[Irvine] [Taiwanese] Boiling Point

Boiling Point
沸點
14140 Culver Dr
Irvine, CA 92606
(949) 733-2211
http://www.bpgroupusa.com

The weather has been hot lately. But I don't know why. I have been craving for hot pot almost everyday. So off we went to Boiling Point for lunch.


古早味紅茶加山粉圓 Black Tea w/ Basil Seeds

Lunch special came with a drink. We both ordered black tea. I added my favorite basil seeds ($0.50) to mine.

[Alhambra] [Taiwanese] Old Country Cafe

Old Country Cafe
老鄉親
2 E Valley Blvd
Alhambra, CA 91801
(626) 284-4610

Before going back to Orange County, I stopped by at Old Country Cafe to get some Taiwanese food take-out for dinner.


波霸奶茶加布丁 Boba Milk Tea with Pudding

Got a cup of boba milk tea with boba and pudding for the long drive home.

[San Gabriel] [Taiwanese] Yung Ho Restaurant

Yung Ho Restaurant
533 W Valley Blvd
San Gabriel, CA 91778
(626) 570-0860

Before going to Anime Expo 2012 today, I stopped by at Yung Ho Restaurant to pick up some Chinese breakfast.


鹹豆漿 Salty Soy Milk

I got Salty Soy Milk and Salty Rice Roll. These two are my favorite Chinese breakfast items. I was quite disappointed at my breakfast though. The salty soy milk's flavor tasted like it was missing something. There wasn't enough green onion, and they've omit the pickled veggies (榨菜). Instead, it was just filled with soggy fried Chinese donut (油條) pieces.

[San Gabriel] [Taiwanese] Lu's Garden

Lu's Garden
小陸子清粥店
534 E Valley Blvd
San Gabriel, CA 91776
(626) 280-5883

My family used to go to Lu's Garden a lot. That was about 20 years ago. Food was great and price was cheap. A few years ago I went back again. Food was still pretty good, but price went sky high. Since I was in the same plaza getting takeout from Green Zone, I thought I would get takeout for my parents from Lu's Garden as well for memory's sake.


3 Item Combo

It was during lunch special hour. They offered 2-, 3- or 4- item combo. I picked 3 dishes: stewed pork, eggplant, and green veggies. I think it cost around $7. Food tasted pretty good, but portion was small for $7, especially in the SGV area.

[San Gabriel] [Taiwanese] Ay Chung Flour Rice Noodle

Ay Chung Flour Rice Noodle
阿宗麵線
140 W Valley Blvd, #208
San Gabriel, CA 91776
(626) 280-0186

I was seriously craving for Taiwanese intestine thin noodle. When I visited my sister 2 weeks ago, I requested to go to Ay Chung Flour Rice Noodle for lunch.



When we got there, first thing I noticed was there was no sign outside the restaurant. We almost missed it. Something was different inside as well. First this place is now a sit down restaurant, where a waiter will seat you and take your order, instead of ordering at the counter like before.

[Irvine] [Taiwanese] Yu's Garden

Yu's Garden
余姐清粥
5408 Walnut Ave #H
Irvine, CA 92604
(949) 654-2366

Yu's Garden is probably our favorite take-out restaurant in Orange County. It's cheap, food is good, service is friendly and fast. Pretty much every time we go up to Irvine for food, we'll stop by at Yu's Garden to bring something home.


3 Item Combo (Sauteed Spinach, Lion's Head, Stewed Beef)

For about $7, you get to pick 3 items to take home. Their Lion's Head has been one of our favorite dishes. The combo also comes with rice or sweet potato porridge.

[Irvine] [Taiwanese] Boiling Point

Boiling Point
沸點
14140 Culver Dr
Irvine, CA 92606
(949) 733-2211
http://www.bpgroupusa.com

We heard that Boiling Point added 3 new hot pots.



Taiwanese Spicy, Japanese Miso, and Thai Flavor. These are also $3 more than the other pots, but portion is also slightly bigger.

[Alhambra] [Taiwanese] Old Country Cafe

Old Country Cafe
老鄉親
2 E Valley Blvd
Alhambra, CA 91801
(626) 284-4610

My current favorite Taiwanese eatery in San Gabriel Valley.


排骨飯 Pork Chop Rice

Their pork chop rice is really good. But that one particular day, it was oily and the pork chop had way too much fatty parts.

[Irvine] [Taiwanese] Yu's Garden

Yu's Garden
余姐清粥
5408 Walnut Ave #H
Irvine, CA 92604
(949) 654-2366

We often go to Yu's Garden to get 3 items combo + boba milk tea to go. This time we tried their shaved ice.


