JJ Noodle House

So good…
Come back!
Best noodle soup! Can’t go through Rowland without getting sad.
And the traffic makes sure I can’t just blow by.

IN MEMORIAM…
SPICY PORK NOODLE SOUP
XLB
RIP

Sadly, JJ noodle house is gone forever. Replaced by a new tenant, «Yummy Hero».
Today is a sad day, no longer can one get the best steam pork bao dumplings in Rowland heights. That title falls onto another restaurant now… :/

Good noodles and dumplings. I primarily come here for the xiao long bao and the potstickers. The potstickers are smaller kinda like gyoza but still enjoyable. If you want the more traditional larger ones, u should stop by supreme dragon. Also if u want the more traditional xiao long baos and not the soupy ones then this aint ur spot.
Other than that Id recommend the pork chop rice. The pork chop is made perfectly witout too much breading and the minced meat rice is perfect. Their dry noodles are good, but ive had better beef noodle soup so id recommend gettin that elsewhere.
Overall, ive been comin here for ages especially for the xiao long bao cuz they got it tiny and soupy like the din tai fung ones witout all that din tai fung wait time.
Oh ya the waitresses have bad english and when it gets busy be prepared to flag em down multiple times.

High rating… but I think this place is just average. Tried this place today for lunch. I had the pork chop soup noodles, my friend had the Shanghi stir fry, and we shared some pork dumplings. My soup wasn’t bad… the flavor good… but gheesh, I’d like to see them cut the vegetables and meat a bit more. The veggies were whole stems practically and some of those Asian veggies are hard to chew! Cutting the veggies would make it look more appealing AND easier to eat. Also, I know I ordered the pork chop soup… but I don’t know. I wasn’t expecting a WHOLE piece of pork chop. It’s kinda hard to eat it in soup… flavor was good though. I just think presentation needs a little work.
The dumplings were good. Flavorful and juicy. I would have it again. My friend had the Shanghi stir fry… it was a disappointment. Noodles are too think and there is not enough flavor in this dish. Again, vegetables here were whole pieces… it takes like less than a minute to cut it to slithers!
If I did come here again, I think the only thing I would get are the dumplings…
The workers were nice though.

When a joint has «pig bung» as an appetizer, you know it’s the real deal.
Now I keep hearing a lot of big time raving about xiao long bao and beef noodle soup so being the slave to the hype that I am, I naturally I bought into it. After reading about JJ Noodle House and how their XLB rivals or is even better than another popular SGV spot, I figured I had to give this spot a shot.
Now JJNH is def the real deal, complete with sweet servers that can barely communicate beyond their native tongue and I’m good with that. But I gotta say that maybe the authenticity of their fare was so real that it left this writer a bit underwhelmed.
–the XLB. I will say they were tasty, but I guess the whole steamed dumpling/​hot broth thing just didn’t float my boat. I’d rather have gyoza.
–the fried pork dumplings. Again, a very greasy, brothy version of gyoza. Pretty good… just not great.
–the beef noodle soup. The noodles were very dense. The beef, though cooked a long time, had a bit too much fat and tendon (of which normally I’m a huge fan) and the broth was very dark, but with all this, somehow the whole dish lacked, hmmm… flavor? I did enjoy the bok choy though.
–the seafood noodle soup, which was ordered by my paisa friend, according to him tasted like water. After putting in half a bottle of shoyu and 3 shovels of chili paste, he asked the lady for some salt and when she looked at him like he was an alien (he actually is), he asked her again for salt, but this time in Spanish (sal) which made me almost spit up my soup.
Like I said, this joint is most definitely authentic… it’s probably how they do it on the streets of Shanghai, and I appreciate the art of what they do but it just didn’t live up to my over-​inflated expectations, but hey, who the f**k am I? Maybe next time, I’ll try the pig bung… it might taste like Jolly Ranchers… ya never know.
But until then, I’ll just throw this one on the «Overhyped» shelf alongside El Tepeyac and Philippe.

Do you want xiao long bao without the Din Tai Fung wait? Come here! But not too often, because I want to keep getting my fix without the wait. Unlike DTF, they only have the pork xlb, but the taste in my opinion is just as good.
Everything I’ve tried here is very good. Pork chops with rice or noodles, chow mein, pan fried noodles, eel with noodles. All good. Every dish is enough to satisfy and only about $ 6 on average.
The restaurant is small but clean and nicer than your usual hole in the wall Taiwanese place. The servers are nice and speak some English.

