Excellent Taiwanese Cuisine at Sinbala.

If you read my previous post then you know that I capped off my Labor Day weekend with a trip to Sinbala restaurant in Arcadia for dinner. Now I’ve been to a fair number of excellent Chinese restaurants in the San Gabriel Valley, but it was about time that I introduced my palate to some authentic Taiwanese food to experience first-hand some of the differences in regional Chinese cuisine. Yes there are differences indeed and I’m in no position to dictate that, but hopefully this review will teach you a thing or two.

Sinbala is nestled deep within a large strip mall off of Duarte road and Baldwin avenue; it’s very close to Din Tai Fung and I’m surprised the lines from that place aren’t creeping into Sinbala’s parking lot. We had Pebbles (our JRT) with us and thus we needed to sit outside at one of the small tables just steps away from the parked cars. Apparently there was a waiting list to sit inside, but no one was asking to sit outside. Why was that? The weather was perfect for dining al fresco! (And it’s shaded).

We were seated immediately, and our menus and a jug of water were brought to us. And then something happened that I have never witnessed before whenever we bring Pebbles and dine outside. Without us asking, the server actually brought a bowl of water for Pebbles! In the past we’ve sometimes asked for water, but I can’t recall ever seeing a restaurant proactively bring water for our dog. This act alone garnished a few extra dollars for the tip.


Sinbala has an extensive menu that includes some two dozen different tea and coffee drinks to go along with their dizzying selection of sausage and noodle plates. Fonda orders up some almond-milk tea and I go for an iced coffee. It's not bad but I prefer a stronger coffee taste, though I did ask them to go easy with the milk and sugar. I like how they bring out the drinks in sealed plastic cups, just like the ones you'll find at any boba shop.


I came to Sinbala with a clear purpose in mind--to try Taiwanese food in a setting other than Din Tai Fung. And don't get me wrong; we love Din Tai Fung and its 3-ring circus of a parking lot, but that place is mostly about their famous dumplings (and hour-long waits) which happen to draw people from all over SoCal. With drinks ordered, we peruse the extensive menu and I knew from reading other reviews that I simply had to order the pumpkin rice noodles and a plate of Taiwanese sausage--both of which appeared to be situated on every table in the dining room. I asked Fonda to order two additional dishes and she obliges with ordering an oyster pancake and a bowl of preserved tofu.

We've just ordered four dishes that I have never tried before in my life and I can't describe to you the excitement going through my head. Even Pebbles is excited and so we have her gnawing on jerky treats as we don't want her to feel left out of the party that's about to take place on our table. The first dish arrives--the bowl of preserved tofu. Fonda seems excited which gives me relief as she initially had little motivation to visit this place.


It's served in a plastic take-away container, lid ajar. Complain all you want about the "plating" but just wait until you see the final bill. The tofu itself has much more pronounced taste than your typical freshly-prepared tofu. It's a bit spicy and is served with peanuts, some chili oil, and herbs. The depth of flavors is nice; there's an addictive quality about these small bites of tofu and one must be careful to share with the table.

Next dish arrives and it's the oyster pancake, which is basically a thick omelet with shucked oysters, stir-fried greens, and a mild oyster sauce poured over it. There also appears to be some type of starch-based sauce within the omelet -- I'm not too sure what it is -- but it's thick and gelatinous.


For some of you this might not look or sound appetizing, and I have to admit that within the first few bites I found the texture to be rather interesting. But the overall taste quickly grew on me and I ended up eating half of this right then and there. The flavor profile is somewhat mild and the eggs could probably use a little rooster sauce. Nonetheless, the fact that I happily enjoyed the leftover pancake the night after is shear testament that I'm in love with this dish.

Another dish arrives, the sausage plate with garlic. Sinbala carries about 20 or so sausage plates that are served with various toppings such as green onions, peanut powder, and even sweet offerings such as chocolate and strawberry jam. If you’ve ever had Chinese sausage, well guess what, this isn’t Chinese sausage.


This Taiwanese sausage is a bit leaner and has a slightly sweet taste, quite unlike the more pungent and spicier Chinese variety. It’s very good and it paired nicely with the garlic slivers. I can see how this would match up with sweet toppings like the chocolate and you can be sure I’ll be back to try that combination.

The last dish appears in grand finale style on a large plate–the pumpkin rice noodles. It’s exactly what you might envision: rice noodles stir-fried with shredded pumpkin, then tossed with some nuts and herbs.


The pumpkin is mild and mostly adds character to the overall dish, and the herbs and nuts bring texture. This is extremely good and the flavor from this dish is unlike anything I’ve ever had, and so I’m having a tough time trying to compare it with something more commonplace. It’s not sweet and not overly savory; think stir-fried noodles but slightly coarser with less oil, and a hint of sweetness.

Now all the above dishes are perfectly delicious on their own, but when you combine say the noodles with the tofu or the sausage with the noodles, then the flavor combinations become so ridiculously good that I’m actually having a hard time believing that I’m consuming something this delicious. It’s becomes nearly impossible to believe when I see the final bill. But hold up, we’re not done yet.

We’re full at this point, but neither of us can resist dessert and since we’re in a Taiwanese restaurant it only made sense to finish our dinner with a shaved ice. Sinbala carries a huge variety of shaved ice and you can even build your own custom creation. We ordered ours with taro ball, red bean, peanuts, lychee, and condensed milk.


The first thing you’ll notice is the utter size of this dish, but generally shaved ices are quite daunting in size. It’s light, refreshing, and very sweet. The combination of flavors and textures from the red beans, peanuts, shaved ice, and the condensed milk was incredible. I wasn’t too crazy about the lychee and taro ball as their textures and tastes were lackluster. Nonetheless we finished it, and now we’re about to burst from all this good food.


So now it’s time for the bill. Two drinks, 4 dishes, and the shaved ice: $30 before tip. And we had leftovers for two more dinner servings. With the quality and portions we had, this $30 might be the best deal I’ve ever come across in my many culinary adventures. Excellent food, decent service (especially for the pup), and prices that are almost too good to be true; it's for these reasons that I give Sinbala a very high recommendation. If anyone ever asks me where to eat in the San Gabriel Valley, then I’m going to direct them to this review.

I’ll close this posting with a picture of my Tuesday night dinner, courtesy of leftovers from Sinbala, served with an ice cold beer:


Now doesn’t that look delicious? I would pay a lot of money for this, but I didn’t. Sinbala just might be in my 2009 Top-5 List.


Sinbala
651 W Duarte Rd
Ste F
Arcadia, CA 91007