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Master Chef Restaurant
- Hours:
Mon-Wed, Sun 11 am - 12 am
Thu-Sat 11 am - 1 am
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
165 reviews for Master Chef Restaurant
Review Highlights
"...definitely go back more often for their late night special."
(in 16 reviews)
"3) Clams with Black Bean Sauce."
(in 9 reviews)
"Pan Fried Rock Cod Fillet with Sweet Corn Sauce."
(in 5 reviews)
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165 reviews in English
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Review from John B.
Santa Clarita, CA
1/31/2012
Went for Chinese New Year so the whole neighborhood was a zoo. We thought our party of eight meant a longer wait but these guys've got some serious tables that make seating large parties a breeze.
The food was awesome. It came out fairly quick and the tea was delicious. I expected we'd have lots of leftovers but we ate like a bunch of hungry, hot tourists and inhaled a whole table full of food.
My only complaint is that things that were marked as spicy we not, but they were still flavorful. Minor complaint.
Unlike Jash V there was no serving you each dish as it arrived and you can forget free dessert but the kids thought the lazy Susan was about the most cool thing they'd ever seen so we can let the rest slide. -
Review from Rob W.
Torrance, CA
1/24/2012
I was pleasantly surprised by my visit here. It was relatively empty at lunch time, but i guess there may be too many options. staff was friendly and responsive.
i had the kung pao shrimp, pretty basic order. there was a healthy amount of shrimp in the giant portion. the peppers were also a nice size and appeared fresh. too much food for me, enough to share one dish.
a minimum of $20 for a credit card. -
Review from Jash V.
Downtown, Los Angeles, CA
1/19/2012
-Parking right out front
-After they drop off your food they serve you each dish
-They can make dishes without oil (I got steamed vege)
-They gave us a tiny free dessert
-Soup sizes are MASSIVE -
Review from Alan R.
New York, NY
2/4/2012
We walked in and bad sign-there were quite a few non Asians eating here.
But, to our surprise, this place was really good.
Finally, a place in Chinatown downtown LA, where the food is good and the waiters pleasant. We enjoyed the Peking Duck, Squid with Spicey Salt and Singapore Noodle (told them not to take the heat out of it for us "white boys") and they listened-it was delish! We will be definitely be back and try some other things. -
Review from Rita A.
Los Angeles, CA
Updated - 1/14/2012 4 Check-ins Here
Hey you! Yes u douche bag....I would like to eat in peace without hearing ur entire phone conversation.
What happened? I had to send my pork chops back to be cooked longer....disappointing.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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1/12/2010
I go here sometimes with a group of coworkers. We order a few dishes and try some of everything.… Read more »
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Review from Dan D.
Charlotte, NC
12/15/2011 1 Check-in Here
Omg this place is the best in Chinatown that I have had
Yummy. we loved it! -
Review from Steve D.
San Diego, CA
1/15/2012 1 Check-in Here
WOW! Great Fried Squid!!!! Highly recommend it. We were in LA for New Years Eve because our daughter was performing with Pink Martini at Disney Concert Hall. Stayed in China Town at the Best Western. They directed us here to Master Chef. Great service. Plenty of food. Nice atmosphere.
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Review from Susan W.
Santa Ana, CA
11/30/2011
Bump that to 3.5 stars. :)
Came here with a bunch of friends and we ordered 7 dishes. Good, solid Chinese food. Not too greasy, salty, or bland.
I can't comment on all the dishes since I didn't try everything. The Hot and Sour Soup was decent. I liked the Honey Walnut Shrimp. The only thing that wasn't so good that stood out was the French-style Beef Cubes. I am used to eating that at a Vietnamese restaurant. This place did not add enough of a sear to the outside of the beef cubes. So it was a tad squishy.
Would come here again! -
Review from Shariff C.
Los Angeles, CA
11/16/2011 1 Check-in Here
I'm only giving this place a 4 because I haven't tried any other place around it. The food here is DELICIOUS. I haven't had good Chinese food since I moved to Southern California and figured China town was the place to go.
We ordered Beef Fried Rice, Mongolian Beef, and the French Style beef.
You know what, I'm not gonna write anymore because I'm off to go home and eat the left overs... MMMmmmmmmmmmmm. -
Review from Shahram M.
Los Angeles, CA
1/29/2012
Went here while in China Town for Chinese new year and everything was fantastic. Even though they were very busy with the crowds, they attended to us and made sure we got seated as quickly as possible. Food came our fairly quickly and we were amazed at how fresh everything tasted. This is definitely a place that we'll be going back again.
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Review from Steven L.
