There are only a handful of Islamic Chinese restaurants in Southern California, none better than Jamilla Ma’s Anaheim restaurant, Mas’ Islamic Cuisine.

She used to own Jamillah Restaurant in Tustin. Since 2006, she and her family have run this restaurant on a primarily industrial stretch of Oglethorpe Avenue. The parking lot was packed when I arrived with friends. We passed underneath the pathway to enter the dome-topped foyer. The dining room is Old World, with wrought iron and earth tones.

The best time to eat at Mas’ Islamic Cuisine is from 11 AM – 3 PM, when the restaurant offers 56 different lunch specials, huge portions ranging from $6.50 to $7.95 apiece.

Each lunch special includes soup of the day, spring roll and steamed rice.

Egg rolls are normally greasy afterthoughts, but not here. Mas’ golden, cabbage-filled egg roll came with a dish of sweet and sour sauce dotted with hot mustard. We each received a decent bowl of egg drop soup with corn kernels and scattered ground chicken bits.

Fish in spicy bean sauce is a fairly common dish at Shanghai style restaurants in L.A. However, it’s never been as fresh, flavorful or unique as at Mas’ Islamic Chinese. At Chang’s (an outstanding Chinese restaurant), Henry Chang slathers his fillets with a fiery red chile sauce. It’s unclear where the beans even come into play.

Mas’ Sliced Sole Filet in Spicy Bean Sauce ($7.50) arrives scattered with tan and black beans and sheets of crunchy water chestnut, finished with scallions.

For Eggplant with Curry Sauce ($7.50), we had the option to order a veg version of top our slabs of tender, curry-soaked eggplant with ground chicken. I chose the latter, and chicken didn’t add much except for texture.

Thin sesame bread layered with sweet red bean paste ($10.95) was dynamic, supple, with browned sesame seeds and earthy red bean paste that wasn’t overly sweet.

I’ve eaten this Islamic bread at China Islamic in Rosemead thick and thin, with and without green onions, but a red bean version is a first. 16 pieces spanned over a foot across and would have easily fed eight people.

We ate a ridiculous amount of delicious food, exited carrying leftovers that must have weighed five pounds and spent just over $15 per person. Mas’ Islamic Chinese appears to be an Asian treasure, and I can’t wait to return to put more of the vast menu to the test.