Road Trip: Tianjin Bistro revisited - San Gabriel (Los Angeles)

**** Tianjin Bistro has closed

We hadn't had much luck on our recent road trips, so the Missus decided we should revisit someplace tried and true. Her choice? Tianjin Bistro.  The Missus really connects with the food at Tianjin Bistro, probably because the municipality of Tianjin (one of four in the PRC, the others being ChongQing, Beijing, and Shanghai) is about 70 miles or so(I've heard it's more) from Beijing, where the Missus went to High School and College. So the flavors of the dishes served at Tianjin Bistro are somewhat comforting to the Missus.

 Formerly Mei Jia Deli, and located in the same strip mall as another of the Missus's favorites, Hunan Chilli King, I think that Tianjin Bistro's food is a bit better than what Mei Jia Deli produced.   

The interior of the restaurant is small, and pink tinged, and the customary strips of colored paper line the walls announcing various offerings.

The woman who usually works here is very friendly, and enthusiastic. Ask about a dish (in Mandarin of course) and she'll recite to you how it is prepared, and what makes the version of the dish at Tianjin Bistro so "special". The woman's warmth and tact is especially apparent in her dealings with various customers. Even though it seems that Mei Jia Deli's bone-spitting, bossy customers that would just help themselves to the free porridge, and walk into the kitchen and yell out their orders have gone by the wayside. There are still customers like the older man who came in, and when placing his order, took out a sesame cake from a plastic bag, telling the woman "this is how hard it should be", knocking it against the table "tok-tok-tok"....... The woman accepted that in good spirits, and I guess what came out of the kitchen was ok, since the old man made sure to check every one, knocking it with his knuckles, or tapping it against the table. The guy must have mighty massive muscular masseter muscles... and teeth of steel.

The Missus had seen a dish on one of our previous visits that She wanted to order, the Jing Jiang Rou Si  (京酱肉丝 - Beijing/Peking Sauce Pork Shreds - $7.99).

The Missus saw that this was served in the appropriate manner, with scallions and bean curd wrappers, so She wanted to try it out. The pork strips were cooked well, not as soft as I prefer, but still tender. The flavoring was adequate as well. I believe it could have used a bit more bean paste for a deeper savory flavor, and perhaps be a tad sweeter.

I loved the process of wrapping my food....it made me feel like I was eating duck! I did think the cucumbers, while adding that wonderful palate cleansing flavor to everything was chopped much too thick, and proved to be a bit cumbersome. But overall, this was an enjoyable dish. 

The Missus saw the Shrimp with Fried Gluten ($9.99), and decided to order that as well.

When the Missus had inquired about this dish, the woman really went off on how they make their own wheat gluten, how many times they rinsed it, etc, etc, etc.....

I'm usually not a big fan of Kaufu (wheat gluten), but this was the best dish of the meal. And changed my opinion of what is usually used as a "meat replacement". The Kaufu was so soft it practically melted in my mouth. It was also a flavor sponge absorbing all the salty-sweet-soy flavors of the dish. I almost forgot about the shrimp which were perfectly tender. Man this was good!

We also ordered the Tianjin Sauteed Eggplant ($6.99):

Seared to perfection in a hot wok, the texture was silken, the temperature was molten, and the scent was  heavenly smoky.  In spite of looks, the flavor of the dish was very mild, lacking "zing". The garlic sprinkled on the top was the only thing that stood out with regards to taste. We took most of this home, and when I added a bit of "acid" (vinegar) the dish woke up a bit. It could have used a bit more sweetness as well.

And yes, there was Xiao Mi Zhou (小米粥), millet porridge.

We left the meal satiated, and with a good amount of leftovers which would disappear fairly quickly.

And were hopeful that this would start us on another streak of good eats on our future road trips.

Tianjin Bistro
534 East Valley Blvd. #8
San Gabriel, CA 91776

Open Thurs - Tues 11am - 10pm 

Comments

[bill]

Darn I wish I had ventured out more when I took the in-law around SG. If I recall across the street there is this vegetarian restaurant IMO was pretty good, its tucked in the corner.

[bill]

I found it :-D
Vegetarian Wok

I love there fake fried chicken.

[kat]

nothing like tried and true!

[Dennis]

Hi Kirk, I know you described it a bit under seasoned but man that eggplant dish looks delicious! Were you tempted to write "..the cucumber was cucumbersome.."? :)

[Kirk]

Hi Bill - Mock fried chicken, huh? I'll try to check it out.

Hi Kat - Especially when you're on a losing streak.

Hi Dennis - Yoso-pun-ny!!! ;o)

[ed (from Yuma)]

I'm hungry. Looks great - glad you got lucky

[Kirk]

Hi Ed - The food here is very dependable.