Okay, let’s get back to California in June. I still have one more report to come from our trip within a trip to the Bay Area (when last seen, we’d eaten excellent dim sum at City View) but I’m going to scoot back down to the greater L.A metro, where we spent a few more days after driving back from the north. Our first meal out after our return was eaten with old friends at Henry’s Cuisine in Alhambra (in the San Gabriel Valley). We had actually been scheduled to eat dinner there with them before we left for the Bay Area but those plans had to be scrapped. I’m very glad we made it in after all for this was an excellent lunch. Here’s a quick look.

Henry’s Cuisine is named for the two owners, both named Henry. The restaurant is just under a decade old. They are known for their Cantonese cuisine with an emphasis on seafood but it may be more accurate to say that their specialties include Cantonese food along with dishes from places in Southeast Asia with strong Cantonese presences. Thus some of their most celebrated dishes incorporate Vietnamese flavours and approaches and you will also see Singaporean dishes on the menu. That menu is not identical at lunch and dinner though there is a fair bit of overlap. The dinner menu is larger and includes a number of bigger ticket items. In practice, you can order from the dinner menu at lunch as well—though there are a few items that require a minimum of 24 hours notice. We looked at both menus but mostly I asked our friendly server to guide us and recommend dishes that would be a good introduction to the restaurant and that is mostly what we got.

We began with excellent Chicken and Corn Soup. This was a pretty large tureen and a good thing too as we all loved it. Close on the soup’s heels came the Salted Egg Fried Shrimp and the Vietnamese Style Black Pepper Fried Fish with Basil. The fried fish was very tasty but the fried shrimp with salted egg was my dish of the meal: a lovely mix of textures and subtle flavours. Next to arrive were the Sweet & Sour Pork, Stir-Fried String Beans, Salt and Pepper Fried Pork Chop, and finally, the Vietnamese Style Filet Mignon. All were—as we very young people like to say—bangers but I’ll single out the two pork dishes for particular praise.

For pictures of the restaurant—an attractive, if occasionally garish, space—, the menus and what we ate, launch the slideshow below. Scroll down to see how much it all cost and to see what’s coming next.

We consumed a fair bit of beer. With that, tax and tip factored in, the total was just over $220. We were a group of six but this was enough food for at least 8 adults. Either way, a very good value for the quality and quantity of the food. Now, a meal here could get fairly expensive if you were to partake of the aforementioned big ticket items, but you certainly don’t need to order those dishes to have an excellent meal. That said, I would very much like to eat their special winter melon soup someday. Goals.

By the way, they add a 12% service charge to all bills but helpfully list the amounts needed to up the total gratuity to 15%, 18% or 20% if you so choose to do. I really wish that all places that do the added service charge thing (which I do not object to) but add on a percentage below 20% (which I do object to) would help math-challenged people like me out like this.

What’s next on the food front? Another California report over the weekend, from either the Bay Area or Southern California.