Jin Jiang Restaurant

Ambiance: spacious and bright restaurant, which serves Americanized Chinese food

Service: the waitress was very pushy with ordering, also was so impatient and brought over the bill and made us to leave soon even we haven't finished eating yet

Food: in general not authentic
Sesame Ball - *** average
Crispy Duck - *** twice cooked duck, marinated in aromatic spices first steamed and then fried
Shrimp in Garlic Sauce - *** shrimp with italian squash, carrots, water chestnuts and wood ear mushrooms in a lightly spicy brown garlic sauce
Two Items with Hot Spicy Gravy - **** fish and beef, recommend
Spicy Cilantro Beef - *** average taste
Shredded Pork in Garlic Sauce - ** so so
Ma Po Tofu - ** so so

Price: decent portions and prices, expect $20 per person

Hop Li used to be my favorite Chinese restaurant on the westside, went there with Chinese friends and loved the food. Well, they've either changed ownership or cooks, and now it sucks.

Enter Jin Jiang to the rescue! They've been here for decades but I only tried them once in the past and forgot about them.

Took my friend Shiao Ting here for her birthday and we had a feast! The only dish I didn't like so much was the honey walnut shrimp, one of my favorites. The sauce was too sweet and two thick and covered the shrimp. But everything else was mouth watering. Salmon with a dark sweet sauce and veggies (bok choy). Moo shoo veggies with the little pancakes.

I think the best part, though, were the appetizers. We had the chicken potstickers and butterflied shrimp. Both were your traditional Chinese appetizers. Yum yum. And love that dark sweet sauce that comes with them, as well as the HOT mustard!

We were so full we could hardly move. The service was decent, though maybe a tad slow. But this is a pretty, comfortable, traditional Chinese place and we will be back.

Be sure to check their Specials Board as there may be some more interesting dishes to order than the usual suspects you find in many Cantonese and/or Mandarin style Chinese restaurants west of Chinatown.

Here to give this place a try with a couple of friends. This place has piqued my curiosity for 25 years now, and only now have I decided to try this place with a couple of friends, one of which, like myself, have seen this place's signage driving up back and forth along Santa Monica Blvd.

Of the 3 dishes we ordered, 2 of them were off the Specials Board: Spicy Cilantro Beef, and Szechuan (Water) Boiled Fish. Both dishes were good, though the beef chould have been a bit better had it not been marinated in corn starch and water too long. It left that bit of slimy, mushy texture to the meat, yet not fully tenderizing it through and through. However, it had an excellent flavor with a good bite of heat from the sliced green chiles (jalapenos). The boiled fish was equally as good, but could have been a bit spicier. The manager indicated that they could crank up the spice level if we requested it. Next time...

Sauteed Green Beans were seasoned well and not overcooked, still having a bit of a crunch to them.

Yelp Check-In special offered a small order of mini-Sesame Balls (aka Mochi Balls) filled with red bean paste. These were cooked to order and came out piping hot, crispy and delicious. Beware though, you will burn the insides of your mouth if you don't let these little puppies cool off a bit.

3.5 stars. If they can correct the tenderizing of the beef, then this dinner would be 4 stars.

We had 2 off regular menu items which was the boiled fish and cilantro beef. Both were good. We also had the fried green beans which was well seasoned and a little crunchy. The fried sesame mochi balls were hot off the fryer and was excellent. The best dish for the night.

All in all it was a good meal. The regular menu does not seem to be exciting. Your basic cantonese dishes. Will return, at least for the fried sesame balls.

When I used to work in West LA, I used to come to Jin Jiang all the time for lunch. It's cheap-ish Chinese food, better than Panda Express. The restaurant definitely needs renovation as the decor feels old and outdated. I always thought the food was average. I used to get the Kung pao chicken all the time for lunch all the time. It was decent, nothing too spectacular. Once I moved jobs to Torrance, I didn't give this place a single thought. But, someone mentioned to me that they added a few items to their menu and their basil chicken tofu was excellent. So, I decided to give this place a try for dinner.

