Earthen Restaurants
- Hours:
Wed-Thu 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Wed-Thu 4:30 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
Fri-Sun 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Fri-Sat 4:30 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
Sun 4:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. - Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: No
- Parking: Private Lot
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol: None
57 Reviews for Earthen Restaurants
I'll eat the occasional onion pancake, but it's not usually my favorite thing on the menu. But if every place had pancakes like this place I'd eat it ALL the time.
Make sure to get the sliced beef over cucumber dish. The sauce doubles as a great dipping sauce for the pancakes! Yum !!
Everything was good except the hot and sour soup. Chicken with a dark vinegrette, cucumbers, cilantro, and scallions were delicious. The green onion pancake delightful and probably the best I've ever had. The pot stickers mouth watering. The seafood rice plate with a light wine sauce superb--and I usually don't favor the light seafood sauces at Chinese restaurants. You know a place is good when their slices of fish fillets in stir frys are fresh and don't have that fish tank taste. The same goes for their prawns. We also had the "pancake" with silver noodles, chives, and baby shrimp filling--outstanding.
Side note: Some of the items like the pot stickers and pan cakes come out on the oily side, but it's worth the extra effort at the gym.
I'm coming here again.
Cash only folks. And arrive half an hour early. There's a line.
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This was effin yummy. The onion pancake so reminded of the Korean seafood pancake without all the extra stuff. It was yummmmy. The chicken had a lot of garlic, but tasted great nonetheless. The noodles were ehhhh. I mean they were good but not great you know what I mean? I was really surprised they had the Korean - Chinese fusion stuff here, shrimp with special garlic sauce etc. etc. I didn't try it b/c I had to try whate everyone was raving about. The service was good, it was funny we were taking just a lil and you can tell there is no patience here. They were funny about it. I heard its 3 people for all the tables, YUP sounds like an Asian joint to me! The food came out so fast, you know they know whats up. The best thing about coming up here is that i got my strawberry milk tea at life plaza afterward. Woo hoo.
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This place is CASH only but there is a B of A within walking distance if you need extra $$. We knew about this place being crowded but didn't know that they've changed their business hours so we were 15 minutes late and already had to wait.
4 must order dishes:
1) House Chicken - Awesome!
2) Pork Dumpling
3) Green Onion Pan Cake
4) Noodles - ie Ja-Jiang Mein, Seafood Noodle Hot Soup, etc.
House Chicken has lots and lots of raw garlic so expect to have garlic breathe afterward. It's really good. We had one and order one to go. Dumpling has juice in it so watch out for hot juice oozes out when you bite into it. Green Onion pan cake is more like thin crust pizza rather than chewy crust. Very good. I liked both Ja-jiang mein and its seafood noodle hot soup. The taste was just right no too salty nor too sweet for Ja-jiang mein. The seafood noodle hot soup is light and very seafood smell.
Service it's pretty typical of Chinese service. Rude and they tell you you've ordered too much like you can't afford to pay. They rolled their eyes on you when you decided to order to go at the last minute because there were people waiting for your table.
However, if you speak English only I think their manner change and they probably treat you a little better, asking how things are. Man, if I had known that I would have pretended to be a "banana" next time!
Other than the service, the food is excellent!
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yummy yummy yummy!
After reading my friend's yelp review and seeing that he gave them 5 stars i had to try it.
We ordered the green onion pancake, jin jain mein, shrimp dumpling, and beef noodle soup. I know I know, its a lot but I had to feed a 6ft 2 hungry jap boy!
After we placed our order the waitress made a comment saying we order waaaaaay too much food. We assured her that we can finish it but still received a doubtful look.
Food came out fast and it was awesome! Everything tasted exactly how it supposed to be. I would go back just for the green onion pancake. By the end of the meal we pretty much finished everything but the jin jain mein (wasn't too crazy about it). SO TAKE THAT YOU WAITRESS WE TOLD YOU WE CAN FINISH IT!!!
