Dolan’s Uyghur Cuisine — Restaurant in Alhambra

Having lived and traveled extensively throughout Asia and Central Asia, I have tasted all and sundry dishes ranging from Persian and Turkish, to Middle Eastern, South Asian, and East Asian cuisines. Uyghur food, as a result of an ancient civilization that has absorbed and integrated a great number of styles and traditions over several millennia, is a perfect mélange of the foods you will find on your Silk Road journey from Istanbul to Sichuan: well spiced, uniquely seasoned and skewered, with meat, rice, and noodles as staple complements. If you like Indian, Chinese, Middle Eastern, Persian, Turkish, or Russian/Georgian flavors, then you will undoubtedly find this place a real winner on all counts.

Dolan's perfectly captures the artisanal, handmade noodle tradition, combining it with hearty, halal options, from chicken to lamb. There are also plenty of salad and soup choices for those wanting to preserve a KETO-friendly, low-carb, and/or vegetarian/vegan diet. I could come here almost every day and not get bored with the options.

My favorite dishes are the boiled lamb leg (a super healthy protein-rich option!), garlic cucumber, and fried eggs & tomato. Overall, a guiltless, carb-free meal!

They don't try to Americanize the food, which I greatly admire. On the contrary, they painstakingly replicate the tradition of Uyghur cuisine, as if we were being served in the Xinjiang provincial capital of Ürümqi.

Some large television screens on the walls showcase the breathtaking scenery of Western China: snowy mountaintops, wispy deserts, and jagged rock formations. Other screens hypnotize the viewer to the ebullient Uyghur music and dance gatherings, offering a glimpse at how weddings and holidays have been celebrated for centuries in the region.

The walls are adorned with Uyghur musical instruments, paintings, tapestries, and other artifacts redolent of the geometrically-inspired Islamic art & architecture that spans Andalusía to Delhi. Very cozy and inviting.

The staff have always treated me with impeccable friendliness and swift service. The food has thus far been consistent, fresh, and tasty. I have been to Dolan's at least 25 times, and will keep going back.

Don't forget to try the Uyghur honey cake, which most resembles "Medovik," the Russian honey cake. Order it with their herbal tea.

If I could give six stars, I would. You will not be disappointed.

PS- make sure to read about the plight of the Uyghurs and their need for support on the international stage. This rich, great civilization needs to be preserved and their rights protected....

One of the most unique flavors in the area and done well! We've been here several times and recommend to friends visiting or anyone wanting to try something new.

PARKING / ARRIVAL / VIBE: Two small lots are available for customers and street parking if those are full. When you walk in you see white cloth tables and some paper on top of those and pretty multicolored lighting, with TV screens and music playing traditional views and tunes.

We arrived about an hour before closing (group of 5 on a Friday evening) and were seated promptly, and it was busy! We were there to chat and dine so got comfortable. Menu has traditional options, appetizers, entrees, vegetarian, desserts, and drinks (in particular they have traditional teas!).

SERVICE: Our servers were friendly and efficient, making sure all is good, plates are cleared, all that good stuff with making you feel welcome!

FOOD: Fresh and arrived as they are ready. The SHREDDED POTATO was excellent! Potato slivers soaked in flavor, not too spicy and just the right amount of tangy, so good. The large BONELESS BIG PLATE CHICKEN is indeed large and heaped in a mound of chicken and potato chunks atop large flat noodles with sauce; a staple order and the chicken toothsome and flavorful. The LAGHMAN hand pulled noodles with stir fried peppers and beef has a wonderful flavor and the noodles are very springy, you can even see the slight difference of thickness which proves they are hand pulled. the PEARLED NOODLES are kind of like a chopped version of the LAGHMAN - spoonfuls of beefy and chewy noodle goodness, kind of like a rich pasta dish! I would recommend all four of these dishes, they are the perfect size and amount for 5 people.

Dessert: their BAKLAVA is one of the best I've had, lots of layers that shatter through to plenty of pistachio filling, nutty and not too sweet like a lot of other baklavas! Delicious end to a delicious meal :)

So glad they're in the area and will always recommend this place to friends (or take...

Unique setting, bad service that don't tell you how long it takes to make things. (A 45 minute wait for a noodle dish is unacceptable.) Food was substandard for the price. To clarify the following items (names not listed descriptions given) were purchased and consumed:

Cold mung bean noodles: lacking flavor in both sauce and sides. (The sliced cucumbers lacked acidity resulting in an oily dish without any appealing flavor) This was about $11 on the menu and was worth about $3 in flavor. You will find better options elsewhere.

Beef baked naan pie: the overall dish had some nice presentation, but it lacked in flavor. It was very under seasoned, very oily and overall is a disappointment for $20. All of which is disappointing because it could easily be fixed by adding some flour into the mix. Heck even the same flour used for the naan would work.

Spicy noodles (Northwestern style noodles on menu) according to the server it took 45 minutes to come out because they need 20-25 minutes to handroll the noodles. A piss poor excuse given how we have received noodles at other establishments that have been hand rolled with only a 10-15 minute prep time. Flavors are decent but like with the Mung Bean noodles. Its basically just chili oil, nothing else about it makes it have flavor and when there is no acidity or anything to break through, its just not good. Its just an oily mess. For $13 (approx) its not worth it.

There was also the Uyghur Milk Tea which was decent, however Milk teas are not salty for a reason. A reason very apparent when you try this one. Its sole value is as a palate cleanser, and I will easily say its better to just use normal tea compared to this. For about $5 its not a bad price to try out, but you will get the basic gist that this is a poor menu option, solely there for...