Road Trip: Wok and Noodle (I think) - Alhambra (Los Angeles)

The reason I'm saying "I think", is that for the life of me, I couldn't find an English sign for the place. Googling the address 828 West Valley Blvd brought up a huge listing for a place named "Wok and Noodle", so that's the English name until someone tells me otherwise. We had finished our, not so great lunch at Kingburg Kitchen, and feeling unsatisfied, decided on a drive down the "old side" of Valley Boulevard. We hadn't been down here in a while. Right past the Boiling Crab, we noticed a large group of folks exiting what looked to be a restaurant. The Missus read the signage and told me, "this is a Shanghainese restaurant." Which sounded good to me....I swung around, and parked the car.

   

Upon entering, we noticed 2 things, many large families, and lots of older Chinese. This was a sure sign of "value pricing" and sure enough, looking over the menu, we found the prices to be very, very, reasonable. The 2 waiters here cracked us up....they were very nice, but just kinda did things at their own pace(S-L-O-W). One guy constantly hummed and sung while cracking what I thought were sunflower seeds. Every so often he'd spit the shells out into the tray holding the dirty dishes. The other guy just loved to whistle. You gotta love places like this.

Realizing that we had just eaten an hour earlier, the Missus and I decided on just a few cold dishes and some "bao".

 

So of course we ordered the Shanghai Smoked Fish ($4.25), one of the Missus's favorites.

 

This was a decent version, not too bony, not overly sweet, but maybe a bit too "wet" and mushy. But the Missus wasn't complaining, especially after having the really lousy version at Mr Dumpling recently, that was allwrong taste and texture-wise, over twice the price ($9.95!), and less than half the portion size.

I wanted the Salt Cured Duck($4.75):

   

Can you say "duck ham"? I really enjoyed this salty, duck-y(is there such a word), mildly salty cold dish. The meat had a semi-dense and ham like texture from the curing, though the Missus said the look of it kinda turned Her off.

Just seeing Xiao Long Bao on the menu means we have to order it($4.95):

 

This was not a particularly stellar version of XLB, the pork filling was decent, nice pork flavor and not overly sweet. The soup to meat ratio was a bit off, in my opinion, not enough soup. The wrappers were the weakest part, too thick and gummy. I probably won't be coming ordering Xiao Long Bao here next time.

And then of course, we had to have the Missus's latest obsession; Shengjian Bao (6 for $4.95):

 

The Missus said these rather rustic looking SJB, most closely resembled what She recalls eating in High School. Though the bottoms of these Bao were nice and crisp, the bun was more gummy than fluffy. The filling was a simple pork meatball that was on the bland side.

 

I think we'll be back for the cold dishes, and a few other items we saw being served at the other tables. After all, you can't beat the prices.

The service is pretty slow, though the staff is nice, it just seems like they're eternally day-dreaming. We saw one rather impatient older lady walk up to the service window and grab what I'm hoping was her dish and take it to the table herself! The restaurant is smaller than it looks, and full of large parties. Two can stuff themselves silly for under $20.

Wok and Noodle
828 W Valley Blvd
Alhambra, CA 91803

Comments

[Dennis]

Those SJB you described were like the ones I made frozen from 99 Ranch recently Kirk.. Do you know if there is a dipping sauce specific to SJB?

[Passionate Eater]

Haha, I would just called it the "No English Name Chinese Place!"

[Amy]

Oh, that's funny about the older lady serving herself from the pass through window! In my twenties, I worked in a cafe with a guy like those servers. No matter how busy it got, he continued at the same speed, or lack thereof. He used to snack on pepitas. Do you think there might be some seed/speed connection?! ;)

[Kirk]

Hi Dennis - The only place I've had sauce served is at Food Cabin. It was a soy-black vinegar-cilantro dipping sauce that was very good with the SJB.

Hi PE - Hah! Perfect description! ;o)

Hi Amy - I think you have something there! ;o) Gotta check to see if the servers are eating seeds.....to see what type of service we'll be getting!

[Pepsi Monster]

Hey Kirk,

The Chinese name on the banner is "Shanghai Little Eats", but business DBA name is Wok and Noodle which is the correct name you posted.

If you ever go back there again, try one of their clay bowl soup with egg dumplings. If you are into soup, that is pretty good. Their dumplings are ok, but there is reason why on it.

Anyway, glad you can try this Shanghai place before you head back home.

[Kirk]

Hi PM - Yes, I know what the Chinese name is, that's why we tried some of their appetizers and dumplings. The prices here are really great. Thanks for the recommendation!