Little Santong

Restaurant was empty when gf and I entered. No one was there to greet us, we sat down. And waited for 5 minutes, still nothing. We started calling for them, but no one answered us. People were just working, it was as if we were nonexistent. Wth?
We just left and never looked back.

This place was the first time I’ve ever heard of ahjangpi. It was good. They served it with a side of Chinese mustard which I didn’t care for but everyone else in my party ended up adding more of the sauce on their plates. The picture above depicts the ahjangpi before it’s mixed all together. Iust wanted to show you their attention to detail cause technically they could have brought the dish out already mixed.
I ordered the jajangmyeon. Unfortunately it wasn’t as good as my dad’s jajangmyeon when he owned his restaurant. My dad’s jajangmyeon has much more meat and veggies whereas this dish at Little Sandong has more noodles and black bean sauce which was a little too bland for my taste. It did seem as though the owners at this restaurant were remodeling, but according to Unilocalers they have changed ownership so it might to be as great as before. Who knows…
Lina Chen

I normally am very skeptical when ownership of a restaurant is turned over to a new owner because the food is always going to be different or just not be as good as before. Well I must say I was quite surprised of how good the food was. My parents took us here bc it’s one of their fave Mandarin style Chinese food. Find out that the owners used to own a restaurant up north in Oakland for over 25 years so I see they have quite a lot of experience. We had the kampong seh ew, yang jang pj, combo fried rice, and all were delicious.

*UPDATE* under new management 12 – 2012.
Santong is now under new management and that’s unfortunate.
The low low prices for the specials are gone now. I knew they couldn’t keep it up forever. You now pay $ 5.99 for Jja Jjang Myun. The meat is noticeably lower quality and few and far between. It’s now like all the other blah potato centric sauces.
The mongolian beef is incredibly oily and uses something that resembles beef in the way vegetable protein resembles beef. It certainly doesn’t taste like beef. It also has a fishy aftertaste? Gah.
Knock off two stars down to two.
*ORIGINAL REVIEW*
I ordered the JaJangMyun for lunch. The prices here are kind of scary. When a place charges so little it makes me suspicious about how they are keeping the prices so low. But there plenty of beef and while not tender it did taste good. Sauce was a little on the oily side but I’ve seen more oil at other places.
Google Maps has fixed the following error. — I followed google maps and ended up at Cho Dang Tofu. I called the lady at the restaurant who kindly explained that they were at Artesia and Pioneer. It’s a little out of the way but I will be definitely going back until I find someone closer with equally good food and customer service.

I used to love going here before they changed owners, for the daily specials. Especially the 3.99 JaJaMyun on Saturdays and Mondays. It was a delicious cheap hole in the wall that would hit the spot for a korean craving.
After the refurb, the restaurant looks more classy, with booths and new furniture. The menu looks to be the same as before, but there aren’t any daily specials. I ordered the JaJaMyun despite this, since I wanted to compare it to before. It’s a little blander than before but it’s decent. I think it was around 6 – 7 bucks, so about 8 bucks with tip. It’s certainly not expensive, but I can find better food for that amount of money.
I’d bump it up to 4 stars if they still had the specials, but this place is just A-​Ok now.

Two stars means «Meh, I’ve experienced better,» which is a completely fitting rating, considering I walked into my favorite dumpling place expecting to see a friendly face and good food, instead, a completely different restaurant awaited me.
I regret not writing a review for the old Little Santong when they were still there. Their pork and leek dumplings were excellent, and their hot and sour soup was just without compare. Great prices too, as evidenced by the other reviews raving about their $ 3.99 specials.
HOWEVER, with the change in ownership, comes the change in, well, everything. I ordered their pork dumplings and hot and sour soup. First, their dumplings had thick skin and the meat was a bit dry. Then their hot and sour soup was nearly unrecognizable, with the eggs nearly completely pulverized into the soup, versus the usual ribboning (ok, I made that term up, but I think that people familiar with hot and sour soup would know what I’m talking about). The service was decent. Can’t complain about that. The waitress did come and ask how everything was and came back to replenish our side dishes.
In case any fellow Unilocaler finds out where the old Little Santong moved to, PLEASE post it up! I am currently without a favorite dumpling place. The old saying is true: You really don’t fully appreciate something until it’s gone.

