Beer 2 O + + $

Where? San Gabriel
Who? Yariv Research Group and Andrew

Strange little place where you drink beer and chow down on Taiwanese-type Chinese food. Dingy environment but fairly authentic. I don't remember where it is... Las Tunas?

Phoenix + + (+) $

Who? Andrew and Enid
Where? Valley and Garfield

Very typical Chinese restaurant food and feel. Soup noodles were decent with my favourite beef tripe - fairly standard yellower noodles. Service was quite slow on the draw and inattentive. The mochi balls from the adjoining establishment (bearing the same name) are worth the trip (hence the extra (+)).

Ding Tai Fong + + + + $

Who? Andrew, Howie, Fesh
Where? South Baldwin Av. and Arcadia Av., Arcadia

Fantastic hand kneaded dumplings with a soupy infused filling. Hand pulled noodles are equally good with spicy red beef. Always a wait. Dessert at Phoenix next door.

Chop Suey + $

Who? CASA
Where? 1st and Central

Good fusion but not worth the 1.5hrs wait - the slowest service I've ever received in a restaurant in L.A.

New Capital + + + + + $

Who? Fesh, Howie, Andrew, Vivian
Where? Rowland Heights, exit Fullerton

Best dim sum around. $1.98 per plate, $0.80 seating charge. $1.68 off peak. So cheap and damn good. Excellent view of the mountains. Definitely worth the 35 minute drive.

Savoy + + + $

Who? Howie, Andrew, Mengning
Where? Atlantic and Valley

Quaint small space with good homely Chinese food.

Shau May + + + $

Who? Krystal and Andrew
Where? Garfield just north of Garvey

Hands down the cheapeast boba place I've ever been to. For $10, you can get two gigantic boba milk teas, a hot tapioca milk pudding (needs 4 people to finish) and a gigantic shaved ice with condensed milk and four "items". The taro is excellent and just the right sweetness. The white looking stuff that looked like coconut was actually almond. Longan was OK. Place is pretty busy and filled with a non-homogenous crowd. Again, feels very traditional (Taiwanese). Watch out for crazy old men who don't get their order and then push you out of the way to start a big argument with the servers.

Dragon Mark + + + $

Who? Krystal and Andrew
Where? Valley, between New and Del Mar

Lots and lots of food for very cheap. "Five fragrances Beef" is a nice snack side dish. Beef Stew noodle is decent but for some reason left a strange aftertaste. Dumplings, pan fried and steamed, are very filling and tasty. When mixing your dipping sauce, be careful to differentiate the dark vinegar from the soy sauce. The best part was easily the vegetables (bor choi) - very fresh and prepared in light garlic sauce. Be prepared to speak lots of mandarin or go hungry. Dining enviroment reminds me of a true Chinese dumpling house.

ABC Seafood + + + + $

Where? Ord and New High, Chinatown
Who? Gary, Howsah, Andrew and Kenny

Dim Sum! Yum Cha! Great food, har gau, siu mai, cheung fun, ngaw ghap, duww fu fa, dann tat... the whole gamut. Small, not as nice as NBC but a decent price. Park in the lot between Spring and New High ($3. Apparently there's a free lot behind ABC?)

JJ Cafe + + + $

Where? Monterey Park
Who? SiGung and Lo Han Kung Fu Club

Cafe Spot + + + + $

Located at Valley and 5th in Alhambra, this is now my favourite place for good cheap eats in New Chinatown. I knew it would be good when I saw the "gai dann jay" (little egg shaped pancakes) on the menu - it was just like being on the streets of Hong Kong. I had the beef brisket curry which was extremely filling and very tasty. The fried tofu appetizer was likewise excellent. Howz noodle dish was, quote, "pretty decent". The restaurant is very clean, with modern, simple decor

Who? TimShen, Siao, Howie, Jenn Jenn, Erika, Chris, Michellios, Sarah, Andrew

Sam Woo BBQ * * * / + + + $

Themo's Take: Asian place in an asian neighborhood. You will pay no more than $10-$15 and get a lot of excellent meats (duck, pork, BBQ pork, chicken) which you first observe hanging in the displays, plus all the classic asian dishes. There is a similar place in Vegas too. The lines are long because they are good and they know it.

Andrew's Take: The "asian" place is San Gabriel Plaza and the cuisine is Canto BBQ. I didn't like the "mixer" plate of meat we ordered. Too much "ghap" i.e. livers, kidneys, feet etc. I prefer the half duck, or ginger-oil dip with white chicken, or roasted pork (not red BBQ kind). There aren't so many of these places around - as Howz remarked - not like Toronto Chinatown. The Tomato-Beef rice is quite good. Mountainous rice! I like to get the vegetables not on the English menu; just like my momma taught me. Peeps in the know get "duww miu" and have it "ching chow"'ed. Good food, memories of back in the day. Thumbs up.

Who? Joyce, Andrew, Themo