Eagle Rock, CA
11/2/2011 1 Check-in Here
This review is for their wonton noodles only which is horrible. After reading all of the yelpers reviews, I'd figure I give it a try with a simple wonton noodle soup.
First off, their wonton is listed in the "wonton soup" section which does not come with noodles. Noodles are additional...WTF!! If you step into any legit chinese restaurant, wonton and noodles are always served together and wonton only with soup is usually a side item not the main item. Surely, this tells me this restaurant is for tourist and not for the regular chinese living in the area. The prices are also tourist prices. Worst, their wonton soup base is horrible, it lacks flavor. I am not talking about lacking a bit of salt. I am talking about lacking the robust hong kong wonton soup aroma that makes your mouth waters and your belly growl with just one sniff of this stuff (when done right of course). The soup base tasted like dish washing liquid with a sprinkle of chicken flavor. The lackluster soup base is so weak that even a person on a low sodium diet would reject.
A simple wonton soup done right is simply delicious and devine. I can't believe this place can F up a simple noodle soup like this. Not sure where the other reviewers claim this place reminds them of Hong Kong, but even HK's nastiest hole in the wall crawling with cock roaches will still serve better wonton noodle than this lame ass joint. In fact, it was so disappointing after my initial slurp of the soup base, I got up and head straight to the cashier, paid my check, left the entire wonton noodle soup untouched and head straight to my usual Wonton Noodle soup joint at Sam Woo in Monterey Park: http://www.yelp.com/bi...
Now ya know, I hope my review will help prevent fellow yelpers from such disappointment. -
Review from Da L.
10/13/2011 2 Check-ins Here
I am definitely a regular at this restaurant! Good food and great service. I usually come here for their late night specials after work and basketball.
I love their house special chicken and french style beef! They also carry some of my favorite beers. Chinese food and beer go great together.
One con is that they dont have any parking. They validate at bamboo plaza across the street but who wants to walk that far right?
Well, either way I love this place. Food is great, service is good. I even got 15% off my meal for checking in on facebook! Too bad its only for the month of Oct. -
Review from Jessica K.
Los Angeles, CA
8/17/2011
When I was still living at home and under the nurturing wings of my parents, I used to dine here for some Peking duck almost every week. Decadent, I know, but I miss those times, because now, I'm a poor college kid, and I have to subtly hint to my parents that I want to go back to the way it was.
Their duck is bomb. It's probably the best I've had, and I miss it dearly. The duck meat is always succulent, and the skin is crispy and so good. The buns that come along with the platter are fluffy, and the sauces are so fragrant and compliment the meat really well. And the best thing to go along with an already amazing spread of food? The green beans. I love their green beans. They're perfectly crisp and are lightly tossed in a tantalizing sweet/sour sauce.
I've had their other items, and they are all very good in their own ways, but get me a table, bring out the duck, and let me have at it. -
Review from Curi Y.
Los Angeles, CA
10/11/2011 1 Check-in Here
I ate here at 9:30pm during the work week. We were handed a "late night" menu. Awesome. And most, if not all, the dishes on that menu were between $6-10. I ordered the beef stew with radish (which is just the stewed beef and stewed radish -- it is not a soup) and the mixed veggies in garlic sauce. He also had a couple bottles of Kirin. He loved the food I ordered. I had heard that this place is 'meh' from a Chinese friend from NYC who prefer Cantonese-style food. But, since I am not Chinese, I think I can allow myself to have enjoyed the food I ate. I don't mind this place, at all.
For the record, that Chinese friend likes Yang Chow -- but my man had eaten there before, and did not want to eat there ...and I think it was closed, anyways. -
Review from Keila N.
7/21/2011 1 photo
I was here for lunch today. I meant to try this place for a very long time. But alas, I was disappointed.
I ordered the kung pao chicken lunch special. The serving size was huge with rice and soup for $9.25, including tax. But the chicken had a Peking duck after taste. I didn't really care for it. -
Review from Ratika N.
8/10/2011
If you are visiting the old Chinatown in dtown LA, you must try Master Chef. Its authentic Cantonese food and the service is always polite and nice. I love that it has an A from the health dept.
I love the hot and sour soup here, the portion size is huge, always end up taking it home. It's really spicy and full of flavor...yummy!
Another must try is the seafood fried rice...I have never seen so much real crab in a dish! The shrimps and crab are amazing in this dish...not too oily, it's just perfect.
Not a big fan of the walnut shrimps, it was just ok. Also, I wasn't too happy with the eggplant, mostly because the eggplant was cut too thick and was a bit too oily, though hubby loved this dish as he's biased towards eggplant!
