California’s San Gabriel Valley isn’t just home to some of the country’s most exciting Chinese and Taiwanese food destinations. This culinary scene is built on a rich cultural history that largely begins in the 1970s, when immigrants from Taiwan and, later, mainland China settled in Monterey Park.
As their communities strengthened, the neighborhood became known as “Little Taipei” and the country’s “First Suburban Chinatown.” For decades to come, people came to the valley from mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and across the Chinese diaspora. And with them came regional cuisines and traditions that, together, have forged a dining landscape where Cantonese, Sichuan, Taiwanese, Shanghainese, and other Chinese culinary traditions can be found right next door to each other.
Today, you can find fiery Sichuan dishes that dazzle with chile and dim sum feasts within just a few blocks of each other. Or slurp through bowls of Taiwanese noodle soups before tucking into luxurious seafood spreads gleaming with Cantonese specialties. The restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley are a delicious expression of just how diverse the Chinese and Taiwanese food traditions truly are. Let’s dig into the best of them.
Chengdu Taste
For bold flavors, lots of spice, and plenty of options, go to Chengdu Taste. The menu at this Alhambra business is a strong representation of Sichuan cooking, offering intensely flavorful dishes that showcase the cuisine’s signature combination of intense chile heat and peppercorn, a palate-vibrating ingredient. The broad selection includes meat, seafood, noodles, dumplings, cold dishes, and vegetable preparations, giving diners plenty of variety, while showcasing the true breadth of the Sichuan foodway…