Auntie Kitchen

Listen to the recent negative Yelp reviews. Unfortunately this place has changed management and the food is awful now. I used to frequent Auntie Kitchen when I worked in El Monte and this place was just down the street from me with the most affordable and delicious comfort Cantonese food. I would always come and order the hainan chicken and wonton noodle soup for lunch. Today I had a work meeting nearby so I thought I'd give the new management a try. Sadly I should've heed warning from the negative reviews. The first red flag was that there was absolutely no one dining inside at lunch time. Since I was already there I decided to give them a try anyway. I ordered the wonton soup noodle as usual and when it arrived it was nothing like what I used to order. They used lettuce which was a weird substitute for the usual veggies in the wonton soup. Also there was only 4 small wontons in my soup and the soup itself was the most bland soup I've ever had. I'm curious if they even bothered adding any chicken broth or salt. I ended up literally eating a couple bites of my food and taking the rest to go. I'm hoping I can add some chicken broth at home and make the leftovers a little more palatable. I definitely will not be returning in the future and highly recommend anyone to look for better alternatives in the SGV.

o9.o8.2o24Oh great... this place is under new management! Not a good sign bc I liked the previous one! This place is now called "Auntie Kitchen"...the beef chow fen party tray is back to soggy now. I'm sad.I ordered the food ahead of time, provided the time I will be there for pick up...nope...the food wasn't even ready and they weren't even serving anyone when I arrived. Fuyi had the BEST beef chow fen bc it wasn't soggy even after sitting for an hr. It's weird but it's also very good! But not this management. The worst part is we found a screw in the noodles! Omg! I was so mad! This is UNACCEPTABLE! Someone could have chocked and cut their throat if swallowed! They also forgot the sauce for the Hainan chicken and the broccoli beef was salty, same for the 5 flavor duck. I'm never never ever going back!!

I read about the recent management change so I decided to see if it really went downhill? Anyway food was as consistent as before? Although I don't know why my chicken rice has no veggies in it.... Rice is tasty, chicken looks and tastes fresh. Also it's still the same Chinese lady working there. Give it another try!

The people here are honestly so nice and genuine they are a small business, so if you are ever craving Hainan Chicken Rice or Roasted Duck, their prices are very reasonable and taste DELICIOUS, so come support them please. Their menu also has a very wide selection for you to choose from, from noodles to stir fry rice, I promise you won't be disappointed!!! It's always these small businesses that taste like home

I love that there is a Cantonese restaurant in El Monte. The place is very affordable. I came here today specifically for their soy sauce chicken. I got the half size for $15. The gentleman managing the counter and the restaurant is really nice. He also speaks Cantonese and English so no language barrier. Definitely be back for their duck and roasted pork.

Language barrier was definitely an issue on this trip. Three "aunties" working and none spoke a word of English. That's not the real issue though, as I was able to get what I went for which was some crispy roasted pork. Ruby down the street was closed (even though they were supposed to be open), so I searched and found Auntie's. Ideally, I would have ordered a two item combo as I saw in a previous order pictured, but didn't find it on the menu. Oh well, pointed to it hanging and settled for a pound, which I assumed was the minimum since they kept saying "one pound" over and over :). I agreed, but then it came to 1.5lbs and I'm the only one eating. No biggie. I love left overs. I wanted some hainan chicken and rice to offset the richness of the pork, but they pointed to what looked like a duck, but said it was chicken. Not hainan style and no rice, but I'm tired and getting hungry so asked for half only. Once I get home and try the "chicken", I'm confirmed it's duck and it's not very flavorful. Oh well, I just won't eat as much and have plenty of leftovers. Then I get to the roasted pork which looks great, but once intook a bite, I realized the piece has been there all day and was chewy instead of crispy. Decent flavor, but not great and without the crispy skin, total bummer. A couple of minutes in the air fryer and lots of siracha made it edible. Again, not bad but not all that good either. Oh well, at least infelt like I helped a small business of auntie's :)Pro tip: don't go near closing time. Take pics of what you want or take someone who speaks Mandarin :)

Chinese cuisine for breakfast on Cinco de Mayo in Los Angeles, California...I'm quite sure that I tried to dine at Auntie Kitchen in the past, but wasn't successful. Maybe I arrived before 9am (their opening time)?Anyway, this time (5-5-23), I got my wonton soup! Without noodles, on a chilly 54° morning, it's the perfect breakfast! At home in Honolulu (73°), I'm usually perspiring when I have a bowl of dumpling soup. This time, the wonton soup helped to warm me up... Because it's freezing in Los Angeles! Haha!I liked the free shared parking lot, the cozy interior, and the efficient service! The shrimp in each dumpling was excellent! The cooked lettuce at the bottom of the bowl was a healthy touch!I was so happy to complete this bookmark!

Under new ownership. I was told by the staff that they just opened in August of last year. They speak both English and Chinese. Food was really delicious and the portions were generous as well. Vegetable chow fun had delicious noodles and good wok hei flavor. The vegetables were cooked perfectly! I also wanted to try their BBQ so I ordered the crispy pork and roast duck on rice. Both items were delicious. The meat was juicy and flavorful. I'll definitely be back to try their other items! There was only one person working in the front so it's best to call ahead and place your order if you're in a rush. The poor guy was hustling taking care of dine-in customers, walk-in takeout orders and phone orders but he handled it well. It's a casual dining atmosphere with ample parking in a shared plaza.

Large portions, reasonable prices, good food! Located in a strip mall with filtered water store, laundrymat. There's plenty of free parking. It's a small restaurant with about 10 2-4top tables inside. Most order to go. The people at the front counter speak English and a little Spanish. The menu has numbers and pictures of most items. They a good size menu selection: the bbq, some entrees, noodles and soup. Beef stew rice noodle: Good just wished the beef had more flavor. 7/10Hainan chicken bbq pork combo: the container was so full and heavy. Enough rice for 3-4 people. Chicken is not boneless. I know the bones add more flavor, but adds more work to eating and savoring the flavor. The sauces are excellent and complement the chicken well. Bbq pork was standard. Underneath the meats, they do give baby bok choy. 8/10Bitter melon with beef: I love bitter melon. Ratio of bitter melon to beef was about 70:30 in terms of volume. But since the container was stuffed, I still think that's plenty of beef for the price. 9/10

I come here for the BBQ rice for lunch. It's usually good. Today, I ordered Roasted Pork and duck over rice. Took them 5 mins to bring the food over which is fine. The duck wasn't fresh at all. They gave me leftover duck which the meat is like falling apart. The meat was at least a week old and was heated up in the microwave. The pork was dry too. Very disappointed!