Mien Nghia, a Great Noodle Restaurant

There was this place, Mien Nghia, in Chinatown, that served the best Southeast Asian/ Cantonese noodles. A friend of mine from Vietnam introduced me to it a few years back and I would go there every time I'm in Chinatown. However, a couple of years ago, much to my disappointment, when I went back to that hole in the wall, it was closed. I mentioned this to that friend of mine and was told that Mien Nghia actually has another restaurant in Rosemead, on Garvey. So I went there with my daughter last week.

Mien Nghia San Gabriel Valley is not a hole in the wall, but a full on restaurant with ample parking. There is no ambience to speak of, but the food still has the same deliciousness: Noodle in different broths with different kind of toppings. You can choose to have the egg noodles, or the rice noodles, thick noodles, or thin, or a combination. I chose a combo thin egg and rice noodles with fish slices and pork kidney. It was quite satisfying.

I found out from the manager there that Mien Nghia has been around for 30 years, first in Chinatown, and then they opened a second restaurant here in Rosemead around 15 years ago. The one in Chinatown closed due to increased rent there.

I like all kinds of soup noodles: Chinese style beef noodle soup, Japanese ramen, Vietnamese Pho or Hu Thieu, and Cambodian glass noodles. I'm not sure what  kind of cuisine Mien Nghia is, but probably something inspired by southern Asian cuisine. Another kind of taste, but delicious.

Try it!

Mien Nghia Noodle Express
7755 E. Garvey Blvd.
Rosemead, CA 91770

When I Crave Childhood Comfort Food.

In my case, childhood cuisine means Taiwanese or Chinese style food. Even though I've only lived in Taiwan for about a year and have never been to China, I've visited Taiwan several times, and mom cooks Chinese food, so I consider Chinese style food my comfort food.

 When I have a craving for cuisine I grew up with, I head out to the San Gabriel Valley, a hotbed of all kinds of Asian cuisine.  Yesterday, I had a craving for Chinese dumplings, so we went to the Mandarin Noodle House on 701 W Garvey Ave, an establishment that has been around for decades. The food there may not be up to the standards of the new expensive foodie craze sweeping over California, but it is basic northern Chinese food that hits a spot.

We ordered boiled pork dumplings with leek, fish dumplings, and pot stickers with pork and cabbage.
For sides dishes, we had marinated cubumbers, julienned seaweed, beancurd strips, and tofu with preserved eggs - all comfort food that we haven't had for quite a while.

After lunch, we had shave ice at Shau May Restaurant at 104 N Garfield Ave. in Monterey Park. We ordered one to share because even the 3 items combo shave ice is quite large. We had the combination of red beans, mochi balls and grass jelly topped with shave ice and condensed milk. Fantastic way to cool off on a hot summer day.