Overall, yummy food at decent prices, good and polite service make this a hit for me! Thanks yelpers for pointing me to this gem in Chinatown. I will definitely be back to try other dishes. -
Review from Frank S.
Los Angeles, CA
12/10/2011
The food was good! I would definitely go back for their late night special. This is a good place for a casual eat out.
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Review from Francis L.
Los Angeles, CA
11/26/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Great authentic Cantonese food. Although their popular deep fried battered flounder is not my personal favorite, their are other dishes like orange beef and Shanghai style spare ribs that do it justice. I definitely will recommend this place for authetic Chinese cuisine.
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Review from Sitthichai R.
Los Angeles, CA
Just went there for lunch for a friends graduation. The service was great and the food outstanding. I especially liked the chicken lettuce wrap and the French style beef cube. It is a must order!
The restaurant was clean with an " A" grade from health department. My friend who frequent the restaurant said they had that grade since opening about 3 years ago. I have been in many Chinese restaurants and this has the cleanest restroom. -
Review from Charles L.
South Pasadena, CA
Updated - 11/13/2011
EXCELLENT SERVICE/ENVIRONMENT/FOOD. this restaurant has decent food for the chinatown area. This is my third time i am here at this restaurant and im satisfy again w/ the food. I was shock when i came back to check the reviews since my last review to see someone saying that their wonton soup didnt have the HK taste. So i order that and it was excellent especially w/ extra garlic. I believe different restaurant has different soup base for wonton noodles. At least this restaurant gives you a choice to choose either wonton soup or wonton noodle soup. Some people just like plain wonton soup.
Also that Sam woo restaurant that he was referring to in Monterey park is CLOSED.2 Previous Reviews: Show all »
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6/9/2011
I love to visit chinatown with my friends and see the amazing stores and food the town provides. One… Read more »
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Review from Jad D.
Chino, CA
11/25/2011
This place is open LATE. Like wow, that's awesome.
We ordered the honey walnut shrimp, house special fried rice, roasted duck (half), and beef stew hotpot with turnip. Of all the plates we had, I liked the beef stew the best. The turnips were tender with a little bit of firmness to give that crunch. The beef and soup tasted fantastic. Beef tore apart easily and melted in your mouth. The roast duck was very savory. That was the second best dish we ordered. It had a good amount to offer for only being a half duck.
The fried rice and honey walnut shrimp didn't exactly shine. While the house special fried rice is good, it's not something that wowed me. It's fried rice. It served as a good filler but, if I were to come back and order again, I would have gone the economical route and just ordered steamed rice. The honey walnut shrimp was a big disappointment. I thought I was going to get some unique flavors but it was this creme shrimp that tasted quite common with honey glazed walnuts on the side. When I mean common, I mean that I've had something similar at a local fast food Chinese place. Not worth it.
The little desert custards are nice. -
Review from Kati k.
Los Angeles, CA
6/12/2011
MASTER CHEF; This restaurant is definitely one of my favorite spots out of the whole Chinatown. Not only do they cater to both Chinese and non-Chinese customers, their prices are very reasonable.
The food there is authentic, which resembles my grandma's cooking, and we all know grandma always cooks the best food ;]. Master Chef's food is great but their service is top notch.
My favorite dish: Orange chicken (sauce on the side) - It's like popcorn chicken but BETTER!
If you're on a budget, this is a great place for late night specials. I believe the specials start at 9:30 pm nightly. You get a ton of food for a low price. A place you must try, you won't regret it. -
Review from Lisa T.
El Monte, CA
I yelped places that had mongolian beef and master chef appeared, so we took a drive down to good ole chinatown. With a name like Master Chef... it made me have higher expectations.
So the bf and I ordered stream rice, mongolian beef and clams with black bean sauce. The clams were big. Not super flavorful.
The mongolian beef was not bad. Not super chewy, and this portion seemed big. So enough for two and then some.
There was like only two staff that was working at the moment. They seemed to be speak english quite fluently. They were forgetful since I had to ask for a spoon like three times between the two. The spoon they gave us was gigantic and I don't know who would try to fit it in their mouth.
30 with tip for as party of two. So i guess that's about 15 pp. Nothing special about the layout. The place was a decently B rating for cleanliness.
There was a parking lot like half a block down for like five bucks. I'm a cheap-o, so my bf and I drove around the block and found metered parking. Two bucks an hour. Saved myself $3.00 bucks.
We'll probably come back one day to try other things.
Have fun getting your grub on at Master Chef. -
Review from Devan M.
