Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Tasty Garden

This is my latest favorite LA restaurant. It's only a couple of blocks from home, so that makes even more fabulous. Tasty Garden is located at 1212 Baldwin Ave. in Arcadia. Arcadia's Asian population has exploded in the last decade or so, resulting in excellent Asian eateries. There wouldn't be a community here if the food was crap. It's a Hong Kong-style cafe, serving up Cantonese entrees and Western-influenced dishes (one good example is baked pasta, which is omnipresent in this type of cafe).

One of the things they're known for here are rice cooked in clay pots. It's rice, a clay pot, and a bunch of types of meat and/or veggies, then cooked in the pot. The rice crusts along the pot, forming a crunchy layer, and the additions flavor the rice. It's quite excellent, but we didn't order it this time. It's a bit much for lunch. We did order the shredded brined chicken. Cooked dark meat is shredded and marinaded in oil, white pepper, and salt. It's served cold and it's fantastic. Lots of flavor. White pepper is much more subtle and has none of the spicy bite of regular pepper.

Another specialty is the wonton noodle soup, which I wanted to try this time around. Holy cow, it was fantastic. The noodles were a little overdone, but the wontons... wow. They were huge, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Filled with shrimp, pork, and spices, it was a little bite of happy. The flavors melded together perfectly and pretty much "popped" as you bit into it. The soup was fantastic and there was crunchy bok choy with it.

We had to order my favorite Peking-style pork spareribs. I've been having them really frequently lately, but it was a multi-year drought before that. Thank goodness China Max does them well or else I'd never eat anything else in LA.

Mom and Dad seem to know every restaurateur in the area. Dad, having been in the industry for decades, likes to chat with the owners and see what they're doing with their restaurants. They've known the owner of Tasty Garden since he was a partner in another Hong Kong-style cafe in the Monterey Park area. So, he comped us a Hong Kong-style "waffle".

It's made the exact same way as a waffle, with the batter being poured between two hot iron plates. However, that's where the similarities end. The plates on this waffle maker have big bubbles in them, which results in the bubbles being cakey and the pastry in-between being crunchy. The batter is much sweeter and cake-esque than a waffle. An American (or Belgian) waffle is pretty bland and the toppings make the dish. This waffle, however, is eaten alone. It's quite good, although Mom and Dad said there's a place in Monterey Park that does it better. If that's so, then I definitely have to meander out there to try it out.

Tasty Garden is absolutely fabulous and there will be plenty of visits in the future.

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