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You only need two things here and you'll be happy at the end of the meal:
1.) I think it was called the "house special chicken". I know it's sorta generic but I didn't get a chance to read the chinese characters. It's served cold. They drench the entire dish with some kind of sweet soy sauce with a ton of crushed garlic. Underneath the chicken is raw chopped cucumber.
2.) "Congyoubing" or what everyone refers to as the "Onion Pancake" is the next thing you need when you come here. They do it just right with just the right amount of scallion and salt. If you put too much of either of those ingredients, you can end up screwing up the entire taste, texture and consistency.
Oh yeah, you pretty much get all of your major food groups covered if you eat this stuff.
chicken = meat
cucumbers = vegetables
pancake = wheat.
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Their special chicken, noodles, dumplings and onion pancake is the best. You can't go wrong if you're in the mood for wheat-like food and chicken.
shan dong shao chicken.............. OH MY GOD. this house chicken has so much garlic that vampires will definitely not be coming near me or my car. I think the garlic chicken smell has perforated my leather seating indefinitely since we had to take home the rest. we ordered the large house chicken for two people, even though the waitress warned us that "wah! small order good enough two people (in chinese, which is why i used bad grammar, of course)" but we did not listen to her advice. plus, we ate more than half and only took home a little bit.
you MUST get the house chicken. you MUST. even if you're a vampire, you'll die a happy death.
we also got the fish dumplings, which were pretty scrumptious, although they had a bit of ginger wrapped into the dumpling (not a fan of ginger at all) but i still had to eat them.
also, got the spicy seafood noodle which was deliciousness in a bowl. we kept on watching other people eat onion pancakes, but too bad, we controlled ourselves (this time) and didn't order 5 entrees for two. the waitress is really nice, and makes me feel like i'm at home.
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this place is so freaking good! I love dumpling, my grandma used to make them all the time which means i'm extra picky picky when it comes to dumplings.
their fish dumpling is my favorite.. pot sticker is really good too! Oh and their mu shu pork (its wrapped in flour tortilla i guess u can call it an asian burrito.) is SOOO GOOD!! oh and the green onion cake is really good too.
only problem is the long wait, small tables, and it's also cash only!
4 stars for superb food but long wait.
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Pros:
Great Northern China Food (House Chicken, Dumplings, Fried Bread, etc.)
Good Prices
Clean Interior
Cons:
Long Wait
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Really good food. Everyone raves about Green Onion pancake so I had to give it a try. It's was prepared differently compared to standard pancakes. They are made quite thin and at times you feel like you took a bite into grease. mmmmmm....probably why I loved it. It was very flavorful and well made.
The dumplings were perfect....just like mom used to make. You can't really go wrong with the rest of the food.
I think the lady at the door that gets you seated is either the manager or co-owner. She is definitely not good with kids. We overheard her make some rude remark on some other family's toddler. I think she was trying to joke around, but the family was obviously mad.
-1 star for the wait and their operating hours. (oh yeah, and the manager to keep her dayjob and not be a comedian)
Chicken was good and so were the other dishes but the green onion pancakes and dumblings is what to go there for. Always packed so expect to wait. Check it out when you're out in the Hacienda area. Let's hope they keep the quality level up.....when the head chef leaves from a chinese place, they usually take the entire kitchen staff.
2.23.08: WOWZERS! Talk about long lines for days! PARTY Over Here. Wondering where all the asian peeps are at during lunch? Well look no further they are all here.
This place has popular dishes like the green onion pancake, house special chicken, beef noodle soup, and more but I can't remember.
Expect to wait familys loves it here. I gave it a four instead of five cause seriously it is good, but I was like whoa, I'm drinking oil. Expect everything to be drenched in oil. I guess that is why its good to begin with.
O and my friend didn't want me to yelp this. his own words "don't yelp this place!! I already wait so long to be seated don't make me wait longer" ha ha..Sorry Friend I LOVE YELP! Its my source for good food. I must share!
