How Chinese Food in Los Angeles Emerged As the Best in the Nation

7 years ago

I have this article from Mouthfuls, written by a Chinese-American.

The same writer, David Chan, also published this article.

He does say that Dim Sum is better in San Francisco than L.A., but what I had in Monterey Park was extremely good and better than what I've had in SF.

Unfortunately, the good Chinese restaurants here are not that close to me - I'm much closer to Japanese restaurants, which I do love. I also love Sichuan and Hunan food, and so I'll have to look for some of those restaurants here for inspiration. BTW, I was never impressed with Chinese food in San Francisco when I lived there - but it was cheap. The Thai restaurants there were much better, but they're not better than the Thai restaurants here.

What is interesting to me is that the writer is called David Chan, which is the same name as my roommate in Austin in the late 1980s when I was studying Interior Design at UT. David was majoring in architecture and was known as the prima donna of the architecture department, which is one of the reasons I wanted him to live with me. He was born in Hong Kong, and his real name was Tze-On instead of David, but he wanted to immerse himself in American culture and therefore chose to call himself David instead, so that Texans could pronounce his name. I spoke to David's father in Hong Kong on the phone a few times, and his father spoke better English than David, which surprised me a bit. David had a brother who had moved to Toronto, as it was going to be easier to emigrate to Canada after Hong Kong became part of China again, and I have lost touch with David, although I am still curious about where he is and what he is doing.

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colleenoz

7 years ago

Chinese food in Australia is much closer to Chinese food in China, there has been very little adaptation for local palates.

Hong Kong was a British Territory for nearly a century, most Hong Kong residents learned English back in the day. Since the PRC took over, not so much. Funnily enough, in Macau, which was a Portuguese colony, the colonial masters preferred that the locals _not_ learn Portuguese, so they all mainly speak Chinese, though the younger set learn English as a tourist industry thing.

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Comments (12)

PRO
Anglophilia
7 years ago
I've lived in LA and visited San Francisco a few times. In both, we always went to "Chinatown" to eat. We had our favorite restaurants there and always had such wonderful, freshly cooked food. And this was over 30 years ago! I have no idea what it's like today in either city, but I miss what we had there as there is really only 1 good Chinese restaurant in my town today.
Lars thanked Anglophilia
Lars
Original Author
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Chinatown in both SF and LA have the worst Chinese restaurants. In L.A., the best ones are in Monterey Park, and in SF the best ones are in the avenues.

I was born in Temple, Texas, which was started by the Santa Fe railroad in 1881 as a junction of the N/S line with an extension to the west, and there were a lot of Chinese workers who stayed there, and therefore there were some very good Chinese restaurants in Temple (and still are, I think) that I went to as a child. My favorite was The Golden Dragon. There were also Chinese-American students at my high school (Temple HS) (and church), and they had totally assimilated into the American culture, but the families kept the cuisines alive. It's very different now, but there are still good Chinese restaurants in Temple, as well as Thai and Japanese. Being close to Fort Hood helped, I think, but the Korean restaurants are pretty much only in Killeen, which is in the same county where I was born. There are a lot of Koreans in Killeen.
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How true! I try to provide something nice to eat for guests with particular needs, and when I'm a guest, I try to eat what's in front of me, if it won't kill me. The last thing I want to do is cause a stir or make a hostess who has worked hard to make a nice table uncomfortable. I talk about food allergies a lot more here than I do IRL, partly to bring it into the conversation. OTOH, I've learned that going along with the Thai idea, and just finding the one thing on the menu that doesn't have fish or coconut can also upset one's companions, who would rather have gone elsewhere if they knew I was allergic. Those are the same people who really didn't want to go anywhere but Thai, so I guess you can't win for losing, but either way, I try not to make a big deal of it. Re the OP, I forgot to say: I don't do fake food. I'm happy to eat a seitan burger which tastes like seitan. I was at a very fancy, very pricey Vegan restaurant once where everything was named for its non-vegan counterparts. Some of it was very good--especially a cashew "cheese" which wasn't cheeselike at all (unlike, for instance, the almond milk "cheese" slices, or soy cheddar, that's cheap at the grocery store, which is fairly cheeselike if you squint and don't try to melt it. I don't like those, but at least they're actually cheeselike, whereas the good stuff at the restaurant was shaped like a round of goat cheese, but a gray cashew color, and the consistency and texture of margarine, though it tasted fantastic). OTOH, they had an abysmal sticky wad of congealed mess that they called "risotto" which was nothing at all like a proper risotto. You can make risotto with just water and a little seasoning--vegan to the max--let alone what could be done with a good veggie stock, so it's not the veganness of it that made it bad but the utter incomprehension of the cook as to what it was supposed to be, trying too hard to make a "vegan" version. (Hint: If you have to add cream or cheese to your risotto to make it "creamy", you're doing it wrong. It's the shed starch that gives it it's signature texture.) I love Buffalo cauliflower "wings" aren't trying to be chicken. At one local vegan place, they're fantastic. Much better than Buffalo chicken wings, IMHO. But while the pieces are cut to a similar size as wing pieces, that's the only resemblance to their chicken counterparts. They look and taste like cauliflower. The exception to all this is one little hole in the wall place which serves the vegan analogs of popular dishes in the traditional style of their homeland. I think it's Thailand. That vicinity for sure. They use soy products and TVP, and do call things "chicken" and other meats, and the flavor is reminiscent of those things, though the whole menu is vegan. They have the benefit of cultural knowledge and practice making their dishes good, rather than just someone who cares more about what he's not eating than what it tastes like throwing together a few bits and calling it "meaty". Of course, one also gets a lot of lovely vegetables which are the stars, rather than the TVP, and one is less demanding of a cheap lunch joint than a fancy dancy schmancy restaurant. So, no, I'm not making pretend foods at home, since I can barely tolerate them out. :) And I'm not buying fancy ingredients for them. Better to liven them up with real food flavors like onions, garlic, peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, mustard, soy sauce, hot sauce, pickles, etc. OTOH, if you want to try, why not? You'll never know until you try!
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Jakkom Katsu
7 years ago
There are still three good restaurants in SF Chinatown*, but very few. The Chinese community that grew wealthy through education/RE moved outwards: first to the Avenues, then to the Peninsula, and are now also in the better parts of the EBay, both Alameda and Contra Costa counties.

