The Best Chinese Restaurant In Los Angeles You Probably Never Heard Of

People have always been on the lookout for those hole-in-the-wall, under the radar dining gems.  But these kinds of restaurants seldom exist these days with every millennial being a foodie, and food discoveries instantaneously disseminated on social media, Yelp reviews and message boards.  Having said that, one of the best Cantonese restaurants (and probably the one with the most different array of dishes) in Los Angeles is one that most people haven't heard of, Embassy Kitchen in San Gabriel.

Everybody knows the top tier Hong Kong style restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley--Sea Harbour, King Hua, Elite and Lunasia top most lists, with China Red, Happy Harbor, Grand Harbor and Shi Hai mentioned in the next tier.  Embassy Kitchen is different because it is not a giant seafood palace with conspicuous tanks of live seafood.  Indeed, it was probably an afterthought when it opened up in 1999 as Embassy Billiard, reflecting the fact that it was in front of, and adjunct to the pool hall of the same name.  And seventeen years later, while "insiders" know about the gems served here, it's still under the radar.

It's hard to describe what makes Embassy Kitchen so good, aside from the fact that the food tastes good and there are many seldom seen Hong Kong style dishes served here.  And the different dishes here are hard to categorize, as they range from homestyle to the upscale, some of which need to be ordered a day or two in advance.  But perhaps what obscures the food here is the fact that there is an extensive Chinese language only menu supplement, not translated into English as the owner admits because he doesn't know how to correctly describe the dishes.  These dishes are listed on the inside front and back covers of the menu, and I think the best thing to do is just to list them here.

Inside front cover:

Tilapia rolls with picked vegetables and whole bone carcass

Boneless chicken stuffed with shrimp paste

Boneless chicken stuffed with sticky rice

Pan fried tilapia

Pumpkin with burdock

Spare ribs in vinegar

Bitter million crab meat omelet

Mustard green with chicken and sausage

Spare rib hot pot

 Celery with pork and peppers

Pan fried chicken/sausage/chestnut patty

Vegetable goji berry soup

Clear rice noodles with cabbage, egg and dried scallop

Pork and Japanese yam in X.O. sauce

Beef with string beans in Maggi sauce

Steamed eggplant with dry scallop and ground pork

Fatty beef with mixed mushrooms in Korean bbq sauce

French style tenderloin

Inside back cover:

Baked crab in clay pot

Melon with fresh bean curd skin

 Ground pork/bok choy/dried bean curd skin soup

Pork neck with celery

Spare rib with preserved mustard greens and dried shrimp soup

3 ingredients chicken with chestnuts

Japanese style sea bass

Sea bass with tofu with shrimp paste

Sea bass mustard green soup

 Steamed eggs with tofu and mixed seafood

Abalone mushroom with spinach

 Garlic spare ribs

Chinese sausage with napa

Stuffed chicken wings

Sea bass with mushroom and tofu

Steamed tilapia with sliced pork and lemon

Lamb with two mushrooms

 English menu highlights:

Crab fried rice

Imitation shark fin with egg white

House special chicken

Stuffed duck

French style beef stew
Fried pork leg
Boneless stuffed tilipia