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    The Northern Bistro

    4.5 (26 reviews)
    Open 11:00 am - 10:00 pm

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    THE NORTHERN BISTRO ATMOSPHERE

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    Ham Fried Rice
    Erik G.

    For January 18th The quality of food has gone downhill. This is our third time coming here. This is a review for the food on January 18th. We had an early CNY celebration eating out. We didn't want to deal with madness of eating out for CNY. We wanted to eat out before the holiday and have a low-key night. We were disappointed as we've noticed a sharp decline in the flavor of the food since our original visit in September. I don't know if they change the cook, but the food was not as flavorful as before and we found the food to be way too salty. I normally don't drink much despite my Father-in-law coaxing me all the time. That night I drank more beer than normal as the food was too salty. I think we won't be back here anytime soon, but we don't know anywhere else with decent Northern Chinese Cuisine. If anyone knows a good Northern Chinese food spot in SGV. Please DM me!

    Dani S.

    Food was delicious and the service was very attentive and friendly. Came here one day at the recommendation of a friend who lives in the area. It sure did not disappoint. The restaurant is a small mom and Pops place located in a pretty large strip mall anchored by a pretty big supermarket. If you didn't know about this place, you might not be able to find it. The food is extremely authentic, everything was super fresh and made with care. All the details were done properly. The flavor was absolutely spot on. There was definitely some picky eaters in our group and they gave the thumbs up for approval. We ordered a couple of very authentic dishes that you can't find anywhere else. One of my pet peeves is some restaurant put so much hot peppers in the food that you can barely taste the food. Here they put just enough to give it flavor, but never overpowering the intrinsic flavor of the food. They did such a great job. We absolutely absolutely love the food. Highly recommend and we will definitely be back soon!

    Menu
    Travis P.

    Was looking on yelp for places that served toothpick lamb and I felt this place. Wasn't too busy on a weekday and was welcomed in. Had no problem pointing on the menu and speaking English to the server. Here are the things I tried. Toothpick Lamb - It's good! Very flavorful with tons of spices and very generous amount for the $17 price tag. I would recommend. (5/5) Peking Style Meat Pie - Personally really liked this dish. It was really crispy and the meat was juicy. Definitely worth adding vinegar on the side. (4.5/5) Stir Fried String Beans - A good vegetable dish. First time I've had string beans with a kick. It's probably a medium level spicy but not that bad. Great flavors. (5/5) Overall I really liked this place. Solid food, great portions, for a very reasonable price. I paid $46 before tip for 3 items and 1 bowl of rice (costs extra for rice). I would be back to try out some of the other items. Service was great as well, they were very attentive for what I needed. What a gem!

    Shenyang cold noodle
    Kunous K.

    Didn't know this place in the first place, got attracted by the poster on the display, decided to give it a try... Everything we ordered is good! The poster that lured us in is the Crispy Pork, which is not in the menu, tasted very good, very soft meat with crispy skin, it reminds me the Cantonese roast pork but only softer. Cold noodle and the minced pork noodle meet the standard, the sauce of the pork skin jelly is very tasteful. Service is good, the server answered all questions patiently. Ambiance meet the theme of the restaurant. I believe they use some bamboo made furniture, very light in weight. Definitely will come back to try other dishes.

    the front cover of the book
    E A.

    A Chinese northern style food. The braised dish is supposed to be lit on the bottom but I think they forgot to light it. It's a big portion and hardy. Pork ribs, corn, glass noodles, green beans, potatoes, and corn cakes/bread. The lamb dish is more like your standard Chinese fare. Pretty good. Not too spicy for my tastes. They also serve alcohol but don't seem to have a menu yet. Only bud on tap. Chinese bottled beers. Servers speak mandarin first. Place looks newly remodeled.

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    23 days ago

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    1 year ago

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    1 year ago

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    3 years ago

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    9 months ago

    Service was good. Food was well prepared and large portions. Restaurant was clean and staff friendly

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    1 year ago

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    8 months ago

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    3 years ago

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    1 year ago

    This place is delicious! We had three plates and I couldn't tell you which was my favorite. There was no wait and service was quick.

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    1 year ago

    I enjoyed the spicy lamb skewers. Make sure you order enough of them they are snack sized skewers individually.

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    1 year ago

    Tasty beef pancakes, stir fried shrimp, and glass noodles; had a great food buzz after we ate!

