ApoApo

I've heard many good things about ApoApo Restaurant in Rowland Heights and I've finally gotten the chance to try it out. ApoApo specializes in Taiwanese food such as beef soup with noodles, pork chop rice, shaved ice, and boba. So all kinds of appertizers, noodles, and rice plates you would relate to Taiwan will be in their menu.
The funny thing is that we were going to have chirashi at Akasaka but the wait was like an hour long. So after long debates, we finally settled on ApoApo because none of us had tried it before. Well, we got seated right away and the place really reminded me of chic Taiwanese restaurants that might cater Italian cuisine. The menu is very overwhelming to study as each page is colorfully jam packed with photos and words. I think just by looking at the photo is enough to choose from. I got the beef noodle soup because that is the one dish you should try to see if it's authentic Taiwanese food. The bf got the pork chop plate - another dish to test authenticity! My sister got the Vermicelli in thick soup and my friend got a chicken rice bowl. We were really taken back when the waiter took our orders without writing it down. I really worried about getting the wrong food...

The food came in a fashionably time. I tried the soup first - very flavorful and full bodied. The meat could've been softer. The amount of noodle was more than expected, however, it would've been better if it was homemade. Overall, I would rate a four out of five which is a pretty good rating. The pork chop rice was also pretty good. The vermicelli was so so, it was over flavored to me. I guess way too much MSG - though they do state they do not use MSG...

We ended our meal with dessert - shaved ice of course ! We got the sticky rice ball and taro/yam balls with peanuts on our shaved ice. My sis got the cold sweet tofu with taro/yam balls on the side. The shaved ice portions are pretty big - good for 2-3 people. Nicely sweetened with black sugar syrup. The taro balls were not soft enough because of the ice I think...

Overall, we really liked the place because the food and the price are pretty good. It's a bit of a drive for us to go there so we won't be visiting often. So, I guess that will keep the restaurant interesting and fresh!

Next time, I will have to try the okonomiyaki. I saw someone on the next table order it and it looked really good and big too!