Road Trip: Hunan Restaurant - Monterey Park (Los Angeles)

Right after the calendar New Year, the Missus and I finally made it to Hunan Restaurant in Monterey Park. Since we'd already eaten at Hunan Chilli King (several times), Hunan Seafood, Xiang Wei Lou, and Hunan Style Restaurant, it only made sense that we should check out the simply named Hunan Restaurant. Hunan Restaurant is located on Atlantic Boulevard; we haven't been around this part of Monterey Park in a while, so it was interesting to see the changes since we last visited.

 

The restaurant is fairly small, and looks a bit worn. And yes, that is a 'C' letter grade taped proudly to the front glass.

 
Everything about the place is "all business", and I think the napkins, tossed haphazardly on the tables for use is a good representation of the restaurant.

 
This place really took me back to SGV service circa late '90s. Perfunctory to a fault..... if I dropped dead and fell on the floor at the foot of a table, the Servers would have no problem stepping over my dead body to complete their tasks. Perhaps a bit later, once the bill had been paid, and rigor mortis had set in(for practical reasons, I'd be easier to move), I'd be rolled out, using the "kick method" until I was no longer on restaurant property. Ah yes, remember the good 'ol days?????

The Missus started with the Stinky Tofu Hunan Style($4.99):

The Missus always says that if I'm able to start eating Chou Dofu without hesitation it isn't going to be any good. And She was right in this case. The tofu wasn't particularly smelly, and the sauce wasn't particular spicy, nor salty, or sweet for that matter. It just plain tasted watered down.

The Missus noticed a dish written on one of those ubiquitous strips of paper taped to the wall. It was bamboo shoots stir fried with La Rou (Hunan preserved pork 腊肉), and was the best dish of the day.

 

The dish was nice and smokey, courtesy of the La Rou. The Chinese celery did a great job of refreshing the palate. The Hunan ham was very waxy, and there were some bits that were almost inedible, but the flavor was good. There was a severe lack of spice in this dish, even though the Missus ordered it "big spicy".

The Missus listening to what other tables were ordering, decided to order the Steamed Whole Fish Hunan Style ($9.99).

I've had some terrible fish in my life, but this one is right up there at the top. First, there was nothing fresh about this semi-rancid fish. The flesh was mushy, and one bite was about it. Also, not enough hot oil and soy was used, and the fish was parched. Third, this fish was topped with only dried chilies, which combined with a lack of sauce, was still totally dry.....like eating seeds and paper. It was like eating a handful of dried Chilies de Arbol. I think that's enough.... I think you get the point.

The SGV has tons of restaurants, and whether you visited on a bad day, or perhaps the dishes aren't to your taste, you are bound to have a lousy meal now and then.

Hunan Restaurant
423 N Atlantic Blvd
Monterey Park, CA 91754

Comments

[kat]

eww! rancid fish...

[bill]

So sad so bad...it was getting promising but it just fizzled out.

[Kirk]

Hi Kat - That fish.... well, I'd rather not think about it.

Hi Bill - Yeah...... sad.....

[Rosa]

Maybe the 'C' rating was for the food rather than their sanitary standards?

[Kirk]

Hi Rosa - he-he-he..... you could be correct! ;o)

[Faye]

The fried tofu, at least in pics, look so light and fluffy and yummy! Too bad it wasn't good. Question - I've NEVER had stinky tofu (I know, odd, b/c I'm also Asian). I LOVE fried tofu though. Can you explain the taste of stinky tofu? I know alot of ppl would prefer to order it stinky vs regular (how funny does that sentence sound?!).

The fish looked awful! Did you send it back or say something? Is it possible to get a good fried fish for $9.99 in San Diego?

Sorry the visit there wasn't up to par :(

[Kirk]

Hi Faye - It has a kind of must savory taste.....though there are versions that smell so much like sewage that I can't eat them. The Missus loves those! A ouple of tables had gotten their fish before us.... and it looked exactly the same, and I'm not sure if you've ever had experience in returning or rejecting stuff in these types of restaurants....but let me say, I'd rather have just written off the ten bucks.

[Eat. Travel. Eat!]

Uh oh! For me I think the only dish that I would eat would be the bamboo shoots :). C rated restaurants haven't been doing well in my book these days. I've only had two good experiences, all others were bad. :(

[Kirk]

Hey ETE - I don't know about the 'C' grade, but that fish wasn't very good.