Brunch at 陸羽 (Luyu) in Monterey Park

Before I took Amtrak's Pacific Surfliner back to UCSB Sunday morning, L, P, and L's mother and I went out for brunch at the Cantonese restaurant 陸羽 (Luyu). 陸羽 is a Cantonese restaurant that I consider high-quality Chinese fast-food that's been in the city for more than 15 years. When I say Chinese fast-food, I don't mean Panda Express, but rather a restaurant that quickly prepares typical authentic Chinese dishes on demand. The restaurant, located at 123 N. Garfield Ave., is in the same building as the Hawaiian Supermarket, near the intersection of Garfield and Garvey Ave.


陸羽: storefront, 123 N. Garfield Ave.

They have good deals all throughout the day. Since there were 4 of us, we got a special that offered a choice of 2 porridges and some sides, along with a special order of zhaliang and Singapore-style curry fried rice noodle.


陸羽: menu with info

There are handwritten specialties littering the walls. Figuring prominently on one wall was a soup made of a special chicken: 藥材烏雞湯. The chicken has white feathers, black skin, and black bones, which P says often freaks out unaccustomed Westerners who encounter it at meals. Chinese people believe that this particular chicken (and resulting "medicinal" soup) is good for females.


陸羽: handwritten specialties pasted on wall

First, the waiter set down plates of fried 油條 bits on our table. 油條 (youtiao) are deep-fried sticks of dough, puffed up by the addition of some powder. They were for adding to the porridge.


陸羽: 油條 - fried youtiao bits to add to porridge

Then came the 皮蛋瘦肉粥 (pork and preserved duck egg porridge). The rice porridge is southern Chinese / Cantonese style, which means the rice grains are broken up, rather than left whole. This gives a smoother texture to the porridge, which I prefer to the more watery and lumpy 稀飯 (xifan). While porridge in Chinese cuisine is a very simple, hearty dish, 陸羽 executes it very well.


陸羽: 皮蛋瘦肉粥 - preserved duck egg and pork porridge

A steaming plate of 長粉, or stuffed rice noodle, appeared shortly thereafter. A ground pork filling nestled in the glutinous thick rice flour layers, with some soy sauce drizzled on top. It wasn't anything special, as I thought the filling rather plain and mealy, but it was one of the sides offered.


陸羽: 長粉 - changfen, stuffed rice noodle

The second porridge, 魚片粥, arrived at our table, and we dug in. It had tender morsels of cod fish sprinkled with green onions on top. When I eat it, I normally add some ground pepper. Rice porridge is generally bland, so it's expected that the diner add personal salty or spicy touches.


陸羽: 魚片粥 - cod fish porridge

A simple fried vegetarian noodle dish, the second side, was set upon our table. It was a bit greasy, but redolent of scallions and soy sauce, with crispy white bean sprouts providing a nice counterpoint to the ultra-thin golden noodles.


陸羽: fried rice noodle

One of the reasons we frequent 陸羽 is due to their 炸两 (zhaliang). It consists of a crispy 油條 wrapped in a layer of steamed rice noodle, then splashed with soy sauce. We always add 陸羽's housemade hot sauce, with its flecks of red pepper, all along the top. This dish is interesting because of the contrast between crispy, oily 油條 and chewy, bland, steamed rice noodle.


陸羽: 炸两 - zhaliang

After maybe a 10 minute lull in eating, the Singapore-style curry fried rice noodle finally made its appearance. There is only a hint of generic yellow curry flavor, but it is enough to bring the dish together. The rice noodle is still soft and moist after frying, and it is fried with bean sprouts, small shrimp, tiny chunks of barbecued pork, egg, and green onions.


陸羽: Singapore-style curry fried rice noodle

陸羽 offers authentic food at great prices, but it's not the kind of food one can eat every day as some of its specialties may be too greasy for the everyday palate. I heartily recommend 陸羽 for its porridges, and hidden in its extensive menu are some gems, such as its Singapore-style curry fried rice noodle.