J J - San Gabriel

I visit Alhambra every three months and make it a point to have lunch at this restaurant. Unfortunately, this time I was very disappointed to find that it has permanently closed. I used to really enjoy their xiao long bao and Shanghai noodles. We ended up getting our xlb and noodles from another place, but it just didn't measure up.

My favorite Shanghainese restaurant closed down last month, and it really felt like home to me. It was the perfect spot to indulge my cravings for Shanghainese cuisine and to practice my less-than-fluent Shanghai dialect with the wonderful aunties who worked there. On their last day of business, I brought my biggest pot to take home a hearty serving of yee-do-she as a proper farewell to J&J. I wish all the best to the aunties and uncle. Congratulations on your retirement!

This has always been my favorite place for xiao long baos. I grew up visiting this restaurant as a child, and the flavors always evoke such nostalgic memories for me. I know my review comes a bit late since the restaurant will be closing after more than 30 years of serving delicious food. Their last day of operation is February 27, 2022, and I will genuinely miss it.

Called in a to-go order of the crab xiao long bao, pan fried shanghai noodles, and the finless eel noodles. Went in the 20 minute eta and the food was ready. The look of each item was exactly how it appears in the pictures posted online and smelled great! Crab XLB 4/5 the flavor and amount of meat/crab were good. The amount of dough used to make the XLB was thin enough, not too thick. The downside to it was that there wasn't that much soup in each bao. Shanghai Pan Fried Noodles 1/5 it looked good when I opened the box but after digging into it, it was a disappointment. The flavor was nothing like I remembered it to be 15-20 years ago when I ate at the same restaurant. There was a pasty consistency to the sauce which didn't seem right. It was like having a diet version of the dish. Very sad to experience this. Finless Eel Noodle Soup 5/5 the noodles were great, the sauce was savory and enjoyable, the eel was a good texture and flavor. Mix everything together and start eating and enjoyed it! Almost exactly the same as I ate at another Shanginese place.

J&J, or Jing Jiang, is the real deal. I’ve been going here for years… One of the former servers, became the owner.Phenomenal XLB with crab. Stir Fried Glutinous rice cakes. Sheng Jian Bao is great too. Kao Fu. Fantastic Shanghainese cuisine!