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A & J Restaurant
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
86 reviews for A & J Restaurant
Review Highlights
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"Seriously, BEST BEEF NOODLE SOUP EVER." In 29 reviews -
"The honey green tea is the best." In 3 reviews -
"I prefer my xiao long bao moist and juicy." In 4 reviews
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86 reviews in English
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Review from Ivan L.
Bellflower, CA
5/21/2012
I love this place because of the shiek atmosphere there. We went for an early dinner and there weren't many people there but lots of people kept coming in for take out.
We had their spicy wontons, beef rolls, fried pork chop noodles, and beef tendon noodles. All were delicious. Their noodles were home made and simple delicious. Portions are not too large but not too small either, probably the right amount a person should eat without being overly full. In total with tax and tip, it was $40 for three people. -
Review from David C.
El Monte, CA
5/11/2012 1 Check-in Here
This place used to be in Alhambra on Valley Blvd. It was better back then.
The chicken rice used to include soup and lots of veggies. The price has gone up by $1 and they stopped serving soup. The basic elements are still there but I feel disappointed.
They stopped serving chitterlings altogether. The spicy beef tendon seems to have been microwaved, it is not made fresh anymore. *sigh* -
Review from Kassidy C.
Los Angeles, CA
4/25/2012 2 Check-ins Here
Friendly staff and yummy Taiwanese food!
Must try:
Pan fried Beef Bun (you might need to order two, it's that delicious)
Smoked Chicken
Steamed Pork Bun
Spicy beef noodle -
Review from Ann Chi C.
Los Angeles, CA
5/24/2012
Beef stew with wide noodle is good. Steam ribs is a must try. Friendly service. Restaurant is clean & updated.
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Review from WARREN P.
Corona, CA
5/15/2012
Vegetable with pork wonton - authentic!
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Review from Lee L.
2/17/2012
Decent, but drive down the block for better food. I love supporting mom and pop places, but was a little disappointed.
Pan fried dumplings were good, but everything else was meh.
Beef and tendon noodle soup was tough. . . beef wrap was dry . . . .pancake was not worth $3.50 . . .considering mama lu's was $1.99
I shall pass . .
Cash only. -
Review from Mike C.
Monrovia, CA
5/1/2012
Went there a couple of weeks ago with a friend. He had his car in the body shop across the street so we figure we will just have lunch there at A J. I ordered the beef noodle soup which turned out to be a disappointment. The taste was off and was not nearly as good as they were when they were back in san gabriel. I heard they sold the restaurant and is under new management but I am not sure. What I am sure is that the food quality went south since they moved!!
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Review from Joyce L.
Hacienda Heights, CA
2/15/2012
I really enjoy the food here. Much bigger, friendlier and cleaner than the Diamond Bar location. The food's a touch better here too (less stingy with the spicy chili oil).
Recommendations: noodles with peanut powder (I prefer the thick noodles), the wontons with spicy chili oil, and the Beijing yogurt drink (sometimes they run out though). I also like the Chinese sesame biscuit...should be the one with all the soup inside. Not sure if I like the pork or beef better...
The soup dumplings aren't anything to write home about, but my Korean friend loved them :P The scallion pancakes are too thick and doughy here. The pickled cabbage was awful. I usually love anything Taiwanese and sour, but that dish was disgusting.
Generally, the owner is super sweet but I got a little annoyed one night when my friends & I were celebrating my birthday. I think he got the sense that my friends wouldn't mind ordering more and more to make it a special night for me. So he meandered his way in and pushed hard for them to order more drinks and xue hua bing (Taiwanese snow ice) and toppings. I REALLY didn't want for my friends to spend more money and I knew that the xue hua bing wouldn't compare to the authentic ones anyway. I just felt that his tactics were manipulative and in poor taste.
Despite that blip, it's still one of my favorite restaurants.
PS: Don't get the xue hua bing. Order one in Taipei. -
Review from betty c.
Arcadia, CA
Updated - 4/19/2012
Bad food pricy I would never come back
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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3/22/2010
cheap food and decent taste but just too much MSG
I was thirsty all night after dinner here and that… Read more »
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Review from Cynthia Y.
