ROWLAND HEIGHTS: Newport Seafood 新港海鮮

www.newportseafood.com
18441 Colima Road
Rowland Heights, CA 91748
(626) 839-1239

Price: Very Expensive
Rating: Greatttt
Directions: Get off at Fullerton on the 60
Reservations: They don’t take them
Must Get: House special lobster, boiled shrimp, fried tofu

This is probably hands down the best Chinese/Vietnamese seafood restaurant in the area. I’ve been here years ago, but I wasn’t nearly as impressed with it that time as I was this past trip. They remodeled since I was there last there and it was definitely for the best. This place is surprisingly beautiful. The decor is modern; it reminds me of the restaurants found on the top floors of department buildings in Asia. But the best part is, it’s clean! A huge rarity for Chinese restaurants in this area sadly. But anyway, on to the food…

Everything we ordered here was delicious with the exception of their clams. Stay away from them. They were sauteed well, but not cleaned well. They still had sand! And let me tell you, my parents are in the seafood business and that’s just not normal. (Soak clams in water for about 30 minutes before you decide to cook them and scrub the shells.) Their house specialty is their lobster, you’ll see it at practically every table and it’s worth it. It’s a little bit on the sweet side, but overall really tasty. You can’t really go wrong with boiled shrimp as long as it’s fresh and this particular type of shrimp (in Chinese it’s youshuixia 游水蝦). Their fried tofu was good too, crisp on the outside but the sauce needed some jalapenos with a bit more kick. We also got a plate of sauteed green pea sprouts (Don’t hold me to that English name, it’s what I found via Google. It’s called doumiao 豆苗 in Chinese) which were also good, but once again it’s hard to mess that up.

Anyway, this place is great and definitely worth going to, but early warning, if you want seafood here make sure to bring your parents or someone else who is willing to pay the bill. A small lobster here goes for about $60-70 and a pound of shrimp goes for $25-30… I could probably eat a pound or two alone and still be hungry. Ha! They do have meat dishes here that are cheaper like the bo luc lac (French style beef cubes in black pepper sauce), but this place is famous for their seafood, so how can you come here and not try it?

TAIPEI: Tainan Dan Zai Mein 台南担仔麵

www.tainan-seafood.com.tw
台北市華西街31號
No. 31, Huaxi Street, Taipei City
02 2308 1123

Price: Expensive, but worth it
Rating: Delicious
Directions: You can walk from the Longshan Temple MRT Station or just hail a cab, I recommend the latter at night unless you want weirdos to approach you.
Reservations: Unnecessary
Must Get: Any kind of seafood you like that they have and, of course, their namesake– the dan zai mein (read below)

So, this place is a completely unexpected find. It’s in the middle of this creepy night market filled with snakes, dirty old men, and, apparently, prostitutes. It’s also one of the nicest restaurants in Taiwan with their Wedgewood tableware, Christofle silverware, and unique dining rooms. The seafood is amazing here which is how my parents know about it. They import/export seafood, but they have been coming here since back in the days of when they used to live in Taipei and owned an electronics company.

You order out in front. There’s a man who stands by the seafood and you just tell him what you want. There’s no menu, but if you tell him that you want crab, shrimp, etc., he’ll tell you the best way to prepare it. You can, of course, disagree and tell him you want it fried, steamed, etc. instead. Make sure you get your favorite things and, of course, an order of their dan zai noodles for each person at your table. Their dan zai noodles are simple, but so delicious. It’s just noodles in broth with tiny bits of pork, some vegetables, and one shrimp.

And since there’s no menu and the seafood changes all the time, there’s nothing I can really tell you that you have to get, although I’m sure there will always be steamed fish available, so I’m just going to leave you with pictures of the restaurant and some of the dishes we got here:

Most of the dishes here are served per person, unlike most Chinese restaurants where they put it all on one big plate and make everyone share. One bad thing about this place is the fact that there’s no menu means there are no prices. The first time I went we easily spent over $100/person– US$100/person! This past trip we ran into one of my dad’s clients here at the end of our meal who turned out to sell seafood to this place, so we got a free meal! I was happy about that, but my parents weren’t, of course. Oh Chinese people…

Anyway, bottom line… this is a great restaurant, but not a place you can go to everyday unless you are rolling in dough. It’s a great place to go if you are trying to impress someone/people. There are branches in Taichung and Kaoshiung too, but my dad claims the one in Taipei is the best. It’s also good for weddings as my cousin just got married in the one in Taichung this past week. Congratulations again to him!