Little Skewer — Restaurant in Monterey Park

A hidden gem if you would like some no frills drinks and snacks with your friends! (I would technically give it 4.5 stars, but I round up!)

It is located right on the busy Garvey Ave in Monterey Park, but there is plenty of street parking or you can park in the parking lot behind New Lucky Seafood as long as you make it before ~5pm cause it fills up quickly after that!

Much like the newer dim sum places, they give you a slip of paper as the menu and you just mark down what you want and how much. Start off small cause it is surprisingly filling and it adds up pretty quickly! And honestly, your table will not have enough space for all the plates, lol.

My friends and I split it family style and we usually get the same things: garlic enoki mushroom, clam vermicelli, cheesy corn, grilled scallops, beef belly skewers, lamb skewers, pork belly skewers, and grilled tofu skin skewers. We toss up the drinks between peach, strawberry, and plum wine shots.

The garlic enoki mushrooms are delicious and full of flavor! The sauce/dressing doesn't full cover the mushrooms, but you can just give it a swirl. Two people can probably share one plate (or one super mushroom lover, lol).

The clam vermicelli was also good! It comes with ample sauce and ample clams, but a smaller portion of vermicelli. Maybe three people can share one serving?

Cheesy corn is good always, lol. It is melted cheese on corn. Can't go wrong with that.

Grilled scallops are a super flavorful and a big mouthful. It is one per order so make sure you order one for each of your party!

The skewers as a whole are decent; 20 pcs for $7-9 is a good deal! It is a couple of small bites per skewer which the server will bring out and leave on a hot plate for you. It is precooked and doesn't actually get hot, but that's okay! It is a hit or miss: sometimes, it is covered in spices and other times, it is barely dressed.

The shots are what I call baby shots, lol. But 24 shots for ~$16, beggars cannot be choosers. I prefer the peach one personally, but the strawberry one and plum is also good!

The servers only come around one or twice during your stay there, but you are pretty self sufficient once you get your entire order. They are quick and attentive when you do need them tho!

All in all, this is a solid spot for hanging out with your friends if you want to drink a little and snack a lot. This is not the place to go if you are looking to get...

Update: Skip the fried squid. It was very fishy and bitter. Everything was still yummy! They had karaoke.

Read some good reviews and decided to give this place a try. I came with my boyfriend on a Thursday night around 5:30pm. There was no wait when we arrived and we got to select any open table. The interior decor was amazing. Loved the old style chinese tavern style. The bar was decorated like the olden style medicine shop and they have alcohol bottle wall and lots of funny signs up. Make sure you try to read all of them. The claw machine was a bit out of place though. There's a chinese chess set in the entrance area. I guess you can wait while you play.

Service was good. Someone was available whenever we flagged them down. We ordered the lamb, beef belly, chicken gristle, chicken skin and pork intestine skewers. Skip the lamb. The rest were pretty yummy. My favorite was the pork intestine (very crispy), the chicken gristle and chicken skin, they both had a sweet cumin taste to it. They have a plate designated for skewers that they use candles to keep the skewers warm.

We also got the garlic enoki (very flavorful another highlight) and the clam vermicelli (delicious as well). We also ordered the Le Shan Qiao Jian Beef (Small) pot. The beef was good very tender but it was light in taste which is why they provided a sauce that went well with it.

We ordered the 3 wine combo which was basically 9 shots of osmanthus, lychee and plum wine (3 each flavor). I like the representation but it didn't really go with the food we were eating. They also provided water in a large jug which is a plus cause I don't like to keep asking for refills.

Lastly we ordered the Black sugar fried rice cake for dessert. It was interesting but I don't recommend. The crust was a bit hard but googy on the inside. Overall one of the better skewers place I've been to. Portions on the skewers are small but that's also why you get so many for each order.

By the time we left, the place was packed. Parking is street as well as they have a small parking lot shared with another restaurant.

I will definitely be back. It's a good place for a group of friends to hang out, eat,...

Extremely Sweet Skewer BBQ – Disappointing Experience

I recently visited Little skewer, hoping to indulge in some savory grilled treats. However, my experience left much to be desired. I have frequented this place numerous times before, but today's visit was a letdown.

To my dismay, the skewers I ordered were unnaturally sweet, almost like ice cream. It was an unexpected and unwelcome flavor profile for a barbecue dish. The sweetness was overpowering, overshadowing any other flavors that might have been present. It was nothing like what I had experienced on my previous visits.

Moreover, when I tried to clean the skewer by whipping it on the napkin, a thick syrup-like substance oozed out. I was astounded to witness this, and I even captured a photo of it (see the second photo I have attached). This made me question whether what I was served was truly a skewer or some sugary concoction in disguise.

Every skewer I received was laden with an excessive amount of sugar. It felt like the focus was more on creating a dessert-like experience rather than offering a satisfying barbecue treat. The balance of flavors was completely off, leaving me unsatisfied and disappointed.

Overall, my visit to this skewer BBQ joint was extremely unsatisfying. The overwhelming sweetness and the peculiar syrup-like residue were major turn-offs. I hope the establishment takes this feedback into account and adjusts their recipe to bring back the savory essence that made me a regular customer in the first place. Until then, I cannot recommend this place for those seeking a traditional skewer...