Culver City, CA
1/19/2012 1 Check-in Here
Clean restaurant, pretty interior.
The food to me, was alright. We ordered the beef stew, dry noodles with pork, bean sprouts, and cucumber, and the onion pancake. Everything was a little too greasy. The pancake was way too thick and it tasted oily. The beef stew was ok, but it was too oily and the meat was rough. The dry noodles were better.
You fill out an order form to place your other...the menu is in English but the form is in Chinese. Cash only!!! -
Review from Chris C.
Arcadia, CA
Updated - 3/11/2012 2 photos
Went back again today. This time we ordered sesame paste sauce noodle, pork chop soup noodle and beef noodle soup. Beef noodle is great. Sesame paste sauce noodle is good, but the pork chop and the soup noodle is very plain. We also ordered the snow saved ice. The texture is good, but the pudding is not that good.
Strongly recommend beef thick noodle only.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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3/7/2012
Love beef thick noodle here. Very authentic Taiwanese style boss beef noodle broth and noodles!… Read more »
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Review from Melissa T.
Berkeley, CA
12/28/2011
I tried this restaurant for the first time last night and my experience was so good it's broken me out of Yelp hibernaton
5+ stars for the service. I went there for dinner at 7pm on a Tuesday. It wasn't too crowded, and the employees were EXTREMELY attentive and super nice. I almost felt like I was eating at a friend's home whose Taiwanese mother was showering me with food
5 stars for the space: the tables are pretty far apart so there's not the usual claustrophobic feel of an Asian restaurant. Also super clean
And of course, the food. My friends and I had the beef noodle soup, dan dan mien, wonton noodle soup, thousand layer pancake, beef roll, and some mustard green/tofu veggie dish. LOVED the thousand layer pancake; best one I've had in a while. Noodle dishes were all great as well.
This is definitely a place I'll be coming back to whenever I'm in Arcadia. -
Review from Yi Z.
11/1/2011
This is the ultimate comfort food for me. Even after living in LA for 8 years, I have yet to find a place with better beef noodle soup. The thick noodles have the perfect amount of chewiness. The soup is just spicy enough. The meat is tender and flavorful. I love dipping pieces of thousand layer pancake into the soup to soak up the juices. OMG, I'm getting hungry right now thinking about it.
My childhood was filled with memories of frequenting A&J in Cupertino. This one is bigger, cleaner and nicer but the food is equally delicious. But why must this A&J be so far from my place? If I lived closer, I'd be there 3x a week.
Even though the shaved snow didn't exactly live up to my expectations, I was still so happy after my meal at A&J. Seriously, BEST BEEF NOODLE SOUP EVER!Listed in: Authentic Chinese Restaurants
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Review from Neen H.
Temple City, CA
11/12/2011 2 Check-ins Here
This is the 2nd location A&J has. When me & my husband moved here we were bummed because we thought we'd have to drive to Irvine to get this yummy beef noodle soup...but we were pleasantly surprised to find that A&J was in Arcadia!!!
The Good:
The Beef Noodle Soup with handmade thick noodles is where its at! Also the pan-fried dumplings & onion pancake are our usual purchases. All will not disappoint!
NOTE: the beef noodle soup is spicy, you can ask for it to be non-spicy or extra spicy.
The service is great and even their tea drinks are pretty yummy. The honey green tea is the best.
Everything is affordable...sometimes I wonder why they don't charge more.
The Bad:
They don't have a kids menu. They don't really serve any rice or vegetable dishes. I would like more variety on the menu.
Highly recommended! -
Review from Andrew F.
10/28/2011
Just a heads' up? If you don't speak Mandarin, make sure you bring a Mandarin-speaking friend with you here. The waitstaff here are strictly Chinese and don't seem like they have great English comprehension.
I ordered the spicy beef and tendon noodle soup. Well, if you ever need to carboload, this place definitely fits the bill since 60% of the bowl was filled with noodles. They gave me 4 pieces of beef and 4 pieces of tendon, that's it. Then it was noodles and spicy soup. It was priced at $6.95 - a dollar more than what I can find at most other places in the area.
The beef was kind of tough, got stuck in my teeth a lot. The tendon was actually pretty good. The noodles were good noodles, except none of the soup was absorbed by the noodles, so they were bland and tasteless.