My goodness, where has this restaurant been all my life?! My dad (who is a connoisseur of food — especially Shanghai food) is always saying GREAT things about this restaurant, but it’s always been a little out of the way for me to actually want to go. However I finally caved a few weekends back when he dragged me out there and I am thoroughly obsessed.
In my opinion, they honestly do have the BEST xiao long bao I have ever had in Southern California (the best probably in Asia). The skin, its all about the dumpling skin! Theirs is perfect — not too thin or thick. If you don’t like XLB (but let’s be real, who doesn’t?!), their potstickers (guo tie) are AAAHH-​MAZING. It’s fried to golden perfection and they always have hot soup inside (be careful, I burnt my tongue the first time because I wasn’t expecting so much soup!). Although I am an avid lover of XLBs, I might have to say that I am equally if not more pleased by their potstickers.
Their Shanghai fried buns (shen jian bao) were just okay. They weren’t as golden and crisp as I was expecting and definitely didn’t have as much soup as the potstickers, so I stuck with mostly the other dishes we ordered. We tried this the first time we came, but once was enough for us and we opted to order more of the XLB and potstickers on our next visit. My dad loves their small wontons (xiao hun tun) with soup, but I didn’t try any.
The first time I went, I also shared their eel soup noodle (you can request it dry as well) with my bf and we both enjoyed it. They cook the eel with onions and it comes on the side with a bowl of noodles and a few vegetables. Pretty darn good. The next week (told you we couldn’t stay away), we wanted to try their yellow fish noodle (huang yu mien) since it’s a popular Shanghai dish, but unfortunately I didn’t find it to be as good as the eel noodle. I’ve definitely had better yellow fish noodle in the 626 area (I enjoy mine at Emperor Noodle in SG). But I am so hooked on this restaurant that I am willing to give everything on their menu a try. Thinking about it right now makes me hungry in anticipation for my next visit. Judge it for yourself, but be warned that you might fall in love.

I was a little unsure about trying this place because some of the extreme reviews but was too hungry and just decided to see it for myself.
I must say I was pleasantly surprised. The XLBs were legit and similar to those at Din Tai Fung, and their noodles were the exact texture and width that I grew up on in Taiwan. I LOVED the noodles.
I also ordered a wonton soup cooked in clay pot, which is ok. The wontons were good but the soup was a bit much and over the top. It was overwhelmingly large and I ended up having it for two more meals afterward, which got a little old.
I would definitely go back to try more noodle dishes.

A friend who lives in the area brought me here because she said their shanghai steam dumplings, more commonly known as Xiaolongbao, are pretty good and thought that I would like them. Now, the previous experiences I’ve only had eating these were at dim sum restaurants and they are nothing to rave about. But the ones at JJ were just as advertised by my friend. For one, they are fresh! Each order comes with a total of 8 of those xiaolongbaos, and they are all nice and hot.
Beware on your first bite though because there are juices inside (that’s what she said) that will burn the inside of your mouth if you aren’t careful. If the steamed ones aren’t your thing, they also got pan fried ones too, and they are just as good. The service is okay. The second time I was here, our server didn’t understand English, so she kinda messed up our order, but another English speaking server came and saved the day, thankfully.
I’ve been here twice, and I’ll probably be coming back whenever I come to visit my friend.
CASH ONLY!

*CASH ONLY*
I had high hopes for this place. After being to places like Shanghai Dumpling King in SF and Din Tai Fung, I was wondering how this place would hold up.
PARKING: It took us FOREVER to find the place. We circled the plaza but the sign is so small it was easily missed. It’s next to a shiseido, with paris baguette etc. across from Yogurtland and Ajisen Ramen plaza.
WAIT: None, we went around 6:15pm on a Friday and there were plenty of seats.
FOOD: We got the recommended dishes: XLB, Shanghai noodle, green onion pancake and the shanghai rice cake.
XLB — tasty, a little harder than I would have liked but the soup was good/​juicy and the meat flavorful.
Shanghai noodle — disappointing! the noodles weren’t as chewy and thick as I was expecting, it was still tasty but not as good as I thought it would be.
Rice cake — honestly, I could make it similarly… it tasted good but wasn’t something I could make on my own.
Green onion pancake — a little on the oiler side and on the crispier side, which some people might like but I like mine softer and squishy.
Service was as good as you can get for a chinese restaurant, and for 4 dishes for two people it was a little more expensive than I was expecting but overall not bad.

Ambiance: small inside, family style restaurants, specialized in noodles, dumplings and desserts from shanghai
Service: patient and considering
Food: generally from above average to good
Steamed bun stuffed — *** average taste
Crab-​meat flavor steamed bun — **** fresh and tasty, recommend
Shrimp wonton soup — ** below average
Yellowfish noodle — **** rich flavor in soup, recommend
Shepherdspurse rice cake — **** very great taste, recommend
Fried dumplings — **** hot, well cooked, recommend
Liquor-​soaked chicken — **** light and tasty, recommend
Smoked fish — ***** fish was marinated well, highly recommend
Kalimeris Herb with tofu — **** fresh and special flavor, recommend
Stewed duck in soy sauce — *** average taste
Brined beancurd — *** okay flavor
Pan fried liver — ** smelled awful, not recommend
Mixed vegetable — *** light taste
Braised flour gluten — *** too sweet, still good taste
Glutinous Rice Balls and Osmanthus in Fermented Rice Wine — **** desserts on the house
Price: decent price though the portion is typically small, cash only

