Papa Walk Has More Than Shaved Ice

I have been to Papa Walk a few times before. I've always loved their shaved ice as dessert. But this time I ended up going for the actual meal. I did crave for their shaved ice, but since there were only two of us, we didn't order it. I had been eating a lot recently and I wanted to cut down a little.

(Beef With Spinach Noodle Soup)

(Spinach Noodle)

I had tried a few of the Taiwanese dishes Papa Walk offered on their menu before. This time my dad went for the Taiwanese beef stew noodles, which contained spinach noodle instead of egg noodles. The soup was not overly heavy, which is to my liking. I don't like my food to be way too heavy and very often Taiwanese soups can be like that. The noodles were firm and chewy and was flavorful. Spinach noodles are supposedly healthier for you. I did enjoy them whether or not they are healthier for me. In fact I think I do prefer them over egg noodles, which I never liked to begin with.

(Sizzling Beef with Rice)

(Rice & Veggies for the Sizzling Beef)

The sizzling beef however was a bit too oily and slightly sweet for my taste. I'm not a big fan of Taiwanese food mostly because of the enormous amounts of sugar they tend to use in their foods. It does taste good, there's no doubt, but then what food wouldn't taste good with excess amounts of oil and sugar in them. It was definitely not the healthiest thing I could have eaten. Once in a while I suppose is acceptable.

(Tin Tea Pot)

I am old school when it comes to tea. Something about tea being served in these tin canisters just hits the right spot. I suppose a lot of this is just childhood nostalgia. Nevertheless the old school tea, despite it being very generic and boring tea, gives Papa Walk a street side dining feel indoors.

Papa Walk is hidden behind the stairways inside the Hilton Plaza. It's a bit hard to find if one wasn't really looking for it. But it has built its reputation mainly on their dessert. But the true gem of this place is really the fact that I felt slightly transported away from the cold hard feel of metropolitan Los Angeles, and back to a simpler times on the streets of Taiwan.

Read more »

I'm Not Blind at Green Island

One of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to restaurants is how they could serve the same thing at the same table at the same time but the two are not the same. I usually get pretty annoyed when I see another table get the same thing but their portion is bigger or better looking etc. But when it's for the same table, that's when it's beyond apprehension.

I was out with a new friend a couple weeks ago to the new Green Island at the new Atlantic Plaza in Monterey Park. I had enjoyed Green Island in Temple City before and was expecting to enjoy this new one. I did hear some mixed reviews on the quality of this place. One of the complaint before was that it was too salty. Nevertheless I wanted to give this a shot, mainly also because my new friend lived close to the new plaza.

(Lemon Iced Tea Sans Sugar - First Order)

(Lemon Iced Tea Sans Sugar - Second Order)

(Lemon Iced Tea With  Sugar)

As per usual, I ordered my cup of lemon iced tea sans sugar while my friend ordered it with sugar. When our drinks arrived, my cup of lemon iced tea looked significantly lighter in color than my friend's cup. I was already weary about the taste of it. When I took a sip of my tea, it was tasteless. It was basically brown water with lemon in it. There was absolutely no taste of tea in the drink. Generally I would probably just ignore it and drink what they gave me and be done with it. But since my friend's cup of tea was much darker, I didn't even need to taste his cup and knew I just got the bad brew at the end of a cycle. So I asked the waiter if they could get me another cup that actually had tea flavor, pointing to the fact that my friend's drink was significantly darker than mine.

So they took my drink back and brought me a new one also without sugar. This second cup was a lot darker than the first one. In fact it was even darker than my friend's cup and was very strong in tea flavor, to my liking. It was night and day. That second cup was definitely one of those early brews from a new batch. All of this led me to think how could a restaurant be so inconsistent with one of their most standard drink? Lemon iced tea is a stable to cafes, whether Cantonese or Taiwanese. Yet they can be so inconsistent that they can serve the same table three cups of tea in one sitting that had significant difference in color. A good cup of tea is a must for all cafes in this day and age, and to be this careless about it just showed how badly the drink bar is managed quite often at these restaurants.

(Pork and Cabbage in a Stone Pot)

Besides the drink fiasco, we ordered two dishes. I had tried quite a bit of the food at the original location in Temple City. The flavors here seems to be quite consistent with the flavors at the other restaurant. A bit sweet and a bit oily. At least they were consistent with the actual food, a good sign that they really made sure the new chefs learned how to cook it the way they originally had it.

The Pork and Cabbage in a Stone Pot was rich in flavor. The marinate sauce penetrated into the pork itself as well as the cabbage. The heated stone pot kept the dish warm for a good while. Of course towards the end, the sauce became a bit heavy since they tend to sink to the bottom soaking whatever's left. There really wasn't all that much that could have been done about it. It was a bit on the oily and greasy side similar to what's found at the original restaurant. I didn't think it was actually necessary for it to be as oily as they made it in order to keep it attractive and tasty. I needed to start remembering to request restaurants to make my food with less oil, less sugar and no msg.