What could have helped was if they served it with pickled vegetables [suan tsai].
They also serve an assortment of buns, baos, noodles, and rice - similar to the offerings at Mandarin Noodle Deli.
The service was extremely overtaxed, as two people had to service the whole restaurant. I had to ask for water 3 times before it got to me. They were very rushed, pushy, and inadvertently rude.
One random thing that they serve here is shaved snow. I guess if you buy the machine, you're able to keep up with the Joneses, even if it has nothing to do with the rest of your menu. My friends ordered the mango shaved snow with condensed milk and green beans. It was 'okay', but being a person that doesn't care for shaved snow, the stuff didn't impress me here.
A&J is located where Las Tunas and Live Oak intersect in the plaza with the Goodwill. There is plenty of parking available in the plaza lot.
Would I come back? Not on my own choosing. Nothing here is exceptional or stands out. There are better offerings at House of Mandarin Noodle, Dumpling House, and Happy Noodle, all Chinese noodle places in the nearby area. 2.5 stars, but we'll round up to 3. -
Review from Christina H.
Arcadia, CA
10/8/2011
How does this place have such high ratings? I don't understand. The food here is NOT impressive. The food at A&J in Norcal was tons better.
Spicy wontons...were more like.. spicy wads of guck, I could barely pick them up without having them practically dissolve in its own sauce. Oh and the filling? What filling? O.o
Beef noodles...The noodles were awful, they must have been sitting in water waiting for us to order them.
The beef rolls, not quite enough beef, I'm not even a big beef person. =\ The wrap part wasn't that bad, it wasn't as greasy as most places, so it didn't have that greasy flake-off layer.. but it also came out rather luke-warm...so it might've been re-heated, so less ..crunchy? Don't know.
The only thing that wasn't upsetting was the rice porridge.. but come on...it's pretty hard to get rice porridge wrong. :)
The people/service were/was nice though. Quick tips on their specials and a "enjoy your meal" while they brought the food (which is good for Asian restaurants, since most just bring you food and disappear in hopes you never bother them again....maybe). But the place was empty, we were the only table there. Speaking of table...it was sticky, and why it was so beats me... because if the place is empty... you have plenty of time to wipe down your tables...well.
I might come back because it's on the way home and close to home...but only if there are other customers in there, too, just because I feel like when we talk, even if it's the most 'inside' of 'inside voices,' (and trust, I hate loud convos in restaurants) it sounds loud and sounds like everyone working there can eavesdrop on your conversation, not saying they would. -
Review from Olivia T.
San Gabriel, CA
9/1/2011 6 Check-ins Here
Loooooooove this place! My gf and I always order the same thing every time we go: beef noodle soup (clear broth), spicy wontons, thousand layer pancake, and vegetarian delight.
The spicy wontons are covered in a sauce that's great for dipping the pancake in!!
They also have a buy 1 get 1 free drink special. They used to have passionfruit juice, which was delicious, but not anymore :( so we just get the honey green tea.
Great service, too.
I would give this place 5 stars, but the fact that it's cash only influenced me to deduct a star -
Review from Philip T.
8/21/2011
Way better than the one in irvine, and just as good as the A and E in San Gabriel. The beef noodle ($6.25) was great. Very flavorful. Also try the thousand layer pancake ($3). Cucumbers ($2) were not good at all.
They also shaved ice made with milk ($5). Nice twist, but I didn't like it. Choose from 6 different toppings (.50 each).
Stay away from their pork chop rice ($6). very plain.
Nice decor, friendly service. -
Review from Cindy L.
El Monte, CA
9/9/2011
My sister and I were at Goodwill. We happened to see an ad for shaved snow here and decided to get some.
This place is not non-Chinese friendly. The shaved snow menu was in Chinese. The waitress didn't really speak English. I pointed to the shaved ice picture in the window, so that she knew what I wanted to order. She translated the menu for us, but she seemed annoyed.
We ordered milk shaved snow with pudding and mango. The shaved snow looked like paper sheets, so I thought that was cool. The snow didn't taste milky. The mango tasted overly sweet and syrupy like canned mangos. The pudding was bland. I was so sad they didn't have condensed milk on their shaved snow. Service was really slow. It was difficult to get the waitress's attention.
