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Sashimi from Yama Seafood
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15 Essential Restaurants in San Gabriel

Where new-school Chinese meets old-school institutions

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Sashimi from Yama Seafood
| @GastronomyBlog

While the city of San Gabriel may be best known for its regional Chinese offerings, scratch beneath the dumplings and hand-pulled noodles to reveal a treasure trove of lesser-known gems. From an old-school Italian deli with a cold case full of salume to a Japanese fish market with the deftest knife skills, San Gabriel serves up all that is good to eat. Here now are the 15 essential restaurants in San Gabriel.

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Yama Seafood

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Crowds line up at all hours for Mr. Yama’s reasonably priced and carefully sliced sashimi. While the selection is mostly basic — tuna, yellowtail, and salmon — the quality can’t be beat. Round out the sashimi spread with seaweed salads and rolls that can be found in the refrigerated section.

Yama Seafood
Yama Seafood
@GastronomyBlog

Golden Deli Restaurant

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Vietnamese food is what you’ll find at this perpetually busy, efficiently run, and solid-as-can-be restaurant. Come for the blistered cha gio stuffed with ground pork and Woodear mushrooms. Then, settle in for a bowl of pho, a platter of broken rice, or a bowl of cool vermicelli noodles.

Cha Gio at Golden Deli
Golden Deli Restaurant
Boss and Boss E./Yelp

One One Dumpling

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Even though this dumpling shop is no longer called Luscious Dumplings, its wares are still quite luscious. The most popular item is the pork-filled, pan-fried dumplings. The filling is a simple mixture of ground meat and chives, while the skins are pliable and not too thick. An intense sear crisps and caramelizes the exterior, adding some crunch to each bite.

One One Dumpling
One One Dumpling
Phillip L./Yelp

Hui Tou Xiang Noodles House

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It is hard to stand out in a crowded dumpling market, but this place manages to do so with its expertly made pork and crab soup dumplings, as well as its pan-fried pork potstickers.

Hui tou dumplings at Hui Tou Xiang.
Hui Tou Xiang Noodles House
@GastronomyBlog

Omar Restaurant

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The Islamic Uyghur cooking found here is a touch greasy, quite musky, and always most satisfactory. Omar’s shou la mian, ropey hand-pulled noodles that are characteristic of the genre, have an unbeatable bite—toothsome to the 10th power. Reminiscent of the staples of Northern China is the “Meat Pie,” a deep-fried Frisbee stuffed with minced lamb and carrot that tastes even better drizzled in chili oil.

Omar’s
Omar Restaurant
Yelp

Newport Seafood Restaurant

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What keeps this place perpetually packed is the house-special lobster, live crustaceans fished from tanks and stir-fried with heaps of chopped chilies, scallions, roe, and garlic. The hunks of lobster are considerately cracked before landing on a platter slathered in the aromatic sauce.

Newport Seafood Restaurant
Newport Seafood Restaurant
@GastronomyBlog

This sophomore effort from Tony Xu of Chengdu Taste, serves up Chongqing-style noodles and dumplings. While the egg and tomato noodles are seriously slurp-able, it’s the simply named pork dumplings that really impresses. The meat-stuffed crescents are served in a garlicky and sweet soy-chili sauce that keeps crowds coming back for more.

A bowl of noodles with spicy pork on top.
Mian
Yelp

Long Xing Ji Juicy Dumpling

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Famous for its enormous dumplings, Wang Xing Ji is the first American branch of a popular dumpling house in Wuxi. In addition to the famously large soup dumplings, order the red braised spareribs and crispy eels.

Long Xing Ji Juicy Dumpling
Long Xing Ji Juicy Dumpling
@GastronomyBlog

Com Tam Thuan Kieu

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Broken rice served with a plethora of proteins is what it’s all about at this long-standing restaurant. There’s shredded pork dusted in roasted rice powder, pork meatloaf, grilled shrimp paste, grilled pork, and so on. Make sure to get a fried egg to top it all off.

