P P Pop Taiwanese Noodle Restaurant — Restaurant in Monterey Park

We saw that P P Pop had the typical Taiwanese dishes we enjoy, and with the fairly high rating we decided to try it out. Yelp had a waitlist option available but when we arrived, the Yelp iPad stand was turned off and we were given a paper number slip. So beware if you check in on Yelp - you might still need to check in person!

PARKING - Smaller lot that shares parking with a supermarket. We went around 1pm and the lot was full.

SERVICE/ENVIRONMENT - As mentioned before, we arrived thinking our Yelp check-in would allow us to be seated immediately but we still had to wait another 5-10 minutes for a table to be cleared off. The interior is quite snug, with not much room in-between each table seating. Service was quite quick throughout, we didn't wait long for our food after we ordered.

FOOD - Popcorn Chicken ($8.50): You get a decent amount of chicken! You can choose spice levels - we got mild but this was pretty spicy for being mild. It was tolerable but it definitely left a tingly feeling. Really crispy and crunchy, although there was a lot of crumb bits on the bottom without meat.

Pan Fried Pork Bao (6pc - $10.50): Be patient and allow these to cool with a hole poked through or else you'll burn your mouth with the hot meat juices inside! The ratio of Bao to Meat was pretty good and the flavor was yummy. I always like eating these with Black Vinegar and Chili Oil which they have on the table.

Beef Roll ($12.99): This was probably my favorite dish out of everything we ordered. The pancake was nice and crispy and flaky, and the beef inside wasn't too dry. The hoisin sauce and other ingredients were perfectly balanced too!

House Special Beef Noodle Soup ($13.50): This was definitely a dish we wanted to try, but it might have been the most disappointing out of everything. The beef was VERY tender, but that was the only part that stood out to me. The broth wasn't as flavorful as I thought it was going to be, and half of the noodles were clumped together on the bottom. We also added a preserved egg for $1.50, but it was just an over hard boiled egg with slight flavoring. The beef was definitely the star of this dish, and I'm glad they gave a decent amount.

OVERALL - Pretty delicious meal overall, and the prices aren't terribly high. I would recommend the Beef Roll for sure, and the other dishes would be good additions if you have a...

What We Ordered Ox Tail Stew Noodle Soup House Special Rice Noodle Soup Sour and Spice Beef Noodle Soup Steamed Pork XLB Steamed Scallop, Crab and Pork XLB Fried Leek Dumplings

Alright, so this is based on two trips. No way would I recommend anyone ordering this much food unless they WANT leftovers. The portions for the noodle soups are hugeeeeeee! Not only do they come in a humongous bowl, I swear there is no way you can even make a dent in it. Generous portions of meat and noodles. Come almost starving since food does take a while to come out and there is always a wait unless you come when they open.

I would pass on the future for the Ox Tail Stew Noodle Soup. The broth was on the bland side. I dumped a lot of chili oil to compensate for the lack of flavor. It did not taste good later on that day. The chili oil had something in it that made it have a funky after taste. Cannot explain it.

My mom enjoyed House Special Rice Noodle Soup. Her broth was 200 times better than mine!!! So much flavor and it comes with different varieties of meat. We shared the Pork XLB. It was different than the regular ones you can get at Mama Lu's or Din Tai Fung. It had a slight peanut flavor that actually works well together. Downside is that they break really easily.

We went again with my sister. My mom and I did not make the mistake of over ordering and just stuck with the dumplings. Super hard pass on the Scallop, Crab and Pork XLB. My mom hated this dish. She said it was too fishy smelling/tasting. I ended up eating them all, which was fine but, I agree that the regular Pork XLB were far better. It didn't taste fresh if that makes any sense.

The Fried Leek Dumplings were surprisingly good. They even have some soup inside even though they were fried! I have never experienced that before. Highly recommend if you want a different texture than the streamed XLB. My sister really liked her Sour and Hot Beef Noodle Soup. The broth was really tasty and was not overly spicy for her since she can't do super hot. We will...

As I sit here, at Tokyo Fried Chicken for second dinner, after just having come from PPPop, my friends and I feel the need to tell you the truth. Firstly, nobody in the restaurant knew why it was called P P Pop. This should have been red flag #1. While the wait staff was very friendly, and helpful with suggestions, the resulting "best dishes" didn't compare to other restaurants in the area. We are very lucky to have some GREAT places nearby, so I feel the Yelp reviews for this one should not put it on the same level. Overall the dishes were bland. In detail (with alternative options): Fried chicken popcorn chicken bits - these were the highlight of the meal, and still, these are outclassed by the surprising winner in this category, Ten Ren's Tea Time. Unevenly spiced, but come on people, it's fried chicken. It's gonna pretty good no matter what. In fact, it inspired us to go to second dinner at a better fried chicken place. House special beef noodle soup - the beef in the soup was great. Unfortunately the broth is much more defined at Tried and True Mama Lu's.

Beef chow fun - insanely underwhelming. Not enough flavor, or color, and beef pieces thin and gristly.

Dry and Spicy Noodle - this is more of a Szechuan dish, with the tingly spice known as Mala. Besides that flavor, it was bland.

Pan fried pork shrimp and leek dumplings - uphold to us by the waitress and had an overwhelming shrimp flavor. Novel presentation though with a crispy connective bottom.

XLB (juicy pork dumplings) - they call them something different, but these are indeed the cheapest of this type in town. Also the largest. I do not think these rival mama lu's, which is nearby and better on all accounts. These were very juicy, but still, underwhelming unfortunately.

Big standout here was the ice water, which had a distinctive lime flavor that was quite refreshing.

In summary: come here for the water! For everything else, try other options, you...