San Gabriel

A Vietnamese place on Las Tunas Drive that has been in the same strip since the early eighties, where the cha gio are the thing to order before the pho arrives, fried hard and wrapped in lettuce and mint. The bun and the broken rice plates are the other half of the menu. Closed Wednesdays, which catches people out.

Mon and Tue, 10am to 8pm. Closed Wed. Thu to Sun, 10am to 8pm

The Las Tunas branch of the tea house that started in San Gabriel in 2008 and is the reason honey boba spread across the valley. The tea is brewed in small batches and the boba arrives sitting in honey at the bottom of the cup. There is a short food menu of noodle soups, rice plates and fried snacks, plus shaved ice and soy pudding. Closed Tuesdays and it shuts at half three on Sunday.

Mon, 10:45am to 8pm. Closed Tue. Wed to Sat, 10:45am to 8pm. Sun, 10:45am to 3:30pm

A small dumpling house on Las Tunas whose name is its dish, the hui tou, a pork and cabbage parcel folded into a rectangle and pan-fried flat on one side so the bottom goes brown and crisp. Order them with the wontons in chili oil. Everything is folded by hand at the back and the whole place is plain formica and paper menus.

Daily, 10:30am to 9pm

Ducks and strips of char siu hang in the front window and a man with a cleaver takes them down and chops them to order over rice. The dining area behind is plain tile and laminate and the rice plates come out within a few minutes of ordering. It opens at nine in the morning, which almost nothing else in San Gabriel does.

Daily, 9am to 9pm