MANDARIN NOODLE HOUSE (MONTEREY PARK, CA)

Mandarin Noodle House
701 W Garvey Ave
Monterey Park, CA 91754
Mandarin Noodle House
Tel: 626.570.9795
Cuisine: Chinese
$$ ($15-$30)
Sat, 08/13/2016, 5:30pm walk-in
    (3.5 Piglets)

I crave Chinese food every so often, especially living on the Westside when good Chinese food seems to be lacking. There is a plethora of Chinese food in Monterey Park. It's sometimes difficult to choose from the many and somehow, on a day when Tokyo Fried Chicken was too long of a wait, we turned to Mandarin Noodle House across the street. 

Upon arriving, the place was pretty empty and we were able to be seated right away. The interior looks like a very standard, simple Chinese restaurant in the SGV: red, Chinese paper writing on the wall, the standard Chinese calendar and the old school Chinese paintings. The place seats a fair amount of people and by the time we finished our dinner, the restaurant was starting to fill up.  

The Interior

Another part of the interior

The condiments

MY FAVORITE DISH. NOODLE WITH BLACK BEAN SAUCE-DRY ($8.95): This dish was really good and very flavorful. The bowl is quite large and we shared it amongst four people. First thing, you gotta mix it pretty well. It is thick like gravy and the sauce coats the noodles to the perfect consistency. I loved every bite and I liked the fresh cucumber and bean sprouts that came along with it. I would come back just for this dish. 

COLD NOODLE WITH SESAME SAUCE-DRY ($8.95): This was a good dish, but I've had better sesame noodles elsewhere. It's a great summer dish if you want something hearty without it being hot in temperature. The vegetables were refreshing. 

CHICKEN FRIED RICE ($8.95): I actually had leftovers to take home and I thought the fried rice was better the next day. It's straight forward; nothing special but good flavor nonetheless. 

THIN ONION PANCAKE ($4.25): At first bite, I didn't really like it. It wasn't as flaky as I was hoping. Then bite upon bite, I started to like it more and more to the point of addiction. It's actually pretty good. It's different than other pancakes in terms of texture, but the flavor is still spot on. 

PAN FRIED MEAT DUMPLING AKA POTSTICKERS (8 PIECES- $7.95): These were some pretty big potstickers. They were crispy on one side and soft on the other parts. The filling was pretty good. I had these as leftovers as well and pan fried the other parts to the point of perfect crispiness. I liked it better that way. It was good, but I didn't think these were amazing. 

Overall, Mandarin Noodle House is a decent restaurant that serves typical Chinese cuisine. I thought most of the dishes were flavorful, but I wasn't wowed by any means. It's a good go-to restaurant if you want some good noodles and a few fried items, i.e. thin onion pancake. The place is cash only. Would I try this place again? Sure! I actually do wanna try their beef noodle soup cause it looked good when others ordered it. 

Notable Dishes: Noodles with Black Bean Sauce and Thin Onion Pancake