Highlights: I always love the Bible Verse on. The cup holder on all the drinks, enlighten my days as always. Plenty free parking spaces, in the same complex with Grocery Outlets. My favorite: I always buy Menu#1 for to go: Pork Chop comes with Steamed Rice, Corn and Veggies with very much reasonable price. Food is good and fresh. Will definitely come back as always! read more

** Takeout ** Hmm... is it my imagination or does takeout just taste better since covid? I have only had a handful of dine in experiences. When I do takeout, it is wonderful. Food is packed nicely; portion size is generous; service is pleasantly efficient. Anyway, onto Why Thirsty... it tastes much much better than we remember. Their fried pork chop is delicious!!! It comes with veggies, corn, half egg. Just the perfect amount of light breading without it having traces of oil. Basil chicken over rice with lots of green onions and garlic. Mmm... came with the same veggies, corn, half egg. We will add it back to our takeout weekly rotation. They have happy hour popcorn chicken where you choose a flavor of popcorn chicken with a choice of tea. *Note: Shave ice takeout is also two thumbs up. It does not melt by the time you get home like some other places. read more

Quick lunch date before picking up kids. Got the Assam milk tea with popcorn chicken. The popcorn chicken is just how I like it in terms of texture and taste. Got it medium spicy and actually had some kick. The Assam milk tea was pretty good as well and adds a bit of complexity to the flavor with the Assam tea. Prices are good as well! Only weird thing is when asking for less ice they said it'd be a $0.75 charge. Never heard that before at any other place. read more

Why Thirsty - Assam milk tea with popcorn chicken! - Taiwanese Near Me - San Gabriel, California

When I first saw Why Thirsty I wondered what the restaurant name meant--and I still have no idea what it means. Maybe that's part of the charm, the mystery of not knowing what you're getting into? I was not wowed by flavor or quality, but was wowed by the MASSIVE portions they serve for such a bargain price (most rice plates are only $9.99). I ordered a premium beef over rice plate (basically beef satay stir fry), "The Railroad" (a soggy saucy fried cutlet homage to high speed rail bentos?), and fried Taiwanese fish cakes to go and felt I could biceps curl my dinner on my way back to the car. It was hefty!! The flavors were rightly authentic, if not on the more muted and unremarkable side--and I think this is maybe the only detracting factor for me: it's not really 'amazing' enough for me to come back again regularly--given the overabundance of other great asian restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley. That being said, if you're in town and looking for gigantic portions of Taiwanese food and huge fried cutlets, drop by Why Thirsty and ask the owners for me what their restaurant name means lol. read more

Why Thirsty - "The Railroad" -- whatever that means lol - Taiwanese Near Me - San Gabriel, California

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Everytime I come back to the 626, I have to come to Why Thirsty for their delicious lo mein and various meats. You really cannot go wrong with anything on the menu. My favorites tend to be the popcorn chicken, fish fillet, and the railroad. They also have a great selection of delicious drinks! My favorite part is that their prices haven't changed much over the past few years. Such a cheap and delicious place to eat! read more

Why Thirsty - Popcorn Chicken Fish Fillet Taiwnese Lo Mein - Taiwanese Near Me - San Gabriel, California

this is a new discovery for me. Have been getting take outs from this joint on and off in the past few months . Service has been sufficient but have mixed feelings about their food. Have tried the followings. popcorn chicken/ is somewhat mediocre. taiwanese sausage / was not good, very little served per order and taste like it is from the supermarket. taiwanese fish cake / was not good. huge quantity per order but not tasty, it is just Thin, flat, dry, fried fish cakes. fried pork chop / was Good. Nicely fried and seasoned. the railroad pork chop /. was good, semi sweet and tender But the last time we got it (8/2021) the pork chop we got was reduced to almost half of its size from the previous times. I am not sure if this would be an isolated incident or a response to the inflation. i am on the fence about this place by now but we will see. (convenient but not a must experience). Luckily there are plenty of places just like this one to choose from in the SGV. read more