Shaved snow must be the new craze. It's popping everywhere like those boba and frozen yogurt crazes used to. -
Review from Andrew M.
3/20/2011
One of the worst locations to put a restaurant.
There were ominous signs when we first pulled up in the parking lot; it was a Saturday night around 7:30pm and there was only 1 family in the restaurant. Warning bells started ringing.
Health grade: A? Bad sign for a good Chinese restaurant. (Just kidding, that's not always true.)
I came with a craving for beef noodles, and I'll say they did deliver. Their beef pieces were just the right amount of tenderness and flavorful, and their tendon was cooked well for the dish. I didn't like how their use of "spiciness" involved a small pool of hot oil on the surface of the broth; if you're going to make it spicy, commit in the making, don't make it a last addition.
Their fried pork cutlet rice was decent, although I've had better at other Taiwanese eateries. We also had an overpriced pan fried beef bun; it was just okay.
My biggest gripe with this place is the pricing. It's not that the prices are unreasonable for the food; it's that a restaurant doing this poorly should be offering incentive to draw more customers. There was a good 20 minutes where my family was the only one dining in the restaurant. If they want more customers and survival, they should lower prices slightly (or offer special deals) and advertise more. More customers will make up for the slight loss in profits from the price cut.
If not, I don't see how A & J will survive in a plaza buried in the bottom of Arcadia's residential district that has no consumer appeal whatsoever. -
Review from Diana L.
Fremont, CA
7/9/2011 1 photo
I got the beef noodle soup with thin noodles, potstickers, and some sort of hot buns..I forget the name in english..
Don't order the thin noodles, the thick ones my cousin ordered looked so much better!
I mainly came for the beef noodle soup, which wasn't as great as I had hoped it to be.. it was okay, but ehhh... -
Review from Lillian C.
Arcadia, CA
5/31/2011
This place used to be on Valley and New and they moved closer to me! YES! It's new so everything's pretty clean and that's a plus!
I was craving the beef noodle soup and I was not disappointed! Order it with the thick noodles... it tastes better in my opinion. I think they have BOGO free drinks too! Their side dishes are also pretty good and my favorites are the pig ear and spicy cucumber.
There's amble parking and I think the prices are pretty cheap. They might be cash only tho so check before you go... -
Review from Brittanie B.
Laguna Niguel, CA
10/23/2011 1 photo
Greedy and evil-minded business owner. Couldn't have been worse chinese food ever had. Ordered a Chinese Sesame Biscuit w/slice pork and a pork chop over on rice takeout. Immediately served the food only 5-6 minutes after. It disappointed me as soon as I saw the pork chops. They are so pathetically dried up and rough, yet they only gave it a very little thin piece of meat. It tastes exactly as it was re-cooked after left over for two days. The sesame pork biscuit; biscuit tasted like 5 days old and they put it back to oven for another minutes just to heat it up. The pulled pork inside tasted almost like it was rotten. In fact, I am still suspecting that it could be really rotten but they just used other customer-made sauce to cover up the odor. It was very disgusting. They charged you premium price for the food but yet only give you a way below standard quality. Business like this wants to survive the tough competition, especially in Temple City / Arcadia area? Dream on. It is ok to lose the money you spent in this restaurant, but thinking of what kind of food they are feeding you with, that's what it gets you to the top of your nerve.
DO NOT VISIT THIS RESTAURANT. REPORT TO THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT RIGHT AWAY IF YOU FOUND ANYTHING SUSPICIOUS. AND ASK FOR A STAMPED RECEIPT.
Additional feedback. Now that almost an hour after, my stomach started to get upset. What the heck exactly did they get the pork chop from? And damn that I didn't ask for a receipt. -
Review from Anthony R.
El Monte, CA
1/6/2012
Man this place is the bomb. I had their spicy beef noodle soup with thick noodles and all I could say that it was delish. The interior of this place is nice sorta Japanese style but who cares it's the food that matters. This place also offers side dishes such and cold veggies and other stuff. I also got this beef style buns I don't know what their called but I believe they are $1.50 each. This place is wonderful and I will come back here!