I ordered the basil chicken tofu that was recommended to me and it was excellent! The dish includes fried tofu and has a sauce over it which includes chicken and basil. All the sauces worked well together. It was excellent. My other go to dish (aside from the kung pao chicken) is the string beans, which is pretty good. I always ask them to cook it well done, because sometimes it's a little too crunchy for me.

Ever since I discovered the chicken basil tofu, I have been venturing here more often. The food always comes out quickly, which is a plus if you want to have a quick dinner. I will definitely be coming back here for my Chinese food craving.

I was here yesterday with a friend for lunch.
We had the potstickers, lemon chicken, & beef w/broccoli. Everything was as good as ever! It's truly a good experience coming here. I'm sure the other dishes are good, but I always seem to get the same items. It's great to have leftovers for the next day.
Keep,up the good work, Jin Jiang! I'm prod to be a lifetime customer! :) :)

Why is it so hard to find really good Chinese food on the westside?!

Placed an order through Eat24, which arrived exactly when it said it would. Yay! And they followed the instructions on how to reach my place. Double yay!

Chicken Wings in Spicy Salt: soggy. I was really hoping for them to be crispy. Maybe the delivery travel time made them soggy?

Orange Chicken: tasty.

Mongolian Beef: SO many damn onions. I had to dig through the onions to find the beef, and once I pulled the beef out I still had a completely full container of onions. Bleh. And the meat had a weird tongue coating taste about it. Would not order again.

Combo Lo Mein: eh, it was alright. Large portion.

BBQ Pork Fried Rice: again, eh, alright. Large portion of this too.

Sesame Balls: small, but tasty.

Went for lunch with my colleagues at work. An average Chinese place for lunch. The price was very reasonable. The food was fresh bit the taste wasn't there. Had better Chinese food in LA for sure.

Had their lunch special with came with hot and sour soup and salad. The salad was all lettuce but not fresh. The hot and sour soup could have been hot it was more warm.

The orange chicken was decent but the quantity if rice for three of us was not enough.

I tried substituted my steamed rice that can with the lunch special for fried rice and offers to pay extra for that. However, u was told if I want fried rice I have to order it as a separate entree. I think they can easily add fried rice substitution in their lunch menu for extra cost.

If you live out it the West Los Angeles or Santa Monica area, and is craving for chinese food, I am happy to say that Jin Jiang is your perfect fix!

The food here is tasty and it is very flavorful! We ordered a fried shrimp appetizer, a chicken with vegetables in XO sauce, and a simmered tofu dish served with a large fried egg on top. The shrimp was nicely breaded cut in half for cleaning, and then fried. It was served with a sweet and sour sauce with mustard sauce on the side to dip. Yummy! The chicken in the chicken dish was diced in cubes and lightly "wok" before it was stir fried with string beans, cucumbers, and cabbage. The XO sauce poured on top was excellent. It was probably the most tasty dish. The tofu was simmered with small chili's which gave it a faint mapo flavor which was a mild spicy kick in your mouth. It was served with a large fried egg on top. Something different compared to other Chinese places.

Overall, the ambiance was very comfortable with windows on one side of the restaurant giving it a lot of natural lighting. The walls and the dark carpeted floor were quite clean, and the restroom was very sanitary. The service was great as the waiter was very attentive. He kept checking on us, and filled our tea kettle while making sure we were satisfied.

I was most impress of the outside seating which made it seem more classy. The restaurant is located on the second floor with a flight of stairs going up along with a elevator for the disable. So accessibility is not an issue.

I highly recommend this place. There are not many Chinese restaurants in West Los Angeles and Santa Monica. This will be the perfect place for some fine dining. It could be a perfect romantic evening or just a nice casual diner with friends.

See you guys again soon!

A last update...I was back up to the restaurant yesterday and Sichuan Impression has all their signs up and has completely remodeled the space with new everything - much more open now, and a high reed fence has been installed for patio privacy. The kitchen was being stocked and final prep made. I again saw the owner who introduced me to his young manager. Opening date is Monday, October 1st. Hours will be 11-2:45 for lunch and open again at 5 for dinner. Considering their reputation in Alhambra, I expect them to be extremely busy, and the new layout will likely be much louder - mostly hard surfaces.