Good food, good prices, EXCELLENT service whether you stay or get take out. Although many Asian restaurants are not the best place for babies because there’s plenty of hot soups around and I’m always paranoid my kid’s going to grab a bowl and dump it on himself, I still take my baby to this place. It’s casual enough where no one minds if you walk around with your baby and it’s small enough that you can exit pretty quickly and get fresh air if your kid insists on screaming. The staff is truly good with kids — very accommodating and understanding of dropped utensils, spilled water, etc. They even offered to bring my carry-​out to my car when I came here alone with my son. Parking can be tight but there’s always enough parking in the lot.
Now onto the food — it’s yummy. It’s Chinese food cooked by Koreans with menus in both Korean and Chinese. I like the xiao long tang bao (little bao or dumplings with soup in them) although they’re most likely reheated from frozen. The fried dumplings are more Korean-​style in that they are much larger than regular Chinese dumplings, but they’re still tasty.
Plus $ 3.99 daily specials (M-​F) just can’t be beat — it’s a generous portion and tasty as well.

In my continued search of xiao long bao, I came across this place. Although my mom was happy about their lunch and daily specials, I was disappointed with their XLBs. Their XLBs were definitely not in the same caliber as Din Tai Fung — from the broth to the dumpling wrapper. I’m glad I only ordered 1 serving because it might just go to waste otherwise. On a happier note, their fried dumplings (Wednesday daily special) were enormous and they give you a lot so it’s definitely a great bargain. But I don’t think it’s «fried» as I was led to believe. It tasted like it was steamed first then fried because only the wrapper was fried and not the inside. In conclusion, would I go back? It’s a toss up, but definitely not for their xiao long bao.

Was craving some good ol’ jjampong and jjajjamyun.
Went here because of the $ 2.99 special that everyone posted about. BUT… it’s not $ 2.99 anymore… it’s now $ 3.99. Still a great deal!
I went on a Wed and the special of the day was their yaki mandu. For $ 3.99, it was a large plate! The mandu was good and we had to take home the leftovers.
We also ordered their sweet and sour pork and it was delicious!
Also had their jjampong, jjajjamyun, and yakisoba. Everything was good… not the best noodles I’ve had but not disappointing either!
I’ll be back for their daily specials! Love how the everyday special is for dining in AND for takeout! Nice!

Who doesn’t like a $ 3.99 jajang myun? So dang cheap! A group of us went here and for four adults and 2 kids, our bill was under $ 40!
They have special daily menu that offers the $ 3.99 deal. Saturday just happened to be the day we went to get that price for jajang myun. There is a descent other variety of stuff to pick from to eat other than the jajang myun. The noodles were a bit chewy for my taste but it was descent. It’s a nice quaint hole in the wall to eat some descent jajang myun!