Been sooo long, but I came back because I was craving some of their truly spicy fried chicken and noodles. The noodles here are definitely some of my favorite in SGV. Their lo mein (it's actually 乾拌麵, not real lo mein) is so freaking good! They use a thinner noodle with a very springy consistency. I personally prefer the original onion oil for sauce, but I'm sure the other sauces are good too. So much had changed since I used to come here. They have a very wide selection of flavors for their popcorn chicken, as well as a large tea menu. Also, the staff is much smaller in size and very helpful and courteous. Oh, I still remember their early days when they employed young women and stuck them in school uniform inspired outfits. Super glad those days of creepy waitress uniforms and terrible service are long behind them! The staff these days are a pleasure to deal with, and their service is really quite good. They're always attentive without being in your face. The prices aren't much higher from what I remember. Noodle combos for instance are only $10 and extra noodles are just 50¢ Parking is always easy now that Trader Joe's is gone, too. read more

Why Thirsty - 乾拌麵 with curry flavored popcorn chicken... Really good. - Taiwanese Near Me - San Gabriel, California

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I always come here the lo main, it's freaking amazing! Every time when I want some good Taiwanese dish, it's either this place or Sinbala. It's like the yin yang to me; rice at Sinbala, noodle at why thirsty! First of all, the parking; it's easy to find at a huge parking lot. Second is the store itself, which is not big. But you can be sure that usually it won't be packed. I always get the basil chicken lo Mein. Sometimes I do get the sweet potato fries as well. Always ask for the sweet potato powder! This place is not fancy nor creative. But it's definitely one of those decent places that can stay popular without any crazy food marketing, interior decorations, and etc. The workers are nice and helpful. If you're drink's sweetness isn't on point, then just let them know. They'll be happy to adjust it. read more

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Long overdue review! Been coming here for 3+ years since we moved into the neighborhood. Our TW friend referred this place to us and we've been hooked ever since. We even phone in orders for pick up often. Get the Railroad porkchop with rice, or soup noodles or lo mein and you definitely can't go wrong. Appetizers such as sweet potato fries, popcorn chicken, and TW sausage are all delicious. I appreciate how you can control the sugar and ice level in all the drinks. Tonight I was not craving much meat and decided to go with the plain veggie noodle soup. Instead of just some cabbage on top of my noodles, it actually came with a side order of the veggies! It hit the right spot with my hot Jasmine Green Tea with half sugar. FYI - this is not an actual vegetarian dish because the broth they use is the same meat broth as everything else on the menu. I noticed a few tiny pieces of meat in the soup. Service is always friendly, all the workers can speak English, and the WIFI password is on the wall. read more

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Small Taiwanese food/tea place that I've had bookmarked forever. I came here for dinner to try out their braised pork chop lo mein that I've been eyeing forever. Their lo mein looks small in person but it's deceiving because you actually do get a lot for how small it is. It comes with bok choy and a side of preserved veggies that my parents would eat with porridge. The sauce of the noodles was not over powering and went really well with the pork chop. I would suggest to get this if you love noodles. If you're craving homemade Taiwanese noodles or comfort food, this is a good place to try! I didn't try their teas but I feel like this place is more for food than it is a boba shop. It's a small shop and not the most pleasant looking but the food is pretty decent. I've heard good things about their popcorn chicken but I didn't get to order that but definitely will come back in the future to try those out. Minimum to use your card is $20. There's plenty of parking as it shares a big lot with a lot of different stores. read more

- beef stew noodle their beef stew noodle comes in a convenient double stacked container, with soup in the bottom compartment and noodles + beef + veggies in the top compartment. it's the perfect serving size for one person. the dish was okay, but i would pass on this in favor of trying their bentos next time. - popcorn chicken solid as usual! i enjoy the crisp of their chicken and the portions are great. i forgot to order medium spicy but definitely prefer it on the spicier side, so if you like spice def up the heat! - assam milk tea with boba this was pretty decent. i like how their tea and boba complement each other, but i enjoyed the oolong-based tea i got last time more. boba consistency is great and sweetness is just right! - overall ($22.97) i called in my order and it was ready in ~10 minutes. there were ~3 other people there as well when i stopped by so i rec calling in your order beforehand if you want to reduce the wait. read more

