We were up for another snack, but also up for browsing at some of the shops in this all Asian shopping/lifestyle complex...
Our first stop was this, 101 Noodle Express Grill.
It felt so good to be out of the hot sun (it was already the mid 70's) and in a place with A/C. We only planned to order two things here.
Now, if I had fully reviewed Kirbie and the Gastronomer's posts (linked at the end), I would have remembered that the green sauce (cilantro and jalapeno) would have made a great accompaniment to our beef rolls. The other sauce was a chili infused oil.
We were wondering at first why no one approached us to take our order, then we saw this buzzer thing at the end of our table. Nifty this was.
I told the gals that we had to get #55 and it HAD to be beef, which is what this place is known for.
We also go one order of dumplings and selected #21 (the yellow leek with shrimp and pork), pan fried.
These beef rolls were pretty hefty and already cut into thirds which made sharing this a lot easier. Looks like a Chinese burrito, eh.
Sadly, none of us were really enamored of the beef roll. The beef, while soft and thin, had hoisin sauce and cilantro. Not really a flavor combination that any of us liked. The beef marinade kind o tasted like it had five spicein there as well, which is also a flavor I don't really like. I didn't finish my piece.
On a more positive note, we loved the pan fried dumplings here.
These were so plump and very juicy inside.
We couldn't quite finish the whole order and ended up taking our leftovers to go. The beef rolls were also put in a clamshell box.
As we walked through Daise, the beef rolls wafted it's strong odors. Unknowingly, I kept wondering, "Who the fk farted!", then KD realized it was the beef rolls in the plastic bag!!! Ugh!
One could go quite crazy with all the cute stuff in Daiso, but in looking at some of the merchandise, some of it is quite cheap because it IS cheaply made and would probably break or get messed up after a few uses.
The only two items I bought ($1.50 each!) were apple and mango gummy candies for TC and a pack of cute mini spoons that I plan to use for gelato.
The line snaked throughout the store but seemed to move pretty quickly. I was feeling claustrophobic and wanted to get out of there!
Who else went to 101 Noodle Express?
Kirbie posted on the Beef Roll but from the Irvine location while LA foodblogger Gastronomer posted on the Alhambra location back in 2009.
101 Noodle Express & Grill
500 N. Atlantic Blvd., Suite A-109
Monterey Park, CA 91754
(626) 281-6888
101noodleexpress.com
Previous visit to Daiso:
February 2014 (same location!)
With snack one out of the way, it was time to hit up another ethnic cuisine, one that I've had several times before but the other gals hadn't...
6 comments:
My favorite thing at 101 Noodle Express (I went to the Irvine one, too) is the pan fried dumplings! The beef roll is good, but I prefer the one at a place in Westminster called Peking Restaurant. It's a little thicker/crunchier than 101 Noodle Express's version.
hi mary - thanks for the rec! i should probably try another version of that beef roll before writing it off. as for dumpling, i prefer pan fried to steamed too!
One of my client friends told me to go to Happy Family, also at 500 N. Atlantic! (It's vegetarian and supposedly 'you can't tell')...so now I'll have a bunch of places to stop when I go that way. This 101 does look good.
hi cathy - hmmmm. mock meat!
that complex also has fluff ice! we didn't see happy family
If you don't like five spice or hoisin or cilantro, you're not going to like any version of the Chinese beef roll since those are the key ingredients. I also like their handmade knife-shaved noodles with lamb, but you don't like that either. But there are plenty of other noodles and dumplings you can try.
hi wc - yeah, those favor profiles are not my cup of tea. i will eat it though, but not in great quantities i will have to try other types of dumplings and noodles then! :)
Post a Comment