Shaved Ice ($3.50)

If I remember right, shaved ice with 3 items is only $3.50. The lady gave us A LOT of toppings. It was just the right amount for the two of us to share.

We'll be back for more shaved ice!

[Alhambra] [Taiwanese] Lee's Garden

Lee's Garden
小吃世界
1428 S Atlantic Blvd
Alhambra, CA 91803
(626) 284-0320

I went to Alhambra to visit my sister. I always bring food back to OC whenever I go up to SGV. On that day, almost 3/4 of San Gabriel Valley was out of power, including my sister's apartment in Alhambra. We drove around the neighborhood, and found this one plaza with lots of cars. They must have power there. Lee's Garden looked like a hole in the wall kind of place. But they were completely full. Was it because they were only place with power? Or was it because their food is good?


滷排骨客飯 Stewed Pork Chop Rice Daily Special

The menu was written in Chinese and posted on the wall. As I was browsing and deciding, the owner told me their daily special rice is the most popular item. You pick a main dish, and it comes with 3 different side dishes. I picked Stewed Pork Chop Rice. Their food tastes very "home-made", like something moms would cook at home. The side dishes were all good. Egg with tomato, cabbage, and bean curd with pickled veggies. But the stewed pork chop wasn't that good. It was overcooked and tasted dry and hard.

[Irvine] [Taiwanese] Boiling Point

Boiling Point
沸點
14140 Culver Dr
Irvine, CA 92606
(949) 733-2211
http://www.bpgroupusa.com

Boiling Point is one of my favorite restaurant up in San Gabriel Valley. They recently opened a branch in Irvine. I'm so happy that now Taiwanese stinky tofu hot pot is only 15 minutes away from me!


珍珠奶綠 Boba Milk Green Tea ($2.95) / 珍珠奶茶 Boba Milk Tea ($2.95)

We both ordered a drink. Their boba milk tea was quite good, and the price was very reasonable. You also get a reward card for drinks. It's buy 4 then your 5th one is free. That seems to be very easy to achieve.

[Arcadia] [Taiwanese] Boiling Point

Boiling Point
沸點
206 S First Ave
Arcadia, CA 91006
(626) 461-6688
http://www.bpgroupusa.com

Lunch with family up in San Gabriel Valley. My brother suggested Boiling Point, and I started drooling. Haven't had the stinky tofu hot pot for so long. They opened a new location in Arcadia. My brother has been there a few times, and said it was really good. We got there around 1pm on a Friday, and had to wait for about 20 minutes for seats. It was a hot day, but people didn't care and still wanted hot pot. That shows how good it is.


招牌臭臭鍋 House Special Hot Soup

We had to wait a VERY long time for the waiter to bring the individual hot pot, but it was worth the wait. This is one delicious hot pot! I ordered mine with medium spicy, and it was perfect. Love the intestine, stinky tofu, meat, soup, mushroom, and pretty much everything in the pot.

[Rosemead] [Taiwanese] Le Arbre Tea House

Le Arbre Tea House
有點閒
8508 E Valley Blvd #101
Rosemead, CA 91770
(626) 307-8818

I bought a $7 for $14 Groupon for Le Arbre Tea House thinking that when I go up to SGV, I could stop by to get some pork chop rice to bring home. I got there, asked for the menu, and couldn't find pork chop rice on the menu. A Taiwanese place without pork chop rice? Boohoo~~~~ They only have maybe 5 or 6 food items, 2 of them were not available for take-out (noodle soup dishes), and they didn't have 2 of the other items that day, so that only left me with 2 choices. After placing the to-go order, I had to wait for a good 20+ minutes for the food to be ready.


雞腿飯 Chicken Leg Rice

Chicken Leg Rice was about $7. It was pricey, but it also came with a drink (tea or milk tea) and a dessert (coffee jelly). The chicken had a smokey flavor. It was good, but nothing too special. The side dishes were corn and cucumber salad (that used too much vinegar). Everything was served with plain white rice. I think it would be better if they had Taiwanese meat sauce over the rice.