Com Tam Thuan Kieu Restaurant
Com Tam Thuan Kieu
Ha T./Yelp

Lu's Garden

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The best time to visit this porridge palace is during lunch where diners are greeted with a buffet of side dishes. Choose from a panoply of vegetable, meat, and offal preparations, like blistered green beans, snappy bamboo shoots, tender pigs’ feet, and twice-cooked pork. Everything pairs well with the fortifying porridge.

Porridge and side dishes at Lu’s Garden.
Lu’s Garden
GastronomyBlog

Boston Lobster Seafood Restaurant (粵唯鮮)

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While the restaurant’s name might lead one to expect lobster rolls served on split top buns and towers of gloriously fresh oysters, the focus here is seafood prepared with a Vietnamese-Chinese bent. Every table orders the house-special lobster with garlic noodles and the shaking beef.

Boston Lobster Seafood Restaurant (粵唯鮮)
Boston Lobster Seafood Restaurant (粵唯鮮)
@GastronomyBlog

Pho Ngoon

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The specialty here is Northern Vietnam’s greatest hits. The bun cha, the region’s quintessential dish, comes with charbroiled pork patties and pork belly soaking in fish sauce. An order of the nem cua be, beautifully blistered crab and pork egg rolls, is an absolute must.

Pho Ngoon
Pho Ngoon
GastronomyBlog

Nha Trang Kitchen Restaurant

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The menu here is refreshingly pared down. There’s pho, of course, and a few banh mi, but the specialty here, as the restaurant’s name denotes, are noodle soups from Central Vietnam. The bun bo hue, spicy beef noodle soup with lemongrass, soothes and satisfies with a little heat and pig’s feet for good measure.

<span data-author="2715">Nha Trang Noodle House Restaurant </span>
Nha Trang Kitchen Restaurant
GastronomyBlog

Claro's Italian Market

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Claro’s Italian Market has been providing fancy imported Italian goods to Eastside dwellers since 1948. The market’s deli is especially of note, with made-to-order sandwiches, prepared foods, cold cuts, and desserts for the taking.

Claro’s Italian Market
Claro’s Italian Market
Lisa W./Yelp

Ducks Restaurant

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The decidedly old school vibe at this mom and pop Japanese spot immediately puts diners at ease. Whether appetites call for breaded pork katsu or homey curry served over rice, everything tastes lovingly made by a Japanese matriarch.

Ducks Restaurant
Ducks Restaurant
Daniel L./Yelp

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Yama Seafood

Crowds line up at all hours for Mr. Yama’s reasonably priced and carefully sliced sashimi. While the selection is mostly basic — tuna, yellowtail, and salmon — the quality can’t be beat. Round out the sashimi spread with seaweed salads and rolls that can be found in the refrigerated section.

Yama Seafood
Yama Seafood
@GastronomyBlog

Golden Deli Restaurant

Vietnamese food is what you’ll find at this perpetually busy, efficiently run, and solid-as-can-be restaurant. Come for the blistered cha gio stuffed with ground pork and Woodear mushrooms. Then, settle in for a bowl of pho, a platter of broken rice, or a bowl of cool vermicelli noodles.

Cha Gio at Golden Deli
Golden Deli Restaurant
Boss and Boss E./Yelp

One One Dumpling

Even though this dumpling shop is no longer called Luscious Dumplings, its wares are still quite luscious. The most popular item is the pork-filled, pan-fried dumplings. The filling is a simple mixture of ground meat and chives, while the skins are pliable and not too thick. An intense sear crisps and caramelizes the exterior, adding some crunch to each bite.

One One Dumpling
One One Dumpling
Phillip L./Yelp

Hui Tou Xiang Noodles House

It is hard to stand out in a crowded dumpling market, but this place manages to do so with its expertly made pork and crab soup dumplings, as well as its pan-fried pork potstickers.

Hui tou dumplings at Hui Tou Xiang.
Hui Tou Xiang Noodles House
@GastronomyBlog

Omar Restaurant

The Islamic Uyghur cooking found here is a touch greasy, quite musky, and always most satisfactory. Omar’s shou la mian, ropey hand-pulled noodles that are characteristic of the genre, have an unbeatable bite—toothsome to the 10th power. Reminiscent of the staples of Northern China is the “Meat Pie,” a deep-fried Frisbee stuffed with minced lamb and carrot that tastes even better drizzled in chili oil.

