Before moving abroad, I always felt like going out to eat had to mean something big and heavy, like…read moreBBQ or a huge seafood feast or it somehow wasn't "worth it." Porridge felt way too ordinary, like something you could have anytime at home haha. But during my first year away from home, I officially changed my mind. I got hit with a terrible cold and nonstop coughing, and my roommate and I genuinely had no idea what to eat besides bread, plain congee, or steamed buns every single day. Then I found this old-school spot in LA that's been around for over 10 years while scrolling Xiaohongshu, and the moment we walked in... there were tanks of fresh seafood everywhere, and the abalones were HUGE.
Once we sat down, we realized the tables around us were also first-timers just like us. Everyone seemed to share the exact same mindset: order the porridge first, then go completely insane adding seafood into it afterwards. If you love that deep seafood sweetness in Cantonese-style congee, you absolutely have to order the abalone and scallop porridge as the base, then throw in extra seafood. We added clams and roe crab!! Honestly such a good value too. The table next to us each added an entire lobster for themselves, and it really felt like all of us collectively decided, "whatever, it's not like we eat like this every day anyway" hahaha. By the end of the meal I genuinely felt motivated to study hard, become successful, and achieve abalone-and-crab-congee freedom in life.
We also wanted to try some of their more comforting, everyday porridges, so we ordered the mushroom chicken porridge and fish fillet porridge too. Both were super homey and comforting, but also the kind of thing busy, low-energy people like me could never properly make ourselves. The fish porridge was really light and clean tasting with zero fishiness, just a tiny bit of white pepper flavor, and the snakehead fish slices were super bouncy and tender. No overpowering seasoning at all, so I think families with kids would really like it too. The mushroom chicken porridge had beautifully cross-cut chicken pieces that looked so satisfying, super tender as well, and the mushrooms were fresh and chunky. They're really generous with ingredients here, and every porridge honestly tastes completely different from the next. I've already decided I need to try a new one every time I come back.
The smashed cucumber salad was super refreshing too. Usually when I order smashed cucumbers at BBQ places, the garlic flavor is insanely strong, but this one was perfectly balanced. The potstickers were also really good with porridge, with thick juicy filling inside. Some of the complimentary small side dishes were a little salty on their own, but honestly perfect when eaten together with congee.