**Try to come on a weekday. They are closed on Mondays & Tuesdays**
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I have to agree, this place is pretty good. Usually I prefer Taiwanese dishes but this place the secret sauce is addictive. Moderately priced good food. Hard to come by. The service is so so. Sometimes there might be a long wait. Annoying because they only take cash. I want to get my Costco Amex rebate man.
Yum! Yelp reviewers never let me down! Oh except that one dim sum place in Palo Alto..Cho's UGH!
Anyways, I of course ordered the Green Onion Pancakes to everyone's suggestion and it was my favorite dish of the meal! Also my husband and I had the Beef Noodle Soup, Spicy version and it was great too! I like how they are generous on the spinich. We also had the pork potstickers which were good as well. Big too!
It was a weekday so we didn't have to wait at all since we were willing to share a large table with another party.
The staff is extremely friendly and quick.
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There is usually a wait during dinner hours and even worse on weekend lunch hours, but for very good reason. The BEST onion pancakes I've ever had on this continent. Must try the pan fried dumplings as well.
I don't really know the english names of the rest of the dishes, direct chinese translation attempt: mountain fried east chicken? beef and tofu strips? shrimps, vegetables.. all the typical chinese dishes, but everything is pretty damn good
This place is packed for good reason!
Tasty food, very reasonable prices and top-notch service (which IMHO is very rare for a Chinese restaurant).
We got:
Mongolian beef
Pepper pork
Dumplings
All awesome! I will definitely go back if I'm in the area.
Love this place but hate the wait so minus 1 star. The house chicken is awesome, so is the green onion pancake. i havent been here for a while becuase i hate waiting esp. the fact they always say its only 15 min wait when its actually alot longer and a bunch of families waiting outside the sidewalk...if u have a chance and have the patience u should try this place. pretty much everything on the menu is great. but u must get the house chicken and the green onion pancake for sure!
first off: niu rou mien. 2/3 for the noodles; (bf gives 3/3). 2/3 for the broth (tasty and spicy, not the wimpy kine spicy either. i felt kind of gross afterwards; perhaps some msg?) Niu rou: 2/3 tender and tasty, not too fatty. presentation-no
shan dong shao ji: so i did all the ordering and the bf was not impressed when the chicken came out. he took a bite and didn't talk to me for a good 5 minutes (that's a long time for a talker)...he was too busy enjoying the chicken. i also thought the chicken was pretty tasty, but the soy sauce garlic combo is nothing out of the ordinary. i love the little pieces of hidden cucumber...yummy.
cong you bing: i was trying not to allow the comments i read on the onion pancakes influence my first bite. kept telling myself it looks like any other cong you bing. BUT BUT BUT there is something special to these oily little guys. crispy but not too crispy along with my fave texture, chewy. the BF enjoyed these and he is a gotta try cong you bing at every restaurant that has them kind of guy
kong shing cai (green stir fried leafy vegetable): when you go to non-panda express chinese restaurant, ask your server what fresh vegetable they recommend, they usually steer you in the right direction. i know to expect oil sitting on the bottom of the plate, but there was just a little too much little greens swimming in oil. but there was just enough crunch to softness going on.
service was good. they charged for rice...booo!!! tea was included...yay! clean restaurant...yes! and remember CASH ONLY!
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Are you f*cking kidding me? A friend brought me here last night and I was blown away. Even though we only ordered three dishes (I wanted to order more but the restaurant staff wouldn't let me... unusual for a restaurant but they said it with good reason) we were both full by the end.
Maybe my experience is a bit biased since I had just come back from almost a week in Denver eating nothing but steaks every night, fried bar food (ie. potato skins, onion rings, fries, buffalo wings, etc) in between and who knows how much alcohol. My taste buds were bored and I needed Asian food like junkie needs his crack.