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    3 years ago

    This restaurant returned to bring a northern Dong bei Chinese restaurant. Very good, should give it a try.

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    2 years ago

    Amazing food. Very good service. Cafe style eatery. Lots of locals. The eggplant with crispy pork is a stand out.

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    3 years ago

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    2 years ago

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    2 years ago

    Amazing experience. Authentic food and big portions too. Love it and will definitely come back. The 大麻花 is the best!

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    2 years ago

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    Array 36 - Array 36 signature braised pork

    Array 36

    4.4(962 reviews)
    2.8 mi
    $$$$

    Elegant high end setting, delicious slightly different food, reasonably priced for the value…read more For the 4 of us, we ordered the group set menu B, designed for 4-5 people for $118. It was very sumptuous, high quality, with dishes like roasted duck, jelly fish salad, and pepper steak. My favorite was the fish soup, fish was tender and soup was very flavorful. Tip: once we ordered the set menu, dishes came up very quickly, it's best to let them slow down the pace if you are not in a rush. We got way too many dishes initially for us to enjoy properly, after letting them know, they gladly slowed down. Only complaint is it's a bit hard to hear each other even at a small table of 4-5 people. Several private rooms are available for events, the large one required $1500 min expenses before tax & tip.

    I've been here about 8 times. It was a go-to since it's nice to have some quality Chinese food in a…read morenice ambience. It's definitely overpriced for what it is - but still felt it was ok. Each time, we've dropped probably $300-400 since this is a pricey place. This last time I visited really was upsetting. We usually get the Peking duck as one of the options. They have a buy-one-get-one deal where you can get duck for $98 (plus tax and service) and can come back in the future for another. The last 7 times, we would order the duck and at the end, they would give the coupon. This last time, they came out with a performance and then at the end charged us an extra $30 ($130 for a Peking duck) and wouldn't give us the BOGO deal. I was so confused since they were blaming us for not telling them we wanted the deal beforehand. So instead of $98 BOGO, it was $130 for a small duck. They would not budge on the deal. And then as they were wrapping up the duck, they were like "and remember if you want more sauce to go, we would have to charge you." What?? For a $130 duck, they would charge you for the 5 cent sauce. I've been to a lot of places, as you can see - but never one where you pay Michelin prices for take-out level service. Our meal cost $500 this time, but they've lost a customer and probably many others for good because they felt the need to nickel and dime, without flexibility, and then blamed us. Felt tricked. Two stars given for good food quality. Lost stars for the service - if you care about that.

    Photos
    Array 36 - Cozy and elegant environment

    Cozy and elegant environment

    Array 36 - Appetizers

    Appetizers

    Array 36 - Radish pickles

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    Radish pickles

    Good Alley - Thin skins

    Good Alley

    4.5(646 reviews)
    1.3 mi
    $$

    Went here for dinner tonight and it was great! Like many of the restaurants around here, we love…read morethat there was a parking lot for easy parking. There was a short 15-minute wait when we arrived, but the waitlist process went smoothly. We just walked around the plazas next door once and then got a text that our table was ready. The servers were attentive, seats were comfy, and the restaurant itself was nice. When you sit down, they give you a tablet to order your food. It took us a minute to find the veggies on the menu, but we eventually found them after a few flips through the entire menu lol. I like that there are pictures on the tablet with what the dishes look like. My husband and I ordered: the braised beef noodle soup, the pork xiao long bao, pea pod stems, cauliflower, and the wagyu burger wrap thing. I also ordered a jasmine ice tea with sea salt, which was also tasty. The meal was tasty! And our dishes came out FAST. Our favorite was the braised beef noodle soup...it was so flavorful, the meat was generous and tender, and the noodles were nicely cooked as well. The xiao long bao met our expectations (we usually go to Din Tai Fung on the westside so we're used to that), and they were really generous with the pea pod stems and cauliflower portions. The wagyu burger was cool, but I think next time we'll do the beef wrap dish instead. Our order was perfect for two hungry people. I did notice that the prices were slightly higher, but we didn't mind, given that the flavors, service, and overall vibe of the restaurant were nice and clean.