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Review from Eleanor W.
Pasadena, CA
1/1/2012
I love this place. I was so excited when I heard they opened up a branch in Arcadia because I used to have to drive to Diamond Bar or Irvine to get my fix.
They have the best porkchop and chicken rice ever! But actually I think I've tried everything on the menu already and the noodles and appetizers are all equally delicious.
The service is excellent, they are fast and efficient and super friendly. Every time I have a get-together with friends, I always bring them here.
A+
Open more branches! -
Review from Ray N.
12/12/2010
Came here with family cause one of our family friends was bragging about how amazing the food here was.
Service was exceptional-- the waitresses were very attentive and had great suggestions on food selection.
Environment was very clean and simple. It wasn't anything too fancy, yet it seemed very clean and modern.
Food was decent-- wasn't too mind blowing. We got the fried dumplings, thick & thin beef noodle soup (since it was buy one, get one half off), fried pork, and fried pork bun(?) Overall, everything decent-- nothing too greasy. The fried dumplings and fried pork buns were amazingly delicious-- wasn't too fried, but yet it retained the juiciness on the inside. On the other hand, the fried pork dish was decent as well-- it wasn't too greasy, but it was more on the dry side, especially with the boring white rice. The beef noodle soup was pretty delicious, the beef was pretty soft and the soup had tons of flavor; However, the thin noodles had the texture of just ramen-- but the thick noodles were so much more chewier.
For the price of the food, it was reasonable. We came in a party of 5, and our bill was like $45-- so it wasn't too expensive.
Overall, this place was pretty good and satisfying. I'll definitely pay a visit to A & J if I ever happen to be in the area.
Low lights:
- thin noodles were like ramen.
High lights:
- Delicious dumplings.
- Fried food weren't too greasy. -
Review from Kris T.
Newbury Park, CA
9/5/2011 1 photo
i think i was meant to be taiwanese. i married my husband who is taiwanese and i can just eat taiwanese food any time, any day!
i love their spicy beef noodle soup, the dry bean curd with peanut and cilantro, scallion pancake, etc. i can never say no to this place. plus, i love that i can get so much yummy food for a decent price!!! -
Review from Tiffany L.
Temple City, CA
3/26/2011
Had lunch here with a couple friends the other day. I guess we were eating a bit early (i.e., before noon), since we were the only ones in the restaurant. Nevertheless, the service here was actually pretty impressive for an Asian restaurant.
We ordered the Spicy Beef Noodle Soup, 2 orders of xiao long bao, and fried pork dumplings. None of these dishes were anything spectacular. The spicy beef noodle soup was okay - I liked the noodles, my friend liked the soup. The xiao long bao was quite disappointing. I LOVE xiao long bao. One order of these came with 4 xiao long baos. They were tiny and well, not exactly juicy. They also didn't have black vinegar at the table, which is a MUST for xiao long bao! but.. I didn't bother asking them for any. The fried pork dumplings were good though - I like the that the shape of them. They're.. rectangular! :)
Our bill came out to be a little less than $20. Not bad for a lunch between 3 people. I'd definitely give this place another shot, but I will not order xiao long bao here. -
Review from Paul L.
Los Angeles, CA
6/6/2011
Visited this place last Friday. Great Taiwanese place for beef noodle soup! Not a great location for a restaurant (in the slow part of Arcadia, kinda hidden). Bet if this place was located on the busy part of Baldwin, it'd be pack. Love the setting and feel of the place on the inside, as well as service.
Definitely will be back here again! Also have one in irvine (that one gets crowded quick). -
Review from Steph P.
Los Angeles, CA
2/21/2011
This noodle house is underrated and to my surprise, not busy at all.
The beef noodles are 100% homemade! The thick noodles are chewy and go great in this beef broth. The beef and tendons are so tender and tasty too.
The service here is just fine and the place is well kept. If you want simple noodles, come here. -
Review from Dru C.
9/16/2010
I've been to the one in Irvine so many times over the years, that I forget that A&J is actually a chain. I was surprised to see this in a rather odd location, in a run-down plaza sandwiched between some nail salon, laundrymat, or some stereo place. As a high school kid, I used to always walk through here on the way home and stop by The Warehouse to shop for some music. Shopping for CDs in those long skinny boxes, who remembers that?
