A&E Restaurant

Just got back from a trip to China. I missed the food and had to satisfy my craving.

Decided to search for a new option in Alhambra. A&E had a lot a of good reviews and looked like the comfort food I was looking for. Four of us arrived at about noon on a Saturday. We were seated immediately and greeted by the wonderful staff. The menu has photos and English titles, several members of the staff also spoke English.



Our meal started with two cold dishes, bean curd with mustard greens and a bean curd with mushrooms. Both dishes were light and had a subtle flavor. Next up came the beef and tendon noodle soup. The spice level was perfect and the noodles had a great chew to them. Some scallions and cilantro would have added some freshness, but it was delicious nonetheless.



The Thousand Layer Pancake came and the Pan Fried Meat Bun arrived shortly, followed by the Fried Chicken Plate. The Fried Chicken was great, it was served on a plate of rice, some chopped Bok Choy and Pickled Mustard Greens. That dish alone with some hot sauce would be make A&E worth trying. Just so comforting. The Thousand Layer Pancake was good, but the Scallion Pancake was better. The Pan Fried Meat Bun was meaty and delicious.

The last item to arrive was the XLB, what the dumpling lacked in soup it delivered in meat flavor. The filling was meaty and flavorful. With all of these dishes we barely dented the menu. After just getting home from China, A&E was a great option and fulfilled my craving for authentic Chinese food. I look forward to my next visit!

Yung Ho

Okay, I must admit the only reason I ate here was because Bamboodles next door had a huge wait.

I was not familiar with the menu or any of their specialties. I took some time to peruse the menu and since I can read Chinese I was pretty much screwed. They do have English names for their menu items, but as we all know the English names don't match the Chinese names we are accustomed to.

I went with things I knew would be hard to mess up. Scallion pancakes, fan tuan (which is a sticky rice roll wrapped around different fillings), soy milk and marinated cucumbers. My server looked at me strangely as the items I ordered must have seemed like a strange combo.

The scallion pancakes were flaky and think, different than many I've had recently. Definitely a nice change of pace. The soy milk was nice and the fan tuan was decent. The cucumbers were marinated in a spicy sauce and I thought it could have been better.

Next time I will be prepared to order, but overall I thought Yung Ho had a lot of potential for a simple Taiwanese breakfast.

Kam Hong Garden

Oh man!! Chinese comfort food, I love it.

I've been stuck in a rut recently, it's been Dim Sum and Shanghainese food every time I visit the SGV. I've been craving something else.

Kam Hong Garden satisfied my craving. Spicy Beef noodle soup with knife cut noodles, pan fried buns, scallion pancakes, Zha jiang mian with hand pulled noodles, beef roll and sauteed knife cut noodles with pork and mushrooms.

The beef roll was excellent and on par with 101 Noodle Express. There was the right amount of hoison, cilantro and cucumber, combined with delicious beef and a chewy wrapper.

The knife cut noodles were great and had that great texture you get from the thickness of knife cut noodles. The spicy broth of the beef noodle soup was well balanced and slightly spicy. The beef was perfectly tender without being mushy. The sauteed noodles were good, but the soup version was the way to go.

We ordered the regular scallion pancakes, they also offer a "thick" onion cake. It was also delicious, not to greasy and comparable to Earthen. The pan fried buns were good, filled with pork and mushrooms, they were large and one order was enough for four of us.

I can't wait to come back to Kam Hong Garden to try more delicious dishes. BTW, the service was excellent, our server spoke decent English and offered great recommendations.