The order:
* green onion pancake - the best i've had... light, flaky, tasty... none of this ultra-dense frisbee stuff that some joints serve or soggy from too much low-temp oil that others try to pass off. eat this straight without dipping it in anything. amazing.
* cold chicken with garlic on a bed of cucumbers - this might be the best chicken dish i've had... ok, it's somewhere near the top. on the drive up, my friend was describing a cold dish with lots of garlic. sure, why not? i will admit that it didn't sound like a big deal. i quickly realized that there is almost no way to describe how good this is. and the cucumbers that pick up the sauce and almost achieves a pickled effect... great balance with the chicken.
* cha chang mein - now this resembled the Korean version I grew up with but it was less sweet (which was good) and served with the right balance of sauce and noodles (enough to coat the noodles without leaving an oily mess at the bottom once the noodles were gone). but wait... i thought the authentic chinese version of this dish didn't have such a saucy black bean sauce (like my experiences long ago at Supreme Dragon and my more recent experience at Dragon Mark... in discussing this with my friend, she said Supreme Dragon and Dragon Mark are owned by the same family so it might explain the similarity). turns out that stuff served at the dragons is minced noodles but the servers bring this out when i asked for cha chang mein... go figure.
So I'm writing this the morning after and am already wondering when I can go back. If these three things blew me away, then what the hell will the other dishes do? To top it off, there is supposedly an amazing Cantonese dish served a few doors down that we were trying to squeeze in after starting at Earthen... the plan was to start here and finish a few doors down. But the food was too good at Earthen to stop eating. People around us probably thought that we hadn't eaten in days since we had huge grins plastered across our faces. I just wished my other friend who is a new Yelper (yes, you) could have come experience this food when we returned from Denver... amazing.
Notes:
* closed on Tuesdays
* close at 9:15pm and a little earlier on Sundays... like 8:45pm (whatever happened to 9:00?)
* the three dishes above... total bill of $18.57... damn inexpensive.
* grab a number from the lady upfront (who also speaks some Korean) and be patient... grab a drink next door at Tea Station or grab some jerky or salted plums at Champion... which reminds me, I was supposed to pick-up some cheapo Haw flakes from 99 Ranch.
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Ok, so its more like 3.5 stars for the food, but I've only eaten take out, so I'm being cautious with my stars. Everything I've eaten from here is pretty good. I really like the green onion pancake, but it can be kinda greasy and they take a while to make. The mu shu pork is good too. I have to say I eat pretty good take out at work... I'd like to go here and actually sit down, then I might give them more stars. When we order our food its always yummy, but sometimes they kinda lag, which is not good when you're hungry and the pancake needs to be fresh.
bottom line: GREEN ONION PANCAKE. yummy.
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Love the green onion pancakes, potstickers, and beef noodle soup! It's a long wait to get a table, so be prepared!
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OMG this place is super good. My mom decided to make us give this place a try on the recommendation on a friend of hers, and it was one of the best places we've tried. When we go in we always order the green onion pancakes, hot and spicy soup, the kung pao chicken, and some kind of noodle. The green onion pancakes are always hot out of the frying pan =) yum!!!!! and all the food always comes out wonderfully hot and flavorful.
A few things to be wary of however:
1. parking can be interesting, especially the later it gets
2. CASH ONLY!!! so don't leave home without it!
3. the earlier the better, the later it gets the more you wait
Overall this is one great place to go eat. It's always been yummy and a real treat when i come home to visit! so go eat and ENJOY!!!
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They are known here for a few things:
1) Long wait
2) Their cold chicken dish
3) Their green onion pancakes
I usually get the beef noodle soup here ($6.25) and the pancakes ($2.95). See pictures. They are simply just one of the best here. The Chinese workers here are just like the movie "fast and furious." They are also a bit "loud and obnoxious" but that movie hasn't come out yet.
This establishment is now cash only, so bring some and get your grub on.