Very average. I ordered the popcorn chicken rice and Assam milk tea. Popcorn chicken was very bland. 75% breading and 25% chicken. There was very very little mince meat over it - more so just some juice and maybe one small chunk of pork. The egg was also way over cooked and dry. The corn and veggies were good. I can't speak much of their other drinks but I did enjoy the Assam milk tea I ordered. read more

I have came to Why Thirsty ever since it was open! It is a small restaurant that serves great and tasty Taiwanese styled food and amazing varieties of drinks. The waitresses are very friendly and amazing! I have been there for so many times already and this place is still my favorite! I don't really have a favorite food or drink cause they are all so good but I especially love their popcorn chicken! It has a cozy vibe when you arrive. Definitely would recommend going here! read more

Dropped by for a snack around 12:30pm on a Saturday. The lot was relatively empty, as it seems most places in the plaza don't get much business. The restaurant was crowded for how small it was, but there was no wait and my party was seated immediately. For $5.99, the popcorn chicken is a good deal--sizable pieces of chicken thigh, still tender under a thin, crispy layer of batter and tossed in seasoning, which wasn't too salty. My only complaint was the chicken wasn't spicy enough, but that's on me because I ordered medium spicy instead of spicy. I also ordered the Assam black tea 75% sweet, also a very good price compared to other stores for its size. However, it tasted more like a generic "black tea" you might find at other places. The wait staff do speak English and are very attentive and efficient. read more

Why Thirsty - Popcorn chicken and Assam black tea - Taiwanese Near Me - San Gabriel, California

Why thirsty? Perhaps the tea was so bitter and that after drinking you're still thirsty. I came here with my friends right after our lunch date at President Thai and all of us ordered a drink. Most of us ordered Jasmine green tea and it was so bitter. After a couple of sips I had to ask them to add more syrup. Even after adding some syrup it was still the same. The place is pretty small and if you come on a busy day or with a large party, there might be a long wait. Due to the limited space we had to order our drinks to go because we didn't want to wait for a table. There are more parking spaces located in the back of the building so no worries. I don't think I would be back here for their drinks. read more

Why Thirsty - Jasmine green tea - Taiwanese Near Me - San Gabriel, California

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It's a small establishment where they serve both food and beverages. I got their formosa oolong tea and was surprised because it wasn't what I imagined. So, for those who don't know their teas well, just ask. I wouldn't say that I didn't enjoy the beverage, but was just not satisfied. It's definitely not memorable. The spicy sesame chicken dish is large in size that you end up getting two plates. The portions are very generous to the price. But, there was nothing "spicy" about the spicy sesame chicken, not even a hint of spice. A very confusing flavored dish that I would not recommend to anyone. Overall, it's a small place where you can have both a beverage and a full meal, but nothing impressive. read more

*Located in the same plaza as Petco & Trader Joe's on the corner of Rosemead Blvd and Huntington Drive* Ordered: *Spicy Beef Noodle Soup ($7.99)- Yummo! Soup was flavorful and not oily, noodles were chewy and the beef/tendon was tenderrrrrrrr. Mmmm, I want a bowl now! You have a choice of noodles. I like mine THICK! ;) *Don't forget to add the diced pickled veggies in the soup! *Popcorn Chicken ($4.99)- Decent. They give lots of basil! *The Railroad (pork chop rice: $6.99)- Eh, not a fan... I prefer my pork chop breaded and deep fried haha *Passion Fruit Oolong Tea- Refreshing! They put passion seeds in the drink! I enjoyed chewing on those suckas! *Upgrade to a large for $0.50 Service: Good Parking: shared lot **Restaurant is tiny, expect a wait during lunch/dinner/weekends. read more

