Time for another plug of a mom and pop Chinese restaurant! This is a picture of wontons in soup from Twin Dragon in Placentia. I was very, very skeptical when I walked in here today despite my mom's rave reviews. This place is opened by a couple who worked at 369 in Anaheim (on Euclid by Anaheim Festival) for years and years. I ate there for a good 15ish years until it recently became terrible when the original people left. But.. now they're at Twin Dragon! So, when first walking in it looks like a crappy Chinese fast food place. There's the typical hot lamp trays of crappy Chinese food (I thought it was crappy, it almost always is), you know, Broccoli & Beef, Firecracker Shrimp, "Chow Mein" (this crap is so nasty, why the hell do people think it's good?). The entire menu is in English.
I became much less skeptical when I saw my favorite waitress from 369 serving customers and chatting with my mom. Her and her husband own and run the place. As always, she was super sweet and my mom started ordering food from her straight from the back kitchen. That's where this delicious bowl of wontons in broth came from and along with it, a Shanghai noodle dish with preserved veggies and pork in more broth. We did order some broccoli and beef (I'm a broccoli fiend, I left ALL the beef, much to my mother's consternation) and some tofu from the shovel trays -- it was actually delicious!
I was amused at the clientele that came in while we ate there. The typical Chinese fast food orders were purchased. Tons of chow mein was eaten. Ew ): my stomach just turned thinking about it. I'm sure their chow mein is.. decent... but I'll stick to continuing to order off the secret menu (: The service was great and the place is super clean. Now I'm hungry again (thoughts of chow mein abolished). I want food ):
I normally hate wontons. Well, hate is a strong word. I normally dislike wontons. But I became a wonton fiend today. /: I also ate the hot and sour soup (another thing I despise) and I ate the weird Asian salad she gave us. Me.. eating Asian salad provided at an Asian food place aimed towards white people.. WTF? I don't ever do this. o_O EVER. Today is a weird day!
My mom asked the owners why they didn't open a restaurant aimed for Chinese clientele since their food is so amazing. They said that it's a hassle to hire so many people and operate a front of house. Additionally, it's not as lucrative since white people are willing to pay for cheapy fake Chinese food and Chinese people are less willing to pay for anything at all, even if it's good. Man, Chinese people are cheap. Nevertheless, I'm glad this place is open and nearby! I was devastated 369 turned to crap and am happy to hear I can eat this couple's nomlicious northern Chinese food again. Yippee :D
PS: I want potato salad.