Tip: Come here as a party of two and you will be seated quicker than other folks after you get your number from the lady by the door.
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I eat here every time I visit LA.....LOVE THIS PLACE!!
MUST HAVES:
Shan Dong Chicken smothered w/garlic soy sauce on a bed of fresh cucumbers and topped w/spring onions (for a party of two go for half of chicken, for parties of 2+ go for the whole chicken order)
-Shrimp Dumplings
-Onion Pancakes
This place is ALWAYS busy, be prepared to wait patiently. Don't piss off the boss lady and her crew otherwise you will be sorry...
Afterward, walk down to the bakery (few door down) before 7pm and order the souffle (it takes 20 minutes to prepare) but it's well worth the wait!!
This is definitely the place to go in Hacienda/Rowland Heights. It has very authentic and tasty Chinese food without (a lot of) MSG. Everyone raves about their green onion pancakes, but honestly, I've had better. They usually come out a bit soggy, and not crispy like they're supposed to. But their cold Shandong roasted chicken w/ cucumbers is always AMAZING, the spicy beef noodle soup, potstickers, and leek-filled pockets (don't know the English name) are also delicious. Their dumplings are OK, but nothing special. There is almost always a wait when you come here, especially if you have more than 4 in your party, but it's worth it.
The best time of year to pay a visit to Earthen is during the summer. They have the air conditioning on full blast, so unless you need some respite from the summer heat, be sure to bring a sweater.
Besides the frigid temperatures, the food comes out fresh and piping hot. The scallion pancakes were good, but was more oil and dough than scallion. The shrimp dumplings are a must-- light, refreshing, and filled with yummy broth.
CASH ONLY!!!
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Fellow yelpers have convinced me to try their green onion pancake. Their pancakes are indeed very, very good. Their Shangdon chicken is very tasty and unique. I like the way they use cucumbers to go with the chicken. It reminds me of the salad I had in Harbin, China. The dumplings are good, not great. The noodle was the low point of the meal. It was very average. I gave them five stars because their pan cakes are the best.
Yum! A friend chose this place based on some friend's recommendation as well as reviews from Yelp, and I'm glad she did. The place seemed really clean and somewhat modern for a little Chinese restaurant. They have lunch specials (which we didn't order) avilable every day of the week, but we got the House Special Chicken, Vegetable and Tofu Soup, and the Pancakes instead. I loved the House Special Chicken, though I wish the chicken had less fat and skin---the sauce was awesome, somewhere akin to a chinese chicken salad dressing (dark, vinegar-y, and sweet). I used the sauce to dip the flour pancakes in. Soup was ordinary. Can't wait to go back someday and try the other stuff on their menu.
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Earthen aka Ko Ping (Chinese name)
For good chinese food with great lunch specials and low prices, come try this place out. They are known for their tasty green onion pancake, Ko Pings own San Dong chicken (garlic and soy sauce marinated chicken pieces hiding a cucumber center), mu shu pork (Chinese burritos). Try dipping the green onion pancake in the San Dong chicken sauce, it's bomb!
If you order the San Dong chicken, make sure you have breath mints after. All the garlic they use will make your breath kickin' like Bruce Lee!
This place is usually packed on weekends and dinner time. They wil not sit your group until everyone is present. Cash only!
we always try to visit this restaurant when we are in LA. price is very reasonable & we wish we can order one of everything. onion pancake was exceptional. the noodle with jelly fish & hot mustard is a must. fish dumpling-skin taste like its homemade. the house chicken was tasty. will definitely be back!
I really like this place because it's got that "Taiwanese Style & flavor". Pretty much all the goodies of Taiwanese food, you can find here. The great thing about this one, is that the restaurant is very clean.
Only reason I'm giving this a 2 star is because when I had order a seafood noodle soup, the soup was extremely salty. I dont know if it was just that day because maybe the chef was having a pissy day, or maybe it's supposed to be like that. But I haven't order any noodle soup from this place since the first time.