I know I’m getting old because I am less likely to drive 30 minutes to get my XLB fix at DTF; I’d much rather stay local. I was hoping this place would deliver and become my local XLB place, but was disappointed.
what i ate:
— pork XLB: while these suckers were pretty juicy and bursting with soup, it was pretty one note flavorwise. no where near DTF level. all i could taste was pork pork pork.
— vegetables: surprisingly these was the best dish. simple veggies topped with the ubiquitous ground meat mixture. the veggies still had a nice refreshing crunch to them and it was well seasoned.
— green onion pancake: meh. this was… okay. nothing memorable, nothing to write home about.
pros:
— clean: nice narrow shop with plenty of tables. décor was clean and new.
— server: despite our language barrier she was pretty nice and helpful (we all know how rude and brusque asian servers can be.)
— cheap: i cant remember how much i spent, but it was definitely under $ 20. while the dishes weren’t too big, my friend and i were able to get a good taste. all the dishes were reasonable priced in my opinion
cons:
— food was only mediocre. granted i didnt try any noodle dishes, but if the XLB was any indication, I’m not interested in trying anything else, especially when earthen café is right next door.
— asian parking lot! beware of the asian ladies with the big SUVs/​minivans that love to double park and ignore all rules of driving etiquette
would i come again? no.

potstickers were a bit oily but definitely juicy as well. This was recommended by the staff.
xlb were not bad. You have a choice between the regular xlb or the ones with crab.
i wasn’t a huge fan of the dipping sauce. for some reason other places make it better. The bottle that they gave us was premixed.
the shrimp chow mein. portion was small. But full of flavor! Yummy! So. I would definitely recommend the chow mien.
Everything was fairly priced. Staff is pretty tentative and nice for an Asian place. Cash only. Décor seemed a little on the modern side. Definitely a clean Asian restaurant.
Plenty of parking because they share with a bunch of other businesses. Located in the same plaza with Paris baguette.
Overall, this place is a ok. My boyfriend and I still prefer mamas kitchen in Alhambra.

Have a feeling I’m going to get a lot of PM for this review!
I was recommended by the obvious Elite reviews here. I love XLB and noodles in general so I had to come by to check out what the hype was all about!
Finally had a chance to try the Spicy Chicken Noodles #4 and XLB. I was recommended by the waitress to order their special tofu appetizer (which was really soy sauce marinated tofu– cold). She was making a huge deal about it saying they only serve it on weekends, of course I nodded my head and agreed.
As you can probably tell from my pictures, the #4 was hella greasy and not too tasty. The noodle soup was really oily and wasn’t spicy as I expected them to be. The amount of chicken they gave out was very little. I expected supreme noodles if it came with such little sides, but that was not the case. I felt that the noodle was very average, or even below average. The noodles did not taste home-​made and chewy. It wasn’t soggy either but it just tasted like I could probably buy some from the market and make it at home. I look for three things for a bowl of good noodle soup: noodle texture and taste, soup base taste and texture, and meat/​side. I will only return if it had at least score ²⁄₃ criteria. Unfortunately, #4 just didn’t impress me.
The tofu appetizer was disappointing in my opinion. My parents actually know how to make marinated eggs and such at home with soy sauce, so I expected this to taste even better at a Chinese restaurant. The tofu here didn’t taste like anything at all. Maybe I’m not used to eating vegetarian dish, but I must say I rather pass on this.
The winner of the 3 would be the XLB. Now, I’ve eaten at DTF, 1+1 (when it used to be good), and a bunch of other places in SGV. So I would think it is fair to make the following judgment.
I do think JJ Noodle House is better than a lot of other places (besides DTF). The dumpling skin was very delicate and soft. The XLB was very juicy indeed, but I do agree that it has a lot of fatty pork inside. It doesn’t bother me because I rather have it juicy than juice-​less. The size of it wasn’t too big nor too small which I really like. I was able to eat a whole XLB in one bite (YES I’m a beast when it comes to XLB).
However, the taste of the XLB itself, I still hand the torch to DTF for that one. Overall, I was really shocked that they were pretty decent. I wish it came with more ginger but I went ahead and asked the lady for more and that wasn’t an issue. They don’t supply you with soy sauce but only vinegar for your XLB which I find that a little odd because I like to mix the two.
The price is $ 5.95 for regular XLB and a little more for the crab one. In comparison to DTF’s $ 7.95, along with the headache of a long wait, long drive, and parking, this might not be a bad alternative if you are willing to settle for something less.
Cash only.
That’s all folks! My XLB venture continues!

