start, if you cant read Chinese, dont EVEN bother showing up to this place. Its the first Asian restaurant Ive been to that have menus thats ALL in Chinese! Thank God I went to Chinese School!I ordered the Beef Noodle and it was MEH. The beef wasnt that tender and the noodle/broth was fairly typical. I tried the pork chop and it wasnt anything special either. Ive definitely experienced better.Overall, I was disappointed. I thought it would be pretty good since it was rated 4 stars on Yelp and there seems to be a never ending line of people wanting to get a table. Maybe Im missing something theyre aware of?