I can’t believe that we stumbled upon this phenomenal Korean/​Chinese hole-​in-​the-​wall by happenstance, but I’m sure glad we did!
After a very exciting morning at the East West Ice Palace, a local skating rink where a competition was taking place, we decided to seek refuge in the warm sun by taking a walk through the neighborhood. We had also decided that if some eatery along the way managed to strike our intrigue, we would grab a quick bite to take the edge off of our growling tummies.
Little Santong resides in an unassuming strip mall off of Artesia Blvd. I would have never known it was there had it not been for the intoxicating aromas emanating from its kitchen. You won’t be enchanted by a posh, tasteful décor. No, not at all. What you will walk into, however, is an efficient business, seemingly operated by a family, that is producing some mind-​blowing Korean/​Chinese fare.
I was craving egg rolls; therefore, we requested an order of the vegetable. Six (6) egg rolls come in an order, and they are served with a small salad that’s drizzled with a Russian dressing. The Russian dressing was a little perplexing, but I was told that it is an element that is making its way into the Asian culinary world. The egg rolls were fabulous, sporting a nice crunchy exterior, but at the same time preserving a nice soft interior so that the filling was not overcooked and dried out. I wanted to keep eating and eating and eating. So damn good!
An order of the Wor (War) Wonton Soup was also requested. (I later learned that wor stands for «everything.») A giant steaming bowl of soup was placed before us that smelled heavenly. At first glance, I suspected that the soup would have a watery taste, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. The soup had an extremely dense flavor that enlivened every taste bud. And the wontons were absolutely delicious. Indeed, this is one of the better tasting soups that I’ve encountered in quite a while.
Little Santong is a true gem of the Artesia community, and I’m so very pleased that I was able to experience it.

This place has a really good jia jung mein and jampong combo; it was flavorful and a good size. I thought everything was perfect in terms of service, quality, price, and atmosphere. I definitely would come back here whenever I’m near this area.
Waitress was very nice and took care of our group really well.

A small family owned Chinese/​Korean restaurant. My buddy David K and I came here for dinner and ordered the Dinner Special A for $ 11.99 per person. The dinner special imo is really a good value. What you get with combo A (pls see photos for visual):
1 entrée selection per person, wonton soup, fried wontons, eggrolls, fried rice, kimchi and pickled radish.
Wonton Soup — I was surprised they give a big bowl of soup not just a small bowl but a full order. The soup was good, needed a little saltiness for my taste but a dash of soy sauce made it perfect.
Sweet and Sour Pork — I loved it, it was prepared just the way I want my S&S pork, not too bready, small cuts of meat and the sauce… perfect, not overly sweet.
Mongolian Beef — Very good, the meat was tender. Good meat to green onion ratio.
Fried Wontons and Eggrolls — Perfectly fried, very good appetizer. It came with a side of coleslaw/​salad.
Fried Rice — Excellent flavor, fluffy and well seasoned. The only complaint I have was it arrived last.
***We also wanted to try their Jajang Myun (black bean noodle) so we ordered this dish separately. It was good but it was not our favorite, the texture of the sauce and noodle together was kinda slimey but the flavor was good. I would probably order the spicy seafood noodle soup next time, just to try.
When we walked in, I thought the service was going to be unfriendly as we were not greeted and ushered to our table. We stood there for a while so we decided to just take an available table. But when the server approached our table she was friendly (thank God). There’s plenty of parking.
IMO: My buddy and I were completely satisfied with our dinner. The Dinner Special was a good value for $ 11.99 per person. I can’t wait to try the other noodle dishes.

Came here for Dumpling wednesday, pretty surprised.
The dish only cost $ 5 and you get these huge dumplings, I mean huge than the normal size. It comes really fresh and full of flavor. You can add a little bit of Soy sauce to give it a kick also. I haven’t really tasted anything else but from what I see, they have specials every day.

I got the spicy seafood noodle on a trip back towards home. I had bookmarked this place for a while and just decided I had to try.
This is definitely a value plus place. I had a bit of trouble trying to figure out whether it was Korean, or Chinese. More Korean, I thought… With some great weekday specials. No beer, tho…
I will be back to try some of the other items. I want to try the black bean noodles and the dumplings.

