Alice's Kitchen — Restaurant in Monterey Park

Imagine being in the food industry and screwing everything up. When I went to eat here, it was such a bad experience, I usually give the service industry the benefit of the doubt but this is just so bad that there's no excuses.

So first thing that happened was they sat me down. They made me wait for 20 minutes and the restaurant was maybe less than a quarter full. The servers were chatting with each other in full view of us and they didn't care. When they brought me to the table, they didn't clean some gunk off of it. There was oil and it looked like seasoning leftover from the previous customer. Then I looked around, and it didn't even look like anything was clean. There were wet floor signs in the middle of the room(yes the restaurant is just one room), stains on the seats, and there were literal flies in the restaurant.

The food I ordered was steak, but it's very different from the picture. It's really thin, and they overcooked it. I asked the server about it and all he says is "that's what you ordered." After a bit of back and forth, he just LEAVES. They come back later with the check and they tell me "you can't pay with credit card if the order was under $25" I was genuinely confused because I wasn't told about it, NOR did I ever see any signage of it and then the server decided to "show" me by pointing at the wall where you walk in like the interior wall. Unless you have eyes at the back of your head, or you're looking behind you when you walk in, THERE'S NO WAY YOU'RE GOING TO KNOW THAT. So I'm sitting there trying to figure out how I'm going to pay because I didn't bring cash for a couple of minutes until they suggested that I order some more food. It's kind of ridiculous so I told them no and then they said I could Zelle them.

So I sent the money and left but then they started following me out into the parking lot and they were like "You didn't pay the right amount" and I asked them what do you mean. They expected TIP after that. So I went off and asked "Why would I tip you after that? You made me wait, you didn't even care about the food quality, all I see you do is just talk to the other servers, it's not even clean" and then the guy looked like he was gonna try to fight me for that $2 tip. So I left and this dude starts taking pictures of my car like he's going to do something.

Place is a scam. Don't...

This is THE SPOT for your HK Style Breakfast & Lunch fix!!!

I went today on a Weekday when it was raining so there wasn't too bad of a wait. I'm not well connected in this area anymore so, I have to wait like everyone else now, lol. We got seated fairly quickly and because it was the weekday, there were still some available seating. Forget about it on the Weekends!!!

People were STILL seating outside in their tents while it was pouring rain!!! I guess they like that cold wind ambiance?? 😆

I went with their Signature HK Style Noodles. There like 6 sections of 4 or more options of how you can have your noodles. It was pretty amazing to say the least.

My Date got the same noodles as I did and we shared some HK Style Toast which has some condensed milk filling and powdered chocolate topping. It should be comforting for most all cultures if you're weary about trying something unfamiliar. When in doubt, always go with Chicken, lol.

Service could have been a little more attentive though, they still do a good job with how busy they get. TIP WELL STILL, they work hard for it with no complaints or sour face while doing Their Job.

Restaurant was very clean with a cool lighted mirror and funny tiles in both English and Chinese about bathroom hygiene fundamentals 😂 Their Kitchen looked spotless and polished👌

Parking Lot is always FULL so, Park on the Side Streets and MAKE SURE to READ the Street Parking Signs. If I remember correctly, you're good except for One Day Street Sweeping. It may be Thursdays.

I can't wait to come back and try...

As much as I enjoy dining at Hong Kong style cafes/restaurants, Alice's Kitchen is mediocre at best. The service here is extremely slow and during certain times, it's non-existent. While waiting in line, I asked the host why there was empty tables outside in the patio that aren't filled. His response was rude and condescending, something I didn't expect from a restaurant that just opened. The food is okay here and given the fact the owners here were the original owners for Delicious Food Corner, I seriously prefer DFC than this spot. Workers are nicer and the food tastes better in my opinion. I had high expectations since they were the original DFC owners but they didn't meet my high expectations. DFC's location in San Gabriel honestly is better than this place and closer to me.

When you finally sit down, getting a server's attention is nearly impossible. After flagging down someone, he informs me that he's new and he can't take orders and he has to find someone else. It's the same thing for refills on your drink, it takes awhile until someone can refill it for you. While dining, I've seen other patrons getting up from their tables and pouring their own iced water that they got from the kitchen bar...yes it's that kind of service. I hope this place hires more workers to keep up with the pace of customers because it's...