1164 Huntington Dr., Duarte 626-359-2868
Type: Quasi-Chinese-Mongolian
Quality: !! Price: $-$$ Ambience: **
What do Mongolians eat? Well, having its root as a nomadic society, it would be reasonable to find lots of dairy and meats in their diet. But if you go to any Mongolian BBQ, you'll most likely find lots of veggies, desserts, salads, and noodles. My guess is that some enterprising Chinese restauranteur figured out that no one would know what in the world is a Mongolian BBQ, so no one could complain about it being not authentic. Places like Asian Gardens are generally pretty cheap, all-you-can-eat places. Lunch was about $5 per person, and dinner was about $7 per person. In a Mongolian BBQ, you generally pile up a whole bunch of noodles, some veggies, and meats into a large bowl. Add some oil and other sauces, and give it to the cooks. They'll dump your raw ingredients on a very large circular griddle of sorts. They'll move it around, add some water, and when finished cooking, they'll put it back on a new plate for you. Voila! You have just received an order of custom-made chow mein! That's what you're eating. On the bright side, at least you can make it the way you want. I added lots of tomatoes and pineapples to my chow mein. It was actually tasty. However, being a cheap all-you-can-eat place, the food quality here is generally mediocre. It' fun hanging out here with friends, but don't expect anything stellar.
5449 N. Rosemead Blvd., Temple City 626-285-9595
Type: I have no idea
Quality: ! Price: $$ Ambience: **
I used to love all-you-can-eat buffets, but after I graduated from college, I realized that there was just no way I could stuff enough food to make it worthwhile. I actually got full. And, I just couldn't take lower-quality, greasy food like I used to. My Iron Stomach Kung Fu skills had already peaked long ago. Zen Buffet is no exception. The food more or less a Chinese smorgasboard (if that even possible) with some imitation Japanese food added to the mix. You get very different types of food here. The only thing they have in common is that the quality is mediocre and cheap. The food here is entirely forgettable. Even if you're still in the college mode (i.e. eat as much as possible), I'd still recommend against this place. You might was well order two dishes from a decent Chinese restaurant; you'd get the same amount of food, and it would taste better.
260 E. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena (in Paseo Colorado) 626-356-9760
Type: Yuppie Quasi-Cantonese
Quality: ! Price: $$-$$$ Ambience: ***-****
When the server introduced himself by his first name, I knew that I couldn't be in a real Chinese restaurant. As I looked further, I noticed that there were only three Chinese characters in the whole restaurant: two of them on the menu, and the last character being myself. I tried to order a custom noodle dish: beef chow fun with black beans and bell peppers. Normally, any half-decent Chinese restaurant would be able to make it without hesitation. But here, the server and cooks had no idea what I was talking about. I should have left, but being the intrepid adventurer I am, I stayed. The food is primarily westernized Cantonese food, and I use that term rather loosely. It's pricey for the amount of food you get. For example, a dish of chicken chow mein will cost you $8.95 here. At any real Cantonese restaurant, you could probably get 33% more food for $5.95. This is geared for non-Chinese people who either don't know good Chinese food or are intimidated by a real Chinese restaurant. The best thing about the restaurant was the decor--absolutely impressive. The founders of P.F. Chang's figured this out and created a very popular restaurant chain, much to my dismay (i.e. I wish I came up with that idea first). I'm not jealous anymore of their success, but I still do not recommend this restaurant at all. There are much better and cheaper restaurants.
74 E. Live Oak Ave., Arcadia 626-445-9420
Type: Mexican food for my melanin-challenged brothers and sisters
Quality: ! Price: $ Ambience: *
There are days that I find places to challenge my Iron Stomach Kung Fu, and it must have been one of those days. If you're looking for authentic Mexican fast food, you won't find it here. Instead, you'll find ground beef-filled tacos and burritos. In fact, I ordered a deep-fried beef burrito. I kid you not. It was eminently forgettable. The deep frying of the flour tortilla left it immensely dry. Perhaps I should have ordered it with cheese, lettuce and tomatoes. That might have given it some moistness to survive the deep frying process. But that would have cost a few more cents, so I refused to add them to my burrito. The hot sauce was rather gruesome--it was mildly spicy but otherwise absolutely flavorless. The Mexican fries (OK, they were really regular french fries) were standard mass-produced frozen fries. They were on the powdery side. I suppose if they were swimming in greasy chili, it would have been an awesome dish. This place is a true hole in the wall. Ambience is non-existent, although I give it one "*" for it 1950's/1960's sign on the front..
120 E. Duarte Rd., Arcadia 626-445-2889
Type: Mexican food for my melanin-challenged brothers and sisters
Quality: !! Price: $ Ambience: * *
Arcadia has not just one, but at least two places that cater to my fellow pale-skinned American citizens, residents, and visitors. Unlike Taco Lita, this place isn't too bad if you like this type of food. As one of my co-workers remarked, "This place is like Taco Bell before it went upscale." You won't find carnitas here--just the ubiquitos ground beef and such. But it's actually pretty decent in taste. If you have a hankerin' for 1950's/1960's American-style tacos, this would most likely be exactly what you're looking for. Given the plethora of Mexican taco places in this area, it's actually rather cool to find these places still exist, much as it's cool finding old-style Cantonese-American restaurants. It's a part of our history. Someday, they'll probably disappear. Or they might come back in a nostalgic revival. That would be scary.