Beijing

3 Notable Restaurant Openings in the San Gabriel Valley

Each year, more than a hundred restaurants open in the San Gabriel Valley, many with little to distinguish them from the pack. We've chosen three restaurants that opened in the past six months that stand out from this crowded landscape -- two of them for featuring styles of cuisine rarely found in t ... More >>

5 Places to Get Peking Duck Today Happy Peking Duck Day!

Crisp, maltose-glazed skin and dark meat layered together for crackle and crunch on a paper-thin wheat pancake. A heaping of sweet bean sauce and a sprinkling of thin cucumber slices and spring onions for garnish. This is the ritual of the Peking duck -- China's esteemed national dish. Like Thanks ... More >>

27: The Hickoryburger at Apple Pan

Celebrating this year's Best of L.A. issue -- now out in print and online -- we're counting down, in no particular order, 100 of our favorite dishes. 27: The Hickoryburger at Apple Pan Los Angeles' burger boom, in many ways, owes much to this humble onion-scented lunchroom, a place that stands out ... More >>

33: Cauliflower T-Bone at Superba Snack Bar

Celebrating this year's Best of L.A. issue -- now out in print and online -- we're counting down, in no particular order, 100 of our favorite dishes. 33: Cauliflower T-Bone at Superba Snack Bar. It's not very often that, at an eatery with a meat-loving menu, the dish that reverberates through your ... More >>

34: Bossam at Kobawoo House

Celebrating this year's Best of L.A. issue -- now out in print and online -- we're counting down, in no particular order, 100 of our favorite dishes. 34: Bossam at Kobawoo House. Kobawoo is one of Koreatown's older restaurants, having been established all the way back in 1985, and although it bega ... More >>

40: Sicilian Slice at Pizzanista

Leading up to this year's Best of L.A. issue (due out Oct. 4) -- and probably beyond, at this rate -- we'll be counting down, in no particular order, 100 of our favorite dishes. 40: Sicilian Slice at Pizzanista. The thick-crusted Sicilian pizza at Pizzanista, cut into a long rectangle and covered ... More >>

43: Raw Kale Salad at Elf Café

Leading up to this year's Best of L.A. issue (due out Oct. 4) -- and probably beyond, at this rate -- we'll be counting down, in no particular order, 100 of our favorite dishes. 43: Raw Kale Salad at Elf Café. Fifty-some entries into this list and we feel like we need a virtual detox -- the onsla ... More >>

44: Hot Wings at Beer Belly

Leading up to this year's Best of L.A. issue (due out Oct. 4) -- and probably beyond, at this rate -- we'll be counting down, in no particular order, 100 of our favorite dishes. 44: Hot Wings at Beer Belly. Is there a more natural and satisfactory partner for football and beer than a plate of deep ... More >>

46: Edomae Tendon Bowl at Hannosuke

Leading up to this year's Best of L.A. issue (due out Oct. 4), we'll be counting down, in no particular order, 100 of our favorite dishes. 46: Edomae Tendon Bowl at Hannosuke. The saying goes that good tempura should last about as long as a snowball in August (or September, if you happen to be ca ... More >>

51: Almond Croissant at Proof Bakery

Leading up to this year's Best of L.A. issue (due out Oct. 4), we'll be counting down, in no particular order, 100 of our favorite dishes. 51: Almond croissant at Proof Bakery. It's hard not to drool all over the glass of the bakery case at Proof Bakery in Atwater Village, such is the bounty that ... More >>

50: The Southern Fry at Plan Check Kitchen Bar

Leading up to this year's Best of L.A. issue (due out Oct. 4), we'll be counting down, in no particular order, 100 of our favorite dishes. 51: The Southern Fry at Plan Check Kitchen Bar. While the centerpiece of Plan Check Kitchen Bar on Sawtelle is undoubtedly it's dripping, concentrated burg ... More >>

Peking Tavern: Northern Chinese Gastropub To Open in Downtown L.A.

For those who have been complaining about the lack of Chinese food west of the San Gabriel Valley, a new contender is coming to town. A Northern Chinese Gastropub, fronted by one chef from Northern China and another from Hong Kong, will be opening on 8th and Spring by the end of the year. Called Pe ... More >>

54: Taco Sampler at Guisados

Leading up to this year's Best of L.A. issue (due out Oct. 4), we'll be counting down, in no particular order, 100 of our favorite dishes. 54: Taco Sampler at Guisados. Decisions are hard. At Guisados, chef Ricardo Diaz makes things a bit easier. The Boyle Heights taquería -- best known for its b ... More >>

56: Smothered Chicken at R and R Soul Food

Leading up to this year's Best of L.A. issue (due out Oct. 4), we'll be counting down, in no particular order, 100 of our favorite dishes. 56: Smothered Chicken at R & R Soul Food. A good soul food plate should be formidable. It should make you worry whether you are going to be able make the driv ... More >>

59: Pickled Watermelon Salad at L&E Oyster Bar

Leading up to this year's Best of L.A. issue (due out Oct. 4), we'll be counting down, in no particular order, 100 of our favorite dishes. 59: Pickled Watermelon Salad at L&E Oyster Bar On days like these, when the temperature is pushing 100, we just want a cooling salad. A salad with bursts of co ... More >>

58: Spaghettini with Abalone, Pickled Cod Roe and Truffles at n/naka

Leading up to this year's Best of L.A. issue (due out Oct. 4), we'll be counting down, in no particular order, 100 of our favorite dishes. 58: Spaghettini with Abalone, Pickled Cod Roe and Truffles at n/naka. A meal at n/naka, by its very nature, is full of surprises. A parade of traditional kaise ... More >>

