Mr. Champion — Restaurant in Arcadia

We stood there without getting any greeting-yes, Yelp reviewers mentioned that. It seems to be the style of the café, and I am okay with it. I go to Hong Kong–style cafés only for good food, never expecting good service-whether in Shanghai, in Hong Kong, or in the USA. We stood there for at least five minutes, watching them collect payments, prepare leftovers for packing, and clean tables. Eventually, the owner-like waitress told us that we had to sign the waiting list by hand-yes, by handwriting. I wrote my name on the clipboard. While waiting for a seat, I found that everyone in the café was speaking Cantonese-yes, I mean every single person. I bet it must be an authentic Hong Kong café.

Fortunately, after only five or ten more minutes of waiting, we were seated. I checked the menu: the prices were really cheap. It's a very good deal even if the taste isn't great. I don't remember anywhere in Southern California where you can get a 4-piece full-size Rice Noodle Roll for less than five dollars.

They serve several categories: fried snacks, steamed rice noodle rolls, porridges, rice plates, stir-fries, rice noodles, noodles, and Hong Kong–style beverages. Every item on the menu looked delicious and was reasonably priced.

Let's talk about the dishes we got:

Dried Shrimp Rice Noodle Roll $4.95 – 5/5 Trust me, order this one instead of the Shrimp Rice Noodle Roll. I don't mean their shrimp is bad, just because you can get good shrimp in Southern California so easily, but it's not that easy to find good dried shrimp. The dried shrimp they used were soybean-sized, with no shell or feet-which is not easy for shrimp of that size, most likely hand-removed by the restaurant. The Rice Noodle Roll itself was tender and juicy, and the sauce was so elegant.

XO Sauce Beef Honeycomb Tripe Lo Mein $12.95 – 5/5 This one had two drawbacks. Firstly, it wasn't all honeycomb tripe but combined with regular tripe, which is much cheaper. Secondly, it was dark brown instead of golden in color compared with the picture on the menu. If they wanted, I could teach them how to cook golden-colored beef tripe. But the whole dish still deserves 5 stars. The beef tripe was so soft yet still chewable. By the way, the tripe was cleaned very well without any fat attached. The Lo Mein noodles were cooked just right with very tasty XO sauce. You could even find dried shrimp and dried scallop slices at the bottom of the plate, indicating they used very good quality XO sauce, most likely Lee Kum Kee (李錦記).

Ribs and Sun-Dried Veggie Porridge $8.95 + Pork Liver $3 – 4/5 Sorry, I can't give it 5 stars. The dried veggies lacked the special aroma they should have. The salted ribs were not preserved well and also lacked the special aroma they should have had. The porridge itself was authentic, and especially the pork liver was very good. These were the thickest pork liver slices I had ever seen. I've cooked for more than 40 years but could never imagine pork liver could be cooked so thick. The texture of the pork liver was tender and sponge-like-very interesting. I don't know how to cook it this way, but I will study it.

I was supposed to give the café 5 stars, but eventually I gave it 4. Not because of the food-the food tasted very good-but because there were so many wrong Chinese characters on the menu. It's like being a spelling pedant in English. The menu used Traditional Chinese, which is used in Hong Kong and Taiwan, but Mainland China uses Simplified Chinese. This menu combined both character systems together. For example: 「咸」 should be 「鹹」 「云」 should be 「雲」 「面」 should be 「麵」 「干」 should be 「乾」 「净」 should be 「淨」 「潤」 should be 「膶」 「猪」 should be 「豬」

Anyway, it's a good restaurant, very authentic, and...

Nestled in its modest space, Mr. Champion invites patrons to savor the essence of Cantonese cuisine with a menu that may be succinct but is rich in authentic flavors. The small size of the restaurant doesn't hinder its service; on the contrary, the staff's attentiveness adds to the overall dining experience.

During our visit, we sampled the BBQ pork rice roll and the fried rice noodle with shredded pork. The culinary magic unfolded as each bite revealed a symphony of flavors, highlighting the skillful use of the wok, resulting in that coveted wok hei essence. The dishes were not only delicious but also a testament to the restaurant's dedication to maintaining the true spirit of Cantonese cooking.

The rice rolls, while undoubtedly tasty, did leave us wanting more due to their petite portions. However, the quality of the ingredients and the expert execution compensated for the size. It's worth noting that Mr. Champion is an excellent choice for those seeking an authentic Cantonese breakfast or lunch experience. The simplicity of the menu ensures a focus on quality, making it a haven for aficionados of comforting...

It's an unpleasant experience eating here. We have just step into the restaurant, not even sitting down. The waitress is so rude asking me what I am holding, impolitely asking whether I hold coffee or what? I said it was a drink. She said, you can not bring it in if it's a drink. The waitress is so rude, influencing customers' mood to order, to eat. We would never ever come to eat here next time. Since We are first time customers, the waitress can let us sit and later politely tell me not to bring the drink instead of judging or arrogantly requiring or questioning customers!!! What attitude the waitress has! She can let customers sit, or after settled, then politely tell customer!!! Very unpleasant experience!!! Never come again. The waitress is so rude, impolite...