Exasperation sometimes ends up for the better. Along the San Gabriel Valley Asian food mecca of Valley Boulevard, I was looking for a restaurant (whose name I couldn’t recall) where several of us had wonderful noodle soups many years ago. (At my age, my memory plays tricks; Kam Hong Garden is in fact in Monterey Park on Garvey Avenue, less than a mile away.) After searching along most of ‘The Magic Mile,’ I turned into a mini-mall I recognized and came to an agreement with my wife and sister-in-law that we’d eat somewhere here regardless. Kam Hong wasn’t there of course, but Shanghai No. 1 Seafood Village was, and so was Beijing Restaurant, both on the second floor. Our less than impressive visit to the former two years ago made the decision for us.
Beijing Restaurant was packed for lunch, a good sign. The impressive menu is more like a slick catalog than something to order from. This was no ordinary menu. The restaurant serves what is regarded as authentic Beijing-style food where wheat, lamb, pork, offal and river fish rule. Boiled yellow croaker, braised intestines in brown sauce, ‘sizzling squid head,’ spicy kidney, ‘wandering liver tips,’ lamb spine hot pot and fried lamb bones appear alongside chicken hot pot, kung pao chicken, moo shu pork and sweet-and-sour pork ribs. Fish here tends to get served whole. Beijing duck is on the menu.
Our inability to read Chinese limited us pretty much, so the English ‘translations’ had to suffice. I often wonder how much more non-Chinese-reading customers would order from better descriptions.
Sauteed Green String Beans was impressive, both in size and appearance. The seared beans reminded me of blistered shishito peppers. These would’ve been perfect if the beans retained crispiness, but they were a little mealy. Still, the sauce of sliced garlic and savory ingredients raised the dish above the ordinary. Even with dried red chiles, the beans were only a touch spicy.
It wasn’t advertised as a clay hot pot dish, but Stewed Pork with Rice Noodles and Napa was served in such a vessel, the meat a combination of pork belly and a less fatty cut. The whole wonderful thing was glistening with sauce and fat, the bottom layered with glass noodles (not rice noodles) that soaked up flavors of oyster sauce, soy sauce, ginger and star anise, that are next to impossible to serve with just the accompanying spoon without slithering back into the casserole. The sauce begged to be lapped over rice.
The best preparation, a remarkable creation simply ‘translated’ as Eggplant Cakes in Garlic Sauce (pictured at the top), is a layered surprise of Chinese eggplant, shrimp and minced meat or sausage, bound together in the lightest batter and bathed in a most subtle sweet-and-sour sauce.
On getting seated, I walked by other diners who were having eye-popping things I’d never seen before, making me regret not knowing what they are on the menu. The service tends to be pokey. This time, I’ll burn into my memory where the restaurant is located for I definitely plan to be back.
Beijing Restaurant
250 W. Valley Boulevard
San Gabriel, CA 91776
206.570.8598
zoomeboshi 
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