The Congee — Restaurant in Alhambra

When we parked, we had trouble identifying the restaurant. From the parking lot, the only sign we saw said “海皇粥粉麵” and we were able to verify it was the right place by looking at old photos from other reviews on Google Maps.

Shrimp Won Ton Noodles in Soup ($12.90): The shrimp wontons are indeed as big as other reviewers said. The soup came with four giant wontons packed with shrimp. The soup was delicious as were the wontons with no off flavors that I've had before at other places serving similar style wontons. The gailan/jielan (Chinese broccoli) in the soup was super tender and worked really well with the dish.

Beef Stew Noodles in Soup ($12.90): The beef and tendon in this noodle soup were cooked to ultimate tenderness without the beef becoming stringy. Great flavor and excellent texture.

Fish Tofu with Special Sauce ($10.25): This tasted like and had the texture of a light fried fish ball. Interesting to try, but probably just the once for us. It was paired with a spicy topping that worked well with the fish tofu.

Special Pan Fried Rolls ($9.95): These are rice rolls are similar to steamed rice rolls but rolled tightly into cylinders and then pan fried and tossed in a sauce. It's like he fun / chow fun but many layers and rolled up. These were good, but we wished we spent $2 extra to get the Beef Stew Pan Fried Rolls.

Oyster Sauce with Vegetables ($7.25): This was tender gailan (Chinese broccoli) cut into thirds and topped with oyster sauce. They were tender and cooked just enough.

The bathroom situation was not ideal. The bathroom itself was locked (by accident). After they unlocked it, they cautioned not to use the lock on the door or the bathroom might end up locked again. There is a latch on the inside of the door to keep it from being opened when occupied. The bathroom is used for some cleaning storage and there were paper towels overflowing the wastebasket and no soap in the soap dispenser. After I informed them of the soap problem, they remedied it by putting a bottle of hand sanitizer in...

okay I barely leave comments for restaurants but this one I gotta leave one while I am still in the restaurant eating - yes it is THAT GOOD, and I forgot to take some photos beforehand.

There are not many items on the menu, so I come with my family and (almost) taste them all at once.

The seefood congee on the top is a must try - it has to be hot and if you order take out you are not going have the extrodinary tasting experience. Also put some white pepper before stirring it.

The rests are also top-notch among the restaurants in North Amreica (I am from Vancouver BC, known for high quality Chinese restaurant).

If you haven't tried pan fried rolls before, also try this - dip it with sriracha.

environment-wise: it is not like the fancy ones... as an Asian restaurant it is a bit too clean (usually a restaurant should be a bit dirtier when it tastes that good)

only con: after eating here then you will find it way more difficult to enjoy other restaurants in same category in North America.

That's it, and will definitely come back every...

I have been a customer of this establishment for many years since it opened. Their food quality was very good. The wanton, beef stew, lo mein and preserved egg pork porridge were among our favorites. Whether take out or dine in we went for was never disappointing. I bought take out today. To my surprise, the wanton is no longer as good as used to. The shrimp and pork in it are dry and tasteless when it should be smooth, crunchy and full with flavor. The lye that makes the noodle Al dente overwhelmed my mouth with an unpleasant taste. The ingredients quality as seemed are no longer as good and fresh as they sed to be. I don't want to speculate why it is. But I no longer have the mood and urge to go back again. For the price I paid, it no longer...