I have never been here at a time that the food and service was inconsistent so I cannot complain about that and what others talked about. First of all, the food is amazing especially their xiao long bao!
I am part Shanghainese and It is definitely hard to find authentic and yummy Shanghainese food around here. I have to say their food is pretty delicious! I usually order their drunken chicken, beef noodle soup, xlb, rice soup, wanton soup, etc. Alright, they do have room for improvement such as the wonton wrapper can be a little thinner so the wrap isn’t as chewy, their soups could be a little less salty, also the servers can be a little more responsive sometimes… But just the xiao long bao alone, I will give them 5 stars.
Their xlbs are just perfections! Here is a way to eat them in order to not break the wrap and make all the juice leak out as you are picking it up with your chopsticks. What you should do is pick it up from the top at the closing of the wrap and immediately lay it on a spoon. Then you can add a little vinegar and ginger and pop the whole thing in your mouth so you get the juice, the meat, and the wrap all in one bite! Oh my… Just describing this makes me want to get some of their xlbs!
If you order a certain amount, they also give you dessert on the house. It is a traditional Shanghainese dessert. Definitely give this place a try!

I am half Shanghainese so I have always been searching for restaurants around the area that serves authentic Shanghainese food!
JJ noodle house is my new favorite Shanghainese restaurant! The owners/​servers actually speak Shanghainese, so you know for sure this place serves authentic Shanghainese food. Their xiao lung bao is bomb dot com, Ding Tai Fung has nothing on JJ Noodle House! The inside of the XLB is really juicy and the wrapper is soft and has the right thickness. Besides their yummy XLB, their wonton soup is really good. Especially on cold chilly days, after drinking it, you feel the warmness in your tummy. You also got to try their Shanghai stir fried rice cakes! I personally think my dad makes it better, but this is a good substitute. :) I really like the red roasted beef noodles too. The broth for the soup is full of flavor and also the beef is super tender.

I’ve found my new favorite place for xiao long bao (XLB/​soup dumplings). ANDDDD it’s closer to me than my former favorite (J&J in San Gabriel… what’s up with the double Js?).
The XLB skin is thin and the flavor of the soup is indescribable. Very flavorful but not overly fatty tasting. Everything about this xlb was delicious and perfect in my opinion. I was never a fan of Din Tai Fung (overhyped), so if that’s your favorite… then I can’t say my review will entice you.
Their scallion pancakes were also amazing! Crispy on the outside yet still soft and chewy on the inside. Great texture and flavor.
The Shanghai noodles were eh. Waay too oily and nothing really memorable.
Overall, I have a great impression of this place. It’s clean and decorated in a more modern style (rare for Chinese/​Asian hole in the walls). The service is good too. Our server was very nice.
I can’t wait to go back for more xlbs and to try more dishes!

My girlfriend suggested this place and I wasn’t disappointed. I’ll be honest, I was in a sour mood coming here, but their stellar service and tasty food made me feel better.
We ordered 2 orders of Xiao Long Bao and it was REALLY GOOD! Since it wasn’t AS HYPED as Ding Tai Fung, I REALLY enjoyed the savoriness of the broth they used with the meaty clean dumpling. The reviews are true, they don’t give you a lot of ginger, but it’s nothing to lose sleep over.
I also ordered the Braised Pork Feet Noodle Soup which came with SO MUCH NOODLE. The pork feet were very good, anyone who grew up eating this stuff will feel right at home. It was very flavorful and filling. My girlfriend got the Smoked Fish Noodle Soup. It had LOTS OF BONES, so be careful! What’s cool is that it had it’s own unique broth taste! She couldn’t finish her food, so I ate it and I WAS ULTRA FULL.
As expected, they do cater to Taiwanese speakers here, but we managed and the service was very wonderful. It came out to be about $ 10 a person which wasn’t too bad. I would love to take my friends back here!

The cleanest hole in the wall I have been to. Well, it is not a hole in the wall. It is an establishement that serves up great XLB and soups! Unilocaler Maggie C left it up to me to pick where to eat. I said cool, lets eat Chinese.
The Dumplings-​4+ Stars
The dumplings are tasty and delicious. They are thicker than those of DTF. They also do not squirt as far. Actually, no squirty at all. Simply delicious. These would be my second favorite XLB. You must try these!
Spicy Pork Soup-​4 Stars
Little itty bitty pieces of flavorful pork swimming in a broth loaded with delicious noodles. The noodles here are spectacular. The broth is only a little spicy.
Chicken Soup-3.5 Stars
Lots of Veggies in a tangy broth. The chicken was white meat and extremely dry. Same delicious noodle as the spicy pork soup. Overall, I liked it but really enjoyed the spicy pork soup better.
Parking in this lot sucks.
I really like this place.
JJ Noodle House… a reason to leave the OC to eat.