LA area restaurants remain closed and have had to transition to make-shift patios and take-out. One thing I’ve learned from the pandemic experience is that take out food is best enjoyed soon after you receive it. For a couple of days, I decided to change my home base and stay in San Gabriel so that I could visit Asian restaurants such as 101 Noodle Express.
Valley Blvd in Alhambra is home to many popular Chinese restaurants such as 101 Noodle Express. They are in a strip mall just west of New Ave. The front door was open with a table blocking the entrance and orders are taken there. Unfortunately, 101 Noodle Express hasn’t transitioned to contactless payment and continues to be a cash-only business.
Hand torn noodles are made by tearing the rice flour dough before you boil them. The appearance of theirs look more like noodles rather than hand-torn strips and was probably made by slicing the dough with a knife. The noodles are soft and chewy. The best part was the delicious spicy dandan sauce mixed with ground pork and topped with sliced cucumbers that accompanied the noodles.
In order to keep some semblance of a blanched diet, I selected stir-fried bok choy. It was simply prepared with oil and garlic. The stalks had a nice crunch and the leaves were easy to chew. Bok choy and Chinese broccoli are some of my favorite vegetables.
Many Chinese dishes have plain sounding names. One such dish is their signature “Beef Wrap”. Marinated beef is sliced razor thin and layered with minced green onion and cilantro within a Chinese rice flour pancake. The onion and cilantro were sliced so thin, at first, I thought it was pesto.
I was extremely happy to have an air conditioned SGV base minutes away from each destination. While I’m not coming close to the dining room experience, the food is still steaming hot which is the way the chef wants you to enjoy it.
In addition to their Alhambra location, 101 Noodle Express has another location in Monterey Park.
101 Noodle Express, 1408 E. Valley Blvd. Alhambra, CA