Yang Chow

When I was young my family regularly ate at Panda Inn. (To be fair, I suppose we got take out from Panda more than we ate there, but you get the point.) I remember many, many meals of sweet & pungent shrimp and paper wrapped chicken, all finished with white chocolate fortune cookies, of which my parents would usually buy a dozen. By the time we got home, less than two miles away, there might have been one or two left.
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Around the time I graduated high school, Yang Chow opened a location on on Colorado Blvd (amidst a stretch of cheap motels between Michillinda and Rosemead, an area that my brother and I referred to as "Hookertown" when we were kids.) One of my mom's students was the son of the owners, so we gave it a try. Yang Chow had been open in Chinatown since the 70s, but I had never been there, although I had heard about their famous "slippery shrimp." I absolutely loved it from my first trip. The shrimp were every bit as good as I'd heard, one of the best dishes I have ever had in a Chinese restaurant. And the chicken salad was - and remains - my favorite Asian chicken salad anywhere.
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After Yang Chow opened, the frequency of my visits to Panda Inn dropped from at least once a month to perhaps once a year. I like pretty much every dish better at the former. The minced chicken soon is amazing and when I'm really hungry or have several people with me with whom I can share, I always order that. But I never visit without getting the chicken salad.
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A couple days ago I stopped by my parents' house to put a few things into storage for my mom, who just retired after 23 years teaching at her school. 23 years yields more than a few boxes worth of books and supplies, so before I started cleaning out the shed and putting things away - perhaps not quite on par with the Augean stables, but it sure felt that way - I demanded (well, asked politely if she would take me to) Yang Chow.
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We grabbed a booth by the window - they had only opened a few minutes earlier and there was only one table occupied, although people kept streaming in to pick up food to go - and opened up the menus, although there really wasn't any doubt what I was ordering. (It would be the equivalent of me staring at the In-n-Out menu before ordering a Double-Double animal style - the same thing I have ordered my last 500 trips there.) I had hot tea, a chicken salad, and slippery shrimp, with steamed white rice.
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I was a little nervous when the salad came out - it did not look as impressive as it has in the past. Perhaps my favorite thing about the salad, other than the dressing, has always been the generous, nay, ridiculous amount of ginger that it comes with. I could only spot a few pieces in this salad, and there was not as much chicken as usual. Still, the salad was amazing.
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And the slippery shrimp were as good as always. Years ago they had a recipe for the shrimp on their website (although it's gone now, it is still easy to find online.) I have made it for many people and it had always been a hit. I've even made it for my cousin's wife, who was born and raised in China and makes amazing dishes, and she loves it, too. I have never left any of the shrimp on the plate, even when I am full. They are impossible for me to stop eating. This time was no exception.
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I only ate a little of the rice, drizzled with hot chili oil. My mom asked me if I wanted to get anything else. I was completely stuffed, but I would be lying if I said I didn't consider ordering some more shrimp.