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In the words of Drake, "Best I ever had, best I ever had..." The tea drinks here rock my world and are better than anything I've gotten in Taiwan too. We are talking genuine tea, none of this powdery-sugar stuff, with real fruit rinds (or in the case of the Formosa Sweet, a dried peach)! We added egg pudding and honey boba to our order and was delightfully surprised by how great the texture of the egg pudding was, and without that artificial sugar taste! The boba was sweetened with a mixture of sugar and honey and was quite chewy! I prefer my boba slightly bigger, sweeter, and softer, but really, the overall package was as good as it gets. Now, the food is more like 3 stars and the amount of seating is abysmal, but who cares. There is basically only one reason to come here and that's for their milk tea drinks!!! read more

Why Thirsty - Taiwanese Near Me - San Gabriel, California

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A shout out for Jason!! Thank you for delivering our order today. Minor mistake when we went to pick up. But you had it taken care of right away. Great customer service and quick. Much appreciated for getting the order out so the kids can have their lunch. Saving me a trip to head back for pick up too!! Our favorite is always the railroad & basil chicken. Kid's favorite is the popcorn chicken over rice. Not too spicy for kids. For adults, we just have to request extra spicy next time. This is our place to go to for lunch and dinner. Well, let's eat! I'm starving. read more

Why Thirsty - The railroad, basil chicken and popcorn chicken over rice. - Taiwanese Near Me - San Gabriel, California

I give Why Thirsty a 4.5 star. This little hole in the wall Taiwanese restaurant sits between Trader Joe's and the Bhanu Indian Grocery Store/ Restaurant. I always wondered why there was always people waiting outside of Why Thirsty whenever I went to eat at Bhanu for Indian Food. I just assumed maybe they have good boba or something or the Chinese pork chop rice was really good. Well I finally got a chance to give Why Thirsty a chance the other day and I was pleasantly surprised with how good the Spicy Beef Noodles were. The Beef was nice and tender and not all fatty and tough like most places. The noodles with nice and firm with great texture and soaked up the broth very well with each bite. Since it was the spicy beef noodle I was expecting a overload of chili oil but to my sup rise it was not as oily as other places I have been. The vegetables were not overly cooked and still had a nice crunch to them. Overall the Spicy Beef Noodle is definitely something I would come back for. I also tried the Railroad which is another version of Taiwanese Pork Chop Rice but without the usual breading. Unfortunately I was not too impressed with its overall flavor. The pork was a little tougher than I thought it should have been but everything else as far as sides were pretty good. It might just be because I am just used to the original style of Taiwanese Pork Chop rice but I will probably pass on this item the next time I drop by. The Popcorn chicken on the other hand was really good. Nice fat pieces of spicy popcorn chicken perfectly breaded and crunchy on the outside and moist and tender on the inside with that nice spicy kick to your taste buds. I have had quite a lot of popcorn chicken in my lifetime and I can honestly say that this place makes it better than most. The most impressed thing that I notice was the Oolong Passion Fruit tea that I ordered from why thirsty, because they used real passion fruit jam to make the drink. You could see the actual Passion fruit seeds along with the pulp all along the bottom of the drink. The Oolong passion fruit tea was one of the best passion fruit drinks I have ever had. Service was great with very attentive waiters but the price of the dishes is slightly higher than most Taiwanese restaurants but it wont deter me from coming back. If you in the neighborhood for some good Taiwanese spicy beef noodles, popcorn chicken, and tea drinks Why Thirsty is where you need to be. read more

