We all know that we shouldn’t judge anything by its cover. But once in a while, it’s just hard not to. JJ Noodle House in Rowland Heights, from the outside, looks like any other cheap, crappy Chinese place in the area. Didn’t really help that the windows were darkened. But if you do decide to take a leap of faith and walk into JJ, you will be pleasantly surprised and be rewarded with one of the best meals you’ll ever have.
I have said many times that good Chinese food, the place has to be dirty. Dirty floors, crappy chairs, and bad lighting. JJ was the total opposite. Bright, clean, and leather seatings. Yeah, leather seats Situated inside a plaza, yes a plaza(!), typical LA style yo, in Rowland Heights, it didn’t really stand out compared to the other bigger, louder restaurants. Actually, the first time when we tried to look for it, we couldn’t find it and ended up going to another Chinese restaurant, which I’ll blog about later.
Once we sat down, before even bringing our tea, the waitress asked us if we wanted juicy buns because it’ll take time to make, so it would be best if we put in our order first. We told her we weren’t going to order any. I know, I know, I should’ve gotten some.
Food Rundown
Tofu with Doubanjiang
This was good, and when I say good, I probably mean excellent. You see, I’m not a big fan of tofu. I’ll eat it if it was deep-fried. So for me to say a tofu dish was good, damn it must be good. And the spiciness was just enough to tell you that “hey, we’re here!” I ate 2 slices of tofu all by myself. Y’all should be proud of me.
Potstickers
Yeah, can never resist potstickers. I have eaten many potstickers where there would be juices inside but never as much as juicy buns. But hot damn, good thing I nibbled on the skin because juices came rushing out into my spoon like a juicy bun. These were more like potsticker juicy bun hybrids and they were oh soooo deliciously good.
Scallion Pancakes
These were slightly smaller than your typical scallion pancakes and slightly more crispy, which I really liked. And not at all greasy. My sister thought they were only okay, and I ended up eating most of it. Yes!
Shanghai Stir-Fried Rice Cakes
Can never go to a Shanghai restaurant and not order this dish. Compare to the other dishes that we had, this was quite standard but very good.
Shrimp and Pig Kidney Noodles
On the menu, it actually said “noodles with shrimp and waist”. I was puzzled by the “waist” part. What did they mean by “waist”? The waist of the shrimp? If so…HUH? Finally, my dad read the Chinese words, and it actually said shrimp pork “waist” noodles. Ok, still didn’t make sense. So FINALLY, just now after 4 days, I called my mom and asked what the heck is pork “waist”. She said it’s pig kidney. Classic Chinglish. The way you say kidney sounds just like waist, hence pig waist. Ok ok enough of that. The shrimp and slices of kidneys were served on a separate bowl. We weren’t sure how to eat it, so my mom just dumped everything into the bowl of noodles. My my this was so tasty. The noodles were perfect, the shrimp tasted fresh, the kidneys were awesome, and the flavors were strong and good. I really wish I can have a bowl of it right now. BUT it’s the noodles that I ordered that I wouldn’t mind moving back to LA for.
Chicken Noodles
This may sound boring and simple, and even when it came to our table, it looked boring and simple. Served in a clay pot, it had baby bok choy, mushroom, chicken, and noodles. Like the restaurant, don’t judge by how simple it looks. The flavors were sooooo intense, it was amazing, yet it tasted clean. It was such a wonderful combination of bok choy, mushroom, chicken, noodles, and broth. This bowl was beyond perfect.
Sesame Filled Mochi in a Hot Wine Broth
Like all the other Chinese restaurants, a meal wouldn’t be a proper meal if it didn’t end with a complimentary dessert. Here is a bowl of hot sweet broth that had wine in it with egg white flower and tiny mochi balls filled with black sesame. In the past, I would’ve not even taken a tiny sip because I just couldn’t stand Chinese desserts. Give me cheesecakes and tiramisu anytime but Chinese desserts, NO THANKS. But I guess I’m getting old now. I actually ate/drank a small bowl of this. I was hoping I would get drunk from it but I hardly tasted any alcohol in it.
