Sichuan has never been better represented in the San Gabriel Valley, but there’s another Chinese province that’s gaining ground: Yunnan. Some of province’s leading practitioners are David and Wendy Yin, who own branches of Yunnan Garden in San Gabriel and Hacienda Heights, with a sister establishment called Yun Chuan Garden in Monterey Park. The food I tried with my friendBill Esparza (Street Gourmet LA) at the two-year-old San Gabriel outpost wasn’t as mouth numbing or incendiary as Chung King or Shufeng Garden, but it was still incredibly flavorful and well worth a drive.
What’s the best way to navigate a 199-item menu? Since Esparza and I both have carnivorous leanings, we instantly bypassed the 6 tofu dishes and 22 vegetables, then quickly moved to the House Special section.
Yunnan Garden customers could completely ignore the menu and still feast like royalty at pauper’s prices. Just point-and-pick at the display case. We filled our plate with a trio of cold “appetizers” for just $3.95: smoked duck necks, sliced pig hearts and chicken gizzards. It’s the breakfast of champions, at least in San Gabriel.
Yunnan Garden’s thin-sliced hearts (right) amounted to a tender cold cut washed with chile oil, sesame seeds and scallions. The rosy sheets were showered with dried chilies, but don’t let that fool you. The flavor was far from fiery. It was satisfying to nibble on the smoky cross sections of pink duck meat (center). Just beware of all the tiny bones that protect the esophagus and chip off in shards if you’re not careful. The chicken gizzards (left) were thin-shaved and remarkably tender, much better than the grilled pencil erasers that you’ll sometimes find at yakitori restaurants.
Yunnan Style Dry Beef ($9.55) was addictive, kind of like eating crispy discs of pepperoni. The dried chilies were once again for show, since the spice didn’t come across.
We also ordered Two Items Boiled Dishes ($9.95) with Szechuan Spicy Sauce. Boiled Fish was obvious, and we didn’t want beef or chicken. It was down to Pork Intestine and Pork Blood, and pork blood reigned supreme. The monstrous bowl was filled with firm fillets of boneless fish submerged in a murky chile-rich broth. The fish was piled with minced garlic, scallions, chile seeds, ginger and bouncy cubes of congealed pig’s blood.
Of course, any time two people encounter a restaurant with 199 menu items, plenty of potential winners have to wait. Chungking Fried Chicken Cubes w/Hot Pepper may have worked. Braised Eggplant w/Pork Intestine was another viable option. So was Cubed Goat in Hot Pot. All in good time.
Blog Comments
Jim Thurman
May 19, 2010 at 12:24 PM
I think Yunnan tones it down a bit for non-Chinese. As Kung Food Panda mentions, Yunchuan on Garfield seems stronger, though even they will sometime try to talk Caucasians out of a dish. There are some dishes on the menu at one that aren’t available at the other.
Joshua Lurie
May 19, 2010 at 10:47 PM
Jim and Kung Food Panda,
I’m clearly in need of a visit to Yunchuan Garden. Thanks for the input.
Julianne L
April 26, 2010 at 2:06 PM
I love spicy food. I definitely check it out next time I’m in the San Gabriel area.
Kung Food Panda
April 23, 2010 at 1:25 PM
I’m a fan of the place, and strangely enough I thought I get the most spice from this restaurant, though I usually visit the location on Garfield.
Joshua Lurie
April 23, 2010 at 1:38 PM
Interesting. We requested the spiciest dishes on Yunnan Garden’s menu. Do you think they held back, or the spice level varies from location to location?