Kuan’s Restaurant

Love the food here. My parents come here all the time. Authentic and delicious and reasonably priced. Like homemade food. Be patient if the restaurant is busy.

It’s ok. If you want Chinese food and don’t want to drive far. I guess this would be an ok choice.

The XLBs here are cheap and while it’s definitely not the best it’s fairly tasty, I’ve picked up food here a couple times just because it’s near work. The reason why I’m giving 1 star is because the people here have never been friendly to me even once. They avoid communicating with me and when I ask for utensils or sauce they give me attitude each and every time. When I ask for ginger they hastily say no they don’t have it, but I can see all the diners with ginger at their table. They won’t even allow me to pay extra for it. I feel too uncomfortable to ever come back here again.

Ok, so the only reason I came here was to try the xiao long bao aka XLB aka pork soup dumplings aka etc. They are buy one get one free, good deal:
First set of dumplings: Very good skin, it was firm enough so that it didn’t break, but it also wasn’t too thick or gummy. The pork was fresh, pink, and delicious. There was even a decent amount of soup (with ok seasoning) in them for LA XLB. LA mostly sucks for XLB, and if you mentions Din Tai Fung you’re din tai dumb!
Second set of dumplings: Brown pork, tangy almost a spoiled taste to the broth.
My only guess is that they gave me one fresh set and one that has been sitting. Now I know for some that’s a deal breaker, but for people like me who are always in a search for that elusive dumpling experience, it’s a part of the process. I would recommend trying this place because the first set was pretty darn good, and I’d rather eat their bad dumpling than go to din tai fung. I would just tell them, «Hey, don’t mess with me. I’m a Unilocal reviewer. Only give me the good, fresh stuff.»
Also if you really like soup dumplings. The best I’ve ever had were in Chinatown Philadelphia. The place is called Dim Sum Garden. I’ve explored Phoenix, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and I’m currently evaluating San Francisco. If you have any recommendations, please message me.

Saw the pic of the beef tendon noodle soup and I had to try. It was exactly what I was looking for. Can’t find that were I live! Would of gone for some dumplings but I know that would be more food than I could handle. Timed it out right and I got my plate quickly. Easy to get to off the freeway. Prices are more than fair.

the place was pretty empty on a Monday afternoon. Got the beef tendon, hot and sour soup, and orders of xlb. I really liked the soup for some reason. Beef tendon was… Mediocre. Only ate it because I was hungry. Xlb skins kept tearing, letting out the precious juices :(gotta take it slow when you separate them. Was pretty good… I’m not too picky about my xlb but there’s better out there. My family paid so kind of hard to do a fair review (price being the main factor) not sure what the total bill was but I’d probably be back… Tables are a bit sticky but meh. Just don’t touch the table

The shop looks rundown in the ghetto but the xiao long bao is pretty good. The dumpling skin of the xiao long bao is not too thick and is just good enough to withhold all the soup within the dumpling. Other entrees are just a-​okay but again, the xiao long bao is yummy and worth a try if you are fans of xiao long bao. Service is zero; price is cheaper than reasonable.

Loved the food!!! So flavorful!!! Must try!
It was one of those days «dumpling craving days» lol
At first I was scared of the place cause it looked somewhat different than the usual places I visit. The place does look a little worn down. I was greeted when I first entered (that was nice). Got free tea!;)
We ordered so many thing I can even remember the names. Here it goes.
Beef with black pepper and onions
Pan fried dumplings
Egg drop soup
A soup with dumplings
Fried rice (mixed with everything)
I absolutely loved the beef it was so flavorful and soft.
The pan fried dumplings were so juicy and flavorful. Omg! I just loved them!
Egg drop soup was good!!! (I don’t tend to like soup much but this was good)
The other soup had veggies and more dumplings. So I was happy lol great taste.
The fried rice was by far the best fried rice I’ve ever tried.
I loved that our food was fresh and came to the table super fast. :) price is great!
You have to try this place at lest once!

The prices are excellent but that’s about it. The meal was average at best and the place was kind of hard to find as the sign isn’t clearly in front of the restaurant. I think there are better options for Chinese food in the area.

