Michael's SGV Food Guide

Ongoing

The San Gabriel Valley (aka 626) in Los Angeles is one hodgepodge of great restaurants. It is one of the best places in America to enjoy all types of Asian food. Below are my recommendations. The restaurants are listed in no particular order, but grouped by cuisines or themes.

Many thanks to the late Jonathan Gold, whose articles introduced millions of people to great restaurants in Southern California. Also many thanks to Ruby Chan and family, whose generosity made many meals possible.

A quick note on food guides: most writers have no idea what they are talking about, because experienced eaters (e.g uncles and grandmas) don't write for a living. This is why Eater LA doesn't have many 60 year old staff writers. Approach all guides with a grain of salt.

Cantonese

Arcadia Garden Cafe - classic Hong Kong style with great portions
Bay Island Cafe - cheap but delicious family dishes
Kim Ky - the best noodles (mix & match), Teochew style
May Mei - great clay pot rice
Dim sum places are hard to rank: NBC, Sea Harbor, Capital Seafood, Full House, Lunasia, and half a dozen more (none are great, none are bad)

Chinese noodle

101 Noodle Express (San Gabriel) - hand-torn noodles and beef roll
Beijing Pie House - meat pies (jianbing)
Hui Tou Xiang - dumplings and stuffed pancakes (called hezi, or huh-tsu)
Dai Ho (Temple City) - good noodles, but cold sides are expensive, lunch only
Yunnan Garden - good southern Chinese rice noodle, spicy and cold dishes
Shaanxi Garden - biangbiang noodle & liangpi are good

Chinese/Taiwanese breakfast

Huge Tree Pastry - great Taiwanese fantuan & youtiao
Yi Mei or Si Hai Dou Jiang - Taiwanese breakfast
JJ Bakery - good variety of Asian pastries
85C Bakery - same as JJ

Shanghai style

Dan Modern Chinese - modern take on Chinese classics
Longxingji - xiaolongbao (try the sweet one), great wontons
Mama Lu's - good portions, a bit greasy
99 Ranch Market (San Gabriel) - fantastic smoked chicken

Spicy Chinese

Sichuan Impression - good
Chengdu Taste - good

Korean (K-town in separate section)

Sun Nong Dan - Korean stews (kalbi-jim) and soups
BCD Tofu House - LA tradition
Big Rice - jajangmyeon is good
Yuk Dae Jang - excellent noodles

Vietnamese/Thai

Saigon Eden - great food and service
Pho Ga (El Monte) - cheapest chicken pho
Banh Mi My Tho (Alhambra) - fresh banh mi
Banana Bay Restaurant (Temple City) - best value, fresh coconut is on point

Drinks

Chi Cha San Chen - best milk tea, pre-order online
Sunright Tea Studio - I like their grapefruit green tea, quarter sugar with honey

Special mentions

Savoy Kitchen - Hainan chicken rice
Zankou Chicken - Armenian, rotisserie chicken is a must
Golden Leaf - authentic Taiwanese family dishes
Sweet Heart - classic Hong Kong dessert

Michael's favorites outside of 626:

Creme (Claremont) - my favorite Bakery in SoCal
Tartine Bakery - fantastic sourdough
Parks BBQ (in K-Town) - best kbbq in the country
Choson Galbee (in K-Town) - bests cold noodles and great meat
Spoon by H - everything is good (but they closed down...)

Random tips:

When you tip, round up your bill to the nearest dollar. Many restaurants take a cut of the tips, so 18% is not as much as it seems. Better be generous here, you can be stingy elsewhere.
Coffee and tea and smoothies are much better in Asian restaurants than cafes or Jamba Juice. Go to Viet, Thai, and HK places.

Happy eating!

Sections to be updated:

Taiwanese
Spicy cuisines (Sichuan/Hunan/Yunnan)
More regional Chinese
Mexican
Japanese
Italian
Barbecue
Vegetarian/Vegan
BTS