Eat Like a Local: The San Gabriel Valley
There comes a time in everyone’s life when they reach a breaking point. An annoying coworker, a failing marriage, a dead-end job...the list goes on.
Folks, I’ve reached my breaking point.
COVID-19 has affected us all, but it hit the Asian community extra hard. As early as February, the US saw a heightened wave of anti-Asian attacks, from physical and verbal assault on the subway, to the former president repeatedly calling COVID-19 the “China Virus” or even more disgusting “Kung Flu.” Although these issues gained a lot of press, Asian Americans also had to cope with the effects of anti-Asian xenophobia on their businesses, particularly restaurants. In October, the Asian American Federation released a study on the impact of the pandemic on Asian-American employment in NYC and found that between February and May this year, unemployment skyrocketed from 3.4% to 25.6%, the largest increase among all ethnic groups, and that at least 20% of Asian workers were employed through industries hit hardest by the pandemic: clothes manufacturing, laundry services, beauty salons and food service. These businesses not only had to deal with decreased business through the shelter-in-place restrictions, but business loss due to increasing Sinophobia. These restaurants, mostly family-run and small-staffed, needed and continue to need our help.
So you can imagine my rage when I learned that the InfatuationLA, a branch of the food media giant that bought out Zagat in 2018, was yet to release a guide in support of Asian restaurants in my hometown, the San Gabriel Valley, which has an Asian population of over 50%. And on top of that, the only food guide on the region was written over a year ago and seemed to be merely an update of their previous 626 guide, now deleted, which featured mostly restaurants located in the town mall. And the cherry on top? Not a single person who contributed to the list is a POC.
I’ve got some questions for you four…
It’s time for a local to take charge. Here are three important spots LA’s “taste-makers” failed to explore:
The fact that I’ve never seen a single review of SinBaLa continues to shock me, so here’s my go. SinBaLa is a longstanding traditional Taiwanese restaurant in an Arcadia strip mall. Their menu is lengthy and after over a decade of eating there, I’ve yet to find a dish I don’t enjoy. But the item I never fail to order is their Taiwanese sausage. Medium-ground and lightly sweet with a touch of warm spices, the sausages are served sliced on a bias and glimmer with the slight slickness of rendered pork fat, exuded after a quick flash in the pan to develop a light crust of snappy caramelization. You can order the sausages as a side, where they come served with thick slices of raw garlic that add a sharp, biting crunch, or as a rice plate where they are served atop a hefty bed of rice and joined by three small hills of silky scrambled eggs, tender steamed cabbage, and a confusing yet welcome pile of sweet canned corn. So sure, try the Taiwanese Pork Chop or Beef Noodle Soup, but don’t you dare leave without some sausage.
651 W Duarte Rd f, Arcadia, CA 91007
When I left LA last year to move to New York, Lu’s Garden was the spot I chose to have my farewell dinner. I first found it when I came home for winter break during college, driving around with some friends late at night. We hotboxed the car and stumbled through the restaurant doors, immediately met with an overwhelming array of choices. Catering trays and dishes lined a massive cafeteria display with what felt like an infinite amount of choices, and for three college students stoned out of their minds, it was...a lot. And yet, we pressed on, pointed to a select amount of interesting dishes: thick cubes of braised pork belly with glistening skin, minced green beans stir fried with tiny fluffs of egg, strips of meat hidden among planks of bamboo in a glossy brown sauce. The woman at the counter asked if we wanted rice or porridge—pick the porridge, it’s a specialty of theirs and feels like a warm hug, simmered with chunks of slightly sweet orange yam that melt in the mouth.
534E Valley Blvd #12, San Gabriel, CA 91776
It’s hard to imagine getting quality sushi on a 16 year-old’s budget, but luckily I lived right around the corner from Yama. It was notorious among high schoolers in the area because the quality was as high as the prices were low. Run by someone I only know as “Mr. Yama,” a wiry, wisened Japanese man with a big smile and raspy voice, the small shop was divided into two rooms: the seafood market, where Mr. Yama would work behind a large counter, and a small grocery section with a fridge display housing pre-packed sushi rolls made that morning and shelves of Japanese pantry staples. To order, approach the counter and admire the selections of fish: salmon, tuna, uni, octopus, and a handful of others I can’t identify. All arrive fresh and get broken down and pre-portioned into smaller filets by Mr. Yama himself. When you’ve selected your fish, Mr. Yama will ask if you want it sliced, or as-is, and wrap it up for you, often adding a small slice of something new to try, alongside the ginger and wasabi.
911 W Las Tunas Dr, San Gabriel, CA 91775
While these are 3 spots close to my heart (and home) there are about a million I’ve left left out, but fear not! More to come on this front. Until then, some words from a wise man who really did seem to understand the 626:
“San Gabriel noodle shops are a particular interest of mine, as you have probably determined — a subject I deem to be worth a lifetime of study. You may be wishing that I had spent more time exploring the San Jose–based chain restaurants that populate the new Santa Monica Place, or the murderers' row of bad Italian restaurants in Brentwood, but we all have our weaknesses: This is mine.
When I see all the new Dongbei dives that I'll never get to, when I work through all the new dumpling places up on Las Tunas Avenue, I sometimes regret that I can't devote my entire life to the medium of wet, geographically inconvenient dough. I could probably point you to 20 or 30 San Gabriel noodle shops that I haven't had time to write about so far, pho counters and mee slingers and mian merchants, and I suspect each of them is more interesting than the latest bistro to open in Van Nuys.”Jonathan Gold