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I am not a good actor. Sometimes I can apparently fool people into thinking I'm an honest-to-God Chinese guy who speaks and reads Chinese (and not a lazy ABC who decided watching Saturday morning cartoons and eating cereal was more important than attending Chinese school). But after spending more than five minutes at Why Thirsty furiously scribbling on my iPhone to translate the Chinese menu in front of me, the gig was up and my server ended my misery by giving me an English menu and saying "you can match it with this." For the record, her English was much better than my Chinese. I had a minced meat rice bowl and cold chamomile tea with no sugar, ordering it all in Chinese (I may not be a good actor, but I am a persistent one). The thing was enormous for the price - $6.99 as of this writing, the large bowl utterly packed with dark bits of braised pork and a whole braised egg and a side plate of about half a dozen different steamed or preserved vegetables. It was on par with some of the better Taiwanese restaurants in the area, although if anything it was less greasy than I had expected/secretly hoped. While I was eating my "mi zhi lu rou fan" (that was more for my reference than yours, so I don't have to look it up again), I saw families, headphone-wearing students w/ laptops and a group of friends with board games all come in. Chinese pop music videos - and even some old J-pop - floated languorously across the TV. This is basically the epitome of the Taiwanese cafe. Maybe they should get some book shelves and stock them with manga for the hell of it. Why Thirsty is a small cafe with a solid menu of Taiwanese fare, a menu just as large for drinks, sweet servers and no pretension. I'd love to - and probably will - reunite with it soon. I should also point out that it serves an area north of where a lot of the competing SGV restaurants are, which makes it a convenient choice for those who live closer to San Marino or Pasadena. As well as those who might just need a little work on their acting. read more

Why Thirsty - Taiwanese Near Me - San Gabriel, California

We usually get take out here. Our go to dishes are the railroad pork chop rice and fried pork chop rice. The food is yummy and authentic taiwanese. They give a lot of veggies for those 2 dishes so we feel like it's healthier than other places, so that is a plus. Highly recommended. Call ahead so you don't need to wait. read more

Is it just me or did everyone else yelp "popcorn chicken" and found this place? I decided to come here late one night because my gf was craving popcorn chicken. I just want to start by saying, "Thanks Why Thirsty for scoring me some brownie points!" We got here fairly late for dinner (after 8pm). The restaurant cafe is on the smaller side (can fit ~20 ppl?) I saw a tabled occupied by a laptop user but this is probably too crowded of a place to come study at night. When we were ready to leave (past 9pm), there was actually 2 party waiting outside, eyeing our precious table. The Railroad - basically, fried pork chop battered with the fragrance of Taiwan. It comes with the standard stir fried cabbage, bok choy, half an egg and pickled vegetables.. and man, I'm such a fan of pickled veges... =) It also comes with the standard white rice that fills up half the plate. I can't help but compare it to Old Country Cafe's fried pork chop since they're in the same region. The Railroad is definitely less greasy and very tender. Otherwise, they're comparable in value and flavor. The popcorn chicken noodles - the popcorn chicken is on the side and you can choose the spiciness level. The noodle is exactly what I expected from a Taiwanese place. Carb Heaven. =) Formosa Milk Tea with boba - High Mountain Oolong Tea - This is definitely a high quality, unique blended tea. I think it's great with or without cream milk with it. Btw, why are the waitress dressed like semi-maids? And why are Asian places, especially Japanese-related places, obsesses with maid attire? There's a huge screen TV playing C-pop and K-pop if you like those sort of things. If you ignore all the English in the menu for a second, you might actually fantasize yourself in some corner cafe in Taiwan. Oh yea, Why Thirsty? ... Read the cup! It makes a lot more sense after I saw it. Love the shout out to my favoritest and most important person in my life. Hint: John 4:14 read more

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It is my assumption that this Taiwanese place has been around for the last year. It is such a tiny and squishy place that I felt claustrophobic inside! It's so small that I had my back facing the walkway that I won't know until it's too late that somebody is choking me. haha. Anyhow, this place is good. I ordered their Railroad Pork Chop on Rice which was delicious. The order was pieces of pork chops on top of green vegetables and white rice. The order was quite large. There was corn and also a scoop of minced pork on the bottom along with all the cabbage served on the bottom. The pork chop was tasty! It had enough flavor as it was lightly batter before it was cooked. My drink was a less sugar green tea which I thought was good. But I had to let them know it was too sweet even though I ordered a less sugar one. I felt the waitress was a bit embarrassed about her mistake that she just went ahead and added more green tea in it to make it not so sweet. Yes, I am trying to cut down on my sugar intake as I get older. Yes, and I still have a sweet tooth. Overall, I do like this place. It's only a bit too small. I hope they could expand and make the whole eatery bigger. The waitresses are very attentive. You get greeted right when you walk in, and they will try to take your order as quick as they can. Yes, they were courteous and constantly smiling. read more