Los Angeles, CA
6/24/2011
This place is uncontrollably delicious. Almost every single thing I've ever eaten there has been heavenly. I highly recommend the French Style Beef, Orange Chicken, and Honey Walnut Shrimp; they are must tries. The only thing that didn't blow my mind were their pot stickers, which were average. Not bad, mind you, just nothing special. If you really like pot stickers with your meal, you won't be grossed out or disappointed or anything, just not wowed like you will be with everything else.
Shit, I'm gonna order something right now. I got hungry just thinking about this place.
Oh, by the way, I don't know why the info up there says they deliver, cause they don't. Sad face. :C -
Review from eeeeestar t.
Los Angeles, CA
6/8/2011
If you need a Chinese food fix in LA proper, Master Chef is the place to go! Authentic, speedy and attentive service and reasonable prices.
I don't think you can go wrong with ordering here, and if you're not sure, your waiter can help you out. Just be prepared for an MSG-induced coma afterwards!
I really love the crowd here around dinnertime -- a super diverse mix that truly represents Socal. You get the families sharing a meal, tired tourists schlepping their Chinatown souvenirs, blue-collar workers on their lunch breaks, fratty young professionals and shady ticket-scalper types. Makes me feel right at home! -
Review from yendor o.
Los Angeles, CA
6/7/2011
Ever since I heard the rumor that one of the chefs left full house and started this place a few years ago I jumped on this train quick. The salty fried rice, the fried squid with spicy salt (ask for the red vinegar and drench these babies), tangerine beef, pan fried noodles, and fried spicy lobster yum. Not sure if it has MSG but seriously, if that is what makes things taste better, then bring it. Why worry about that when everything else in life is bad for you. I mean c'mon you are in la, the air you breathe is bad and you inhale that every second of your time here.
Service is good.
Food is good.
Prices are decent.
All they need is offer drinks like tea station and I could live there but now I'm just being greedy. -
Review from Rick B.
North Hills, CA
8/27/2011 2 Check-ins Here
I grade its as okay...
the place is okay.
Service is good compare to other Chinese food I've been. -
Review from Josie C.
Irvine, CA
4/11/2011 9 photos
One of the most underrated places in Chinatown!!
This is a LEGIT chinese restaurant with great tasting food and awesome prices yet not alot of recognition. I always come with the fambam for late night because their specials are amazing. Did I mention how delicious their food is ? its http://BOMB.com. Dishes range from $5+ and there's a large variety to choose from.
I drive all the way from 626 weekly to eat their late night. LOL.
and OMG dont forget to get the chicken lettuce wrap!!
check out my pictures :) -
Review from Lauri D G.
Los Angeles, CA
7/31/2011
First surprise: an excellent Lunch Specials menu, even on the weekends, which includes rice and soup in the meal. The wonder of Chinatown is that with so many restaurants, each has its own take on the cuisine, and this is no exception. Master Chef's flavors are more subtle than some, thankfully lacking the over-salted, soy-drenched flavor that is too often the connecting thread at Chinese joints all over the country. The sauces have layers of flavor that come in soft waves rather than a bash over the head, and their Shrimp in Spicy Salt was a revelation: if you're squeamish about eating whole shrimp, just close your eyes, pop one in your mouth, and chew. The flavor will eradicate any remaining qualms.
The food came quickly and was very satisfying. The soup was better with just a touch of soy sauce, and the tea could be tastier, but it was plentiful. We received excellent service, right down to the end: as we couldn't see, from our vantage point, that the line was out the door and people were clamoring for a table, the waiter very gracefully came to us after an appropriate interval and let us know there were people waiting. We were clearly finished, and happy to vacate for the next comers. He handled it exceptionally well, and the whole experience was charming. I'll definitely go back again, as there are many more dishes to try! -
Review from Sean K.
Los Angeles, CA
6/30/2011
Good for late night chinese takeout. They have a late night menu, with slightly cheaper prices.
My goto place for Chinese atm. -
Review from David W.
7/30/2011
Value for money for both lunch and dinner!
Authentic Chinese Food, not just fake "Panda Express"-ish stuff they serve for other Chinatown tourists/businessmen.
The Walnut Shrimp is definitely a must to order. -
Review from Maggie C.
2/21/2011 2 photos
Omgosh what a disappointment. I saw the high ratings and read the great reviews. Either I am too picky or it's just not good. I am Chinese and I can eat both authentic and Americanized Chinese as long as it's good.
I ordered what seemed to be popular dishes among yelpers: Pan Fried Cod with Black Bean Sauce and Tangerine Beef.
Pan Fried Cod with Black Bean Sauce: I could taste the MSG because it's so strong on the sauce but the cod was bland. Honestly Panda Express black bean chicken is even better than this. You can find so many black bean sauce dishes in any SGV restaurants and I bet most restaurants serve better black bean sauce dishes.
