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Johnny hopes his inspiration can push people the extra ten miles to also experience this stellar food. In some ways his Pearl River Deli can be thought of as a portal to SGV. Opening up the menu to dishes beyond his Cantonese heritage has allowed Johnny and his team to keep it interesting for all generations, while still using techniques like wok-cooking to honor tradition.
Nearby Hotels
Johnny told me that Kim Kee Noodle is a classic Teochew noodle spot representing the long history of the Teochew diaspora and their presence in the SGV. The Teochew people have cultural roots in the eastern part of Guangdong province, the southern part of mainland China. They’re also one of the dominant groups of ethnically Chinese peoples throughout Southeast Asia including Singapore, Malaysia, and Cambodia. Many Teochew Chinese people were merchants and sailors that ended up in Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. Now the population has spread across the world all the way to New Zealand and North America. In 2019, I took a break from chef life in restaurants and began my master's degree in cultural anthropology at Cal State LA.
Menu
The soup broth is really good and the humble pho just shines here. The beef was all really tender and it was actual fillet mignon – no stringiness, no tendons, just pure beefy perfection. We ordered pork chops, combo pho #1 and egg rolls.
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Kim Kee Noodle House
We have never had a time where our food tasted different or bad. Their chicken in the pho is unbelievably soft and will literally fall apart in your mouth. The portions are gigantic so be careful when ordering a large! We’ve also tried their rice plates, vermicelli, egg rolls, and other things. But we always end up coming here for our pho cravings. The service is very quick, attentive, and you’re in and out in probably 20 mins.
Yunnan Restaurant: Anything from the cold table
With the newest wave of mainland Chinese immigrants and businesses, there is now a whole different economy going on that Angelenos outside of SGV simply don’t experience. The socioeconomic change is not all about new money, but about contemporary mainland Chinese practices too. As we finished our noodles, Johnny said how this is not necessarily bad, especially for food and restaurants.
The Essential San Gabriel Valley Restaurant Crawl with Johnny Lee of Pearl River Deli
One of the hottest new Chinese millennial spots in town, according to Chinese social media. Beer towers and trays of shot glasses populate the tables and the single-bite skewers come ten or twenty to an order. Come early or be prepared to wait on weekend nights. The Chinese-inspired decor and raucous but fun atmosphere make this the perfect finger food and drinking spot. Over the last decade, SGV has experienced a serious influx of new money. It’s a somewhat unique phenomenon to the area, given the region has the country’s largest population of Taiwanese and Chinese Americans.
More recently, we tried the Cha Ca La Vong which is basically spring rolls but with fish – enough for two people. I wish the fish sauce was a bit more savory versus the sweet kind because I think that’d taste better, but it’s still really tasty! There’s plenty of fish and veggies but I wish they provided more rice paper. If you need extra, they charge a dollar or two for more (which I think should be free).
My boyfriend and I both got the #1 combination pho. I actually couldn’t finish my regular bowl because they give you so much of everything. So much meat, so many noodles and all the broth you’ll need.
LunAsia in Alhambra: Rice Paper Rolls
I ended up collaborating with 18 regular patrons of the SGV dining scene, documenting their feelings and memories as a way to understand the cultural significance of these restaurants. Day (and night if they were actually open at night, but they are not), packed with people all the time. Food is good and cheap it's a hidden gem that yelp doesn't know about. We always get the house special dry noodle version to go for lunch. We literally come here once a week because it's so good and the portion is super generous. It can feed up to 2 people so be sure to share or ready to take some back home!
This place is good for a quick satisfying meal. Cleanliness could better, and so could the service, but they’re both decent. Sometimes the waiters and waitresses will even smile at you…rare sighting, LOL, but overall the food here is good and so is the price. With some restaurants, you need to go for specific dishes and, at LunAsia, it’s that rice paper roll.
As I mentioned in the vermicelli dish, they are thicccc and they’re stuffed with shrimp and taro, and they taste so perfect with the nuoc mam. These restaurants serve a hearty breakfast for the working class. The Teochew style noodles come with endless combinations of beef, shrimp, seafood, fish and beef, and even beloved offal cuts. The special oil on top of the noodles is intoxicating in taste and smell, and the texture contrasts of the noodles and proteins are deeply satisfying for the savory breakfast lover. The bbq pork is just so juicy and soft and has great marination to it.
This location has a huge parking lot and it never an issue finding one. The broth is so consistent every single time. I always order #17 (Pho Ga) and my husband always get #1 which is the special pho with a ton of delicious meats. He always orders a large with extra filet mignon lol. The spring rolls here are good, but you can’t really mess up spring rolls.
Almost everything on the menu will satisfy your cravings. Three years later and I can still say this is the best pho spot I’ve been to. It’s one of the few restaurants where I can say the food has been consistent. The service could use a little work but it’s not terrible.
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