[San Gabriel] [Taiwanese] Yung Ho City Restaurant

Yung Ho City Restaurant
永和豆漿
533 W. Valley Blvd.
San Gabriel, CA 91776
(626) 570-0860

這天是早餐吃的晚，所以中午沒吃，到了下午肚子有點餓，但是又覺得好像再過不久就要吃晚餐，那就去買一些中式點心來吃吃吧！


小籠湯包 Small Steam Bun (US$4.25)

雖然名字叫小籠「湯」包，但是其實一點湯汁也沒有，裡面就是大大一塊有很多薑味的肉，不是很喜歡這一道耶！

[Arcadia] [Taiwanese] Sinbala

Sinbala
辛巴樂
651 W. Duarte Rd. #F
Arcadia, CA 91007
(626) 446-0886

這次是到辛巴樂旁邊的商店買CD，其實也不餓，但是看他們下午三點生意還是好得不得了，居然門口還有人在等，我就拉著公園先生想說那我們也去湊一下熱鬧吧！反正天氣有點熱，那我們就去吃個八寶冰好了。


紅油炒手 Spicy Wonton

本來想說只要吃冰，但是一看到菜單，就忍不住想點些小菜來吃，因為公園先生喜歡吃辣，我就點了個紅油炒手來給他試試。一顆一顆的小餛飩在香香的辣汁裡，我不知道這裡面是用什麼調味的，但是味道跟一般在四川店吃的那種麻辣口味不太一樣，這裡有種台灣味，吃得出蒜跟蔥的香味，超級好吃的，我想這道已經榮登我個人的紅油炒手排行榜第一名。

[Arcadia] [Taiwanese] Sinbala

Sinbala
辛巴樂
651 W. Duarte Rd. #F
Arcadia, CA 91007
(626) 446-0886

記得幾年前辛巴樂剛開張的時候，我超級愛吃他們的排骨飯，幾乎每兩三天就去吃一次，忽然有一天我發現我吃膩了，之後就沒有那麼長光顧了，從開張以來他們的生意就一直不錯，現在不但餐廳擴大，而且生意比以前更好，幾乎去都要排隊，以前台灣小吃店都只有華人知道，但是這家辛芭樂的名氣可是傳播到外國人都知道呢！他們最有名的就是自己灌的香腸，排骨飯跟八寶冰，我跟我妹好久沒吃台灣小吃了，所以這天決定到辛巴樂懷念一下家鄉口味。


原味台灣香腸 Taiwanese Sausage

這是原味台灣香腸，味道真的跟台灣的一樣，但是我還是好懷念台灣的烤香腸剛烤好那種又油又燙的口感，這裡的香腸味道很好，但是可惜不是像台灣夜市那樣用烤的，配上薄薄的大蒜片，好吃好吃。

[Arcadia] [Taiwanese] Tasty Grill Chinese Restaurant (CLOSED)

Tasty Grill Chinese Restaurant
美食屋
46 W. Las Tunas Dr.
Arcadia, CA 91007
(626) 821-2088
(CLOSED)

有一天早上起床，忽然好想吃中式早餐，於是開了半個小時的車，特地到一家有賣中式早餐的餐廳買了外賣，心想既然開了這麼遠來，那就多買一些吧！不過跟台灣的早餐比起來，這裡的味道沒那麼到地，價錢也貴了兩倍，這樣就要美金20元喔！不過沒魚蝦也好啦！


魚片粥 Fish Porridge

這一道是魚片粥，是我覺得最划算的一道，裡面的魚肉非常多，但是我個人覺得粥煮的不夠爛，似乎我們家附近港式飲茶店賣的廣東粥煮的比較爛比較好吃，這家的魚片粥薑味蠻重的，因為我不喜歡薑，所以覺得這個粥還好。

[San Gabriel] [Taiwanese] Shau May Restaurant

Shau May Restaurant
小美冰果點心世界
830 E. Valley Blvd.
San Gabriel, CA 91776
(626) 288-5353

只要問問住在洛杉磯的華人，大家都知道小美，想要吃台灣的小吃，還是自助餐，到小美就買的到，刨冰，珍珠奶茶，西瓜汁也是都有啦！而且是到處都有分店的喔！


排骨飯 Pork Chop Rice (US$4.28)

美國的便當跟台灣還蠻不一樣的，份量大概是台灣的兩倍，我一個人只吃的下三分之ㄧ個，價錢大概是台灣的三倍，這樣一個排骨便當要美金4.28元。配料方面，台灣的便當會附一些青菜(我記得通常是炒高麗菜)，豆乾啊什麼的，有的還會加顆滷蛋，這裡的便當就比較陽春，通常都是一個滷蛋，一塊油豆腐，有時加的是酸菜，有時加的是泡菜，大概就是這樣囉！不過排骨真的很大塊，小美會幫你剁成小小塊的，再加上裝的滿滿的滷肉飯，一個便當夠餵三個人的了。