After a huge lobster lunch, the family wanted something both light on the stomach and on the wallet. The place was pretty empty around 5pm on a Saturday night and we were greeted by a non-Asian waitress. This is no big deal to me, but I mention this because my mother was trippin' out on this. She's like, why is there a non-Chinese person working here?? I was gonna bust out some Spanish to the waitress just to freak out my mother even more, but then I thought that wasn't such a good idea.
Anyway, after she found some comfort in talking with somebody of her own "kind," we got down to ordering and eating. For 5 people, we shared a couple bowls of spicy beef noodle soup with tendon, green scallion pancake, pan-fried bao, and the roast beef and green onion sandwich. We even got the buy 1 get 1 free drink for $2.50, honey green and passion fruit tea.
Overall, everything was okay. If I had to compare, I would give the edge to the one in Irvine, if I'm comparing apples to apples. The pan fried baos were tasty, but the onion pancake was a bit dry and bland. The broth was flavorful and the beef was tender, but the tendon needed to be braised or pressure cooked just a bit longer.
I know some O.G. Chinese people like their tendon with some good toothsome bite, but this one needed to be more tender. I don't want to be making the extra effort to be gnawing on some super hard and gelatinous cow knuckle for so long. Service here was very nice though, perhaps because it's so dead and trying to drum up more business. The service in Irvine is very straight-forward and indifferent. 2.5 stars. -
Review from Angie L.
Los Angeles, CA
3/19/2011 5 photos
Yummy Taiwanese food! I had been to the A&J in Irvine before for breakfast, so my friend & I decided to try A&J in Arcadia for dinner. This one is in a plaza next to Rite Aid. It's large and clean, and the service is excellent.
The good-stuff:
Beef tendon noodle soup (szechuan style) if you like it a little spicy, this is the one. The thick housemade noodles ROCK my socks.
Shredded pork and mustard greens noodle soup - yummy if you don't want something spicy, the broth is more plain, but I love the flavor of the mustard greens with the pork.
Beef Wrap - thinly sliced marinated beef and sauce in between a chewy/crispy wrap is delicious!
Wonton in spicy sauce - I always like this, soft, simple, delightful
Wintermelon Tea - slightly sweet, kind of refreshing
Starfruit Juice - a little salty goodness. Our host described this to be something he ate as a kid when he was in Taiwan and it was a nice treat.
The I-wouldn't-get-again:
Xiao long bao here was on the dry side. I prefer my xiao long bao moist and juicy.
Enjoyed my experience here and would return in a heartbeat. Note, they aren't doing the buy 1 noodle get 1 noodle half off promotion anymore, we were told the promo is over. however, they are still doing the buy 1 get 1 drink for free -
Review from Jenn C.
Arcadia, CA
3/15/2011 3 Check-ins Here
This is my current favorite Taiwanese restaurant. My favorite thing here is the dumpling in spicy sauce. I'm not sure how to say it in English and this is a horrible description but it comes in this small bowl and it is the best I've had. Better than din tai fongs. Their spicy cucumber side is realllllllly delicious and crunchy. The pork cutlet fried rice was good as well. Their marinated egg is also by far my favorite.
The service is soooo good. The owners and waiters Are so attentive and friendly. Also it is a really clean restaurant. I really love it here!!! -
Review from Daina L.
Rosemead, CA
12/4/2011 1 Check-in Here
Clean and nice location. i come here for the Spicy Beef Noodle Soup. Awesome! Amazing!
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Review from Jennifer C.
Los Angeles, CA
9/19/2010
Exceptional service (usually I get horrible service at Chinese restaurants) and really authentic, flavorful food. I didn't know what to order so I tried the beef noodles with tendon and they were delicious. The broth was a bit salty, but when paired with the noodles it was perfect. The meat was chewy and soft, and the steamed vegetable dumplings were terrific.
