101 Noodle Express
1408 E Valley Blvd.
Alhambra, CA 91801
626.300.8654
(In a small plaza, next to Dip’s)
Come here during dinner and expect to take a number and wait 30 min. That’s how good this place is. Din Tai Fung got nothing on this place. Best dumplings I’ve had, and their beef rolls are just heaven rolled up and served on a platter.
Atmosphere
Here’s one thing about SGV area (San Gabriel Valley area: I’m loosely including Monterey Park and Alhambra in here), most of the restaurants are not gourmet, fancy restaurants; however, most of the best Chinese or Taiwanese restaurants are located here. If you want Chinese, don’t go to Chinatown; it’s mostly owned by Vietnamese now. 101 Noodle Express is one of those restaurants that you just have to go. They have the best dumplings ever! It’s a really small restaurant so seating can get crowded if you come during the peak of dinner time. Come a little early, or late to eat. It’s very casual and almost has that hole-in-the-wall feel without the dirtyness.
Food
Beef Roll
This is why I go all the way to Alhambra from Irvine to eat. This Beef Roll cannot be beat. This is one of their staple foods, and you’ll quickly learn why. Think of a chinese burrito, with the tortilla being replaced with a dough made from flour (although I almost swear it’s mixed with rice flour as well) and the inside with chinese roast beef and veggies. The wrap is slightly chewy, with the cilantro being slightly crisp, and the roast beef being very tender and soft; it makes a very good mixture of texture and firmness to balance out the dish. If you don’t like cilantro, don’t worry. Or at least, to my opinion the cilantro isn’t overpowering the dish; if anything, it adds a slight herbal aroma to the dish.
It does not come with a sauce, but I eat it the way Jason Chao showed me. It’s not a custom or the official way of eating it, but seriously.. I think they should make this the official rule for eating here:
Using the soup bowl, pour in the vinegar (it’s dark don’t worry, you didn’t grab the wrong one), soy sauce, the red chili oil sauce, and mix it well. This will be your dipping sauce for your beef roll and dumplings. Trust me, it goes so well with the dishes.
Dumplings
They have a good variety of dumplings, and you have a choice of getting steamed or potstickers. Although, it’s up to your preference, my suggestion is that you get it steamed if you are getting a dumplings with nothing hard or firm inside as a filling (such as Leak and Pork dumplings). If you have a dumplings with something hard/chewy (i.e. Shrimp dumplings), I say try it Potsticker style. This is just my preference, but it’s really up to your tasting. Every dumpling I had were solid and really good, but if you have only one choice, I say get the most common and plain one: Leek Pork Dumplings. This way you can tell how well they make dumplings.
The dumplings are very moist inside and the skin isn’t too thin. The skin is on the slightly thicker side, making it a little more chewier and makes for a good ratio to the filling. Dedication went into the skin because it’s firm but not overly chewy, and it holds the inside fillings in very well without breaking. The filling is also very well packed. You know this by being able to take a bite into the dumpling without all your filling falling out. Yet, the filling is not too firmly packed in making it on the heavier side. It’s filling without stuffing you up.
Sweet and Sour Soup
Their sweet and sour soup is really good and has alot of stuff in it. Most places with soup only gives you a little bit of the ingredients and alot of soup. (You usually only see couple pieces of tofu, mushroom, and eggs) The sweet and sour soup here gives you alot that with each bowl of soup you always have alot of tofu, mushrooms, eggs, etc. If you have symptoms of a fever or a cold coming, I say drink this soup. You will be sweating like no other within the first few minutes. It’s hot, but not too spicy. And add in the white pepper powder (only a little) if you need some more spice to your soup. It’s not too sweet or sour, but just enough of each 🙂
Noodles
I forget if they had hand-cut or knife-shaven noodles. But it was REALLY good. I think we got the Beef Tendon Noodles and it seriously is what Taiwanese food should taste like. (I know I know.. I’m not Taiwanese, but trust me I can have a tastebud of a Taiwanese person :D) Not too heavy or salty, but it’s a good comfort food. The broth is rich in flavor the noodles have the same firmness described in the skins of the dumplings.
Overall
I love Taiwanese food, and I have to say this place can’t be beat for good noodle soup, dumplings and of course the beef roll. This is a good place to take your friends if they’ve never had Taiwanese food. It’s a good way to ease them into the food. They’re familiar with dumplings probably, and the beef roll will seem like a fusion dish to them that they’ll be willing to try (altho it’s not fusion at all).
If you go to the counter they also have some other dishes that you can just order and they’ll take to your table. I love their Pork ears and beans dish. Good flavors of ginseng and garlic, and it makes a good appetizer (but I love pig ears.. so maybe not for some)
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