There's a Reason Why There's a Line!
I wish Zagat hadn't given this place a food rating of 25, because (1) it isn't that good (though it IS good -- more on that later), and (2) it has made it too darn crowded!

With that said, however, I had a great time. I go to a lot of restaurants, but I'm not exactly a connoisseur of the kind of like-Chinese-people-eat-in-China restaurants that cluster in the San Gabriel Valley. I enjoyed experiencing the somewhat different ordering and delivery system (even though it's mainly intended to get the customers in and out faster). As part of this system, we got a different waiter/ess with almost every dish, but they were all professional and accommodating.

But most of all, I enjoyed the food! Beautiful presentation, but mostly just clean, fresh flavor. I can't eat pork, but I really enjoyed the fish dumplings and the red bean rice bun. The seasonal vegetables included green beans and spinach. We ordered the green beans, but they were so good -- crisp, flavorful, and garlicky -- that we had them bring us the spinach, too.

I do wish they'd get a beer and wine license; a little Tsingtao would have gone down well with this type of food.

Anyway, if it weren't for the long wait, I would definitely go back; as it is, I'll still probably go back.    [19 Aug 2007 00:11:20]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: Sizzling Rice Cakes; Seasonal Vegetables

     ­Sparky, Claremont