We came here because our friends from China thought this is one of the best places for lamb dishes, in particular the lamb scorpion stew/soup (it is basically a pot of lamb’s spine with tofu and veggies and the reason it is called a scorpion is because the spine itself resembles a scorpion). It was a long drive for us just for a dinner in hole in the wall place. While dinning here, I began to enjoy myself very much as the waitress, the patrons and the basic set up truly reminded me of tiny mom and pop places in the alleys of any city in China. In China, people eat lambs during the winter months as lamb is the best way to keep you warm from inside. So, dining here in a cold night, it was pretty special considering that we were 10,000 miles away from Beijing. So, even it was a hole in the wall, I gave a 5-star on the atmosphere because this place looked its right out of an old Chinese movie. As far as the food goes, we had a scorpion pot and a lamb meat pot, both were pretty good, but on a salty side for me (which was actually quite normal for this type of dishes). The lamb meat pot was more tender with tendons and some fat. The scorpion (spine) has a lot of bones (obviously) and the meat was bit more tougher. Most people seemed to enjoy the scorpion more than the meat itself, but I prefer the meat with no bones. We also had the lamb skewers and they were very good and meaty unlike those one you get from a street fair. Finally, we had ordered “mild” for spiciness and it was pretty tame, though some prior reviewers thought “mild” was extremely spicy. I guess the level of spiciness is really very subjective. If you would like to experience a true authentic Chinese street food, then this is a good place to try.Vegetarian options: This place does make some decent stir-friend veggie dishes, but people come here for the lamb.Parking: Because of seating in the parking lot, spaces can be hard to find.Kid-friendliness: Probably not that friendly with tight spaces, loud people and very hot pots cooking on the table.Wheelchair accessibility: No, it is very tight in here.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Spicy Cumin Lamb Skewers, Shredded Potato with Vinegar
yingtao cui
Garbage restaurants per capita 95
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Leng Ooi
Chinese grilled skewers, lamb brain in sauce, pork intestines, chicken tendons and a lot of other very mainland Chinese street food. Definitely a place that goes well with beer. Wish they had more options than just Budweiser. Would be a 5 stars if they had a variety of lagers on tap.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: BBQ Chicken Heart, Spicy Cumin Lamb Skewers, 雞珍 Chicken Gizzards 雞脆骨 Chicken Gristles over 羊肉 Lamb, Lamb Noodle Soup, Lamb Hot Pot Stew, Salt & Pepper Chicken Carriage
Jade
It's a small but wonderful hole in the wall. Go on off times or you may have a long line ahead of you. Best lamb soup!! And lamb casserole is out of this world.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jennifer L.
Ordered some dishes to go and food was ready in about 25 min. They were pretty good but not really spicy. Big portions. Haven't had the chance to try their famous pots. Next time!
Bryan Nagaishi
Hole in the wall that specializes in lamb. Lamb soup has generous chunks of tender Lamb meat. Lamb skewers are gently touched with cumin and spices. Recommended for the lamb. Baaaah.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 5
Service: 3
Elena C.
I asked them if the intestines are the usual crispy kind of spicy stir fry and they said yes. It was not crispy. And they cook it with 'brown sauce' kind, not the spicy mala and dried chilies kind. Very oily, very salty, and all in all was not an enjoyable experience. I couldn't even finished my meal. Maybe the skewers are their specialty. I wanted to try some, but they only allow minimum 5 skewers per order. Accepts credit card with 5% fee (even if your purchase exceeds $20).
Lee N.
1) I'll give ZERO STAR if the site let's me.2) I ordered 4 items, all horrible tasted3) I still left 25% tip cause I was the only table through lunch hour beside its the chef's responsibility not the waitress 4) double fry port belly- too dry port, too too much salt, I had to ask a bowl of hot water to rinse off the over added salt5) boil pork with garlic sauce- took 20 minutes to see it out from the kitchen, the slices was so thick should be renamed as chuck pork-2 bite, I left it alone6) the lamb hot pot- its probably left over from last night and I FOUND A LARGE PIECE OF PLASTIC IN THE STEW.. putting down my chopsticks DO NOT, DO NOT GO THERE, I spent $90 and 25% tip and the waitress did not even ask me why when I left 95% of the food on the table and said no boxes to pack up
Freddy Hernandez
Love deM LaMB SKEWERS????
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Bill W.
I ordered 2 items this trip- pork belly in garlic sauce and hot and sour soup.Pork belly in garlic sauce- the slices of pork belly was cut well. I can also taste the garlic flavor. But, I wish it was more spicy than salty. That said, the dish still went well with rice like it was supposed to.Hot and sour soup- It was served in a pretty big bowl. I finished about half of it. I had a little regret about not ordering it first... because it is SO GOOD! As someone who can tolerate spicy food, I liked the nice balance of sourness and spiciness, though it probably will be very spicy for someone who can't tolerate spicy food. Moreover, the ingredients mashed very well with the soup overall. All in all, I would have left disappointed if I didn't change my mind about adding this last minute! I never knew it is such a gem for a restaurant that my parents would probably consider it as an afterthought.