Omar’s
Omar Restaurant
Yelp

Newport Seafood Restaurant

What keeps this place perpetually packed is the house-special lobster, live crustaceans fished from tanks and stir-fried with heaps of chopped chilies, scallions, roe, and garlic. The hunks of lobster are considerately cracked before landing on a platter slathered in the aromatic sauce.

Newport Seafood Restaurant
Newport Seafood Restaurant
@GastronomyBlog

Mian

This sophomore effort from Tony Xu of Chengdu Taste, serves up Chongqing-style noodles and dumplings. While the egg and tomato noodles are seriously slurp-able, it’s the simply named pork dumplings that really impresses. The meat-stuffed crescents are served in a garlicky and sweet soy-chili sauce that keeps crowds coming back for more.

A bowl of noodles with spicy pork on top.
Mian
Yelp

Long Xing Ji Juicy Dumpling

Famous for its enormous dumplings, Wang Xing Ji is the first American branch of a popular dumpling house in Wuxi. In addition to the famously large soup dumplings, order the red braised spareribs and crispy eels.

Long Xing Ji Juicy Dumpling
Long Xing Ji Juicy Dumpling
@GastronomyBlog

Com Tam Thuan Kieu

Broken rice served with a plethora of proteins is what it’s all about at this long-standing restaurant. There’s shredded pork dusted in roasted rice powder, pork meatloaf, grilled shrimp paste, grilled pork, and so on. Make sure to get a fried egg to top it all off.

Com Tam Thuan Kieu Restaurant
Com Tam Thuan Kieu
Ha T./Yelp

Lu's Garden

The best time to visit this porridge palace is during lunch where diners are greeted with a buffet of side dishes. Choose from a panoply of vegetable, meat, and offal preparations, like blistered green beans, snappy bamboo shoots, tender pigs’ feet, and twice-cooked pork. Everything pairs well with the fortifying porridge.

Porridge and side dishes at Lu’s Garden.
Lu’s Garden
GastronomyBlog

Boston Lobster Seafood Restaurant (粵唯鮮)

While the restaurant’s name might lead one to expect lobster rolls served on split top buns and towers of gloriously fresh oysters, the focus here is seafood prepared with a Vietnamese-Chinese bent. Every table orders the house-special lobster with garlic noodles and the shaking beef.

Boston Lobster Seafood Restaurant (粵唯鮮)
Boston Lobster Seafood Restaurant (粵唯鮮)
@GastronomyBlog

Pho Ngoon

The specialty here is Northern Vietnam’s greatest hits. The bun cha, the region’s quintessential dish, comes with charbroiled pork patties and pork belly soaking in fish sauce. An order of the nem cua be, beautifully blistered crab and pork egg rolls, is an absolute must.

Pho Ngoon
Pho Ngoon
GastronomyBlog

Nha Trang Kitchen Restaurant

The menu here is refreshingly pared down. There’s pho, of course, and a few banh mi, but the specialty here, as the restaurant’s name denotes, are noodle soups from Central Vietnam. The bun bo hue, spicy beef noodle soup with lemongrass, soothes and satisfies with a little heat and pig’s feet for good measure.

<span data-author="2715">Nha Trang Noodle House Restaurant </span>
Nha Trang Kitchen Restaurant
GastronomyBlog

Claro's Italian Market

Claro’s Italian Market has been providing fancy imported Italian goods to Eastside dwellers since 1948. The market’s deli is especially of note, with made-to-order sandwiches, prepared foods, cold cuts, and desserts for the taking.

Claro’s Italian Market
Claro’s Italian Market
Lisa W./Yelp

Ducks Restaurant

The decidedly old school vibe at this mom and pop Japanese spot immediately puts diners at ease. Whether appetites call for breaded pork katsu or homey curry served over rice, everything tastes lovingly made by a Japanese matriarch.

Ducks Restaurant
Ducks Restaurant
Daniel L./Yelp

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