They also have a promotion going on where if you buy one specialty drink for $2.50, you get another one for free. I tried passionfruit, starfruit, and honey green tea with my party, and the passionfruit was by far the best. The starfruit has salt added to it (traditional Taiwanese style according to our server) and the passionfruit was just the right amount of sweet and flavorful. The honey green tea was good but slightly bitter.
All in all, good experience. Would definitely recommend. -
Review from Joanna X.
Monterey Park, CA
5/13/2011
I was a frequent customer to the A&J in cupertino, N.Cal and loved it! So when I found out there's another A&J in S.Cal, you can imagine my excitement of trying it out!
Food was pretty decent, we ordered Spicy Beef Noodle Soup in both thin and thick noodles, both were pretty good. Plenty soup and beef to indulge yourself. We also ordered a couple cold dishes, delicious, but pretty small portion for the price.
Clean environment, friendly staff, plenty of parking...BUT....the location is way tooooooo far away from the central Chinese food area. It was in a old shopping plaza with Ride Aid and some coin laundry shop, honestly I wouldn't come here ever if it wasn't for my prior experience in their other chain stores.
Cash Only is also very inconvenient. -
Review from Elaine T.
Updated - 5/15/2010
I brought the boy to A & J to show him the awesome possum discovery that is Ban Mu Yuan. As we pulled into the plaza and parked next to Goodwill, I could see that he believed me when I said this little hole-in-the-wall establishment was the real thing. *Or, "LEGIT" as my friend Lloyd L. likes to label for everything he fancies as original and true.*
Anyway, we got an order of tofu + thousand year old egg (super yum!), two bowls of shiao mi zou( at 85-cents a bowl, how's THAT for a dollar menu?), an order of won tons in chili oil, and a beef bao zhi duo. We were well-fed and happy for only 12 bucks and change.
Now if they could only open a location in SF...1 Previous Review: Show all »
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3/25/2010
BEST EVER Neo Roh Shian Bing.
As you can see, my ping ying is just awesome :)
Which brings me to a… Read more »
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Review from David T.
Arcadia, CA
10/24/2011 1 Check-in Here
Came here with my wife because we read some good reviews. We came here on an off hour for lunch on a Sunday. Place was empty. Ordered beef noodle soup, wonton noodle soup, and beef rolls. I am a big fan of beef noodle soup so I am somewhat disappointed with this one. $7.50 for not much beef and broth that was barely tasty. Had to pile on the tabletop spicy sauce. My wife's wonton noodle soup was taste-free. The thick noodles were clumped together like they were not freshly made. However, the beef rolls were excellent. Not too greasy and perfectly flavored. One hit out of three.... Price isn't justified for our experience.
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Review from Ivy W.
Los Angeles, CA
11/18/2009 162 Check-ins Here
I cannot believe they're opening a location so close to me. I can now easily walk down the street to eat here... not that I would. But I could!!! I AM SO EXCITED. I can't wait until they open, damn.
Edit 12/3/09
I just got home from having dinner at this location. This is by far the largest A&J restaurant in the SoCal region. It's so new, I can still faintly smell the fresh paint off the walls.
The manager at the Diamond Bar location was there helping out, so it was nice to see a familiar face. Despite the newly, remodeled decor, I like the small, family-owned, this-restaurant's-been-around-forever feeling the locations in Alhambra and Irvine give out. Otherwise the food is still the same good stuff The manager also informed my family and I that they will be serving their Taiwanese breakfast menu ("Doe John" and such) in about a month, which I'm pretty excited for!
My favorite location is still the one in Alhambra though :) -
Review from Emily M.
Arcadia, CA
7/27/2010
I like this A&J the best out of all the locations because well... it's clean and not sticky and ghetto like the others. They actually have nice tables, chairs, and clean floors.
The beef noodle soup is okay, not amazing, not bad, just average. It's more soy-sauce based for sure, so they aren't relying as much on real beef flavor. Everything else is whatever... however I do like their "zua bing" it's like a flour pancake that is super flaky, and you peel it apart to eat it. That coupled with the soup is MMM...mmm.. campbell's status good. Soup by itself... ehhh... needs the bing!
Service is okay, not bad, not amazing. Overall this place is average, but I will give it points for being a clean branch of A&J. The others are just disgusting. I don't want to even put my hands or arms on the tables.
