Spicy And Tasty 成都味道 — Restaurant in San Gabriel

I am very sorry for myself, because they stopped selling Ma-La Duck Blood Cake (麻辣鴨血). That was the reason I returned to the restaurant. I can cook every dish on the menu, but I couldn't find raw duck blood. What a pity.

Let's talk about the food:

Fresh Tripe with Sauce 撈汁鮮毛肚 5/5 As good as before, but this time the book tripe was a little thinner than before. Still worth 5, though the texture was a slight drawback.

Spicy Stir-Fried Pork Liver & Kidney 十八秒肝腰合炒 5/5 I gave it a 3 in the last review, but this time it was really good--textbook good. By the way, the kidney portion was just right this time.

Anyway, still a good restaurant. I will call in advance about the duck blood cake before I go there next time.

-----------last review------------- It’s a small restaurant—reminded me of hidden gems like Ming Ting (明婷) in Chengdu.

I have a friend who normally invites me to high-end restaurants. He’s a spice lover from Kunming, Yunnan. He recently found this restaurant, and it eventually became his family pantry.

It’s a mom-and-pop restaurant—the wife is the cashier and the husband is the chef. It has only a few four-seat tables, and the two tables in the middle can be pushed together to seat more customers.

We were waiting for more friends to arrive, so we started with the cold boxed spicy duck wings and feet. I always say that cold dishes are for waiting friends.

Let’s take a look at all the dishes: Spicy Duck Wings and Spicy Duck Feet 辣滷鴨翅 辣滷鴨掌 5/5 VERY, VERY spicy—be careful. I was sweating after eating just one pair of each. The spicy flavor was strong and authentic.

Chengdu Boiled Roast Duck 成都特色冒烤鴨 5/5 The dish had instant noodles and bean sprouts underneath to support the toppings—a common Chinese technique to make the portion look bigger. The whole bowl contained roast duck, duck blood cubes, and beef slices in red chili oil soup. It was flavorful and not salty, which is my favorite style. A bit pricey—probably the second most expensive item on the menu.

Fresh Tripe with Juice 撈汁鮮毛肚 5/5 Served ice-cold—even with ice cubes in the bowl. Extremely fresh and tasty. This was the best raw beef book tripe I’ve ever seen in Los Angeles—better than what I can buy at the market. The tripe was thick, white, and crispy, with excellent texture. Strongly recommended.

Ma-La Duck Blood Cake 麻辣鴨血 5/5 The duck blood cake was tender and smooth. You’d usually get 8 pieces at a hot pot restaurant for $8, but here you get a whole bowl for $17.99—totally worth it. Trust me, order it.

Ma-Po Tofu 麻婆豆腐 4/5 My friend considers this the best Ma-Po Tofu in Southern California. I have to say, I’ve had better—it’s good, but not worth 5 stars.

House Special Stir-Fried Cabbage 手撕包菜 4/5 Good flavor, but the cabbage itself wasn’t ideal. They used the common tight, round cabbage instead of the lighter, flat kind—if you know what I mean.

Pickled Veggies with Mullet Filet 4/5 They used pre-marinated, packaged fish filet. It was okay. Flavor was okay too—no surprises.

Spicy Stir-Fried Pork Liver & Kidney 十八秒肝腰合炒 3/5 We’ve ordered this dish multiple times—each time it’s different. Sometimes good, sometimes overcooked and quite chewy. By the way, the portion of kidney was too small—you had to dig under the liver to find any. The name sounds scary—liver and kidney. But yes, it's pork liver and pork kidney.

Cold Cucumber with Garlic 3/5 So-so. Not remarkable.

Mala Dry Pot with Fatty Intestines 3/5 Also so-so. A bit too oily.

Summary: Overall, a good restaurant. Only a few places ever get 5...

Came here because my wife loves golden soup fatty beef (our go to for that is Fish With You in Rowland Heights), and my friends recommended this place for it. Unfortunately we felt this one lacked depth of flavor and the beef was too tough and fatty.

We also ordered the cold cucumbers which had good flavor but felt a bit too oily. The wok cabbage (手撕包菜) was also a bit too oily and lacked depth of flavor, and I wish it had some edible pieces of pork in it rather than just tiny strips of fat.

One plus was large portions for reasonable prices. The restaurant seems to be run by just one couple - the wife does everything in the front of the house while the husband is the cook. You have to go through the kitchen to go to the restroom, so I got to see how the kitchen operates - a bit messy, but I don't have much to compare to. This meant food came out somewhat slowly. The wife was polite but mostly quiet as she served the tables.

Also, pretty sure they put a lot of MSG in everything because we knocked out when we got home and my wife felt...

It’s a Sichuan place crowded only with locals—inside it smells of numbing peppers and fresh scallions. The mapo tofu was hot, numbing, and wonderfully chaotic. The décor is unpolished, practical—like they want you to focus on the spice. I left with tingling lips and a full belly. A...