But I do highly recommed the pan fried chinese pancake, and their dumplings.. all the dumplings.. (frieds, boil, steam)... all very good.
Very good food...the house special chicken,the green onion pancakes,shrimp dumplings...all delicious! The only thing keeping me from giving 5 stars is the long wait.
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the best thing i liked was their steamed dumplings/ hot & spicy soup was good - the noodle soups r pretty good - onion pancake - huggggeee portions good price
highly recommended, try the pancakes, the chicken, and my favorite is the fish dumplings(a must have or I will leave). The only problem is, always have to wait during lunch/dinner hours, and the worst part is that they would rush you by giving you your check very fast and take away the dishes or ask you if you need a bag, c'mmon, let us enjoy our meal, I know you need to turn the tables to make more money, but we do need to finish our meals before we get boxes, lastly, CASH ONLY, you better visit this place soon or when IRS comes, don't say I didn't warn you.
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While I wasn't WOWED by this place, there isn't a single thing I can find wrong with it, hence 4 stars. Upon the recommendation of other yelpers, we ordered to house chicken and green onion pancakes. The chicken was served cold on a bed of cucumbers with a sweet/salty/sour soy sauce based sauce which was quite tasty and tender. The pancakes were light and crispy and at 2.95, the price can't be beat. We also had the veg soup which was just alright, but I think i've had better.
The space is clean and not overly cramped and while the waitstaff's English is minimal, they seemed patient enough at our obviously non-chinese disposition.
All in all, a solid place. I know the wait can get crazy at this place tho b/c I tried coming once before, only to leave after learning there'd be a near 1hr wait. But sunday afternoon at 2pm was no wait, no problem.
The wait is sick, but really worth the wait. I really don't recommend taking the food to go, it really doesn't taste the same. The cold noodles and the house special chicken is bomb digity! I have to say that the girl who takes your name, is quiet rude, but when you have one bite of the house special chicken its all worth it.
This is one of our favorite restaurants in Southern California. Every time we go there, we will always order the same things. We like their house chicken (you could order half or whole) which is served cold. It was prefried and set on top of cucumbers. The flavor is a bit tangy and soy saucey. MMMMMmmmmmm...good! Of course, we cannot leave out the green onion pancakes...the best I've known so far. It's thin and crispy and is good with soy sauce and vinegar. My husbands like the steam dumblings. We always like the tong shin chai or ong choi. Can't wait to visit them again. Prices are reasonable and they always have a lot of people and you will see green onion pancakes practically on every table and house chicken too. We haven't been able to try their other dishes because we can't let go off the goodies we found. one time we ordered a fish dish, it was okay. i can feel my mouth salivating.
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we came here awhile ago because my friend had come down from up north and she was craving green onion pancakes. i've had green onion pancakes before and i never really crave them, but the ones they have here are pretty darn good - the right amount of saltiness and crunch. we also ordered a few other traditional dishes like dumplings, Mongolian beef and their house chicken - all were surprisingly good! the place doesn't really look like a traditional Chinese restaurant - it looks more like a cafe of sorts, so i was surprised that the food was pretty good! it gets pretty packed here so expect a wait if you're going on a weekend.
how many chinese restaurants dare to have hours as limited as this one? easy... this place is really THAT good and everyone knows it.
since this place is always busy with folks constantly milling around the front, the last time we came here we arrived at 11:15a, and there was already several people eagerly waiting for them to open. the waitresses are pretty cool and know my mom from her many visits. we always get the spicy beef noodle soup, several orders of vegetable and shrimp dumplings, the uber popular roasted cold chicken dish with cucumbers and soy sauce, and the onion pancake.
this place serves the BEST onion pancake i have ever had. each of the six wedges are fluffy, full of green onions, crispy, multi-layered, and the size of a slice of pizza. gosh, i'm salivating just thinking of it. you have to order it -- you can always diet tomorrow.
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