68: Lamb Pie at Beijing Pie House

Leading up to this year's Best of L.A. issue (due out Oct. 4), we'll be counting down, in no particular order, 100 of our favorite dishes. 68: Lamb Pie at Beijing Pie House. See those xian biang, those hefty, puck-sized, round meat pies known as a popular roadside snack in northern China? They mig ... More >>

Status Report: Lamb Burger at Shaanxi Gourmet

Recently, we told you about the lamb sandwich ('Fried With Meat') at Beijing Restaurant. Our original plan was to compare it with another lamb sandwich, namely the lamb burger at Shaanxi Gourmet in Rosemead. At least that was the plan. On three visits, we were told they no longer served them. We ... More >>

Off the Menu: Mustard Cabbage at Beijing Restaurant

Trying to find a particular Chinese regional or local specialty can be quite an adventure, even among the hundreds of restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley. The search for these items, be it Datong-style braised rabbit heads or Tianjin-style earhole cakes, can produce tales worthy of an explorer. ... More >>

Eat This Now: Lamb Sandwich ("Fried with Meat") at Beijing Restaurant

While it isn't as prevalent as pork, lamb turns up quite often on Chinese restaurant menus in the San Gabriel Valley, where lamb dishes range from the seemingly omnipresent cumin lamb skewers to soups, stews and meat pies. There also are restaurants like China Islamic and Omar's, the Uighur place, ... More >>

National Food Porn Day: Feb. 24

​We admit it: "National Food Porn Day" is not a real holiday. But on February 24th, it ought to be. That's the day the Art House Co-op hopes to create and document the world's largest simultaneous communal snack by staging a worldwide moment of food porn.

Jonathan Gold Reviews Beijing Pie House

Jonathan Gold Reviews Beijing Duck House in San Gabriel

New Video: ASKA "Almost There" (dir. Ariana Delawari)

Desolate solo acoustic version of the already "Almost There" from Aska Matsumiya, Moonrats singer/keyboardist, L.A. Ladies Choir co-founder and collaborator with Spike Jones and Flea and David Scott Stone and now Ariana Delawari, whose own story leads from Kabul to L.A. to David Lynch's new label. ... More >>

Our Man in Pyongyang: Our Intrepid Reporter Henry Rollins Ventures Into North Korea

Maura LanahanOur eminent columnist, Mr. Henry Rollins!​[The one and only Henry Rollins will be contributing a weekly column and far-reaching reportage to the music section of the LA Weekly. Look for your weekly Henry Rollins fix right here on West Coast Sound every Friday and make sure to tune ... More >>

Eating the Obvious

Chinese in Chinatown?

Ask Mr. Gold: Eating the Obvious, or Chinese in Downtown

Anne FishbeinMr. Gold, with dim sum menu​Dear Mr. Gold: I have a dear friend who spends a lot of time in Beijing and loves Chinese food. Is there a place downtown or in Chinatown that has excellent cuisine from that region? I want him to have a good meal! --B., Echo Park Dear B.: There are fe ... More >>

Last Night: Why you can't get a second-hand guitar in China and other thoughts on the "China Invasion Tour"

Daiana FeuerPK-14​The China Invasion tour made it all the way from Beijing to Eagle Rock's American Legion Hall, a community center that doubles as a venue for little rock shows. Carsick Cars, PK-14, and AV Okubo arrived from Beijing via Austin with press clips from Spin, Time and The Economis ... More >>

Bob Dylan Banned in China Because of Bjork

LiuzhouLaowai​The Guardian reports that Malibu-resident Bob Dylan has had to cut his Asian tour short because the Chinese government prevented him from playing in Beijing and Shanghai. According to the UK paper (quoting Hong Kong's South China Morning Post): Dylan's planned tour of east Asia ... More >>

The Great Wall of Chocolate: Chinese Chocolatiers Build A Replica of the Great Wall Out of Chocolate

The Great Wall of China was built in the 3rd century B.C. as a defense against invasion. Recently Beijing confectioners build another great wall, this time entirely out of chocolate. What this is a defense against is not clear. Maybe too much tofu, as the wall was built in an effort, according to Re ... More >>

Thin-Skinned: The Crisp Pleasures of Duck House

The Return of Ask Mr. Gold: Looking for Beijing Duck -- Lu Din Gee Is Now Duck House

Editor's Note: The debut of Squid Ink, LA Weekly's new food blog, also marks the return of Ask Mr. Gold, which went on hiatus at the beginning of this year. Our Pulitzer-prize-winning critic Jonathan Gold is available once more to take your questions. Read his answers here on Squid Ink, before they ... More >>

China's First Gold: Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Air apparent: a photo essay from Beijing and beyond

Beijing Bubbles screening at Cinefamily 7.24.08

Stick Figures: Cumin-Dusted Xinjiang Barbecue, at San Gabriel's 818

Northern China's favorite snack food

Farewell My Concubine: the Opera

Vocal chords

Farewell My Concubine

The Peony Pavilion

Wok Out

Mei Jia Deli

Histories of Violence

In the best films of 2005, the past came back to haunt

Is It Life or Is It Memorex?

In an extraordinary new film from China, all The World’s a stage

Designer Duck

The Big Pull

Ask Mr. Gold

From Spaetzle to Saimintosoda

The world on a string

Remembrance of Meals Past

The best dishes of 1999

Duck, Duck, Goose...

Fowl play

Father Knows Less

A pair of musicals smoke out the patriarchy

Dumpling Chic

Beijing snacks in San Gabriel

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

Around this time of year, we start to yearn for restaurants that put their smoke in the meat, not in the street . . .