$ 2.99 Daily Specials!!!
Two of their most popular noodle dishes are included as a daily special. The black bean sauce noodle or jjajangmyun (they spell it cha chiang mein here) is the daily special on Mondays and Saturdays. The spicy seafood noodle or jjampong is the daily special on Tuesdays. Wednesday is fried dumplings, Thursday is vegetable & seafood noodle or udon and Friday it is beef or chicken fried rice.
The daily specials go all day long and whether you dine-​in or order takeout!
Their Lunch Special menu items range in price from $ 5.50 to $ 6.45 (the latter all shrimp dishes)!
They have a wide variety of popular dishes Korean-​Chinese cuisine is known for, including San Tong fried meat dumplings, Mongolian beef, sweet and sour pork, fried chicken with red chili sauce and an assortment of steamed or fried dumplings and seafood dishes.
The jjajangmyun here may not be the best and you will not get a lot. But it is still an outstanding deal, especially if you get it at the daily special price! So, let’s spare the details and appreciate the fact the menu items are so cheap and affordable!
The food here is 3 stars in my opinion. But I think the daily specials warrant five stars! You will not find a better deal in Los Angeles or Orange County with Korean food!

Ok this spot is a little goldmine and not because it’s big, beautiful, fancy, or has great service. No no, it’s more of a place that your Korean Aunt or Brother might run.
It’s small, quit, the ladies come out and just ask what you want, it’s in a small run-​down strip mall, and the décor is lacking to say the least. However, this is by far one of those «go to» spots when you want some decent Chinese and Korean food and you want it CHEAP.
I wont bother writing all the special (check other people’s reviews on this joint) but the special kick ass. The food portions are huge, a plus. The food was flavorful for sure, so much so, I actually thought they were bringing me someone elses order!
Daily specials are the key here. Hit um up on the day specials for like $ 2.99, the regular deals for around 5 bucks, and leave a happy Chinese/​Korean Camper. Word to the old lady that was starting some friendly Mom and Pop store drama with the owner while we were there.

I’ve got to let you in on my disclaimer: I’m Chinese, although I feel like I’m qualified to write this review of Little Santong because my dad’s side is from Northern China and I grew up eating jia jia mian (jjajjangmyun for the Koreans) and all sorts of other San Tong dishes.
The pluses: the jia jia mian is a great deal ($ 2.99!) and a solid dish. The noodles in the spicy seafood noodle soup (jjam pong) were springy and chewy, just the way I like. Also, I was really impressed with the server, who spoke both Chinese and Korean. She let us stay and watch the World Cup, too!
The minuses: the steamed dumpling innards were not great, just mediocre. I really did not like the dumpling skins. I suppose that just means I didn’t like the dumplings, period. The walnut shrimp dish was overwhelmed by subpar batter. Also, the kimchee tasted «off», which is not forgivable in my book.
Unfortunately (or fortunately?), I would only go back for the jia jia mian.

Disappointed. Jjampong was just fair. I still do not know why people serve fake crab, sheesh. Kinda weird eating in a small room while Mom Pop and daughter sit and watch. Mom got into a fight too with a customer lol. Wish I could post sound cause I recorded it.
Noodles were weird. Broth had a beefy flavor to it. I dunno, prob won’t be back.

Best place for jjambong in cerritos IMO. Every Tuesday they have a jjambong special $ 2.99 all day. Jjambong is a spicy seafood (with pork as well) noodle soup that every Korean person knows about. Supposedly they make the noodles in house which is something different from other Korean style Chinese restaurants. I like the fact that they have different combos offered either for lunch or all day. One thing that I really like about this place is that they have a combo where you can have half jjambong and jja jang myun side by side. B/​c usually its either or, or one person orders one dish while the other person orders the other and you both steal bites.
I’ve had other dishes from here like the sweet and sour shrimp, mapo tofu, dumplings (yaki mandu and xiao long bao), pal bo chae, list goes on. and for the combo dishes they usually if not always serve you a side of jjambong soup, rice and salad. The salad dressing looks like its been made out of ketchup, but tastes really good. Overall I think they’re the best Korean style Chinese restaurant within Cerritos and La Palma.
However, I know Asian places don’t have the best service, but when talking about this place… try to go when the actual owner isn’t the one serving. She kind of has a stick up her *ss, but the other employees are great.