Hong Kong Cafe Food Finally Comes to LA’s Westside

Ever so gradually the Westside of Los Angeles has turned from a wasteland for Chinese food into one with a decent number of Chinese food options. Where San Gabriel Valley quality food on the Westside was a pipe dream over 30 years ago, actual San Gabriel Valley operations like Din Tai Fung, Haidilao, Northern Cafe and Sichuan Impression among others are now in the neighborhood.

Of course there are lots of gaps. I don’t ever recall a Hong Kong style cafe serving western dishes. I do remember Little Hong Kong Cafe on Sawtelle but I believe it was straight up Cantonese. But this void has just been filled by JM 9 Kitchen in the Colony Kitchen Food Court on Santa Monica Bl. near by Sawtelle Japantown.

 

This tomato pork chop on fried rice is as good as you would find in the San Gabriel Valley.

 

 

Likewise the chicken cutlet with pepper sauce.

 

 

And the fried sole with tartar sauce.

And there are many other similar choices on the menu.

 

Meanwhile there are more traditional Hong Kong cafe dishes for the locals which are excellent too.

 

Salt and pepper chicken wings.

 

Wonton noodles as good as anything in the SGV.

Frankly given the community kitchen venue I’m shocked by how good the quality is here.

Array 36 In San Gabriel; Will Michelin Stars Return to the San Gabriel Valley?

The only Chinese restaurant in the San Gabriel Valley to garner a Michelin star was Bistro Na's in Temple City, which had one star starting in 2019 but lost it in 2022.  Not that Bistro Na's food went downhill, but rather purists had questioned whether their star was really warranted, and perhaps may been a stretch for sake of diversity.  However, just a couple blocks away on the San Gabriel/Temple City border, a new Michelin star contender has emerged with the opening last year of Array 36.  Clearly Array 36 is the only San Gabriel Valley restaurant in the same league as Bistro Na's, in terms of price and quality, so the question is whether Array 36 surpasses Bistro Na's.  

Interestingly, the signature dish at Bistro Na's is their slightly sweet crispy shrimp dish, which is probably ordered at every meal ever served over there, is also on the menu at Array 36.  On that count, the version at Bistro Na's is clearly better.

 

However, there are a lot of great dishes at Array 36.  Their own signature dish is the roast duck.  Regular price is $108, but occasionally involved in some kind of special.  Certainly no better version of this anywhere in the San Gabriel Valley.

 

The beef ribs were a favorite of all of us.

 

As was the porky belly with quail eggs.

 

 

My personal favorite was the crab meat, crab roe tofu dish, one of many inventive dishes on the menu.

 

Truffle fried rice was so flavorful.

 

Live seafood, like this steamed fish, is one way to run up a large bill.

 

Jellyfish head with yuzu was a surprising treat.

 

Not your ordinary vegetable dish of mountain yams, pumpkin, wood ear and snow peas.

 

And how about blueberries infused with yam paste?

 

I don't know particularly what qualifies a restaurant for a Michelin star, but I do think that the inventiveness of the menu is something that might give Array 36 a leg up.