(Eel Fried Rice - Serving)

(Eel Fried Rice)

The Eel Fried Rice was served in their metal sizzling plates held inside a wooden frame. Green Island was the first restaurant around the San Gabriel Valley that I had seen using this, though a few other restaurants had recently picked it up too. The Eel Fried Rice was tossed in front of us by the waiter. It really made no difference to me whether it was tossed on the spot or in the kitchen. It wasn't like Benihana where there was a lot of showmanship. There weren't a whole lot of flair and wasn't all that interesting to watch. It also didn't make the food taste any better as far as I can tell. I suppose it did change the beat of the dinning experience. Instead of the food being just tossed onto my table like at so many Chinese restaurants, the waiter was forced to actually spend a few seconds there serving. The actual fried rice was actually quite good and wasn't oily like the other dish. I could use a tad bit more eel in the dish. Still, it did make for a good balance between this dish and the oily pork and cabbage.

Despite the drink fiasco, the food was good and enjoyable. The environment was bright and clean, which I hope they can maintain after a year or two. The wait staff was actually very friendly compared to many other Asian restaurants around the area. Though like most other Asian restaurants where we don't have a specific waiter assigned to our table, they actually had a few waiters and waitresses roaming around the restaurant just to check up on the customers. I had been so used to seeing the wait staff standing in the corner watching TV, or hiding in the back to avoid going outside to work, this was actually refreshing. It was actually not difficult to find a waiter to ask for something. I almost missed having to eye down a waiter, then hunt them down to get a refill or something. This was definitely one of the better wait staff around, even better than the staff they had over at the original. Kudos to the manager of this restaurant.

So yes, I would definitely come back to Green Island simply because the waiters and waitresses were nice. But I am not blind and I do expect them to be way more consistent with their drinks in the future, at the very least in looks. However as long as there is a good staff to help me remedy the problems, I don't mind being served a drink that I had to ask for a replacement. I rather this than the other way around.

Read more »

Guppy House with Guppy Showmanship

It isn't everyday where I venture down to Irvine to have a meal. It is even rarely that I would have Asian food so far south. But this last Wednesday afternoon, I happened to have a little bit of free time, so I hoped onto my car with a friend and went down to the OC to meet up with a third friend and had a little mini OC adventure.

We started off the afternoon actually exploring the various parts of the OC. We ventured off to the Korean Friendship Bell down in San Pedro. Following we stopped by Long Beach and spent a little time on the boardwalk. We then stopped by Signal Hill to see the lights of greater Los Angeles. Finally we ended up in Irvine in the plaza where Guppy House was at. There were plenty of other restaurants to choose from ranging from a Thai restaurant, to a Korean tofu house, to a Chinese seafood palace, and even the famous 85c bakery.

(Pineapple Fried Rice)

Immediately after walking into the room, I knew exactly what I wanted. Nearly every other table had an order of their pineapple fried rice. The fried rice is fried with ham, pineapple, peas, corn and carrots with pork sung and raisins on top. The whole thing is served on half of a pineapple shell. The presentation alone sells this dish easily. It just looks like it's a lot of work and very elaborately made. But the truth is it's just decently fried rice served in a pineapple shell. The fried rice was flavorful and the sweetness of the pineapple did come through. The raisins after mixing it into the rice gave it a little bit of a surprising contrast in the rice. But the pork sung just didn't go well with the rest of it. The pork sung never really blended into the rice. Whenever it entered my mouth, it was distinct and distracting from the rest of the blend. This had a lot to do with the fact that pork sung is just too dry to blend in a dry plate of fried rice. Perhaps it's just because I'm more used to eating pork sung with congee.

(Kimchi Dumplings)

The kimchi dumplings came after the fried rice. I suppose the fried rice is so popular that they have it all ready and made and just a matter of plating. So it took nearly no time at all to get to our table. The dumplings came with two different sauces, a sweetened soy sauce and a vinger sauce. The word kimchi in the name may be a little misleading since these are not fermented at all. It really is just normal Taiwanese cabbage dumplings. Kimchi by definition is fermented vegetables and the vegetables inside are not fermented at all. I did actually liked the texture of the dumplings. The skin was nice and soft at the correct thickness. It held the dumpling in place when it's picked up by a chopstick while after entering mouth, it didn't feel like I was eating flour. The balance between the cabbage and the pork was also very good. I always hate dumpling houses that jam pack their dumpling with meat. It too hard and too heavy to eat. These were very well done. The two flavors of dipping sauces was a bonus, giving my taste buds a little bit of contrast between each dumpling.

(Sweet And Sour Popcorn Chicken)

Finally the sweet and sour popcorn chicken arrived at our table after most of the other dishes were devoured. I suppose one should never expect a Chinese restaurant to actually serve an appetizer in the beginning of a course. It's servered whenever it's ready to be served is really the trademark of every Chinese restaurant. I have yet to dine at a Chinese restaurant where appetizers and entree were served in order except during a formal banquet. As my mother always say, it all ends up blended up in our stomach anyways.