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Pretty close to eating in Taiwan, if you ask me. Having been to Taipei on several occasions, I can safely say the Sweet Pork Chop with Rice is spot on here. I tried the Railroad. It was served with one ample scoop of white rice, stir fried broccoli, cabbage, pickled spicy radish (I think), corn scrambled with egg, and one soy sauce egg. The entire dish worked well. The sweet pork chop was not overly sweet yet savory and tender. Each bite paired well with the rice, pickled radish, and corn/egg. I especially liked the pickled spicy radish because it elevated the dish with that extra punch of seasoning and spice. This is a must try, but other menu items sound like solid choices too. I also tried the Formosa Sweet Tea with Grass Jelly. Another huge hit as I am picky about my tea and grass jelly. The tea was fresh brewed and it had a preserved fig that gave it an organic-like sweetness. The grass jelly was clearly made in house and not store bought in a can. The restaurant itself is small and not very easy to find. It's sorta blended with other stores in a strip mall on Rosemead Blvd. Just look for Trader Joe's and you'll find it. During lunch, there was a short wait. Service was timely and friendly. Enjoy! read more

Why Thirsty - Formosa Sweet Tea with Grass Jelly - Taiwanese Near Me - San Gabriel, California

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Nice boba and small dinner spot in Arcadia. Came here to enjoy a nice break. This place is located in the old Trader Joe's complex with ample parking. My favorite thing here was their sweet potato fries- salty, sweet, and spicy flavors blended together! It was pretty unique! Their popcorn chicken was good, and their pork noodles were flavorful. Nothing special, but was large portions and overall good for the price. Overall a nice stop, but not fantastic. Would come again if I'm in the area. read more

Why Thirsty - Popcorn Chicken Meal - Taiwanese Near Me - San Gabriel, California

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Why so thirsty? Why so thirsty? Just an inside joke LOL ... I've had this place bookmarked for awhile and I finally got to try it. I highly recommend their spicy basil chicken over rice. Besides the Railroad, this one is also one of their special recommended dishes. The chicken was pretty juicy and flavorful. The portions are huge, so expect leftovers! Another good choice is the sweet popcorn chicken over rice. Very filling and pretty delicious all around! As for drinks, I got the passion fruit green tea, which was all right. Overall, taste and quality is pretty decent. Prices are pretty good. There's some seatings available, but usually people just order the food to go though. Plenty of parking. read more

Why Thirsty - Spicy chicken basil rice - Taiwanese Near Me - San Gabriel, California

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Great Taiwanese food. Great flavor selection of Boba tea. Water tested best quality that's why their tea is good. They use Good quality material preparing all the dishes. I have been visiting this place for many years. read more