In the 1980's due to the coming takeover of Hong Kong by Mainland China, there was an amazing renaissance of skilled chefs coming to SF to open restaurants. It not only revitalized the Cantonese food but was also the first time the regional cuisines began showing up: Sichuan, Shanghainese, and Hainan.

After two recessions those chefs sold out and/or retired. What little energy is left for moderate-priced restaurants in Northern CA/SFBA, is now mostly driven by SE Asians, Koreans, and the fusion mix; e.g., the ubiquitous "global cuisine" label.

Most of the Cantonese food in NorCA is cheap carp. I have to agree with Lars the dim sum scene is better now in SoCA than up here in NorCA.

* Those 3 good restaurants in SF Chinatown are:

- R&G Lounge, traditional moderate price

- Mr. Jiu's, upscale/expensive, updated Cantonese from owner/chef Brandon Jew

- Eight Tables, upscale/very expensive, prix fixe modernized Chinese from restaurateur George Chen
Lars thanked Jakkom Katsu
dcarch7 d c f l a s h 7 @ y a h o o . c o m
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
For me to go to a Chinese restaurant, I need to see two things:

1. There are many large fish tanks in the restaurant.

2. at least 65 % of the customers are Chinese.

dcarch
John Liu
7 years ago
Ah, the Ratio. My kids know that one. When we go to a new Chinese place, they are counting heads and pronouncing on the Ratio. We count as 3:1 (three Chinese or part Chinese, one non - that'd be SWMBO who gets so irritated by Ratio talk that we have to give her another dumpling).

Fish tanks, depends on the cuisine.

Portland's Chinatown is almost dead. It was once the largest on the West Coast aside from San Francisco's. In the winter, when Chinese rail workers came to Portland as there was less railway work, the city was close to 25% Chinese. But like the other ethnic neighborhoods - the Little Italy, Germantown - the original Chinatown was targeted for urban renewal as property values rose. It moved once to another part of the downtown, then that area became run down and most of the Chinese businesses moved to the outskirts of the city. Today Chinatown is being targeted for more urban redevelopment while six miles east, in a long line of nondescript strip malls, the best Chinese food in Portland is found.
Lars thanked John Liu
Islay Corbel
7 years ago
You all paint such a great picture of where you live/lived. Makes me want to come and visit again!
Lars thanked Islay Corbel
Gooster
7 years ago
This too makes me want to try the restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley. I've long heard about the growth of the restaurants down there. It unfortunately seems like the original locals may also be on the decline due to well-financed competition from well-known Chinese and Taiwanese chains that they cite (and in the related linked articles), but it sounds like new ones are always popping up as well.

In the Bay Area, I've noticed a small revival in the South and East Bay, as the latest wave of immigration growth has brought in more regional cuisines. And like LA, and as the author noted, there are overseas entrants opening branches (I do love the egg tarts at 85C), probably 5 years after LA. One of my former Shanghai-based colleagues, who was partially based in the US, however, would rate the food at R&G as good as anything in Shanghai. I proposed that quality of ingredients may be a contributing factor, and she agreed.
Lars thanked Gooster
Lars
Original Author
7 years ago
I would expect Chinese food in Australia to be good because of the proximity.

Video from the San Gabriel Valley. I need to go back there soon, but it's about an hour or so from where I live in west Los Angeles. I went there with a group a few years ago for dim sum, and we had to get there early (on a Sunday) as the restaurants get crowded. I think the menu was completely in Chinese, but mainly we just picked out dishes from rolling carts that passed by continuously. Fortunately, I went with a friend who could read Chinese.
PRO
Anglophilia
7 years ago
As I said, my experience with "chinatowns" was over 30 years ago. I"m sure it's quite different now.

My favorite local Chinese restaurant is always filled with Chinese and has a separate menu for them - they want things that the American palate has little familiarity. Of course, anyone can order from either menu, I would not tackle the Chinese one without the guidance of a friend.
Lars
Original Author
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Here is one person's list of The 20 Essential San Gabriel Valley Restaurants with some good photos. This area is about 40 minutes from me, which is not too far, and I do visit some nurseries in that neighborhood for certain special plants.

There used to be a restaurant in Marina Del Rey called Oriental Seafood Restaurant that I liked a lot, and they did have a fish tank. I used to go there a lot when I lived in Venice, but it is no longer there. There was also a good Chinese restaurant down the street from me, where Abbot Kinney intersected Washington Blvd in Marina Del Rey, and we could walk to that, but it is also closed.

Fran Drescher (as The Nanny) would say that you can always tell how good a Chinese restaurant is by how many Jews are there, but their taste is different from authentic Chinese, I think. Marina Del Rey is more of a Jewish neighborhood than Chinese, and it has a Jewish community center on Washington close to where the Chinese restaurant used to be.
Olychick
7 years ago
Here's another list that seems more expansive that just California. I didn't check but maybe some are on both lists. There are some amazing restaurants all around the country:

Best-Chinese-restaurants-in-America

How Chinese Food in Los Angeles Emerged As the Best in the Nation

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