Tasty Noodle House — Restaurant in Los Angeles

In an area of the city with primarily Japanese food, I was excited to try a new Chinese restaurant.

The Bad----

Xiao Long Bao - rating 1.5/5 I'm a huge fan of soup dumplings from places like Din Tai Fung & Mama Lu's, so I tried them here. I was very disappointed - they were almost hard on the outside with very little soup filling. The meat portion reminded me of a McDonald's burger flavor.

Shanghai grilled pork bun $10.50 for 8 - rating 2.75/5 Very few places serve these, so I was excited to try them. The flavor was pretty good and the inside had more soup than the xiao long bao, but the bun was undercooked. The bun was so doughy that it was almost off putting to eat. The bottom part of the bun was perfectly crispy though, which was a plus side.

The Good --

Thai Fried Rice $10.50 - 3.75/ 5 This was not bad. It didn't taste quite like Thai fried rice to me, but it tasted fresh and was a generous portion.

Eggplant with mushrooms & basil $11.99 - 4/5 This was my favorite dish of the night. Flavorful, large portion, and...

Nothing outstanding or particularly worth noting. It is pretty typical Chinese food, lots of options to choose from along with some more unique options such as snails and pig ear. Also to note that it does have lamb, which is typically eaten only a small part of China. So points on having some interesting food options. But in terms of quality, it's pretty average. Sure it's a step above a fast food place such as Panda Express, but really it's rather average in taste. I honestly cannot say it stood out to me at any point versus any other Chinese spot, and considering this place sits in the middle of the hub of Japanese food mecca, it feels rather out of place. If I wanted Chinese food, I would much rather go to Chinatown and really I end up in this part of town for the Ramen. This place is actually similar to Chinatown restaurants, but being on the west side means it's more pricey. So not really worth...

The Baseline: For a Chinese restaurant the food must be fresh, classic dishes need to be executed with skill, accompaniment sides must match with the style, and the plating must be of good presentation.

Food: This is a good Chinese food restaurant with good use of Chinese ingredients/spices. I had the lunch special chicken Kung Pao Delight and Beef house fried rice. The chicken was spicy and not overly so and the fried rice was well crisped and meaty. The lunch special deal is really well priced for being on Sawtelle.

Service: Good service and my water glass was kept full. Dishes came out at the same time and staff was friendly.

Ambiance: Good location and the restaurant has well placed seating and flow in and out of the dining area. There is an outdoor patio section with...