I came back for dinner and dragged my boyfriend with me. We actually went twice before we came to the conclusion that we will probably not be coming back here again for dinner, especially when there are much more tastier options nearby. The pork chop noodles that I ordered were decent, and came with a few small side dishes, but I really wished the pork chop was fried. It was quite tasty, and I liked the noodles. Overall that was an okay dish. My boyfriend had the minced meat rice, which he said was not good at all. I tried it and thought it was okay, but because he had lived in Taiwan for over a year, he said the meat was prepared correctly and wasn't flavored enough. Then we came back for dinner again. I ordered their beef noodle soup and he had the sausage rice. The beef noodle soup ... was not what I expected. The beef was very thinly sliced and didn't have any tendons, but just chunks of meat. While it was soft, there was no taste to the meat. The noodles tasted like peanuts. I liked that they gave me pickled vegetables to go along with the dish though. My boyfriend's sausage rice had no taste either. The sausage was good, but wasn't salty enough. The rice was plain and the vegetables on the side didn't really help to add flavor. Probably will not come back for food. (Though I did like their railroad pork chop rice.) BUT their appetizers and drinks are still superb. I tried their sweet potato fries and popcorn chicken. Both were really good. I know when it first opened, the owner was trying to perfect these appetizers. I think he got them down pretty well! Also, their drinks are really good. I ordered the jasmine milk tea with boba - it was realllyyy good. I like that the tea wasn't mixed yet, so when I swirled my straw I could see the colors mixing together aha. My boyfriend ordered some oolong tea which he liked. I saw their promotion for a voucher of $35 for any ten drinks or something, which I thought was neat. Their TV on the side is always playing Asian music videos. The place does get incredibly loud ... not sure why. There's only a few tables, but the noise level gets so loud that I have to shout for the person across from me to hear what I am saying. Lastly, I really like the name of the restaurant following John 4:14's verse. tl;dr great place for drinks and appetizers; not so much for food. The place gets super loud so if you're looking for somewhere nice and quiet ... this is not a good place. read more

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The good: -Braised pork chop (railroad) -Tea (tried the Formosa Oolong 1/2 sugar). It does taste freshly brewed. -Service is pretty decent considering they were understaffed when we arrived, but they still tried their best to be timely, and answer our questions. Some people have limited English. -Prices and portion sizes are decent -Next to one of my favorite Indian markets/ eateries -Popcorn chicken apparently has good crispy basil according to hubby (I can't eat because of allergies) -Thick noodles was cooked well. The meh: -The broth is porky and under-seasoned for the Braised Pork Chop and Fried Pork Chop soup. Skip. read more

Why Thirsty - Braised pork chop soup with thick noodle (baby for scale) - Taiwanese Near Me - San Gabriel, California

Depending on what you order, Why Thirsty is a great place to get your fill at a reasonable price. Of the several times I've been to Why Thirsty, I've never had a problem with parking; it's located in the same plaza as Trader Joes, so there's a good amount of spots available. Customer service is standard; you flag a waiter down to order, your order comes, you flag them down again for the bill. Considering their name is "Why Thirsty", I'm not super impressed with their drinks. They're just typical drinks you'd find at a typical boba shop-- not bad, but I was expecting slightly better. The bill could easily add up if you get lots of appetizers, but you could easily get one Taiwanese Lo Mien (one of their recommended items) with extra noodles and an appetizer with a friend, and be perfectly full. Their portions are pretty generous. I also got to try their braised pork chop with rice, which was super flavorful. It seems the pork was marinated really well. With that said, as popular a place Why Thirsty is, I wouldn't say I'm a fan. Their prices are reasonable, portions are decent, and quality is okay, but that's about it. I wasn't really amazed by anything besides being slightly impressed with the flavor of the pork chop, and even then, everything I tried was a bit too oily and heavy. You'd come here to fill your stomach, not satisfy it, really. You could do much worse, but you could also do much better. read more

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To be honest, I can't even remember most of the dishes we ordered in our quad squad, but we enjoyed everything except for the main thing we came for: Taiwanese beef noodle soup (牛肉面). The crispy, fried pork cutlet, the minced pork, some noodles in peanut sesame sauce, Taiwanese sausage, fried fish cake, etc. They were all pretty tasty and not ridiculously salty or bland... but damn, their beef noodle soup was very average :( 5/10 would not recommend ordering this and save your stomach space for all the other delicious items they serve! P.S. their rose tea is a loose leaf tea and I really enjoyed it! Sooooooo good for $3.99 read more

Why Thirsty - Taiwanese Near Me - San Gabriel, California

Been coming to this place for a couple of times with my family already. As a Taiwanese girl, I always have high expectations of Taiwanese food. This place definitely meets my expectations. Waitresses are very attentive and friendly. Variety of choices of food, and you can also replace your noodle with different kinds of noodles!! Their popcorn chicken is my FAVORITE around 626, it's not covered with over-fried flour, but real juicy chicken. Portion is big with very good prices. Although the space is a little bit small, and sometimes there will be a line outside. The wait definitely is worth it! read more

