25 miles is nothing to southerners (Californians). From my crimped NorCal via the East Coast perspective, there is no way that Alhambra can still be considered LA. It is simply too far away to be part of the city. And yet, in the megalopolis that is LA, Alhambra is “not far” from Santa Monica. Yes, a straight shot on the I-10, that’s all. Lies! Yahoo! Maps indicates it is a 27 minute journey. More lies! Maybe at 7 am on a Sunday it takes 27 minutes. At 11:30 am on a Sunday, it takes 80 minutes. As un-psyched as I was upon arrival, the wait for a table lasted 40 unendurable minutes. I know because I looked at my watch every 5 minutes. Everyone is made to wait, but be prepared to wait longer if you are not ethnically Asian or do not have a reservation, or both.
The interior has a “no bones” look about it. Basic tableware and service and minimal English, lots of Chinese families at the big tables in the corners – all the markings of a goood-eating dim sum house. No effort wasted on design, all effort focused on the food. Just how I like it.
Finally seated, our famished group of 6 ordered practically everything on the menu. To list it all here would be ridiculous and use up all of my allotted words. Dumplings, buns, 4 seafood dishes, noodles, vegetables, tofu, chicken, pork belly….it was all good. Fresh and good. The pork belly, however,… now that dish is going to get some words.
Deceptively lsited on the menu as B.B.Q. Pork Belly and unappetizingly presented (to the western eye) in little petit four-like slabs, one heaped on the other, this dish is sublime. At first bite, all that fat is perfectly crisp and provides an appetizing crunch that shortly gives way to a creamy burst of porcine goodness. A hint of smoke, (five) spice, and sweetness fill your senses but do not overwhelm them. These jewels are like candy – I must have more. I eat them for dessert. Five petit fours later, I pass the plate onwards to make someone else just as happy.
If I lived in downtown LA or Pasadena, this would be on my list of regulars. To make this a destination restaurant is not a bad idea either. Just be prepared to sit in traffic and sit in the waiting room before your meal. Next time I am anywhere near this place, I plan to make it my business to stop in and order more B.B.Q. Pork Belly. It does not get any better than that. In sum: A for pork belly, B overall.
500 W. Main Street #A.
Alhambra, CA 91801
T: 626.308.3222
Visited March 11, 2007Labels: alhambra, chinese, restaurant, triumphal palace