    Despite its popular Shanghai soup dumplings, the menu is Northern Chinese, not Shanghainese, nor is…read moreit a Din Tai Fung clone (that would be "Prince Dumpling" across the street.) Their soup dumpling are deserving 5 stars -- soupy, piping hot, thin wrapper, quality ingredients, and they don't skimp on shredded ginger like DTF. Xi'an Cold Noodle is very light, refreshing and not too spicy. Spareribs are fall-off-bone tender, not too sweet or salty. Beef 'burger' - wrapper too thin and breaks easily, hard to eat when the meat keeps falling out. Go to "Beijing Pie House" in Monterey Park for the best version of this Northern Chinese classic.

    Photos
    Good Alley - Even the kitchen has art-deco flavor

    Even the kitchen has art-deco flavor

    Good Alley - Xiao long Bao

    Xiao long Bao

    Good Alley - Sweet sour pork rib

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    Sweet sour pork rib

    Boston Lobster - fried noodle with seafood

    Boston Lobster

    4.3(1.9k reviews)
    2.0 mi
    $$

    Came to the Rosemead location to celebrate a family member's birthday on a Friday evening. We were…read moreable to call ahead earlier in the morning and ask if we could be on the wait list or reserve a table. They told us they could reserve a table for us at 6pm. We originally were hoping for 7 or 7:30, but based on how busy and popular this place is I can see why they said no. Come early and get seated right away and there's still ample parking in their parking lot. By the time we left at 7:30p, the lot was packed and people circling around hoping to snag a spot from folks leaving. The restaurant is pretty large and has about 3 rooms with different size tables and booths. No matter the size of your party, there's a table that will accommodate. The staff were very nice and attentive and FAST! We had our food out probably 15 min after we put in our order! Now...on to the food. We ordered one of the set menus for our party of 7 and it was spot on! As you can see in the pictures we had all the "classics". Our set meal could easily be enjoyed by at least 10 people. We had so many leftovers! The food was all well prepared and sufficiently seasoned. Portions of each dish was plentiful and everyone will be able to get enough to satisfy. My favorite items: lobster (duh!), kung pao chicken, pork chops, and shaking beef. The seafood soup is a great starter, and don't forget to add a little vinegar and pepper! Great restaurant in the SGV. This location is much bigger than their Rowland Heights restaurant, but the food is exactly the same. This is a great alternative to the popular Newport Seafood, so don't sleep on this place!

    Been looking for an authentic Chinese restaurant. Haven't been to one in a while. This place was…read morerecommended to us by a friend. Came at 530 pm on a tuesday, and there wasen't anyone here yet. Afterwards it filled up quickly!! The main thing I dont like about this place is they dont have the prices on what your ordering. Which I'll get too at the end. Like any other Chinese restaurant, their menu is super extensive. I love how they have a little bit of everything. And its very well organized too. We ordered the following: 1. Crab and fish maw soup- this soup was amazing. It was just the right temp. Got me sweating. Can easily feed 12 people. Great amount of maw. The consistency is just right. Tasted so good!! 2. Small lobster special- on a bed of noodles. It was about 5 lbs. Cooked well. Could do without. Basically flavors. And it was expensive!! About $30 a lb. So this one dish cost basically the same amount as all the other dishes. Which was just too much. If I knew it was that much I would definitely not have ordered it. 3. Walnut shrimp- not the best walnut shrimp I've had. But it was ok. 4. Garlic shrimp- this shrimp dish was ok. Too many bell peppers and onions. It was just ok. 5. Mongolian beef- flavors were not that great. Very tender though. Could've been better. 6. Sea trout- this was amazing!! I love the sauce. Fish was so soft and tender. The heat, the spice, the sweetness. Some of that sauce in white rice was just perfection. It was really really good. Best dish of what we ordered. 7. Kung pao chicken- this was a really good dish. Crispy bits of chicken. But so soft and tender inside. I love the sauce that it was in. It was by far one of the highlights of the meal. It was good food. Price for everything (except the lobster) was pretty good. Food tasted amazing for the most part. Typical Chinese customer service. Pay at the front. Massively large portions. Solid authentic Chinese food.

    Photos
    Boston Lobster - Dining area with pretty cherry blossoms  tree painted on wall...

    Dining area with pretty cherry blossoms tree painted on wall...

    Boston Lobster - Clam with basil

    Clam with basil

    Boston Lobster - Stir-fried Clam with Thai basil

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    Stir-fried Clam with Thai basil

    The Northern Bistro - chinese - Updated May 2026

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