9669 Las Tunas Dr., Temple City 626-286-2299
684 W. Garvey Ave., Monterey Park 626-298-0088
Type: Chiu Chow (Chouzhou)/Cantonese Seafood
Quality: !!!! Price: $$ Ambience: ***
This one is a fusion of Cantonese seafood with specialties from Chiu Chow which is a region in the Guangdong province. Both restaurants are very popular and crowded. One very popular dish is the House Special Dungeness Crabs (seasonal). There's so much fried garlic in that dish that I'm sure it's the reason why vampires avoid the San Gabriel Valley altogether. The menu is fairly well-translated, but check out the specials, which are shown in pictures plastered all over the walls. It's tacky, but at least you know what you're ordering.
835 W. Las Tunas Dr., San Gabriel 626-289-5998
Type: Vietnamese/Cantonese Seafood
Quality: !!!! Price: $$ Ambience: **
Very good seafood at this place. They have all the usual live lobsters, crabs, shrimp, fish, etc. The Crab with Ginger and Green Onion is really good. Lobster is also really good, too. But expect to pay per pound for these things, if they are in season. Shrimp with Pepper and Salt is also recommended, though not by your doctor. The menu also is in Thai. I don't read Thai, so for all I know, it might be saying, "You should have saved money by ordering at KFC instead." Parking is terrible at this place. It's located in the same mini-mall as Golden Deli, which is a really good and popular Vietnamese restaurant. It's rather cramped inside, so you'll need to wait outside.
1412 S. Garfield Ave., Alhambra 626-289-3018
Type: Cantonese Dim Sum/Seafood
Quality: !!! Price: $-$$$ Ambience: ***
They serve menu-style dim sum here. I perfer carts, but food is food. And the dim sum was good. The Phoenix Claws/Chicken feet were excellent--slightly spicy from the pepper slivers. The BBQ Pork steamed buns were quite good, too. Service was good. They have a decently-translated dim sum menu for those who don't read Chinese.Their cheapest dishes are $1.88 per order. There aren't too many of those, but it's certainly helps reduce the cost of your meal. Parking is a pain: you can enter the parking lot from northbound Garfield. It's located just before the restaurant. Or you can try the entrance on eastbound Valley. It's the second driveway--the first one is for the mini-mall parking on the corner. This place gets a bit crowded, so get there before 11 AM on weekends.
1220 S. Golden West Ave., Arcadia 626-446-8222
Type: Cantonese Dim Sum/Seafood
Quality: !!! Price: $-$$$$ Ambience: ***
This is one of two restaurants in the Arcadia area that serves dim sum. It was pretty good. although I think 888 and MPV are better (they have more selections, too). Dim sum dishes are generally $1.70 on a weekday and $1.90 on a weekend. The food quality was good. Unfortunately, I didn't care much for the Phoenix claws (aka chicken feet). They were a bit on the bland side. The main problem I had was the service was rather poor even by Chinese standards. In most restaurants, when you run out of tea, you lift the lid or set it on top of the teapot to indicate you want more. You should expect them to refill it quickly. However, ours wasn't filled for almost ten minutes. The place was moderately busy for a weekday, but that's still no excuse. The only other issue was the the carts came in bursts. This is probably due to chance, so I don't really mind this at all. I also went to a banquet here once--the food was also pretty good. After a meal here, you can always grab some Boba at the other stores in the mall and do your laundry in the nearby laundromat while you shop at 99 Ranch, which is, in my opinion, a bit overpriced. Finally, they offer dim sum takeout until 3 PM every day.
9406 E.Las Tunas Dr., Temple City 626-287-9025
Type: Cantonese-American
Quality: !! Price: $-$$ Ambience: **
They serve old-style, 1970's Cantonese-American cooking. They changed owners last year, and the quality of the food declined. However, their Wor Wonton soup was still decent. What is Wor Wonton, you may ask? Traditional wonton soup has wontons(pork and shrimp-filled dumplings) in a broth. Wor Wonton is the same, but they throw everything else, including Napa Valley cabbage, shrimp, chicken, pea pods, and whatever else the cook wants to put it.