The L.A. Taco Podcast: Everything You Need to Know About Eating Hot Pot in the San Gabriel Valley with SinoSoul
[dropcap size=big]'I[/dropcap]f there isn’t an inch of oil floating over your chile broth, they’re not doing it right,” says Tony Chen.
We are sitting down with Chen at one of his favorite hot pot spots in the San Gabriel Valley: Shancheng Lameizi, a respected chain from Beijing specializing in super spicy and full-flavored Chongqing-style hot pot.
iTunes Here | Spotify Here | Stitcher Here
To some, Chen is considered the most influential old school food-blogger to have come out of the San Gabriel Valley. By day, he is an import and export broker between China and the U.S., and by night, he is a notorious voice in some circles for refusing to ass-kiss celebrity chefs and for his unabashed takedowns of restaurants — rare in a community known for being incestuous with PR and sometimes overly flowery writing.
Before the days of Yelp or Google restaurant listings, Chen’s blog, SinoSoul, guided many non-native speakers from out of town through the neon-sign labyrinths of the SGV. Garvey, Las Tunas, Atlantic, Valley, Garfield, and Rosemead boulevards are all his territory.
On a Thursday, right at noon, he’s running us through the items that he’s taken the liberty to order for us to dip into the molten vat of a hot pot.
One half of the simmering square-shaped pot is filled with rendered beef tallow reinforced with enough dried chiles for it to almost a 50/50 ratio of molten fat to chiles. The other half is milky white from boiled pork and chicken bones with a handful of Chinese medicinal herbs and dried fruits. On the table are things like beef stomach, shaved lamb and beef, and fresh shrimp cakes. Chen also orders pork blood cake, complete with Swiss-cheese like air holes, except the color of deep purple blood.
Hot pot with Tony Chen is not for the faint of heart. The food is as spicy as Chen’s controversial takes on current L.A. food trends, but love him or hate him, you have to respect his deep knowledge of L.A. Chinese cuisine.
Listen to it all on Episode 3 of the L.A. Taco Podcast.
RELATED: L.A. Taco Podcast: A Conversation About Teaching and Tacos With an Educator on the Picket Lines
Stay in touch
Sign up for our free newsletter
More from L.A. TACO
‘We Will Win:’ USC Students Won’t Back Down, Committing To Their Fight For Palestine Despite Arrests
One of their main demands is for the school to not only commit to a complete academic boycott of Israel and their killing of Palestinians, but also to be transparent about how much the school is investing.
What To Eat This Weekend: A Booze-Filled Piñata, Ethiopian Lamb Tibs, Mole Poblano in East L.A., and Tito’s Tacos’ Rare New Menu Item
Plus, one classic Mexican restaurant that promises its "last cinco de mayo on Skid Row."
Swarm of Police in Riot Gear Destroy Peaceful Pro-Palestine Encampment At UCLA During Early Morning Raid, Over 200 Arrested
At 4 AM, CHP broke through the fencing on the other side of the encampment and set up a police line, consistently firing flash-bang grenades into the air. They also fired on protestors with “less-lethal” munitions and rubber bullets, causing an injury to one protester’s face that required stitches.
Ten Palestinian-Owned Restaurants to Support in L.A. and O.C.
Supporting our local Palestinian restaurants not only allows you to experience excellent cooking and recipes from a culture and people who have been making these dishes for generations, but it also helps to broaden our worldviews on a culture some forces seek to bury and erase.
Where To Find Don Perico, The Mexican-Owned Brand Bringing Tropical Flavors To Dispensaries
The products, with their festive packaging, tropical flavors, and colorful parrot mascot, are relatable and better yet, they taste great, are fast-acting, and strong.