The sweet and sour popcorn chicken were pretty standard for a Taiwanese joint. The chicken and the batter didn't particularly stand out to me. I've had plenty of better popcorn chicken in my life all around the San Gabriel Valley. The sauce however did make this one stand out just a tad bit. It was a bit more sweet than sour, which I have come to expect when it comes to Taiwanese dishes. They tend to be on the sugary side. I have to watch out for diabetes since it runs in my family so I tend think negatively on sugary foods. But once in a while, I do indulge myself on a deep fried sweet and sour indulgence lik this sweet and sour popcorn chicken.

Guppy House is pretty clean for the most part, after they wiped the dirty chair that I pointed out. The foods were mediocre but we were hungry. The presentation of the food was clean and crisp and I can't complain. I just wonder where do they get all those half pineapple shells. Somewhere in the back of my mind I wonder if they recycle them. I certainly hope not. I have really no reason to suspect something like that, but I've seen some horrific things in my past what some Chinese restaurants would do to save money. Nonetheless I doubt I will ever revisit Guppy House only because it's way too far from where I live, and not good enough for me to ever warrant that drive. I really have no real reason to visit that plaza, maybe except for 85c bakery. But if I did live closer, I may come back once in a while for a little bit of that pineapple fried rice without the pork sung.

Read more »

Old Country Cafe Isn't So Old

I have been church hopping on Sundays for a few months, but the last couple of weeks, I have been returning to a couple of churches some of my family attends just to be in familiar settings during this Christmas season. Last Sunday I went to my brother's church Chinese Mission Bible Church in Alhambra. Generally after church I would eat out with my brother and his wife, but this past Sunday his wife was busy and so it was just my brother. He suggested that we go to Old Country Cafe in Alhambra.

After so many years here in the San Gabriel Valley I am always surprised to discover some new hole in the wall places. There are just so many and some of them can be quite good. Where we ended up eating at was quite delicious. The draw back was that since it was a little chilly on Sunday, the place wasn't heated and a tad bit cold for my liking.

(Old Country Cafe)

(Japanese Comic Books For Patrons)

The place was actually split into two rooms. The main room had two large tables and a bar while the small room had a few other tables with huge shelves of Japanese comic books free to check out while inside the restaurant. The place really isn't very nice despite their attempt to be hip. The furnitures were a bit run down and in desperate need for an upgrade. The positive was that the place was clean, especially for a hole in the wall type restaurant. I didn't feel completely disgusted touching the furnitures and that's all I can ask for.

(Boba Milk Green Tea)

(Papaya Milk)

My brother ordered the boba milk green tea. I personally don't like milk green tea. It just taste too watery for me. If I add milk to tea, it has to be black tea. But some people like that so I'm not going to judge. I decided to order a papaya milk instead. It's been a while since I've had one, and it's actually a childhood favorite of mine. Papaya milk is an exclusively Taiwanese drink. It's actually quite simple in concept, blend papaya with milk and you have papaya milk. This was just that and it was a great and healthy drink.

(Minced Beef Over Taiwanese Lettuce "A" Choy)

To my surprise, my brother ordered a minced beef over Taiwanese lettuce, which is also known as "A" choy. It's similar to romain lettuce but has a slightly hint of bitter quality to it. The dish was well made with a small amount of oil. The lettuce still had a little crunch to it while the minced beef was marinated on the lighter side. I actually prefer them lighter. I find too many Taiwanese restaurants smothering their minced beef with so much sauce that it drowns out every last bit of beef flavor. This was a balanced little appetizer dish for the upcoming main dish.

(Deep Fried Chicken Rice)

On the recommendation of my brother, I ordered the deep fried chicken rice. My brother actually ordered the same. It's the dish he always gets when he dines at this little joint. I've had a few other Taiwanese style deep fried chicken and pork. This one beats them all. The crust was almost flaky. Too often the crust of these fried chicken or pork are so hard it's a little too crunchy. But this was just right. It almost melted into the chicken when I bit into them. Of course there was still enough of a crunch to it to remind you that it's still a deep fried dish. Fortunately it didn't retain too much oil making the dish much easier on the stomach.

The dish had some mixed Taiwanese style veggies and half of a marinated egg. They were all done pretty well, but they weren't the best I've had. The sour veggie was slightly too sour and the other one could use just a little more flavor. The egg though was well marinated and flavorful.

This joint is definitely worth revisiting just for their deep fried chicken rice. My brother is actually right, for a change. Alright, he has been right on many occasions and this is definitely one of them. I highly recommend if you are in Alhambra and in the mood of something deep fried without feeling like you just drank a gallon of oil, Old Country Cafe is definitely a place worth checking out.

Read more »