Very interesting and down to earth restaurant. The pros are you can bring your own alcohols, smoke inside and enjoy their tasty food. The con is everyone is smoking inside and throwing up outside. Fun tho
Sam Ni
This is a cheating company, especially for us Chinese
Crystal
It was okay food. Not the cleanest place but it was decent food and decent
We came here because our friends from China thought this is one of the best places for lamb dishes, in particular the lamb scorpion stew/soup (it is basically a pot of lamb’s spine with tofu and veggies and the reason it is called a scorpion is because the spine itself resembles a scorpion). It was a long drive for us just for a dinner in hole in the wall place. While dinning here, I began to enjoy myself very much as the waitress, the patrons and the basic set up truly reminded me of tiny mom and pop places in the alleys of any city in China. In China, people eat lambs during the winter months as lamb is the best way to keep you warm from inside. So, dining here in a cold night, it was pretty special considering that we were 10,000 miles away from Beijing. So, even it was a hole in the wall, I gave a 5-star on the atmosphere because this place looked its right out of an old Chinese movie. As far as the food goes, we had a scorpion pot and a lamb meat pot, both were pretty good, but on a salty side for me (which was actually quite normal for this type of dishes). The lamb meat pot was more tender with tendons and some fat. The scorpion (spine) has a lot of bones (obviously) and the meat was bit more tougher. Most people seemed to enjoy the scorpion more than the meat itself, but I prefer the meat with no bones. We also had the lamb skewers and they were very good and meaty unlike those one you get from a street fair. Finally, we had ordered “mild” for spiciness and it was pretty tame, though some prior reviewers thought “mild” was extremely spicy. I guess the level of spiciness is really very subjective. If you would like to experience a true authentic Chinese street food, then this is a good place to try.Vegetarian options: This place does make some decent stir-friend veggie dishes, but people come here for the lamb.Parking: Because of seating in the parking lot, spaces can be hard to find.Kid-friendliness: Probably not that friendly with tight spaces, loud people and very hot pots cooking on the table.Wheelchair accessibility: No, it is very tight in here.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Spicy Cumin Lamb Skewers, Shredded Potato with Vinegar
Garbage restaurants per capita 95
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Chinese grilled skewers, lamb brain in sauce, pork intestines, chicken tendons and a lot of other very mainland Chinese street food. Definitely a place that goes well with beer. Wish they had more options than just Budweiser. Would be a 5 stars if they had a variety of lagers on tap.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: BBQ Chicken Heart, Spicy Cumin Lamb Skewers, 雞珍 Chicken Gizzards 雞脆骨 Chicken Gristles over 羊肉 Lamb, Lamb Noodle Soup, Lamb Hot Pot Stew, Salt & Pepper Chicken Carriage
It's a small but wonderful hole in the wall. Go on off times or you may have a long line ahead of you. Best lamb soup!! And lamb casserole is out of this world.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ordered some dishes to go and food was ready in about 25 min. They were pretty good but not really spicy. Big portions. Haven't had the chance to try their famous pots. Next time!
Hole in the wall that specializes in lamb. Lamb soup has generous chunks of tender Lamb meat. Lamb skewers are gently touched with cumin and spices. Recommended for the lamb. Baaaah.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 5
Service: 3
I asked them if the intestines are the usual crispy kind of spicy stir fry and they said yes. It was not crispy. And they cook it with 'brown sauce' kind, not the spicy mala and dried chilies kind. Very oily, very salty, and all in all was not an enjoyable experience. I couldn't even finished my meal. Maybe the skewers are their specialty. I wanted to try some, but they only allow minimum 5 skewers per order. Accepts credit card with 5% fee (even if your purchase exceeds $20).
1) I'll give ZERO STAR if the site let's me.2) I ordered 4 items, all horrible tasted3) I still left 25% tip cause I was the only table through lunch hour beside its the chef's responsibility not the waitress 4) double fry port belly- too dry port, too too much salt, I had to ask a bowl of hot water to rinse off the over added salt5) boil pork with garlic sauce- took 20 minutes to see it out from the kitchen, the slices was so thick should be renamed as chuck pork-2 bite, I left it alone6) the lamb hot pot- its probably left over from last night and I FOUND A LARGE PIECE OF PLASTIC IN THE STEW.. putting down my chopsticks DO NOT, DO NOT GO THERE, I spent $90 and 25% tip and the waitress did not even ask me why when I left 95% of the food on the table and said no boxes to pack up
Love deM LaMB SKEWERS????
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I ordered 2 items this trip- pork belly in garlic sauce and hot and sour soup.Pork belly in garlic sauce- the slices of pork belly was cut well. I can also taste the garlic flavor. But, I wish it was more spicy than salty. That said, the dish still went well with rice like it was supposed to.Hot and sour soup- It was served in a pretty big bowl. I finished about half of it. I had a little regret about not ordering it first... because it is SO GOOD! As someone who can tolerate spicy food, I liked the nice balance of sourness and spiciness, though it probably will be very spicy for someone who can't tolerate spicy food. Moreover, the ingredients mashed very well with the soup overall. All in all, I would have left disappointed if I didn't change my mind about adding this last minute! I never knew it is such a gem for a restaurant that my parents would probably consider it as an afterthought.
Restaurantji Recommends
Lamb stew is the best!
Food: 5
Very interesting and down to earth restaurant. The pros are you can bring your own alcohols, smoke inside and enjoy their tasty food. The con is everyone is smoking inside and throwing up outside. Fun tho
This is a cheating company, especially for us Chinese
It was okay food. Not the cleanest place but it was decent food and decent
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
Best Sichuan in LA
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5