Came here on a lazy Sunday and it was okay.
The one upside to this place is that the xiao long bao is the buy one get one free deal! With that said, you do get what you pay for. I didn’t particularly love their XBL. Although each XLB had an abundance of soup, the skin to the XBL was rather thick and chewy. I wasn’t a fan.
The onion pancake was also okay. Not memorable. As with the beef noodle soup. It was good for what it was, but it wasn’t necessarily impressive. And everything came out slightly lukewarm, but whatever, it was fine.
Would I come back? Probably not.

BOGO XLB for 7 bucks. WHAT A FREAKIN STEAL!!! So basically my gf and I was a little bit hungry so we stopped by here on the way home for some XLB. I was so happy to see that it was true, BUY ONE GET ONE FREEEEEEEEEE! Each order has 8, so in total you get 16 for 7 bucks. It felt like highway robbery. It’s not the best XLB i’ve had but its not bad either. THe price is good. FYI it is tucked in all the way in the back next to a phở A-​1 place!

I was off one Friday and happened to be in the area so I came here for some XLB!
Its a small place and the staff don’t speak much English but just enough to get by.
I got an order of XLB and wonton in the spicy oil.
My thoughts on the XLB is that its not great… but for the price its quite a deal. Buy one get one free.
My wonton in the spicy oil disapointed me a lot. The wonton had lost its integrity. It was mushy and literally falling apart in my spoon. :(
If I ever need a quick cheap fix for a good amount of food. This place is the place to go.
I won’t be back anytime soon but it was worth a shot.

Great prices for some good food.
Come for the BOGO xlb, the fried buns, the shanghai noodle and rice cakes.
Cash only!

At first glance, the food does not look like Chinese food. But it is! It’s Northern Chinese food. We are used to Canton/​Hong Kong/​Americanized Chinese food so this place was definitely very foreign to me and probably all the non-​regulars who stop by.
I’m not exactly sure what we ordered because I came with my boyfriend’s family and his dad did all the ordering. We did try over 5 dishes for only 5 people. We had enough food to feed at least 5 more.
The best thing about this place is that their xiao long bao or soup dumplings are buy one get one free! They’re good, very juicy inside. They’re homemade, not some packaged frozen dumplings.
Surprisingly, but somewhat expected, their pot stickers are juicy! I highly recommend them, super yums!
There was an interesting dish that reminded me of a burrito/​spring roll/​crêpe fushion. The wrap was a crêpe texture. It probably is a crêpe. And the filling was a bunch of random ingredients. It was really good though. You make/​wrap it yourself.
Also, the fish dishes we good. We ordered a steamed fish fillet as well as a fried fish fillet. The fried fish fillet was really yummy and extremely fresh. I don’t think they pre-​fry it and then freeze it because it was one of the best fried fish I’ve ever had.
There was a fried bun fish too. It was interested because the insides was made out of flour strings.
Owners are very friendly and have a great sense of humor.
There were a lot of dishes that I’ve never tried before but it was definitely worth trying. The best thing about trying something that you’ve never tried it before is knowing what it tastes like. If you like it, get it again. If not, then don’t.
Also, everything is very cheap and definitely bang for your buck with the quality of food you’re getting.
Definitely a hidden gem.

I’m disappointed in this place. I have had a long history with this place. My family and I used to come here often (like every Saturday or a special night out). The owner and her son used to own this place and was a little mom and pop shop. They have changed many owners since then and the food quality has changed.
Location: this place is located in a plaza next to the Ford dealership. It’s a small shop located in the corner of the plaza. Lots of parking space.
Service: service is alright. I know I’m not paying for their service but it would be nice if they were at least friendly. The original owners were always friendly and treated everyone like family. –1 stars for service. The cook often comes out to serve us and I wish he stayed inside the kitchen, because his apron is always Grey colored. Kind of unappealing.
Food: not too bad. I love their shao long bao (pork dumplings), green onion pancake, and fried dumplings. Don’t order their sweet and sour pork because both the presentation and quality of the food was terrible. The pork was stir fried in ketchup and tasted like ketchup. It looked messy and tasted like nothing. Meh. –1 for nasty tasting pork.
Wait: hardly ever waited. I wouldn’t come back again.