Tangerine Beef: It was crispy and sweet and tons of MSG once again. MSG is okay for me to enhance the flavor. The only thing good about the dish was the crispiness. So sweet yet tasteless.
I had to stop eating after barely one bowl and that's not me. The place looked familiar to me. The worker said they had been opened for 3 years. How come I never noticed this place? The setup is very similar to Plum Tree I think.
I'd rather go to Won Kok for authentic Chinese of even Yang Chow for semi authentic semi Americanized Chinese if I ever in Chinatown again. I was so hungry the whole day because of my crappy lunch.
2 stars!! The only reason it's not 1 star because the service was outstanding.
Master Chef is not yummylicious!!Listed in: Chinese food-authentic & non…, Chinatown
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Review from stephanie H.
Carmichael, CA
10/20/2011 1 Check-in Here
YUMMY! We came in late around 8:30, it was still pretty busy, but were seated right away. Fried fish, and Thai tea were amazing! The service was great, it was a great family style dinner, would love to come back next time we are in town!
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Review from Cara Mia D.
Glendale, CA
7/17/2011
Had dinner here with the BF a few weeks back. It was Father's Day weekend, but not Father's Day, so they didn't let us order from the late night menu. Lame. With the ten bucks we could have saved we would have ordered another dish and it could have been a reason to come back.
We ordered the house special noodles and honey walnut shrimp. Both were just okay. I'm at a point now where I realize everything in Chinatown tastes the same. Same recipes, same ingredients ordered from the same suppliers. Nothing special.
Maybe we'll come back again but we'll make sure we can order from the late night menu next time. -
Review from Duana M.
Coral Springs, FL
9/26/2011
Chica-chicka-chicka Chow Mein!
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Review from Sam E.
Los Angeles, CA
9/15/2011 1 Check-in Here
I am a sucker for Chinese food. So I usually judge the place by how many Asians are in the establishment. This place rocks. Now if you are looking for swanky decor you can forget it, go for the main dishes. My husband always gets Beef and Broc while I love to branch out. However this makes a good control dish to judge my love and measure of Chinese food quality. So I make Beef and Broc sometimes at home. I'm no master chef, and there are plenty of places that make it better than me, but mine is much better than Fast Food Chinese and some "authentic" establishments that MSG it to death. This was grand... dare I say perfect. I had the Sesame Chicken. Didn't branch out too far, but it was great. Hey it's in China Town!
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Review from Daneca S.
Chino Hills, CA
9/25/2011
Was in the area with a friend and decided to stop. The restaurant doesn't have much curb appeal, but the food is awesome!! The prices are reasonable, service was good and everything met my high expectations.
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Review from Kevin K.
Los Angeles, CA
3/10/2011 6 Check-ins Here
FYI if anyone ever decides to eat at Chinatown, please pay attention to health grades (Most of the restaurants in Chinatown have B Grades). One of the reasons why I choose to go to Master Chef (besides their quality of food & pricing) is because of their consistent "A" grade from the health department.
I like to try a little bit of everything here. Some of my favorite dishes: Chicken w/ Lettuce Wrap, French Style Beef, and Clams with Black Bean Sauce.
Lettuce Wrap was consistently fresh. FS Beef was always flavored right and the Clams were never "fishy."
Parking is available on the streets and MC can get pretty busy during lunch and at night (probably because of their specials). -
Review from Robert C.
I drove by here a lot and never noticed this place.. I brought the wifey and my sister to check it out.. When we checked in inside, we got our seats right away.. And the waiter was very attentive.. I'm kinda picky with customer service since being a waiter myself back in days.. Ordered our food and it came quick... We ordered the usual Yang Chow Fried rice, Deep Fried Squid (Love it, not so salty and more garlicy flavor.. and my favorite, the Tangerine Beef (IMO, the best).. OMG.. Way better than Full House in my opinion... Not that salty at all.. I can eat it all day... My dad loves it here also and he's diabetic... I recommend this place to anyone who doesn't like rich salty chinese food.... It's not the very best but I would come here all over again..
Location: Busy area of Hill Street next to Full House and Golden City Restaurant
Service: I love it, they clear our plates right away and asks us for anything else every so often..
Parking: Good.. You can park outside or park in the Bamboo Plaza with validationListed in: Good Grub, "Oink Oink"
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Review from Gyu K.
Los Angeles, CA
9/30/2011
Up to par in price and quality with any of the good ones in Monterey park and Rowland heights. Some good Chinese food and open late, too