Why Thirsty - Taiwanese Near Me - San Gabriel, California

Who goes to a tea shop for a meal? I ordered the bean curd appetizer and noodle soup (#25). Both really satisfied my Taiwanese street food craving. The braised bean curd was sweet and savory with bits on fried onion. The noodle soup was complete with a side of steamed cabbage, broccoli, corn, and pickled spicy radish. So simple and so good!! I would go back and order it again! read more

Ambiance: small and packed Taiwanese cafe Service: very fast, but messed up one order, delivered wrong drink Food & Drink: in general not recommend Popcorn fried chicken - ** so so, too dry Three-cup chicken - *** average taste Assam Milk Tea - ** with egg pudding, flavorless, the drink was so watery Price: cheap price, expect less than $15 each read more

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A little gem located in this neighborhood without having to drive further for Taiwanese food when that cravings hits you. My go to is the popcorn chicken rice plate and the basil chicken (3 cup chicken with dry noodles). The food is made fresh and overall a good option for Asian food in this area. This shop is located in the same plaza as grocery outlet, right next to a Salathai. read more

Another Taiwanese spot to visit! Ordered The Railroad as I remembered the bento to be a fave years ago when it first opened. Great choice, fresh ingredients, glad they don't use MSG. Plenty for two if you don't have a huge appetite. Also got the Taiwanese fish cake. Rarely eat it so can't really compare but it has a nice kick to it with the pepper! I remember the name Why Thirsty always intrigued me. If I remember correctly, they had explanations at the shop referring to a verse in the Bible. Haha, that's all I can remember. It makes sense that they were closed on Sundays for a while. Their opening hours have changed since then. Random facts, if accurate and/or helpful at all. Called in my order and was ready in 15 minutes or less. Good place to grab and go when in a pinch or not. read more

Why not? First time here and I was definitely not disappointed! Parking was abundant in the private Trader Joes/Bhanu parking lot, and we got seated pretty quickly. I ordered the Popcorn Chicken Rice, which came out on a huge tray with a healthy (pfttt) portion of Asian popcorn chicken, rice, corn, steamed veggies, and pickled veggies. Everything tasted really good but minus one star because my broccoli wasn't fresh (I saw small black spots on a lot of em). Also taste-tested my friends dishes and can say the pork chop was good, the railroad was okay, and the lo mien was good; but I still like the Popcorn Chicken the best, though it was probably msg-laced (why thirsty? That's why!). The meal is well-worth the cost; super affordable. 4-stars. read more

Why Thirsty - Popcorn Chicken Rice - Taiwanese Near Me - San Gabriel, California

Spectacular customer service. The guy at the front is always super friendly and professional. I had a custom a difficult order but he nailed it still. Extremely friendly. Their popcorn chicken is super good. Definately need to get it!! read more

More of a casual Taiwanese restaurant than your usual boba shop. But hey... they offer many scrumptious food selections and thirst-quenching teas and that's what truly matters! The first thought that came to my mind when I first visited Why Thirsty was "hole in the wall". The place is super casual with a few tables on both sides of the small space. They do have wifi with some outlets but I think the vibe is more of a quick meal experience as there's always people rushing in and out for meal. Though Why Thirsty's appearance isn't as decorative compared to other Taiwanese boba spots in the area, this joint offers some tasty food and drinks that'll definitely surprise you. I remember the first time I tried their tea a few years ago, the quality tasted significantly better than any other beverage I've tried. And since my most recent visit earlier this month, this testament is still true. I ordered a lemon butterfly tea with half sugar and my oh my... it tastes just as pretty as it looks. The combination of lemon and tea was sensational without being overly sour. I also tried their "Octopus Tots", which are basically squid balls and they were also notably delicious. It's been a while since I've had any of their entrees such as their famous railroad pork chop rice but I know I will be visiting Why Thirsty again soon! read more