BUY ONE GET ONE FREE Xiao long Bao! That’s music to my ears! If you are looking for a quick fix in getting some xiao long bao, then you definitely should try Kuan’s. Located right by the freeway in a small old plaza, you’ll find Kuan’s tucked by the corner of a supermarket (generally out of business). You wont find any big signs that say Kuan’s Restaurant but rather you will see window’s with chinese characters. The restaurant itself is like any old chinese restaurant, expect cash only restaurant. It is however one of the top dumpling houses I’ve been too.
So how’s the Xiao Long Bao? Well the xiao long bao is really huge and gives off a nice aroma. The broth has more of a chicken stock base mix the with pork meat and the texture is not thick but just right. For the price of only 7 dollars and it’s buy one get one free which totals to 16 XLB, you can’t really complain. Kuan’s definitely a hole in the wall restaurant but overall the food is great. I also suggest trying their beef noodle soup and onion pancake.

Kuan’s been on my radar for some years now.
Heard about their buy one-​get one order of XLB (soupy dumplings) and always meant to drop by.
My foodie buddy Doreen recently sent an article link for the best 10 dumpling places in the San Gabriel Valley. Reminded me to get over there and try them out.
I was surprised to see Kuan’s on the list considering that most of the others listed are considered powerhouse darlings of the foodie crowds.
In comparison to those I’ve tried elsewhere, these XLB were very good.
Right up there with some of the better-​known places.
Very soupy, not too thick skin, bigger than all the others.
Getting 16 pieces for only $ 7+tax, you can’t go wrong!
Another plus is not having to go into Monterey Park or further north/​east and deal with the usual traffic & parking anxieties. Plenty of parking here in their big lot.
Their bags of frozen dumplings are so reasonably priced, I’d buy these for when entertaining at home.
I’ll definitely be back.

3.5 Stars in my book!
A hidden gem located in a sketchy strip mall in montebello. Makes it more enticing to come to try their XLB (buy 1 get 1 free), green onion pancake and rice cakes and many other favorite shanghai dishes! They also have a selected menu of dinner specials that are $ 5.00. Cheap and affordable. Service is fast and the waitress and waiters are intentive and friendly.
Most people come here to get their XLB (buy 1 get one free) and it’s close to $ 7. Can’t really say much about the qualtity… it’s decent for the price you pay. The skin is thick here and doesn’t break easily!

I thought I heard Mrs. Kuan’s voice at the door
But it was someone I had never seen before
The woman showed us to our seats
And did nicely greet
But I did not feel upbeat
The woman said the Kuans had recently moved away
They moved to Vegas and got out of L.A.
And while the new family’s kept the name
And most of the dishes are the same
The burst of flavors went down, and for that I frown…
Mr. and Mrs. Kuan…
I miss you (I miss you)
There’s no other way to say it
Make me your special Xiao lung bao
I miss you (I miss you)
I just want to big cry
I never told you two good-​bye
It’s not the new food that was made is bad
But Mrs. Kuan made us feel special and glad
Every time we walked in
For some lunch or din
Or after tennis when we were sweatin’
The new food has not as much flavor as before
The Xiao lung bao has less soup you can pour
The chicken tofu is all right
The a-​choy taste was bright
But I just have to say
I want the food cooked Mr. Kuan’s way
I miss you (I miss you)
There’s no other way to say it
Make me your special Xiao lung bao
I miss you (I miss you)
I just want to big cry
I never told you two good-​bye

I saw the TV commercial about this restaurant and the commercial talked about how this place has one of the best xiao long baos (steamed pork buns) around the area. Not only that, xiao long baos are buy one get one free ($ 6.95 for total of 16 buns)! It is a family owned restaurant since 1994 and most of food here are mainly Shanghaiese cuisine like chow mien in Shanghaiese style and Shanghaiese rice cake.
Kuan’s Restaurant is located right next to Payless Foods. There should be plenty of parking spaces available.
HIghlights:
Xiao Long Baos, or steamed pork baos — Can’t say it’s the greatest XLB, but XLBs aren’t too shabby considering how cheap they are.
Beef noodle soup ($ 6.45, non-​spicy) — It’s okay. I guessed the soup does tasted like a bowl of MSG, but I ain’t complaining because at least flavor is there.
This place definitely sells one of the cheapest xiao long baos in 626 area. And considering the quality that I get for buy one get one free, I wouldn’t mind coming back here again.